As one of Hanoi street food, tofu pudding, which is called “tao pho” by Hanoians, can also be found easily on the streets of Hanoi. However, there are some differences between tofu pudding then and now.
Rustic but sophisticated snack of the past
Tofu pudding is the favorite snack of many people in the stifling hot of summer. The sweetness of tofu pudding is not too cloying. The cool comes from the pieces of tofu and the lightly sweet syrup really relax people on the hot days.
Tofu pudding has long been in the land of the capital with the image of the women walking through the streets with the yoke of tofu pudding on her shoulders. They do not forget to raise their pleasant voice to cry the street cries “Buy my tofu pudding” or “Here is tofu pudding”. Gradually, those cries and the bowls of tofu pudding leave such a deep imprint on people mind that they have become Hanoi traditional food. Indeed, Hanoians seem to look forward to that rustic snack when the summer comes.
In the past, tofu (also known as bean curd) is in an aluminum bucket to keep it warm for hours. The hot bean curd is soft, smooth, fragile and pure white. When serving, the vendors use the unique but simple tool to cut the bean curd. The cutting tool is cleft from the can of soft drink or beer and filed carefully. Cutting tofu also requires some skills. If you are not careful, the piece of tofu will be thick or mashed.
The piece of tofu are gently put into the bowl. The seller, then, pour the sugar syrup scented with jasmine. The syrup must be simmered for a long time until the sugar dissolves totally.
The dish is cool enough to ease the high temperature of the weather and the hot in your body. The aftertaste is full of jasmine aroma.
The new combination of color and flavor
Nowadays, on the street food tour in Hanoi, people rarely see the vendors of tofu pudding on the sidewalks. If there are some, they are the men or women riding their bikes with the bucket of tofu in the back, the bottles of sugar syrup and some piles of plastic cup in the front basket, They hardy chant the street cries, they often stop in front of the school gates.
Now, tofu pudding is served in the shops like coffee or milk tea. People go to eat the dish instead of waiting the vendors.
Some people like to replace the sugar syrup with soy milk. To adorn the milky white, they put some black glass jelly. The black and white bowl of tofu pudding look so harmonious. In addition to the glass jelly, people also enjoy the chewy black pearl (the balls made of tapioca starch and boiled)
The tofu pudding look even colorful with dozens types of jelly, shredded coconut, colorful balls of rice cake…
These combination also give tofu pudding the new flavors. Despite the change, people still love the traditional tofu pudding. This traditional dish is cool and light sweet, it also benefits the stomach and digestion.
Tofu pudding is also easy to make. You can learn to make it from any Hanoi cooking class. Enjoying your own products is a great experience.