Grilled Tofu Cake

Grilled Tofu Cake

　　Grilled Tofu Cake

　　Grilled tofu cake is a relatively popular side dish in Yangxi, often used as a main home-cooked dish by locals.

　　The tofu cake is a soy product. Typically, the market offers water tofu, fried tofu, and grilled tofu cake. Grilled tofu cake is a traditional product of Yangxi, while water tofu and fried tofu were introduced from other regions after the Liberation. Many farming households in towns across Yangxi are capable of making their own grilled tofu cakes. These cakes are firm in texture, delicious in color, aroma, and taste, neither too hot nor too dry, making them highly favored by the public.

　　The production process of grilled tofu cake is largely similar to that of water tofu. It begins with grinding soybeans, filtering the soy milk, then allowing it to settle before slowly boiling it in a pot. Coagulant is added, and the mixture is poured into wooden molds. Once the water has drained, the tofu cakes are placed on a rectangular iron sieve and grilled over charcoal. When the cakes turn a light brown, they are flipped and grilled on the other side. The grilling requires an open flame, and the grilling room must be well-ventilated. After grilling, the tofu cakes are soaked in clean water to become the final product. The grilling process is quite complex—from selecting the beans to adding the coagulant, to grilling the tofu cake—each step must be precise and handled meticulously. Many tofu cake workshops in Yangxi are long-established businesses dating back to the Qing Dynasty. Typically, those who make tofu cakes are referred to as “Tofu Cake So-and-So,” and similar titles. This shows that making tofu cake requires striving for perfection, and only through a lifetime of dedicated craftsmanship can one truly master the art.