Chapter 24 Dried tofu

The name "bean products" has become popular in the past 20 to 30 years. This general term is really a disservice to the unique dried tofu.Dried tofu is a Chinese invention and also a Chinese patent.From Northeast China to Hainan, dried tofu can be found everywhere, traveling across the oceans to the United States and Europe, where there are Chinese people, almost all kinds of dried tofu can be bought. Dried tofu is similar to tofu. The key is the difference in water content. Furthermore, dried tofu has a very standardized form. The largest is only four inches square, and the smallest is only about one inch.Dried tofu in the north is rarely eaten directly. Whether it is white dry or spiced tofu, it is mostly cooked with other vegetables or meat.It is the rectangular smoked dried (also known as fragrant dried in the north), which should also be cut into thin slices, and eaten cold with Sanhe oil.In this way, dried tofu becomes a foil in the dishes and loses its own charm.In the south, although dried tofu is also cooked with other dishes, it is more of an independent food.

In Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Lianghu, Anhui, and Jiangxi provinces, many varieties of dried tofu are well-known, and they are most suitable for serving with wine or tea.Zhou Zuoren has lived in Beijing for many years, and he still enjoys talking about Zhou Dehe fried dried tea outside Chang'an Gate in Shaoxing. It is not interrupted, and then it is supported by bamboo wire, dried outdoors, and then deep-fried in a wok to make it loose and crisp. It is a delicacy with wine. Take a boat from Nanjing to Wuhan, and go up the river. Along the way, you can buy dried tofu made in various places. It can be said that each has its own characteristics.As far as dried tea is concerned, the best one is the production from Ma'anshan to Anqing.I once sailed the Yangtze River at night, and the boat berthed in Wuhu at midnight. I went ashore to visit the night market outside the pier. The snack stalls lined up on both sides of the street, stretching for two miles. In addition to various local snacks, dried tofu occupies a very important place. One position, or deep-fried, or brine, there are so many varieties, it is impossible to choose.Anhui’s dried tofu has the largest production and sales, and Hexian’s dried tofu can be bought in many places in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces. One cent thick, one inch five square, salty and chewy, very little water, it is a good product to accompany tea.On the wharf of Wuhu, there is only one small stall selling Hexian dried tofu, which is similar in size and shape, but without packaging, and only seven or eight pieces of dried tofu are sold naked with Malian grass.Buy a stack and try it. The taste and texture are far better than the packaged Hexian dried tofu, but it is slightly worse in terms of hygiene.

The quality of dried tea does not lie in the preparation of condiments, whether it is slightly salty or light, the variety and amount of spices are not the most important, but the key lies in the texture of dried tofu, that is, the production process.A good tea should not feel like bean dregs at the end of dry chewing, but should be as fine as thick pulp.Chew it with tea to dilute the taste of the dried tofu seasoning, and only then can you chew the bean aroma and texture.If it can achieve a texture as fine as thick pulp, it means that the three processes of grinding, filtering and pressing in the production process of dried tofu are all meticulously done.In the past, many dried tofu workshops in the south had to stamp their name on the small dried tea in order to maintain their own brand and prevent counterfeiting.At the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were two kinds of dried tofu with the characters "De" and "Tai" in Changsha, both of which were very famous.At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the quality of money was different. The flat and intact ones were called "green scorpions"; the uneven ones were called "rotten boards".The mold for this kind of printing is carved out of boxwood, and there are 64 "de" characters on each printing plate. There are only 24 plates in total, so only 1,536 pieces of dried tofu are produced every day. Due to the limited production, the quality is guaranteed.

When I was a teenager, I really liked the marinated tofu in Guanqian Street, Suzhou. This kind of marinated tofu is only one inch square, and the juice is thick and sweet. It is very suitable for the taste of Suzhou people and is eaten as a snack.This kind of dried tofu is sold in a special rectangular paper box, so it is worth a lot.Dried tofu in marinated sauce is a bit like candied food in the north, but the taste of dried tofu is only felt at the end of the meal.This kind of dried bean curd needs to be bought and made fresh, and it can be eaten now, and it will have a fermented taste after a little time.Dried tofu in marinated sauce can only be bought in a few shops such as Caizhizhai in Guanqian Street, Suzhou. You can’t find this kind of dried tofu outside of Suzhou.Suzhou people also eat dried tea, but compared with Anhui dried tea, it is slightly moister.I went to Baosheng Temple in Wuxian County to see the only nine surviving Arhats. When I came out, I drank tea at the "Tiger Stove" teahouse in Zhizhen. The black iron kettle is full of the characteristics of Jiangnan Water Town.There is also a kind of dried tea sold in teahouses, which is similar in size to Anhui dried tea, but thicker. There are more canopied boats in the water, and the taste is lighter.A cup of Dongting fresh green, a plate of dried five-spice tea, looking at the river is comfortable.The dried tea also chewed out a faint fragrance.

