Love Tofu Pudding

Love Tofu Pudding

　　    Love Tofu Pudding is one of Guiyang’s famous local snacks. It stands out for its unique name, profound meaning, and distinctive flavor. Small cubes of tofu are fermented with an appropriate amount of alkaline water, then placed on perforated iron sheets or nets brushed with cooking oil and slowly roasted with rice husks and sawdust. When the outer layer turns golden and oily, puffing up as if inflated, it is split open and filled with a spicy "dipping sauce" made from chili, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, MSG, scallions, minced garlic, ginger, and yuxingcao (Houttuynia cordata). Eaten hot, it bursts with a savory, spicy, tender, and hot flavor that is both salty and refreshingly delicious. (Guiyang)

　　    In Guiyang, I tried the local famous snack — “Love Tofu Pudding.” Essentially, it’s grilled tofu, but it’s extraordinary in appearance and preparation: the main ingredient is white tofu cut into small rectangular pieces, first rinsed with an appropriate amount of alkaline water, then soaked overnight to slightly ferment. During grilling, it expands and puffs up, then is roasted on a perforated iron sheet. When eating, a small bamboo stick is used to slice the tofu pudding open from the side, and it’s filled with a dipping sauce made from yuxingcao, bitter garlic, scallions, litsea oil, crushed chili, soy sauce, and MSG. Bite into it while hot — crispy outside, tender inside, salty, spicy, smooth, and bursting with flavor. Especially in the cold winter, just a few bites bring beads of sweat to your forehead — now that’s what I call pure enjoyment. The origin of the name “Love Tofu Pudding” comes from a romantic story set in Guiyang during the Anti-Japanese War period.

　　    In 1939, when the Japanese air force bombed Guiyang, an elderly couple living near Pengjiaqiao in the suburbs built several thatched huts in their vegetable field to produce grilled tofu pudding. When the bombings began, these huts became a shelter for city residents. Due to the frequent air raids, people couldn’t go home for meals and would instead buy some grilled tofu pudding from the couple to stave off hunger. Most were just there to satisfy a craving or fill their stomachs and would leave after eating. However, some young people also started gathering there frequently and gradually fell in love. They’d buy a plate of tofu pudding, dip it in spicy sauce, and eat slowly while chatting, often sitting for hours. Over time, people started referring to eating grilled tofu pudding as “eating love tofu pudding,” so the couple simply renamed it “Love Tofu Pudding.” This romantic name quickly caught on among the youth across Guiyang, who flocked to taste it.

　　    What was originally a baptism of blood and fire unexpectedly gave rise, by some twist of fate, to the fame of a humble snack and the blossoming of young love. Life’s joys and sorrows truly take on a dramatic flair.