Gastritis is truly a nightmare and a challenge for seniors....
While we finally found a "Goldilocks" thick milk for mom to curb the pain, taking the same milk over and over again can be quite bland and boring, especially for a senior.
Previously we have been purchasing Tofu-Hwa (Tofu pudding Chinese Style) once a while but it is becoming more and more expensive these days.
Mom actually found this Tofu pudding curd powder, and we tried it before, but recent months it was no longer on the shelf until we found it from online shops, so the first thing we did was to order a little more of it.
We don't need to use the whole pack as it creates a 12-servings portion (of small rice bowl size); and since there is only 3 of us, everything was cut to half to and we could stretch out more days.
To make the 1/2 portion, all it needs was to the right ration of:
- half of the pre-mix pudding powder
- 1L of soymilk
- 500ml of water
It's that simple
Of course since we didn't have any home made soymilk, we managed to source an unsweetened one from the grocers near our home, where there is no sugar added. And because this is actually a more preferred version, we constantly see new batches of unsweetened boxed soymilk in our grocers so it is "kind of" fresher than the sweet boxed soymilk.
Once we got it simmered, we switch off the heat and sift out the first layer of bubbles before we pour in 1/2 of the packet of pudding mix.
Stirring well is important in this step (without creating too much bubbles) so that it can incorporate well with the soymilk.
Once that is done, I preferred to move it to a bigger pan so that it chills faster and coagulate faster.
If all excessive bubbles are sift out properly, the whole tofu pudding is super smooth, even in a warm-weathered room temperature.
Mom always had this flat spoon specially for tofu pudding, and when she found it in her old home we took it over, but never get to use it until now.
This very shallow flat and wide "spoon" / "spatula" enables me to scoop up the tofu pudding with the thinnest slice in order when the syrup is added in, it will sip into the different layer creating a "pudding crepe effect", which is very smooth and delightful, not to mention tender to the stomach.
However
This is a very unusual pudding
As it is mentioned in the packet, it was best served cold, but since mom's stomach condition doesn't quite work well with cold food at the moment, we tried to at least keep the syrup warm.
There was a time, without me knowing, when we wanted to steam the tofu pudding so that it can be served warm-to-hot, it actually melted back into liquid form! And once cooled, it is coagulated properly again.
So far I didn't see the fine print of the ingredients, so I am not sure is it the agar-agar substant that cause it to return to liquid form when it is hot or not, but if it still could maintain as a soft pudding in room temperature, I think it is still good enough.
The old style of coagulating tofu was using a substance that no longer accepted in the WHO / FDA safety standard because of its chemical content. There has been a replacement ingredient, but I am not 100% certain which one is it.
In the mean time, I think this simple to do with the ready-made mix is good enough for mom.
The smoothness of the pudding is outstanding, and we will try to make this during the weekends while we might still need to keep the thick milk going until the next appointment on 17 March.
How about you?
Have you ever tried this style of soy pudding (tofu-fa / tauhua in Hokkien) before?
If yes, did you like it? It is very famous in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South East Asia like Malaysia and Singapore.
Maybe Thailand and Vietnam has something similar, but I haven't seen it before. Thailand has its different soy dessert that mixes with sago pearls
Until Then
Stay healthy, stay curious and learn new things, and stay happy!
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