Chapter 57 Eating Tofu

Qian Zhongshu said that Fang Hongjian's hometown is famous for forging iron, carrying sedan chairs, and grinding tofu, so the local people think that "tofu is bland and tasteless".As we all know, Mr. Qian and his Fang Hongjian are both from Wuxi, so the tofu-like blandness probably refers to my native Wuxi. People in Wuxi are good at making tofu, probably true.When I was young, I often heard adults classify industries like this: For example, those who sell watches must come from Shanghai, those who sell ginger are often from Shandong, and those who sell fans are mostly from Suzhou.When it comes to tofu, he generously admits that he is from Wuxi.Behind the squares of tofu stalls on the wooden boards of the vegetable market, everyone speaks the local dialect, and the communication is quick and their hands and feet are quick.

I don't know whether to say that tofu is bland or tasteless.To put it more evilly, tofu is tender and soft, like a little lady who can pinch water, so the word "eat tofu" has an obscene taste, which is understandable.Thinking in the direction of metaphysics, tofu is white, clean and mild, with the style of an ancient gentleman, and it is relatively cheap, so it is suitable for scholars who are cold and plain.Of course, it's true that softness is easy to bully.Anyway, tofu is the favorite of poor scholars and ordinary people, and it is very consistent from character to taste.Fish makes fire, meat makes phlegm, and cabbage and tofu keep you safe.

If a person is like tofu, it is bland and harmless, but easy to be bullied, and he is a poor gentleman who makes the sky and the earth not effective; if the ingredients are like tofu, it is much better. Originally, what is human rights is not talking about when you want to eat something , the important thing is to clean up and take care of it.Tofu, rice, and noodles are all a blank sheet of paper, which you can fiddle with.But rice and noodles are far less easy to deal with than tofu.Ice and fire, sweet and spicy, and only tofu is easy to change. Tofu is vegetarian, cool and cold, so like radish and cabbage, it can be heavy on meat without being greasy.Braised pork is too greasy for old people, but no one is tired of braised tofu.Mapo tofu is a masterpiece of tofu with heavy flavor. My friend said that it was only found in Tongzhi. At first, there was no bean paste, but there were hot pepper powder, hot pepper powder, and small leaf garlic sprouts, a Sichuan specialty. It is said that the main purpose of Chen Mapo, who first created this dish, is to have a spicy and spicy taste, so that the porter who eats can order more bowls of rice.As far as I can see, Mapo tofu is spicy and fragrant, with strong flavors, and only tofu is warm and warm, which can bear these.Probably other hot dishes with tofu as the main ingredient are all in this way: put heavy makeup on the white and gentle tofu, so thick and colorful that she can't recognize it.As soon as the mouth fell, it was full of spicy and spicy, and then I realized: Hey, there is such a gentle girl hidden under such a spicy and seductive appearance.

Tofu is easy to play with, not only because it can withstand countless strong flavors, but also because it can be mixed with others.Stuffed tofu in Hakka cuisine, stir the tofu and wrap the balls. This is not a big deal, but the texture changes so gorgeously that it is really poor.The older one is the old tofu, which has appeared in it: vinegar, soy sauce, pepper oil, minced leeks, hot tofu, and chili oil, which directly revitalized Xiangzi's life.The tender one is tofu nao, and there is a place in the south of the Yangtze River called tofu flower.The way I ate it when I was a child was tofu curd with pickled mustard, fungus, shrimp skin, sauce, and coriander powder. It was served for breakfast, and it was as tender as steamed eggs.Later, when I entered Sichuan, I saw the bean curd chicken there, and I was surprised that the bean curd can still be so solid?Later, when I went to Lingnan, I saw sweet bean curd once, and I was completely disillusioned. I felt a little bit like discovering that Jingchai's beautiful wife at home had turned into a courtesan.Old tofu and bean curd are similar from a distance, but the taste is quite different, the difference between a mature woman and a young girl.

From tofu to tofu nao, the tenderness has basically reached its limit, and if you want to soften it, you have to change it to soy milk.But in the direction of solid state, there are still changes.Jiangnan people press and fry tofu, which is raw rot.I have also seen it in Anhui cuisine. It is braised with mountain delicacies such as mushrooms. The taste is wonderful, and it is often seen on vegetarian tables.The tofu skin is then rolled, pressed, boiled, and fried to become a vegetarian chicken. It is a pressed box treasure for the elderly who have bad teeth or are afraid of high blood pressure in the south.

When it comes to drinking, you can't beat dry tofu.Yangzhou has dry tea, and Anhui has Wucheng dry, both of which are chewy and delicious, and go with tea and wine.People in Wuxi use dried tofu in marinade as a dish, and people in Suzhou do the same.Suxi’s marinated tofu is usually fried tofu, then added with marinade and water, and slowly boiled dry, but after all, it does not lose its sweet preference, and foreigners often lament "too sweet" when they eat it.Here in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, dried shredded tofu is simply a cultural heritage of mankind. It is used in wonton soup, boiled, and mixed with Sanhe oil. The methods are meticulous.

Dry silk is a long-standing experience of my childhood.When I was young, I ate wontons, and I often loved the dry silk so much that it forced my father to tell people to put more dry silk every time he went to the store to eat wontons.Hu yo yo picked into the mouth one by one, feeling fresh and refreshing.Sometimes I couldn't finish a bowl of wontons, so I beat around the bush and swallowed the dry shreds, leaving half of the wontons.At that time, the concept that Chinese food was hard work had not yet been established. It was such a waste that it was not taken seriously. Seeing that I like to eat, my dad sometimes makes some by himself. His method of making dried bean curd is very simple: shred the dried bean curd, and then pass it in hot water, twist the dried bean curd into a spiral shape, and set the shape. Quite chic.Then, a spoonful of sesame oil, two spoonfuls of soy sauce, and sometimes a little soup.When eating breakfast, a bowl of porridge is white and clear; a bowl of dried shredded rice is the color of soy sauce, thick and black.Comparing the two, the colors are immediately in sharp contrast.Take a sip of porridge, pick up a strand of dried shredded rice with chopsticks, and taste it.The sesame oil seasoning is stimulated by the dry shreds that have just been scalded with hot water, and the taste is released, and the taste is unique and refreshing.A mouthful of porridge, a mouthful of dry shredded rice, and in a short while, the breakfast is gone.What a treat.

People in Wuxi eat vegetables at home and like to use dried tofu as a side dish.Ordinary celery is not very appetizing, too bland, adding some shredded celery, it immediately becomes more delicious, and it tastes thick and light, fresh and sharp.As for late autumn, my father bought garlic and came back to burn it, adding some thick dried shreds, the strange smell of garlic was also restrained, and it tasted strong, with a northern taste.When I visited Huishan when I was a child, I often bought a box of stewed dried beans at the foot of the mountain.Soak the marinade thoroughly, and eat with a toothpick.When you eat it, the taste is strong, the marinade is full of mouth, tough and chewy, very sweet.I didn't understand it when I was a child, and thought it was strange meat. Finally, I realized that the source was tofu, and I couldn't help but sigh.Sometimes tofu is just like your parents. It is gentle and plain, but you are born by the common people. You often think that you have avoided it, only to find out that you have been eating this thing all your life.