Chapter 85 Jinggang Tofu

I live in Changsha, and I have long heard that Jinggang tofu is delicious. This time I visited friends in Jinggang, and I made an appointment to prepare dried incense for me. Jinggang, formerly known as Weigang, is at the mouth of the Weishui River, a tributary of the Xiangjiang River.In the Tang Dynasty, Li Jing attacked Xiao Xian and stationed troops at Weishuikou.Li Jing ruled the army rigorously, defeated Xiao Mi, and never harassed the people.After Li Jing went to Mobei, the villagers in Jinggang missed his strictness and changed Weigang to Jinggang to commemorate him. Jinggang is adjacent to Qiaokou, and Tongguan is across the Xiangjiang River.Located on the west bank of Xiangjiang River, with convenient water transportation, it is the distribution center of agricultural products in Yiyang County, Ningxiang County, Xiangyin County and Jinggang Town and the transfer station of Hunan black tea.Jinggang is full of sails all year round. It goes down the river to Yueyang and Wuhan, and goes up to Changsha, Hengyang and Guangxi along the river, commonly known as Xiaohankou.

I rushed to Jinggang with my wife and others, and the receptionist Yin Jie had been waiting there for a long time, and prepared a meal in a hotel in Jinggang Old Street, and prepared a large portion of Jinggang Xianggan for me.At that time, there was still some time before lunch. Yin Jie took us around Jinggang Old Street, from Baoliang Street to Banbian Street, then from Jianjian Street to Baoan Street, and walked all Jinggang Old Streets in a short time. Jinggang used to be one of the four major rice markets in Hunan, the Huaiyan distribution port, where merchants gathered and the market was active.At the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were more than 20 grain shop rice stores, many handcraft workshops, countless ancient post stations and ancient streets, the most famous one being Hongtaifang brothel, which attracted countless merchants to stop by.There is a folk song in Changsha, "When a boat arrives at Jingjiangkou, it will not go with the wind." After hundreds of years of wind and rain, Jinggang vaguely recalls the prosperity and prosperity of that year.

During the Qing Dynasty, Jinggang Qin Yutai Xianggan was famous far and wide, and later changed its name to Xiantai Ganzi.During the period of the Republic of China, dried tofu from Tan Xingtai, Wu Wangshun, Li Wangshun, Huitai and other tofu workshops entered the list of Jinggang dried fragrant products, and Jinggang dried fragrant production reached its heyday.It is sold to Changsha, Xiangtan, Ningxiang and many places in the Dongting Lake area, and there are shops specializing in Jinggang Xianggan, and the supply is often in short supply.Before liberation, there were thirteen companies in Jinggang that made dried incense, and Li's and Chen's made the best dried incense.There are still several companies making fragrant dried incense, and the better the dried fragrant, the better it is, and it is famous far and wide.

When we got back to the hotel, the food was ready to be served, and we started to eat after sipping tea. The first thing I put down was Jinggang Dried Xianggan. The yellow dried Xianggan shone brightly in the bowl, and it felt a little golden. Inside, it is slightly chewy and full of bean flavor.I was having a good time, and Yin Jie introduced Jinggang tofu to us. According to the color, Jinggang Hongxiang is divided into three types: yellow Xiangdian, white Xiangdian and green Xiangdian. In fact, the ingredients are the same, but the method is different and the taste is different.Huangxianggan and Qingxianggan have one more fontanel preparation procedure than Baixianggan.Because of the different ingredients in the fontanel, the dried tofu from the fontanel can be divided into two types: yellow and green.According to the different packaging and pressing procedures, Jinggang Xianggan is divided into two types: packaged dried tofu and chrysanthemum dried tofu.Press first and then pack to make packaged dried tofu, and pack first and then press to make chrysanthemum dried tofu.At first, Jinggang Xianggan was not packaged, and the packaging technology was introduced from Xiangtan. In actual operation, it showed that the water was dried quickly. Later, it was widely used, and finally it was determined as a basic process of Jinggang Xianggan.

The process of Jinggang Dried Fragrant Dried is complicated. The production process includes seven steps: bean selection, bean grinding, beating, wrapping, pressing, and fontanelle.Jinggang Xianggan also pays attention to fine workmanship, and every procedure is very particular.Jinggang Xianggan Bean Selection requires fresh, plump and large soybeans.At that time, Jingzhou soybeans were of high quality, and the soybean milk produced was tender and white. Jinggang workshops imported soybeans from Jingzhou, Hubei, and now they also use local high-quality soybeans.Soybeans must be new beans harvested in the same year, and the lack of water in the next year will affect the quality of tofu.Soybeans that are bought back need to be screened. Shrimp beans, half-sided beans, and soybeans with impure colors are sifted out, and new beans with full grains and bright colors enter the bean grinding process; beans are mostly ground by hand, and the beans are repeatedly ground.To grind beans, soybeans should be soaked for three or four hours, or even in the middle of the night.Grind the beans repeatedly for two or three times, and wait for white pulp or juice to flow out to produce high-quality soybean milk.Soaking pulp requires high requirements. There is a saying in Jinggang that "killing pigs and beating tofu is not a veteran", which means that soaking and brewing pulp should not be too old or too tender.Boil the soy milk first, pour it into a large wooden barrel, mix it with gypsum powder to adjust the water to make it solidify, and then pack it.The bag is divided into two parts, which must be wrapped by hand to squeeze out the moisture in the soy milk.In the past, Jinggang Xianggan was only wrapped but not pressed, but now it is both wrapped and pressed. The solidified soybean milk is wrapped in gauze, hung to drain the water, and then pressed in a mold to make hard white tofu. To make dried soybean curd and dried green tofu, you also need to put it in a marinated pot.The chimney pot uses cinnamon bark, star anise, brown sugar, salt, and yee sugar as ingredients for the brine, and boils the brine.Double fontanel twice, and the ingredients are different in the two times.Soak the white tofu in salt water first, then put it into the marinated pot, boil the marinated water and boil, the tofu will be brownish red and taste delicious, you can take it out and drain.

After listening to Yin Jie's narration, I admired Jinggang Honggan even more, and felt that this original ground tofu is reliable and credible, and I should eat more. Yin Jie also said that people in Jinggang were organized in making dried incense. Before liberation, all tofu workshops joined the association. Members studied the technology of making dried incense. They were never conservative and did not pay attention to cost.Jinggang incense is complete in color, aroma, and taste, but there are not many theories to speak of. It is mainly based on experience and hand feel.Novices to make dried incense need to practice basic skills, and only when they have practiced to a certain extent can they make good dried incense.

After we finished eating, I asked Yin Jie to take me to see the Xianggan workshop. When I came to the original tofu workshop, I saw the stone mill and other utensils I saw in the countryside when I was a child. I felt very familiar and familiar.