The boiled dried shredded tofu in Huaiyang cuisine is made of special dried white tofu. This kind of dried tofu should be soft and firm, and must not be bad.Northerners often think that shredded tofu is used to cook dry shredded rice, but it is completely wrong.This kind of dried tofu as a raw material is bland, big and thick. The chef needs to slice it into thin slices with a knife. This requires a solid basic skill. The thinner the slice, the finer the silk.After sliced, it is cut into shreds and processed into boiled dry shreds.The boiled dry silk of Yangzhou Fuchun Tea House is excellent and unforgettable.In the early 1990s, the Confucius Temple in Nanjing was newly renovated, and there were row upon row of teahouses and restaurants by the Qinhuai River. One of the restaurants had just opened. After visiting the Confucius Temple alone in the rain, I walked into the shop and ordered a bowl of boiled dried silk. It tasted very good. , by no means inferior to Fuchun's skills.Fortunately, the dry silk is white, the fresh soup is mellow, and the ham and open ocean can be distinguished.There is no bad feeling in the mouth of the dried shredded silk, which can be called delicious.

There is a kind of smoked tofu in Jining, Shandong, which is something between tofu and dried tofu. I ate smoked tofu once in Zou County, Shandong.At the master's banquet, the dishes were quite rich, and the smoked tofu was just a cold dish.This kind of tofu is only one inch square and five cents thick. It looks like dried tofu on the surface, but it is very smooth and tender in the mouth, and it does not have the watery texture of tofu.The smoked tofu has a slightly smoked taste, and it is best eaten with chili paste.After finishing a plate of smoked tofu, the host asked the kitchen to add another plate. The other dishes have long been forgotten, but this smoked tofu left a deep impression on me.

When it comes to dried tofu, it reminds me of a past event in my childhood.In the mid-1950s, my old grandmother met a nun somewhere, whose name was long forgotten, and everyone called her the old master.The nunnery where she practiced seems to be in the vicinity of the Ma Temple outside Fuchengmen, Beijing.This old master is from Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. He became a monk since he was a child, and he did not know when he came to Beijing.She would come to her grandmother's house two or three times a year. At that time, she was nearly seventy years old, and she was staggering, and because of her short stature, she seemed to be blown down by a gust of wind.Wearing a light gray straight gown and white cloth socks in summer, and a dark black cotton straight gown and light gray cloth socks in winter, it looks very neat.Every time she comes to the house, she will send some dried tofu made by herself, including white dried tofu for cooking and spiced dried tofu.She will be there before the Lunar New Year, and she will give more dried tofu.When she came, she always carried a small suitcase, which contained dried tofu. I still remember the way she took out the dried tofu from the suitcase, carefully, as if what she was holding was not dried tofu, but something that was afraid of being touched. baby.When all the dried tofu is taken out, she will put her hands together, say "Amitabha", and then say: "This is newly made this morning, please try it at home." Every time she comes, her grandmother will give some "lamp oil" Money", probably more than ten times the actual value of dried tofu.

The master chef's dried tofu is indeed very good, especially the five-spice dried tofu, which is neither soft nor hard, suitable for dry and wet, and it tastes very fragrant when chewed.Once, on the eve of the Lunar New Year, the old master came out of the snow, looking even older and faltering, and a thick layer of snow fell on her hood and straight skirt.After entering the room, she was speechless for a long time and sat for a long time before getting the dried tofu. She didn't bring much that time. She said that she was not in good health and that her cooking was not as good as in previous years.I remember that time the old grandmother doubled the "lamp oil money" and asked someone to call a tricycle to take the old master back to the gate of Fucheng.Before she left, she tied the strap on the hood with her hands, but she couldn't do it for a long time, and the old grandmother tied it for her.The old grandmother told her not to go into the city on snowy days, but she nodded without saying anything.We sent her to the gate and watched her get on the tricycle, and the car drove away in the wind and snow. Looking from behind, the black hood gradually disappeared in the snow.