Pianguan Tofu

Pianguan Tofu

　　Tofu is said to have been created by ancient Taoist alchemists while they were attempting to produce an elixir of immortality for the gods. Although it failed to grant eternal life to those who sought to become immortal, it did give rise to a long-lasting and beloved dish in Chinese cuisine. Pianguan tofu, thanks to its ingredients, preparation methods, and local environmental factors, is tender, white, soft, firm, flavorful, and pure, and contains a variety of rare elements essential to the human body, giving it higher nutritional value. It is distinctly different from tofu produced in other regions—it is more authentic and tastier. Legend has it that Pianguan tofu tastes so good because it was personally taught by the Immortal Maiden He as she made tofu for a banquet held by the Queen Mother of the West. Even today, a folk rhyme that connects place names is still passed down in western Pianguan, recounting how the Immortal Maiden He invited the Queen Mother: “Black Bean Dam’s black beans, Mortar Flat’s mortar, Wulonggang’s holy water, Water Toting Gully’s water carrying; Millstone Flat’s big mill, Weijiacun’s surrounding, Chaijialing’s hard firewood, Charcoal Kiln Back’s coal; Fire Dam’s fire burning, Fengtai Ridge’s wind blowing, tofu in the tofu trough being made; Little Garlic Gully’s garlic, Yanjia Gully’s salt, Liiyuan’s fruits fragrant and sweet; Hejiabao’s immortal maiden inviting the Queen Mother, a banquet spread on Tianfengping.” The underlined names are all existing villages and places, said to be the locations where the Immortal Maiden He made tofu for the Queen Mother’s feast. Though this is just a folk myth, Pianguan tofu indeed has its own unique advantages, which can be attributed to three reasons:

　　First, superior ingredients. Black beans and soybeans are both dicotyledonous plants of the legume family. The rhizobia on their roots can fix nitrogen from the air, producing nitrogen fertilizer that is transported to the branches and leaves, converting nitrogen into protein. Therefore, black beans and soybeans contain a large amount of plant protein, often referred to as the “beef of plants.” The main component of tofu comes from the protein in soybeans and black beans. With rich and high-quality protein content, soybeans and black beans naturally produce good tofu. The soil in Pianguan is geologically classified as “grayish-brown earth,” a type of Quaternary terrestrial sediment, covering 97.45% of the county’s area. This soil is characterized by thick layers, uniform texture, loose and porous structure, good breathability, and is rich in mineral elements such as phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and calcium—making it the optimal soil for growing legumes. Coupled with Pianguan’s mild climate and abundant sunshine, these factors determine the high quality and yield of Pianguan’s soybeans and black beans, resulting in the finest tofu—Pianguan tofu.

　　Second, superior water quality. Everyone in Pianguan knows that “alum water” cannot be used to make tofu. Here, alum water refers to water that flows out from coal mines, iron mines, pyrite mines, and similar sites, containing large amounts of complex salts such as calcium chloride, magnesium sulfate, ferrous sulfate, and aluminum sulfate. The principle of making tofu involves heating the soy milk poured into the pot to induce ionization; the resulting positive and negative ions attract each other to form an emulsion. Then, an acid or salt solution is added to the pot to trigger an ion reaction, forming new substances that alter the original ionized state, causing the protein in the soy milk to coagulate into tofu. If alum water is used, the soy milk will immediately react with the large amounts of dissolved salts in the water as soon as it is poured into the pot, making it difficult to form tofu curds. Even if tofu is barely made, its taste and texture will be poor due to the presence of harmful mineral salts. The reason why tofu coagulated with brine is not as tasty as that coagulated with soy milk is that the brine, having been used to boil salt, contains very complex mineral salt components. In Pianguan, the terrain is high in the east and low in the west, high in the north and south and low in the middle, with mining areas concentrated along less than fifty square kilometers of the Yellow River in the west. The drinking water that flows through the entire territory of Pianguan comes from the east to the west and is unaffected by mine pollution—it is high-quality water with a hardness of only 4.3 milliequivalents per liter. Therefore, Pianguan boasts the best water quality in Xinzhou and even neighboring districts and counties. Moreover, the entire county uses soy milk to coagulate tofu, avoiding brine and gypsum, resulting in naturally delicious and unpolluted tofu.

