Taufu fa with brown sugar-ginger syrup

How to make taufu fah

1. Source soya bean milk rather than make your own from soya beans.
   The locally manufactured milk is best suited for the purpose as they are likely to be unsweetened and have no additives which might interfere with the gelling process.
   
   Do note that I have tried at least two different processed/manufactured soya bean powders without success. These are apparently ground beans or spray-dried soya milks. These powders do not result in taufu fah as we know it.
    

2. Heat up 1 litre of fresh soya bean milk to boiling.
   Heat helps the GDL release organic acid which is what gels the soya products in the milk.
    

3. While the milk is boiling, prepare this:

   1.  20 mL of water

   2. Add 2.5 g of glucono delta lactone (GDL) crystals or powder.
      Dissolve the GDL completely.
      GDL is commonly found in baking ingredients shops.

   3. Add a heaped teaspoon of any starch.
      The starch will add to the structure of the final gel desired as the starch granules gelatinize (boiled milk should have a temperature higher than the gelatinization point of most commonly used starches).
      
      A note: What is labelled "cornstarch" in products one sees on the shop shelf, is actually wheat starch. The term "corn" is derived from the old English term for grains. You can experiment with different starches e.g. potato; tapioca; arrowroot etc to see what quality of taufu fa results. The different starches will vary in the proportion of amylose (straight-chained polymer) to amylopectin(branched polymer). The latter is the starch component that gives starch its sticky feel.
       

4. When the soya milk has boiled, decant the whole batch from a height into a quickly stirred GDL mixture. Give the mixture a quick stir to mix (do not create bubbles).
   Let the milk settle and carefully remove bubbles on the surface with a scoop if you want a smooth looking finish. Alternatively, if you have a blowtorch, use that to gently sweep across the surface of the milk. The heat will pop the bubbles but be careful not to scorch the milk in doing so.
    

5. Set the milk aside to cool.
   After about 30 minutes, if you are successful, you will see gelled soya milk = taufu fah.
   
   The consistency arrived at depends on the quantity of soya products in the milk and the amount of GDL added. The proportion given above should work generally but you can tweak the amount of GDL to optimize for your soya milk.
   
   THE KEY IS NOT to be tempted to add too much GDL - use just enough.
   Too much GDL causes the soya compounds to quickly clump to each other in fine aggregates and an integral matrix is not formed. Slow setting allows the required gel lattices to form.
   
   If at first you don't succeed; try and try again.
    

6. If you want quick results and do not mind a more solid/crunchy mouth feel to your taufu fah then instead of GDL, use plain agar powder (neither flavored or colored).
   
   To 1 litre of unheated soya milk, add 4 g or less (depending on how soft a taufu fah is desired but remembering that too little will not result in a gel).
   While constantly stirring, bring the milk/agar mix to a boil.
   And then set aside to let the mixture cool.
   
   The taufu fah will form when the setting temperature of the agar used is reached (usually around 45C). I quite like this form of taufu fah even though it does have a different mouth-feel. It is akin to a very, very soft agar concoction.