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Almond tofu (xingren doufu)
杏仁豆腐 · Beijing's silky almond-milk jelly in cubes, served with fruit in cold syrup
Almond tofu has nothing to do with soybeans: it is a soft, white jelly of sweetened almond milk, cut into cubes like tofu and floated in cold syrup with fruit. It was once a palace dessert in Beijing and is now on dim sum menus in Guangzhou and Hong Kong in summer. The traditional flavour comes from southern apricot kernels (nan xing ren); this home version uses blanched almonds with a few drops of almond extract, and agar, so it is fully vegetarian. The common mistake is using too much agar, which makes it firm and rubbery; it should only just hold its shape and wobble on the spoon. Chef's tip: bring the agar to a full boil for 2 minutes before adding the milk, or it won't set at all.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the almond jelly
- ¾ cup water
- ⅛ oz agar powderabout 3/4 tsp
- 1 ¾ oz sugar
- 1 ¼ cups unsweetened almond milk
- ¾ cup whole milkor more almond milk for a vegan version
- ½ tsp almond extract
For the syrup and fruit
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 2 ⅛ oz rock sugar or white sugar
- 1 tbsp dried goji berries (optional)
- 10 ½ oz mixed fruite.g. mandarin segments, lychees, kiwi, cut small
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Make the syrup: simmer 1 ¼ cups water and 2 ⅛ oz rock sugar or white sugar until the sugar dissolves, add 1 tbsp dried goji berries, then cool and chill.
5 minStep 2: Whisk ⅛ oz agar powder into ¾ cup water in a pan, bring to the boil over a medium heat and boil for 2 minutes, stirring, until the agar has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear.
4 minStep 3: Stir in 1 ¾ oz sugar until dissolved, then pour in 1 ¼ cups unsweetened almond milk and ¾ cup whole milk. Heat, stirring, until steaming but not boiling, about 2 minutes. Take off the heat and add ½ tsp almond extract.
2 minStep 4: Strain into a square dish about 18 cm across. Skim off any bubbles, cool for 20 minutes, then chill for at least 2 hours, until set with a gentle wobble.
Step 5: Cut the jelly into 2 cm cubes with a wet knife. Spoon into bowls with 10 ½ oz mixed fruit and pour over the cold syrup. Serve straight away.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 180 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 35 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does almond tofu (xingren doufu) take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of unsweetened almond milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
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