When I ate Douhua 豆花 for the first time around five years ago, I was so confused. Because Japanese people eat tofu as meals, but not for sweets. Since the first confusion, I can’t forget its smoothness, subtle sweetness and gentle taste, and sometimes I crave Douhua.
What is Douhua?
Douhua is described as tofu pudding in Japanese. Douhua is a jelly-like food with a texture similar to tofu. Douhua is made by coagulating soy milk with calcium sulphate (similar to the “nigari” used to solidify tofu). It is slightly softer than tofu and has a very smooth mouthfeel.
In Douhua, various toppings such as potatoes, grass jelly (called sensou jelly, sian-chháu-tàng), peanuts, white glutinous rice balls, tapioca, fruits, etc. are placed on top, and then it is eaten with syrup-like soup.
Sensou jelly is made from a plant called “sensou” in Japanese. Senso is a plant in the mint family that is also used as an ingredient in Chinese medicine (called kanpo 漢方 in Japanese). The dried black stems and leaves are boiled together with baking soda, and when cooled, they solidify into a jelly-like texture as the dietary fibre, such as pectin, dissolves. No wonder it is super healthy.
MIAN TEA in Nippori, Tokyo
I visited MIAN TEA in Nippori, Tokyo and ordered 豪華スペシャル /ɡouka speʃjal/ (Luxury Special) for 1,150 yen. It has red beans, mango fruit, sweet potatoes, vanilla ice cream, sensor jelly, and tofu pudding. It is not too sweet, so Douhua is good for breakfast. Of course, it is good as a healthy dessert.
The shop is small and cozy, with only six seats inside. Takeaway service is also available.
MIAN TEA https://www.instagram.com/miantea_japan/
From the texture of Douhua, let me share two Japanese sounds expressing Douhua.
ふるふる Furufuru /fuɾufuɾu/ texture
The texture of Douhua described ふるふる Furufuru. Furufuru represents the delicate swaying of small cute things, similar to “jiggly.”
この豆花、ふるふるしていて美味しそう。
/kono toufa fuɾufuɾu ʃiteite oiʃisoː/
This tofu pudding looks so jiggly (furufuru) and delicious.
Furufuru is a similar expression as purupuru. If you are more interested in Japanese sounds, please refer to the below post.
つるっと Turutto /tsuɾutto/
This Douhua feels going down smoothly. When we describe that texture and smoothness, we say like, “つるっと している tsuɾutto ʃiteiɾu”
豆花って、つるっとした喉ごしがいいよね。
/toufatte tsuɾutto ʃita nodoɡoʃi ɡa iːjone/
I like Douhua because of feels going down smoothly.
Tsurutto is a similar expression as turuturu. If you are more interested in Japanese sounds, please refer to the below post.
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