Douhua, Silken Tofu with Ginger

📝 Ingredients

• 300 g silken tofu (1 block)
• 30 g demerara sugar
• 20 g fresh ginger
• 120 ml water
• 20 g unsalted roasted peanuts
• 1 tsp sesame seeds (5 g)
• 1 pinch of salt

🍴 Utensils

• Steamer (or saucepan with a lid and rack)
• Small saucepan
• Frying pan
• Deep heatproof bowl
• Paring knife
• Large flat spoon

📖 Steps

1. Peel the ginger by scraping off the skin with the edge of a spoon, then cut it into thin slices. For a punchier syrup, grate half of it: the finer the ginger is cut, the more flavour it releases.
2. Put the water, brown sugar, ginger and pinch of salt in the small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then leave to reduce over a low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until about half the liquid remains.
3. Meanwhile, toast the peanuts in the dry frying pan over a medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring, then add the sesame seeds for 1 more minute, until everything is golden and fragrant. Leave to cool slightly and roughly chop with a knife.
4. Carefully open the pack of silken tofu and pour off the water. Turn it out into the deep bowl, letting it slide out gently: it is very delicate and breaks easily, which makes no difference to the taste.
5. Heat 2 to 3 cm of water in the bottom of the steamer. Put the bowl in the basket, cover and steam for 8 minutes over a medium heat at a bare simmer: boiling too hard makes the tofu spongy. It should be hot all the way through.
6. Carefully remove the bowl, as it will be very hot, and tilt it to pour off the water released by the tofu. Using the large flat spoon, slice the tofu into wide, thin petals directly in the bowl, just like douhua street vendors do.
7. Immediately pour the hot syrup over the tofu, keeping the ginger slices in or not, as you prefer. Sprinkle with the peanut and sesame mixture and eat straight away, while the contrast between warm and crunchy is at its best.