Tofu culture in China

Picked Tofu

Also called fermented tofu, it consists of dried tofu cubes that have been fully air-dried. It’s then soaked in Chinese wine, salt water, vinegar and minced chilies. for a slow fermentation process.

Stinky Tofu

This smelly tofu is a kind of snack with a strong odor described as rotten or fecal. Blocks of soft tofu are fermented in unique brine and then, after frying until the rind becomes crisp, are usually served with sweet sauce, soy sauce or hot sauce.

Well Known Tofu Dish

Mapo Tofu (or Sichuan Bean Curd, Stir-fried Tofu in Hot Sauce)

Mapo Tofu or Mapo’s Bean Curd, is wildly popular throughout China and originated at a restaurant in Chengdu. The tofu is served hot and soft, covered in a spicy Sichuan peppercorn hot sauce and mixed with a small portion of minced meet.

During the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, a freckled woman in Chengdu opened a small restaurant, hosting customers with stir-fried mutton with tofu as her specialty. Her business thrived for its inexpensive prices and good tastes. After the woman died, people named her specialty “Mapo Tofu” to remember her, which literally means tofu made by the freckled woman. The name still remains today, and it has beome a common dish found everywhere. Foreigners favor it, as well.

Emperor Hongwu’s Tofu

Tofu has been a famous dish for more than 600 years in Fengyang, Anhui province. When he was young and long before he became emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-98) lived as a beggar. A small restaurant owner in Fengyang took pity on the boy and often gave him some tofu for food. Years later, Zhu became the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), with the reigning title of Hongwu. Zhu missed the tofu of his hometown that he had eaten during his childhood, so he had the owner and cook of the small restaurant come to the palace to cook this dish for him. Since then it has been known as Emperor Hongwu’s Tofu.

Cured Tofu in Qufu

Cured tofu in Qufu is very famous around the world. It is a kind of traditional snack with special flavor. This kind of food can only be found in Qufu, the Confucius’s hometown, and it is so attractive that if you come to Qufu you must have a taste of it.

The process of making it is not very complicated. First, choose white tofu as raw material. Then, cut it into blocks which are five or six centimeters squares and one centimeter in thickness. Next, put them onto the iron gridiron and burn sawdust and rice chaff under the gridiron to smoke the tofu until it becomes brown or yellow. When the tofu has an oily gloss, it is done.