What it is
Tofu skin (豆皮 or 腐皮) is the protein-rich film that forms on boiling soy milk, lifted off in sheets. Fried tofu skin (炸豆皮) is those sheets deep-fried until crisp. It goes into hot pot, where it turns soft within moments and soaks up the broth and dipping sauce.
Where it came from
The name first appears in the Compendium of Materia Medica (本草綱目) by the physician Li Shizhen (李時珍), which describes the film on heated soy milk being lifted off and dried. Tofu skin is also the main ingredient of many Chinese vegetarian 'meats', such as mock chicken, duck and ham, made by mixing it with mushrooms, vegetables and soy sauce and pressing it into shape.
How it is made
Soybeans are soaked, ground and strained to make soy milk, which is boiled until a skin forms on top. The skin is lifted off and dried. The top layer, taken off as a whole sheet, is the smoothest. The next layer is hung in strips and dried as bean curd sticks (腐竹), and the coarser layers below are mostly used to wrap food. For hot pot, some shops fry their own sheets in large pieces.
How to eat it
It is a hot pot side. Break it into large pieces, put them in the broth and lift them out as soon as they soften, then dip them in shacha sauce (沙茶醬).
Around Taiwan
- Kaohsiung
- Shantou Tien Tien (汕頭天天沙茶火鍋) in Kaohsiung's Yancheng District fries its own tofu skin and brings it to the table in one large piece, sealed in a clear plastic bag so it stays crisp. Break it into about four pieces inside the bag, then add them to the pot.
