US$11,000 gets world's biggest tofu chunk

Taiwan is now claiming to have made the world's biggest piece tofu or beancurd.

Taipei's Tahan (大漢) Co yesterday produced a giant piece of tofu, which it wanted to be entered as the world's largest in the Guinness Book of Records. It took Tahan five hours to make the gigantic slab of tofu, 2m2 and 10.5cm high, at a location in Shenkeng, some 16km east of Taipei.

The process began at a Tahan factory in Taipei at 4am. More than 100 workers soaked the beans, milled them and turned them into 1,000 liters of soybean milk, which were then transported to Shenkeng (深坑) and curdled into the world's record tofu. "It cost us NT$400,000 (US$11,600)," a Tahan spokesman said.

Tofu, a staple of many Asian diets, was first developed in China at around 200BC, though how it was discovered or its refining process identified remains a historical mystery. Tofu is said to be rich in iron, B-vitamins and protein.