SoFtBuNnY: Tofu Making Factory at Raub, Pahang

We headed off to the famous beancurd factory not too far away from the Sempalit Peanut Factory. The owner is so friendly and accomodating. He has his own portable microphone and was explaining on how Tau-Poks are made. However, when we arrived at 11am, we missed out on the making of Tau-Poks otherwise known as deep fried tofu cubes.

This is the final part. The compressed tofu slab is divided into half using a fishing string and then using a ruler and a sharp knife, the tofu are cut into cubes.

The cubes are then put into the deep fryer and fried till light and golden brown. The oil is changed daily and the owner boasted that his taupoks are very yummy, doesn't have the rancid smell like other taupoks and is full of tofu unlike some other taupoks which are hollow on the inside. I totally agree with him. His taupoks are very very delicious! I could even just eat them on its own without any sauces!

Before frying and after frying...

The owner only uses imported Canadian soybeans as these beans are larger and gives a richer flavor to his soy products.

Next up, the owner demonstrates the making of Tau-Kwa or also known as compressed beancurd or hard tofu.

The beans are soaked overnight, then grinded and the milk is extracted from the crushed beans. Next, the soya bean milk is boiled over a low fire and then a coagulant is added to the soya milk. The owner then prepares the tofu tray. Each square mould carries the same square shape of 7 x 7 = 49 squares. A piece of muslin cloth is put over it and gently pushed down to fit through the squares and act as a place to hold the soon to be poured in tofu curd in. Each cloth must then be wet in order to enable easy unmoulding of the hard tofu later on.

Next, He switches off the fire and the soya milk starts to solidify. He will scoop off the bubble filled top layer of the coagulated baencurd. After that, he starts scooping the tau-fu-fah (beancurd jelly) like mixture into the wooden tray. Once the tray is filled up, the owner folds the muslin cloth over and covers with a wooden cover and is then placed onto the compress machine. Once the trays piles up, it is then compressed and all excessive liquid gets drained out. After 20 minutes, the tau-kwa is ready. The cloth is removed and the taukwa is sliced into squares and ready for sale.