Qianjiang Divine Tofu

Qianjiang Divine Tofu

　　Divine Tofu: A natural delicacy made from leaf juice

　　The Wuling Mountains enjoy abundant sunshine, distinct seasons, plentiful rainfall, lush vegetation, and a wide variety of wild fungi and greens, making it one of the world’s rare unpolluted green botanical gardens.

　　The Tujia people have a long history of culinary traditions, and hidden among the streets and alleys of Qianjiang are many delicious local specialties. With careful exploration, you’ll find that Qianjiang is full of tasty treats.

　　Qianjiang’s “Divine Tofu” is one of them.

　　First, we must go up the mountain to find the main ingredient for making “Divine Tofu”—the dove-leaf. Dove-leaves look similar to ordinary leaves, except they carry a faint herbal fragrance and grow in the forest. Experienced farmers can easily find them, but they are hard for most people to come across.

　　The collected dove-leaves are rinsed lightly with clean water to wash off dust—be sure not to scrub too hard. Then, squeeze the leaves forcefully until the leaf juice comes out, wrap the leaves in cloth to extract the juice, and finally mix wood ash from the traditional stove with water, strain the clear liquid into it, and wait for the juice to coagulate to form the tofu.

　　“Divine Tofu is truly divine—just a mixture of leaf juice and wood ash creates such a refreshing and delicious dish,” a CCTV food show host said in disbelief. “Most importantly, there’s no taste of the wood ash.” He added this after tasting it.

　　“Divine Tofu” is indeed “divine.” Its “divinity” lies in its simple production process, its tender and smooth texture that melts in your mouth, and how, when cooled in the fridge on a hot day and served with seasonings like chili, it becomes especially refreshing.

　　When talking about Qianjiang cuisine, there are plenty more to mention: Ma Dagun (a sweet snack), rice tofu, stone-ground hezha (fermented soybean mash), dingshu fan (pot-cooked rice), sour zha meat, zha chili, stuffed chili, beef jerky, beef slices, smoked beef, and other products are also renowned nationwide and hailed by many out-of-town visitors as “must-eat dishes in Qianjiang.”

　　The people of Qianjiang are very clever. They turn many wild foods “hidden deep in the mountains and unknown to anyone,” even those completely overlooked, into Tujia-style dishes. Whenever visitors come to Qianjiang, they will taste and also take these delicious foods home.