Burmese · Shan · salad

Tohu Thoke (Shan Chickpea Tofu Salad)

Tohu Thoke (Shan Chickpea Tofu Salad) reads umami 6.5, funk & ferment 6.4 and salinity 6.2 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Burmese · Shan salad, about 3 hr 55 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 6.5 · Funk & Ferment 6.4 · Salinity 6.2 · Marine & Briny 5.1 · Allium 4.1 · Nutty 4.1 · Sourness 3.4 · Richness 3.1 · Herbaceous 3.0 · Sweetness 2.6 · Earthy 2.1 · Citrus 2.0 · Fruity 1.5 · Floral 1.2 · Bitterness 1.1

What's in it (13)

Time & effort: about 3 hr 55 min (25 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 105.9 kcal, 4.2 g protein, 1.9 g fat, 18 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

  1. Whisk the chickpea flour into 400 ml of the water with the turmeric and salt until perfectly smooth, then let it stand 30 minutes so the flour hydrates.
  2. Bring the remaining 600 ml water to a boil in a heavy pan. Whisk the batter again, pour it into the boiling water in a steady stream and whisk hard without stopping. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook 12 to 15 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, until it is very thick, glossy, and pulls away from the pan in a mass. It should smell cooked and nutty; raw chickpea flour tastes bitter and chalky and 5 minutes will not do it.
  3. Pour into a lightly oiled 20 cm square tin, level the top and leave uncovered at room temperature for 2 hours to set, then chill 1 hour. Shan tofu sets by starch gelation, not by coagulating a protein with nigari the way soy tofu does, so it stays custardy and slightly wobbly and will never be firm enough to stir-fry hard.
  4. Turn the set block out and cut it into 2 cm cubes or thick fingers.
  5. Pile the cooled rice noodles into a wide bowl. Add the tofu, garlic oil, fried garlic, tamarind water, chilli oil and fish sauce.
  6. Toss with your hands for about 30 seconds, lifting from the bottom so the dressing coats the noodles without smashing the tofu, which is fragile. Scatter over the spring onion, coriander and crushed peanuts and serve at room temperature. Sourness should lead, then heat, then garlic.
  7. Substitutions: light soy sauce for the vegetarian version can stand in for the fish sauce.

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Keep reading: what umami, funk & ferment, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.