Fried tofu

Tofu

a block of Japanese silken tofu
Alternative names	Bean curd
Place of origin	China
Main ingredients	Soy milk
Similar dishes	Soy pulp

Regional names
"Tofu" in Chinese characters
Chinese name
Chinese	豆腐
Hanyu Pinyin	dòufu
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin dòufu Bopomofo ㄉㄡˋ   ˙ㄈㄨ Gwoyeu Romatzyh dow.fuu Wade–Giles tou4-fu Tongyong Pinyin dòufů MPS2 dòufu IPA [tôu.fu] Wu Romanization deu-vu Hakka Romanization theu-fú Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization dauhfuh IPA [tɐ̀u̯.fùː] Jyutping dau6fu6 Southern Min Hokkien POJ tāu-hū Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC dâu-hô Northern Min Jian'ou Romanized dae fu
Burmese name
Burmese	ပဲပြား pèpya
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese	đậu phụ
Chữ Nôm	豆腐
Thai name
Thai	เต้าหู้
RTGS	taohu
Korean name
Hangul	두부
Hanja	豆腐
Transcriptions Revised Romanization dubu McCune–Reischauer tubu
Japanese name
Kanji	豆腐
Kana	とうふ
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn tōfu
Malay name
Malay	tauhu
Indonesian name
Indonesian	tahu
Filipino name
Tagalog	tokwa
Tamil name
Tamil	டோஃபு Ṭōḥpu
Khmer name
Khmer	តៅហ៊ូ tauhu

Tofu, also known as bean curd, is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is a component in East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines. Tofu can be soft, firm, or extra firm. Tofu has a subtle flavor and can be used in savory and sweet dishes. It is often seasoned or marinated to suit the dish.

Tofu-making was first recorded during the Chinese Han dynasty some 2,000 years ago. Chinese legend ascribes its invention to prince Liu An (179–122 BC). Tofu and its production technique were introduced into Korea and then Japan during the Nara period (710–794). Some scholars believe tofu arrived in Vietnam during the 10th and 11th century. It spread into other parts of Southeast Asia as well. This spread probably coincided with the spread of Buddhism because it is an important source of protein in the vegetarian diet of East Asian Buddhism.Li Shizhen in the Ming Dynasty described a method of making tofu in the Compendium of Materia Medica.

Tofu has a low calorie count and relatively large amounts of protein. It is high in iron, and depending on the coagulants used in manufacturing (e.g. calcium chloride, calcium sulfate, magnesium sulfate), it can have a high calcium or magnesium content.