　　Third, superior processing. Making good tofu requires excellent grinding, filtering, and coagulating. First, the beans are soaked after removing their skins (the yellow part), then ground together with water into a bean paste. The finer the beans are ground, the better, as only fine grinding allows all the protein particles in the beans to enter the water, which is essential for making tofu. The finer the protein particles, the better they react with the soy milk in the pot, resulting in tofu that is whiter, tenderer, softer, and firmer. Filtering well means using a fine sieve. After the first round of filtering, water is scooped from the pot to dilute the mixture and filtered again to ensure thoroughness. Some people, aiming to produce more tofu, use coarse sieves, allowing some bean dregs to enter the pot, resulting in coarse, sandy tofu with inevitably poor texture. At the same time, when filtering tofu, the heat should be increased to bring the pot to a rolling boil, preventing the filtered bean juice from settling and burning at the bottom. Some believe that a longer filtering time wastes fuel, and to save charcoal and stay comfortable, they reduce the heat while filtering, but this causes the bean juice to settle and burn at the bottom—not only reducing the yield of tofu but also giving it a burnt taste, making it unappetizing. Regular consumption of such burnt-tasting tofu can also harm one's health. Proper coagulation is another key to making good tofu. In Pianguan, tofu is coagulated using soy milk whey—that is, after the tofu is scooped out, the remaining whey in the pot is transferred to a small jar and placed in a warm spot to ferment. The leftover whey, still containing a large amount of organic matter, produces a significant amount of lactic acid through fermentation. The positively charged hydrogen ions in the lactic acid react with the soy milk in the pot through neutralization, causing the soy milk to coagulate into tofu curds. This method of making tofu, different from using brine or gypsum, is economical, convenient, and non-polluting. It avoids introducing the complex substances found in brine and gypsum, which can alter the flavor and composition of tofu and is healthier for the human body—this is the greatest advantage of Pianguan tofu. When using soy milk whey to coagulate tofu, it must not be done too quickly. The whey should be diluted with water to a certain acidity level and slowly added to the pot while the soy milk is stirred over the heat. Each addition should allow the entire pot of soy milk to react adequately. If added too quickly, it will “steal the soy milk,” resulting in sandy, dry, hard tofu with no elasticity, poor taste, and a significantly lower yield. When the process is done slowly and a consistency similar to egg whites begins to appear in the pot, a bit more acidic whey is added, and the mixture is simmered over low heat. The curds will begin to move on their own in the pot, gradually consolidating into a single mass. This mass is then divided into four pieces, cooked a little longer, scooped into a tofu mold, and pressed to drain off excess water. Once the cloth is removed and left to sit briefly, a layer of golden, glossy oil skin will emerge on the surface of the tofu block. A cut with a knife will release a stream of soy milk. As the locals say, “There are no gods or ghosts—just one pound of tofu with four ounces of water.” Only tofu that can hold water is considered good tofu. When opened, the tofu is white, tender, soft, fine, and firm, with an inviting aroma. Whether pan-fried, stir-fried, deep-fried, braised, simmered, or dressed, it’s delicious in any preparation, serving both as a dish and a staple food. The people of Pianguan can’t go a day without tofu and often send this “feast of the immortals” delicacy as a hometown specialty to relatives living far away. They treasure it like a precious gem, and eating it makes them miss home even more. When given to friends from other places, it often elicits praise for Pianguan tofu. Truly, Pianguan tofu is a beautiful highlight on the dining tables of Pianguan.

　　Source: Office of the People’s Government of Pianguan County