The braise I order when I want tofu to feel like a restaurant dish is this one – duck blood and tofu, and this home cook’s version is the silky-savory bowl built on lard and a glossy glaze. A home cook wrote it in five steps with the technique in the title: blanch both cubes first, then braise in pork lard for the silk. I made it as written, and it is the glossy, tender bowl that is gentler than it sounds.

Ya xue dou fu (鸭血豆腐) is duck blood and tofu – both cut into cubes, blanched to firm and clean them, then braised in pork lard with ginger, garlic, scallion, and a glossy soy-oyster glaze. The original is a 5-step recipe with the lard and the starch finish as its craft.

What Is Duck Blood and Tofu?

This is the silky-savory braise that shows off two of the softest ingredients in the Chinese kitchen: duck blood cakes and tofu, both cut into small cubes. The cubes are blanched first – with salt, to firm and clean them – then braised in pork lard, which the recipe insists gives the silk that plain oil cannot. Ginger, garlic, and scallion bloom in the lard, the blood and tofu go in with wine, soy, oyster sauce, and a little sugar, and a starch slurry finishes the glaze so it clings.

The method is the blanch and the lard. The boil-and-cold-rinse firms both cubes so they survive the braise. The lard is the recipe’s quiet insistence – the fat that makes the silky cubes taste rounded, not lean.

For the soy-braised tofu sibling of the same glossy pan, my red braised tofu builds the same sauce around tofu alone.

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Red Braised Tofu (Hong Shao Dou Fu)

This authentic Sichuan-style Red Braised Tofu is a savory, slightly spicy vegetarian dish that is perfect for weeknight dinners. Tofu cubes are simmered in a rich Doubanjiang sauce infused with Sichuan peppercorns.

Check out this recipe

Why This Recipe Works

• The salted blanch. Firms both cubes and removes the tofu’s raw note.
• The pork lard. The recipe’s secret – the silk that oil alone cannot give.
• The glossy glaze. Wine, soy, oyster, sugar – then starch to make it cling.
• Gentle handling. The pan is shaken and pushed, never tossed hard.
• Two silky textures. The tofu’s tender give against the blood cake’s smooth bite.

Equipment Needed

• A wok or skillet
• A pot for blanching
• A bowl for the starch slurry

Ingredients

• 1 block tofu (about 300 g / 10.5 oz), cut small
• 1 duck blood cake (about 300 g / 10.5 oz), cut small
• 1 tbsp salt, for the blanch
• 1 spoonful pork lard
• Ginger, garlic, scallion, and a little leek, sliced
• 2 tbsp cooking wine, 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• A little sugar, salt, and chicken powder
• 2 tsp cornstarch mixed with water

Ingredient Notes

Duck blood cake: The silky, smooth cube – blanched to firm it. If duck blood is hard to find, pork blood works. My red braised tofu shows the tofu solo.

Tofu: Cut to match the blood – the two textures mirror each other. My types of tofu explained sorts the blocks.

Pork lard: The recipe’s insistence – the silk that plain oil cannot give.

Prep & Mise en Place

Cut both cubes small; slice the aromatics; mix the starch slurry.

The sequence: blanch and rinse both cubes, bloom the aromatics in lard, braise with the seasonings, and finish with the starch glaze.

Cooking Process

Step 1 – The Salted Blanch

Cut the tofu and duck blood into small cubes, add them to a pot of ample water with a spoonful of salt, bring to a boil, cook about 3 minutes, scoop out, and cool in cold water – this removes the soy note and firms both cubes.

The counterintuitive detail: the recipe insists on pork lard – not oil – because the rendered animal fat coats the silky cubes in a richness that neutral oil cannot match. The duck blood and tofu are both delicate; the lard is what makes them taste rounded instead of lean. It is a small fat that changes the whole bowl.

Step 2 – The Lard and Aromatics

Heat the wok, add the pork lard, and bloom the ginger, garlic, and scallion until fragrant.

Step 3 – The Braise

Add the wine, light soy, oyster sauce, and sugar; shake the pan and push gently with the spatula to coat the cubes evenly, then season with salt and chicken powder and cook about 2 minutes.

Step 4 – The Glaze

Add the sliced leek, push gently to combine, pour in the starch slurry to thicken, shake the pan to glaze, then turn off and plate.

Step 5 – The Bowl

Silky, savory, and glossy – the duck blood and tofu is done.

Common Mistakes When Making This Dish

1. Broken, crumbled cubes. Cause: skipping the blanch. Fix: the salted boil and cold rinse first.

2. A lean, flat taste. Cause: oil instead of lard. Fix: the recipe’s pork lard.

3. A thin, watery glaze. Cause: no starch. Fix: the slurry, added at the end.

4. Crushed blood and tofu. Cause: hard tossing. Fix: shake and push gently.

5. A raw soy note. Cause: an un-blanched tofu. Fix: the salted boil removes it.

6. A cloudy, greasy pan. Cause: too hot. Fix: moderate heat and the gentle shake.

Variations

Spicy: Dried chilies with the aromatics. My mapo tofu is the boldly spiced sibling.

More greens: Scallion or leek in the final glaze.

The braised-tofu shelf: With red braised tofu and home-style tofu, the glossy drawer is complete.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it spicy? Not by default – the bowl is silky and savory; add chilies if you like.

Why blanch the tofu? The salted boil removes the soy note and firms the cube.

Can I use pork blood? Yes – either blood cake works.

Why lard? The recipe insists – it gives the silk that plain oil cannot.

How long does it take? About 20 minutes.

How to Serve

Serve over rice with the glossy sauce – with red braised tofu, home-style tofu, and braised tofu with bok choy for a braised table, or with silken tofu potage and savory tofu and egg stir-fry for variety.

Storage & Reheat

Refrigerate 2 days; reheat gently. Never leave out more than 2 hours.

Allergen Notice

This recipe contains soy (soy sauce, tofu) and shellfish (oyster sauce). It is free of gluten (verify the sauces), dairy, egg, nuts, fish, and pork blood is not an allergen but note the animal product.

Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

About the Author & Recipe Development

I am Jason Guo, a Chinese chef who has cooked professionally for more than five years – including time as a head chef – and now runs my own small restaurant in China, where tofu appears on the menu almost every day. This xiachufang cook’s duck blood and tofu is the silky bowl I recommend to guests new to blood cakes, and the recipe’s lard-and-blanch logic is exactly why it tastes rounded. I tested it as written. I have not tested the spicy variation, so that is your experiment, not my claim.

Authoritative References

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service – Safe Temperature Chart for safe storage of cooked dishes.