Dou Fu Pi (豆腐皮) — Tofu Skin: The Thousand Layers Preparation

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Dou fu pi (豆腐皮, tofu skin, also called yuba in its Japanese form) is the thin film of protein and fat that forms on the surface of hot soy milk when it is simmered — the same phenomenon as the skin on heated dairy milk, but made from soy protein. Dou fu pi is lifted from the soy milk with a flat stick, draped over the stick to drain, and dried to varying degrees: fresh tofu skin (fresh fu pi, 鲜腐皮) is pliable, soft, and delicate; semi-dried tofu skin (tofu sheets, 腐竹, fu zhu — literally bamboo tofu, for the cylindrical shape formed when the stick is held vertically) is slightly stiff and must be rehydrated before use; fully dried sheets are brittle and must be soaked for 30 minutes before use. Tofu skin is used extensively across Chinese cooking — wrapped around fillings (素鸡, su ji, Buddhist vegetarian chicken), in braises, in soups, and in Jiangsu's thousand-layer tofu preparations.

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