Dofu fa (豆腐花, soy milk flower pudding — called douhua 豆花 in Mandarin) is the silken, barely-set soy milk pudding sold at street stalls and tea houses across China — a preparation in which freshly made soy milk is set with a small amount of gypsum (calcium sulfate) into an incredibly delicate, trembling, barely-solid curd that is scooped into bowls and served with sweet ginger syrup (southern Chinese sweet version) or savoury toppings (northern Chinese version with soy sauce, chilli oil, and preserved vegetables). It is the most delicate expression of the tofu-making process — the coagulation is arrested just as the curd forms, before any pressing occurs.
The soy milk: Start from scratch for dofu fa — commercial soy milk is often too dilute. Use 200g soybeans soaked overnight, blended with 1.5L water, strained through cheesecloth. The soy milk should be slightly thick and creamy. The gypsum solution: Dissolve 5g gypsum (calcium sulfate — available from Chinese pharmacies or brewing supply stores) in 3 tbsp cold water. Mix until completely dissolved. The coagulation: Heat the soy milk to 80-85C — do not boil. Remove from heat. With the soy milk still very hot, pour it rapidly and from a height of about 30cm onto the gypsum solution (the pouring method, chong jiang, 冲浆) in a large, deep bowl. The kinetic energy of the pouring helps mix the gypsum evenly without needing to stir (stirring breaks the delicate curd). Do not stir or disturb the bowl for 15-20 minutes. The soy milk will set into a trembling, barely-solid pudding. Serving: Scoop gently with a flat paddle. Serve with warm ginger syrup (fresh ginger simmered with rock sugar and water) for the southern sweet version.
Eileen Yin-Fei Lo, Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking (2009); Fuchsia Dunlop, Land of Fish and Rice (2016)