Dubu, also known as tofu or bean curd, is a food that blends naturally into any Korean dish. Pure white, with an even purer taste, dubu fills every meal with healthy richness . It's such a versatile food that Koreans say one block of dubu is all they need to create a complete meal.
Dubu is made by grinding boiled beans and curdling the paste with the water left over after extracting salt from seawater. This complex process made dubu a precious food available only to the elite in the past, but after the Joseon Dynasty, it spread to the general populace as well.
The origin of dubu is found in China. Historical texts show that dubu was discovered by accident, when plaster dropped into soymilk and the milk congealed. Vibrant cultural exchanges brought the dubu to Korea, then later to Japan. In China, dubu is seasoned and cooked in diverse ways, including deep-frying and stewing. In Korea, dubu is enjoyed for its original savory taste. In Japan, dubu is left soft, and served together with soy sauce. Although the origin is the same, dubu developed in each of the three countries in different ways to fit each cuisine.
Koreans prefer cooked beans to raw beans. Beans in their original form have a digestion rate of about 60%, while for dubu, it's 90%. Dubu is a scientifically developed food that allows the diner to absorb all of the nutrients contained within it, and has a high protein content that earned it the nickname “beef of the fields.”
The popularity of dubu has risen with the recent health food trend worldwide. Now that more and more people are choosing the vegetarian diet, dubu has become an important and healthy way to consume protein and fat. It's a fascinating food, borne from the treasures of nature and human wisdom. We invite you to explore the world of soft, rich dubu that adds a healthy taste to the Korean table.