[jackbl]

Tasting dishes of rustic tofu
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Dau hu chien (deep fried tofu) is a rustic but very popular dish in Hanoi. Tofu is a vegetarian food recommended as a good source of calcium, protein and iron.

Tofu is made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft, white blocks. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh and processed.

You can buy fresh tofu, then cut it into square pieces and put them into hot oil on the fire until it becomes bloating, crispy and turns yellow. You can also mix it with corn flour to make it more yellow and attractive. Traditionally, Hanoians enjoy it with mam tom (shrimp paste or sauce) and many kinds of aromatic vegetables such as culantro, lettuce, perrilla, Thai basil and fish mint and bun (rice noodles).

For who cannot eat mam tom due to its strange texture and unusual smell can enjoy it with soya sauce and chili. To make it not too monotonous, diners can eat with fresh bitter melon and salted, shredded pork. Remember to cut butter melon into small pieces and put them into the fridge some minutes before the meal to make it less bitter and crispy. The light bitterness of melon, fragrance of tofu, sweetness of pork, salt of soya sauce and hot chili sees most diners enjoy this rustic dish.

Some people make the dish more attractive and modern by putting sesame, green onion and ginger into the tofu to make it more fragrant. Another option is to fry tofu with salted eggs or seaweed.

If you have time on your hands, you can use tofu in a number of tasty dishes such as steamed tofu with tomato, lemon grass and chili or tofu stuffed with minced pork, mushroom and fried rice noodles. To make it into soup, it is not difficult; most Vietnamese people make tofu soup with shallot leaves or tomato.

Popular in Vietnam and on sale from vendors is dau hu nuoc duong gung (soft tofu with ginger, sugar and water) which is eaten as a desert or snack. It is also easy to make. You use unsweetened soy milk combined with agar-agar and topped with a generous helping of syrup that has been flavored with slightly spicy and aromatic ginger and sugar.