Douha — The Only Taiwanese Dessert I Need in Life

“I could really go for that dessert with the silky soft tofu and beans and taro!” I confessed to my friend.

We were headed back to Taipei from a trip to the mountains and already talking about what to eat in the city for the last two hours. Naturally.

“Ah, douha. That’s a good one. Just look for the Chinese characters ‘bean’ and ‘flower.’ Then you’ll find what you’re looking for she assured me.”

And yet somehow, I didn’t have to look very hard at all.

Instead, those two little characters, 豆and 花, seemed to find me wherever I was wandering about in the city.

After a savory, salty meal at the night market, on my way back from buying my first Taiwanese teapot, or for a light pre-dinner snack — those two little characters kept me company throughout the entire trip.

It felt strange to eat the same meal more than once or even more than twice when traveling. But I discovered the beauty of douha lies within the variation.

Every shop has their own recipe — the texture of the tofu, the sweetness or spice of the ginger syrup, and combination of toppings (red bean, mung bean, coix seeds, taro balls, kidney beans, and more).

My favorite douha had to have been from the family owned shop I stumbled upon after a successful hunt for a teapot in the Yingge District.

Marked by dozens of school children huddled and chattering in their little cliques, something told me this was the place to be.

They weren’t wrong.

The dessert was warm enough to heat you up, but not so hot you couldn’t taste it. I could barely feel the tofu in my mouth it was so silky.

The cooked mung beans and croix seeds were soft but still added a weighty mouthfeel to the dish.

The most memorable part had to be the syrup — sweet enough to satisfy without over doing it, while the ginger gave a friendly spicy punch!

I guess the secret always is in the sauce!