Puning tofu

Puning tofu

　　The tofu, a delicacy of Puning snacks, is primarily made from soybeans, mixed with potato starch, gypsum, and brine. Its outer skin is chewy while the inside is tender and smooth. Fried tofu is famous both at home and abroad for its crispy crust, tender texture, fragrant taste, and delightful flavor that never tires the palate. (Puning)

　　The tofu, a delicacy of Puning snacks, is primarily made from soybeans, mixed with potato starch, gypsum, and brine. Its production process includes grinding the beans, removing residue, boiling the slurry, preparing the paste, testing the powder, mixing in the paste powder, blending to set the brine, wrapping into blocks, pressing the blocks, and cooking them. Some are also dyed with gardenia after cooking. Making Puning tofu requires suitable water quality. The tofu is characterized by its chewy outer skin and tender inner flesh. Nowadays, there are three main ways Puning locals cook tofu: The first is “pan-frying,” where the tofu is cut into small pieces, pan-fried in a pot, then mixed with chives, known as “tofu pressed with chives,” a traditional rural dish. The second is “baking,” where small tofu pieces are combined with a little water, then baked with some fried fish floss and a few sections of scallion whites, resulting in a fragrant and delicious dish perfect with drinks. The third is “fried tofu,” where solid tofu blocks are placed in boiling oil until the skin turns red, then removed, cut into small pieces, and served with fresh garlic, chive saltwater, or chili sauce as condiments—creating a uniquely flavorful Puning specialty. Puning fried tofu is famous for its crispy crust, tender interior, fragrant taste, and delightful flavor that never tires the palate. It is also one of the sixteen small snack varieties served at the Spring Festival reception hosted by the Shantou Municipal People's Government for domestic and international guests.

　　Puning tofu enjoys not only a high reputation domestically but is also a renowned dish abroad. For example, overseas Chinese in Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, and other places run businesses selling Puning tofu. In October 1986, Mr. Ye Zhikun, an overseas Chinese from Yuxincun Village in Puning, returned to China to visit family from Canada and specifically invited someone from his hometown skilled in making tofu to teach him the entire tofu-making technique, preparing to start a tofu business back in Canada.

　　It is said that villagers in Guangnan, Puning, learned to make tofu as early as the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. In the late Yuan Dynasty, when various warlords rose, after Chen Youliang was defeated by Zhu Yuanzhang, his military advisor He Yeyun (also known as the “Lice Mother Immortal”) wandered to the Puning area, helping people select land for houses, building village gates, and repairing tombs. At that time, the second-generation grandmother of Guangnan Village passed away, and He Yeyun was asked to choose a burial site. He also taught the villagers how to make tofu. Since then, the villagers of Guangnan have made tofu to sell at the market, using the leftover tofu dregs to feed pigs. Thus, making tofu and raising pigs became the main side businesses of the villagers for hundreds of years.

　　Nowadays, many people in Puning know how to make tofu, and the production techniques in some villages have even surpassed those of Guangnan Village. Small stalls and snack shops selling tofu and fried tofu can be found all over towns and villages. Whoever tastes the tofu, especially the fried version, praises: “Fried tofu—fragrant yet light, nourishing without being greasy!”

　　The production process is: grinding the beans, removing residue, boiling the slurry, preparing the paste, testing the powder, mixing in the paste powder, blending to set the brine, wrapping into blocks, pressing the blocks, and cooking them, with some also being colored with gardenia after cooking. Its characteristics are a chewy outer skin and tender inner flesh. The people of Puning mainly use three methods to cook tofu: pan-frying, baking, and frying. Fried tofu is especially a folk flavor of Puning. Its crust is crispy, the inside is tender, and it has a fragrant taste that is refreshing. Dipped in mashed garlic, it becomes even more delicious.

　　Some overseas Chinese have brought the production techniques of Puning tofu abroad and run businesses in this trade.