"To eat tofu" in Chinese culture means to look for carnal pleasure, this is how much tofu is appreciated in the East. Tofu ("bean curd"), also named vegetable cheese in western culture, is known from ancient China, from where it spread to Korea, Japan and many other parts of Asia.

Western culture met tofu in the middle of the 20th century, with the increasing interest in vegetarianism. Tofu is a complete aliment, low in calories (it contains just 1-2 % fat, from less harmful polyunsaturated type, and no cholesterol), but rich in iron, fiber, vitamins and protein (5 to 11 %) and - depending on how it was made - calcium and magnesium, too. Thus, tofu is an ideal product to replace protein rich animal products, being much healthier for the cardiovascular system.

Tofu is made by coagulating soy milk (in Burma it can be made from chick pea) and pressing the resulting curds, in a technique similar to that of making cheese in other cultures. Soy milk is achieved by soaking, grinding, boiling, and straining dried soybeans. Protein coagulation and oil emulsion in the boiled soy milk is the main step in tofu production. Coagulation is achieved by using two types of coagulants (salts and acids).

Calcium salts (the most widely used coagulants) ensure a calcium rich tofu tender but slightly brittle and the coagulant themselves have no perceivable taste. Japanese people use magnesium chloride which produces a tofu with smooth and tender texture, and lets no perceivable taste to the finished tofu.

A naturally occurring organic acid (glucono delta-lactone), also used in cheese making, produces a very fine textured tofu that is almost jelly-like, and it confers a slightly sour taste to the finished product. Different textures are the result of different pore sizes and other microsopic features in tofus, inflicted by different coagulants.

The coagulant mixture is dissolved into water, and the solution is then stirred into boiled soy milk until the mixture curdles into a soft gel. The curds are processed differently depending on the form of tofu that is being manufactured. For soft silken tofu or tofu flower the soy milk is curdled directly in the tofu's selling package.

For standard firm Asian tofu, the soy curd is cut and strained of excess liquid. Firmer tofus are further pressed to remove even more liquid. The tofu curds are allowed to cool and become firm. The finished tofu can then be cut into pieces, flavored or further processed. A sour taste and a slight cloudiness in tofu's storing liquid usually indicate bacterial growth and spoilage. Fresh tofu is produced directly from soy milk and processed tofu from fresh tofu.

Depending on the amount of water that is extracted from the tofu curds, fresh tofu can be divided into three main varieties. Soft tofu contains the highest moisture content of all fresh tofus and it is like very fine custard. Tofu flower is a type of soft tofu with an even higher moisture content, generally eaten with a spoon. Firm tofu has the firmness of raw meat and is like a firm custard. The skin of this form of tofu has the pattern of the muslin used to drain it and is slightly more resilient to damage than its inside.

Dried tofu had the least amount of moisture of all fresh tofus. It has the firmness of fully cooked meat. When sliced thinly, this tofu can be crumbled easily. Western firm tofu is milled and reformed after the pressing and sometimes lacks the skin with its cloth patterning. Fresh tofu is usually sold immersed in water to maintain its moisture content.

Processed tofu can be fermented, sweet or savory. Fermented tofu from aerial bacteria can be pickled (soaked in salt water, Chinese wine, vinegar, and minced chiles, or a unique mixture of whole rice, bean paste, and soybeans) or stinky (made in a unique vegetable and fish brine). Sweet tofu is made by adding to soybean milk sugar, fruit acids, and flavourants (mango, coconut etc).

Savory tofu is made by adding whole beaten eggs into the soy milk before the coagulant is added. The tofu is then cooked in its packaging and sold. This tofu has a fuller texture and flavor than silken tofu, which can be attributed to the presence of egg fat and protein.

Tofu production creates some edible byproducts, like yuba and okara. Yuba (soy milk skin) contains 50-55 % protein, 24-26% fat, 12% carbohydrate, 3% ash, and 9% moisture. The yuba is commercialized as "tofu bamboo" soft yet rubbery texture, it is folded or shaped into different forms and cooked further to imitate meat in vegetarian cuisine. Okara (soy pulp), is the fibre, protein, and starch left over when soy milk has been extracted from ground soaked soybeans, mainly used as forage in most cultures.

Japanese and Korean cuisines employ it, but the Chinese almost never. It is also an ingredient for vegetarian burgers. Tofu, in its diverse forms, is consumed raw or stewed, stir-fried, in soup, cooked in sauce, or stuffed with fillings.