Tiny Tofu Temple
A Molded Tofu Sculpture Rising From a Sea of Miso
After confirming it was easy to make tofu at home with basic ingredients, it was time to take it to the test. For this first sculpture experiment, I used my Basic Tofu Recipe.
The design was inspired by a couple of sculptures from my Cubic Geometry concrete series. The pyramid shape of the piece, without any undercuts, is relatively simple to cast.
The mold was made from toy bricks. You can read my thoughts about using them as cooking aids here. The great advantage of this method is that the joints between the bricks are not as tight as they look. They let the liquid spill through while keeping the solids inside. I discovered that on another project where I was actually trying to keep liquid in.
I made the mold in four parts, so it would be easy to take apart in the demolding process. You can purchase step-by-step instructions for the Tiny Temple Mold if you'd like to try it yourself.
You can have a look at this video (soon) to see how it is put together.
When you are finished, you can repeat the process. If you decide to wait a few days, keep the mold in water to prevent the tiny pieces of tofu that are most likely stuck between the bricks from drying or going bad. When you are finished with your project, undo it, wash all the bricks thoroughly, and leave them to dry.
Although not perfect, I was pleased to see it came out nicely. Besides being a bit crooked, I did not lose too much detail. It was easier than I thought to unmold, and it was not damaged in the process. I resisted the temptation to fry it and enjoyed it simply heated in a bowl of soup.
If you would like to try, you can purchase the schematics for a small fee. You will get step-by-step instructions to assemble the complete model. I do not supply the bricks, so here is the bill of material for the inner mold. Instructions for the outer part of the mold are also included, but you can really improvise that part with whatever bricks you have. Any structure that holds everything together will work.
