My words for tofu will be different as I use mainly Hokkien / Teochew words for them. But there will be an equivalent in Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Korean...

2. Doufu gan (what I call 'tau kwa') is a pressed tofu that can be plain, or seasoned. It's very sturdy and is even eaten as a snack on its own.

How to prepare it: https://thewoksoflife.com/pressed-tofu-plain-or-spiced/

I always have bags of these spicy doufu gan snacks: https://www.sayweee.com/en/product/Jinduigu-Hand-Made-Roasted-Tofu-Snack/5258?trace_id=3fd9d9dc-f44a-486d-a64c-ad0412910ae4

3. Then there's the 'tofu puff' category:

In Mandarin, 'you dou fu' and in Hokkien, 'tau kwa pok'. Will be broadly known as 'tofu puff' in the west. It's used to soak up very sturdy broths, for example laksa or hotpot.

You can cut it open to stuff things in. (There's a Teochew dish 'tau kwa pau'. You make a bao with it!)

Or you serve it as a the star of a dish to dip into things, like in gado-gado:

https://www.sayweee.com/en/product/Zuming-Deep-Fried-Tofu/2792?trace_id=d53d1845-9672-404d-96f8-d2b34c92a31e

5. Then there's tofu by-products! Stuff that comes from the yuba, the 'skin' that gets skimmed when you boil soy milk..

You can get it frozen like this https://www.sayweee.com/en/product/J-Y-Fresh-Beancurd-Skin--Frozen-1/57130?trace_id=395d0b05-98c4-450b-b469-79a3b3f32475

It can come stuffed with pork or fish (yuba dumpling type things are very common)

Fresh if you live near a tofu factory or make it yourself

It can come fried, like tofu chips

You can get it in sheets, that you can then cut into noodles

https://www.sayweee.com/en/product/Watson-Dried-Tofu-Sheets/49005?trace_id=dcc01a59-eeeb-4a0d-9253-92678b430470

You can get it in sticks!
https://www.sayweee.com/en/product/Dragon-Dried-Beancurd-Stick-/12541?trace_id=b043271a-0b1a-40dd-9602-f886ddc139c9

@skinnylatte
Yuba makes the best vegan bacon! 🥓