The Science (and Art) of Making Tofu at New York City’s Fong On

Crafting such an excellent product has been no small feat. Paul opened the shop in 2019, two years after his family’s original well-loved store on Mott Street closed after more than 80 years in business. None of the recipes for how to make the tofu were ever written down. So Paul had to rely on science, experimentation—and a craftsman’s intuition—to recreate his family’s version of this ancient product.

“I had to set out to relearn all the recipes from a scientific standpoint,” Paul told us. “It had to be measured, and then of course, now that I’ve figured the measurements of everything, there is that other part about feel.”

Here’s how the tofu gets made at Fong On:

1. Soak soybeans in water for 6 hours or up to overnight. Paul uses locally sourced, non-GMO soybeans.
2. Grind soybeans with water, the amount and temperature of which Paul carefully controls. 
3. Separate the creamy-white, protein-rich milk from the pulp, which Paul grinds a second time to extract even more rich liquid.
4. Heat milk to deactivate enzymes including lipo oxygenase, which can be responsible for an undesirable beany taste.
5. Boil milk for 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Add coagulent that transforms milk into a wobbly solid. For the coagulent, Paul prefers calcium sulfate, a.k.a gypsum.
7. Break up gel to release whey and press the solids to release even more liquid. Typically, more liquid is pressed out for firmer tofu and less is pressed out for the softer versions. Instead, Paul removes more or less solids to achieve the soft or firm textures of his block tofu.

You can learn more details about Paul’s process, including how he makes a gloriously silken product he calls tofu pudding, by checking out this episode of What’s Eating Dan below.