Mo Village’s tofu – special dish of Hanoi

Tofu made in Mo Village, presently known as Mai Dong village in Hanoi’s Hoang Mai District, has been well-known as the most delicious tofu in Hanoi, giving rise to the moniker, “Mo Village’s Tofu”.

Mo Village’s Tofu has white colour, a special creamy taste and sweet flavour (Photo: thanhnien.vn)
Mo Village’s Tofu has white colour, a special creamy taste and sweet flavour (Photo: thanhnien.vn)

Even local villagers cannot remember when the craft of making tofu began in the village.

Mo Village’s Tofu has white colour, a special creamy taste and sweet flavour, which is a popular dish in the daily meals of Hanoians.

Making tofu is a sophisticated process. The soybeans chosen to made tofu must have high quality. The soybeans are soaked in water for 12 hours before being ground with water. The soybean milk is then filtered, and cooked before being mixed with sour water to become soy curd, which will then be pressed into moulds to produce tofu.

Tofu can be fried or boiled, then served hot with fermented shrimp paste, fish sauce mixed with onion or simple spices mixed with lime juice - a perfect dish for summer.

However, fried tofu is the most popular. After being fried in boiled oil, the tofu gets a crispy and greasy coating, which tastes well with rice or rice vermicelli. Fermented shrimp paste with fried tofu and rice vermicelli has become widely popular and is reasonably priced too.

Served at both high-end restaurants and street stalls, tofu is a affordable dish for people from all classes in the society. The dish is also among things that Hanoians miss the most when they are far away from the city.