tofu

IPA/ˈtəʊfuː/
KK[tˈofu]IPA/ˈtəʊfuː/

tofu — noun

1. a white, soft food prepared from soybeans. It has a mild taste and is commonly u

1.nounB1
Definition

a white, soft food prepared from soybeans. It has a mild taste and is commonly used as a source of protein, especially in dishes that replace meat.

Example

Baraka stir-fried some tofu with vegetables for a quick dinner.

collocation: stir-fried tofu

Aylin added cubes of tofu to her soup instead of chicken.

pattern: cubes of tofu + in [dish]

Common collocations
  • firm tofu
  • silken tofu
  • stir-fried tofu
  • cubes of tofu
  • tofu scramble
  • tofu curry
Synonyms
  • bean curd

    a traditional name for the same food, more common in older recipes and Chinese restaurant menus

Usage Note

Tofu is an uncountable noun in English. It is not used with 'a' — instead say 'some tofu' or 'a piece of tofu'.

Common Mistakes

I ate a tofu for lunch.
I ate some tofu for lunch.
Tofu is uncountable and cannot follow 'a'.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Tofu and bean curd refer to the same food — a soft, white product made from soybeans. 'Tofu' is the more common term in everyday English and appears on most modern menus and supermarket labels. 'Bean curd' is an older English translation from Chinese and can sound dated or technical to some speakers. In casual conversation, people usually say 'tofu': 'I'll have the tofu stir-fry.' 'Bean curd' still appears in traditional recipes and in some Chinese restaurant descriptions where it may feel more authentic: 'Mapo tofu' is never called 'Mapo bean curd' on an English menu. Choosing between them is mostly a matter of register and context rather than meaning.

tofu ↗bean curd ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • tofu dish
  • tofu curry
  • tofu burger
  • tofu scramble

Phrases

  • piece of tofu
  • block of tofu

Prepositions

  • with tofu
  • of tofu

Etymology

ChineseJapaneseEnglish

Tofu entered English from Japanese tōfu (豆腐), which itself came from Chinese dòufu (豆腐) — literally 'bean curd' (dòu 'bean' + fu 'to turn sour, to curdle'). The food has been made in China for over 2,000 years, but only became widely known in the West in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.