Tofu

Tofu

A block of Japanese raw silken tofu
Alternative names	Bean curd
Place of origin	China
Associated cuisine	East Asian cuisine & Southeast Asian cuisine Chinese Japanese Okinawan Korean Filipino Indonesian Malaysian Singaporean Thai Vietnamese
Main ingredients	Soy milk
Cookbook: Tofu   Media: Tofu

Tofu (Japanese: 豆腐, Hepburn: Tōfu, Korean: 두부; RR: dubu, Chinese: 豆腐; pinyin: dòufu) is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: silken, soft, firm, extra (or super) firm. Tofu is also known as bean curd in English. Tofu originated in China and has been consumed in the country for over 2,000 years.^[1][2] Tofu is a traditional component of many East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines.^[3] In modern Western cooking, it is often used as a meat substitute.^[4]

Nutritionally, tofu is low in calories, while containing a relatively large amount of protein. It is high and reliable source of iron, and can have a high calcium or magnesium content depending on the coagulants (e.g. calcium chloride, calcium sulphate, magnesium sulphate) used in manufacturing.

Cultivation of tofu, as a protein-rich food source, has one of the lowest needs for land use (1.3 m²/ 1000 kcal)^[5] and emits some of the lowest amount of greenhouse gas emissions (1.6 kg CO₂/ 100 g protein).^[6][7]