tofu

[toh-foo]

noun

a soft, bland, white cheeselike food, high in protein content, made from curdled soybean milk: used in Asian and vegetarian cookery.

Origin of tofu

1875–80; < Japanese tōfu < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese dòufu (dòu bean + fǔ turn sour, ferment)

Also called bean curd.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tofu

Contemporary Examples of tofu

That is not the tofu you see in groceries or even the meat substitute sold in vegetarian places.
Tales of a Jailhouse Gourmet: How I learned to Cook in Prison
Daniel Genis
June 21, 2014
At the checkout, her total for bananas, arugula, blackberries, kale, yogurt, rice noodles, and tofu comes to $34.21.
The Gluten-Free Diet Has Two Faces
Andrea Powell
May 6, 2014
Canadian Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Gail Shea got a mouthful of tofu tart while giving a speech in Burlington, Ontario.
They Got Pied!
July 19, 2011

Historical Examples of tofu

Little Cub was there, safe enough, but very hungry, and wanted to begin upon the tofu at once.
Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17)
Various
From odorless garlic to tofu smelling of pork chops, everything is within the possibility of biochemistry.
The Civilization of Illiteracy
Mihai Nadin
In a third are boiled buckwheat cakes or dumplings, and tofu or bean-curd.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. XII, No. 29. August, 1873.
Various

British Dictionary definitions for tofu

tofu

noun

unfermented soya-bean curd, a food with a soft cheeselike consistency made from soya-bean milk

Word Origin for tofu

from Japanese

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tofu

soy bean curd, 1880, from Japanese tofu, from Chinese doufu, from dou "beans" + fu "rotten."