Burmese tofu (, ; or , ) is a food of Shan people origin and of Chinese from Yunnan Province, made from water and flour ground from yellow and the Burmese version of chickpea flour, also known as gram flour, in a fashion similar to polenta.[Also called gram flour, besan flour is made from chana dal (also called kala chana or Bengal gram), a type of small, dark-colored chickpea also used in Indian cuisine).] The flour is mixed with water, turmeric, and a little salt and heated, stirring constantly, until it reaches a creamy consistency. It is then transferred into a tray and allowed to set. It can also be made using dried chickpea instead of processed flour. In this process, dried chickpeas are soaked overnight. Once the peas have been re-hydrated, they are ground into a puree with some of the liquid used to soak the peas, then allowed to set for a couple of hours. Much of the top layer of clear liquid is then skimmed off and the remaining puree is brought to a boil with turmeric and salt and cooked and set in the same manner as the version using chickpea flour. It is matte yellow in colour, jelly-like but firm in consistency, and does not crumble when cut or sliced. It may be eaten fresh as a Burmese salads or deep-fried into a Burmese fritters.
Varieties and etymology
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Pè bya (ပဲပြား, ) refers to Chinese tofu and is translated into 'beancurd' in English language in Myanmar. Stinky tofu or the fermented form of tofu, however, is called si to hpu, probably a version of the Chinese word Stinky tofu ().
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Won ta hpo (from l=warm tofu) is the yellow form of tofu made from yellow split peas or in Shan State. It is similar to Chinese version of chickpea tofu. In Chinese pronouncation it is called wāndòu fěn (豌豆粉), which literally means "split pea jelly." It is unknown whether chickpea tofu originated in southern China or Shan State.
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(တိုဖူးခြောက်း ) is yellow tofu sliced into a long thin rectangular form and dried in the sun. They are similar to fish or prawn crackers and sold in bundles.
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To hpu (တိုဖူး or တို့ဖူး) made from chickpea ( kala bè) flour or pè hmont is the common version in mainland Burma. It has the same yellow colour and taste but slightly firmer than Shan tofu.
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Hsan ta hpo (ဆန်တဖိုး) is still mainly confined to Shan regions, made from rice flour called hsan hmont or mont hmont, and is white in colour. It has the same consistency but slightly different in taste. It is as popular as the yellow form as a salad.
There is no (as in "French") in the Burmese language; hence, (as in the word "pot") is used in to hpu, the Burmese version of "tofu".
Preparation
Fried
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(တိုဖူးကြော်) is yellow tofu cut into rectangular shapes, scored in the middle, and deep fried. Burmese fritters may be eaten with a spicy sour dip, or cut and made into a salad. They are crispy outside and soft inside. They are similar to the Sicilian snack panelle.
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(နှစ်ပြန်ကြော်) is so called because the fritters are "twice fried" after the tofu is cut into triangular shapes. It is the traditional form in the Shan States.
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(တိုဖူးခြောက်ကြော်) or deep fried tofu crackers, like , are usually served with Htamin jin (), balls kneaded together with tomato and fish or potato), another popular Shan dish.
Fried tofu goes very well with (
glutinous rice) as a
breakfast option, and also with
mohinga (rice
vermicelli in fish soup),
nan gyi thouk (rice noodle salad) and Shan khauk swè (Shan-style rice noodles).
Green tea is the preferred traditional drink to go with all these in Burma.
Salad
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Burmese salads (တိုဖူးသုပ်) or tofu salad with either to hpu or hsan ta hpo is very popular as a snack or a meal in itself whereas fried tofu on its own is considered a snack. Both may form part of a meal where all the dishes are customarily shared at the same time. Fresh tofu, cut into small rectangular slices, constitutes the main ingredient of the salad, dressed and garnished with peanut oil, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, toasted crushed dried chilli, crushed garlic, crushed roasted peanuts, crisp-fried onions, and coriander. This dish is similar to the Chinese dish liangfen.
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(တိုဖူးကြော်သုပ်) refers to tofu fritters cut up and served as a salad as above.
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(တိုဖူးနွေး, ) or (တိုဖူးပျော့, ) is the soft creamy tofu served hot before it sets, usually as a salad dressed and garnished the same way.
Curried
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Burmese curry (တိုဟူးချက်) - Sliced yellow tofu may also be curried with fresh tomatoes, onions and garlic, cooked in peanut oil and fish sauce, and garnished with coriander and green chilli. It makes a good pescatarian dish to go with rice, but also popular among the poor if meat or poultry is unaffordable.
Gallery
File:Tophu thoke.JPG| To hpu thouk - yellow tofu salad is a national favourite.
File:Hsan ta hpo.JPG| Hsan ta hpo (rice tofu) salad from the Shan States is as popular as the yellow Burmese tofu salad.
File:IMG Shanhkaukswè.JPG| Shan hkauk swè (Shan rice noodles) with (tofu fritters) served with monnyingyin (pickled mustard greens) on the side
File:To hpu nway and to hpu gyaw salad.jpg| To hpu nway (warm Shan tofu) and (Shan tofu fritters) salad combines the creamy and crispy forms into a satisfying meal.
File:Twice fried tofu.jpg| - twice fried tofu at Shan Market in Mandalay
File:Tofu_crackers.JPG|Fried make great crackers - a welcome treat.
File:Street vendor preparing tofu salad.jpg| To hpu thouk (Shan tofu salad) hawker at Kaingdan Market in Mandalay
File:Tofu salad hawker in Myanmar.jpg| To hpu thouk (Burmese tofu salad) hawker at Kuthodaw Pagoda, Mandalay
See also
Notes
External links
