Miscellaneous Tofu Pudding from Guiyuan Temple

Miscellaneous Tofu Pudding from Guiyuan Temple

　　A Hubei snack. Made by combining deep-fried crispy sanzi, cooked glutinous rice, rice paste, various sauces and seasonings with tender tofu pudding. It has a white color and tender texture, with the crispiness of the oily sanzi, a blend of multiple flavors, and a deliciously palatable taste. This dish is commonly sold around Guiyuan Temple—one of the four major Buddhist temples in Wuhan—where pilgrims visit all year round, attracting many diners. Over time, it has evolved into a distinctive local food, hence also known as "Miscellaneous Tofu Pudding from Guiyuan Temple."

Ingredients: (for 50 servings) 1000g soybeans, 50g five-spice soybean curd, 350g rice, 100g pickled melon, 1250g glutinous rice, 500g pickled mustard tuber, 25 deep-fried sanzi, 150g toasted sesame seeds, 50g cooked ham, 500g soy sauce, 100g dried small shrimps, 2.5g monosodium glutamate, 100g pepper powder, 250g toasted sesame oil, 500g chopped scallions, 50g gypsum

Preparation:

1. Rinse the soybeans, soak them in water for 6 hours, drain and rinse again, then grind them with the water into soy milk. Strain to remove the soybean residue to obtain the soy milk liquid. Add an appropriate amount of water to adjust to raw soy milk (1000kg), then pour into a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat.

2. Dissolve the gypsum in water, strain to remove the residue, forming a gypsum slurry. Pour it into a bucket, stir with a bamboo brush until foamy, and when the foam splashes up around the sides of the bucket, immediately pour in the boiling soy milk. Then evenly sprinkle the gypsum slurry from the bamboo brush onto the surface of the soy milk, cover, and let stand for 20 minutes. The mixture will then coagulate into white tofu pudding.

3. Rinse the glutinous rice, soak it in water for 4 hours, then drain and steam until cooked. Wash and chop the pickled mustard tuber, ham, dried small shrimps, pickled melon, and five-spice soybean curd into fine pieces.

4. Rinse the rice, add 650g of water, and grind into a rice paste. Simmer over low heat until it becomes a thin paste.

5. Prepare 50 bowls, placing half a deep-fried sanzi (broken into pieces) in each bowl, then add 25g of cooked glutinous rice, scoop in half a spoonful of rice paste, followed by 2–3 flat spoons of tofu pudding. Add soy sauce, pickled mustard tuber, pickled melon, ham, dried small shrimps, and chopped five-spice soybean curd. Sprinkle with chopped scallions, pepper powder, monosodium glutamate, toasted sesame seeds, and toasted sesame oil to finish.