Monk Wensi's Tofu Thread-Fin Soup

A fumbling 20-something year-old trying to make good food.

This tofu thread fin soup is my take on shark fin soup, considered a Chinese delicacy that is served during festive banquets and Chinese New Year. For the uninitiated, shark fin consists mainly of soft collagen and has a chewy, gelatinous texture without much discernible taste of its own. The soup’s flavour comes from the stock and seasonings like vinegar. I wanted to develop a vegan shark fin soup with shark fin melon, but there was a drought of such melons in all markets. Serendipitously, I stumbled across an intriguing recipe called “Monk Wensi’s Tofu Thread Soup” in the cookbook Land of Fish and Rice: Recipes from the Culinary Heart of China (2016) by Fuchsia Dunlop. It involves cutting silken tofu into 1 mm filaments and swirling them in starch-thickened broth, along with lily flower, wood ear fungus and spring onions. The historical origins of this soup traces back to 18th century Yangzhou, China, where a Buddhist monk called Wensi served this dish in the Manchu Han Imperial Feast laid for the Qianlong emperor. Modern versions of Wensi tofu can be found in some upscale Chinese restaurants, and even more elaborate cuts to create tofu flowers have create a storm in the culinary world. This tofu thread fin soup is my take on shark fin soup, considered a Chinese delicacy that is served during festive banquets and Chinese New Year. For the uninitiated, shark fin consists mainly of soft collagen and has a chewy, gelatinous texture without much discernible taste of its own. The soup’s flavour comes from the stock and seasonings like vinegar. I wanted to develop a vegan shark fin soup with shark fin melon, but there was a drought of such melons in all markets. Serendipitously, I stumbled across an intriguing recipe called “Monk Wensi’s Tofu Thread Soup” in the cookbook Land of Fish and Rice: Recipes from the Culinary Heart of China (2016) by Fuchsia Dunlop. It involves cutting silken tofu into 1 mm filaments and swirling them in starch-thickened broth, along with lily flower, wood ear fungus and spring onions. The historical origins of this soup traces back to 18th century Yangzhou, China, where a Buddhist monk called Wensi served this dish in the Manchu Han Imperial Feast laid for the Qianlong emperor. Modern versions of Wensi tofu can be found in some upscale Chinese restaurants, and even more elaborate cuts to create tofu flowers have create a storm in the culinary world.

Directions at straitsroadkitchen.com

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