Shiping Tofu

　　Shiping Tofu is a famous specialty of Shiping County in Yunnan Province. With a history of over 600 years since its emergence in the early Ming Dynasty, it has long been renowned for its premium quality and delicious taste. Shiping is located in the mountainous region of southern Yunnan, with beautiful scenery of green hills and clear waters. The county town sits close to Yilong Lake, enjoying naturally superior water resources. The tofu produced here differs from regular tofu, as it is made using the local underground "acidic water." This water naturally contains brine, which replaces gypsum as the coagulant. The resulting tofu is fragrant, delicate, and flavorful—superior to other types of tofu.

　　There are various accounts regarding the origins of Shiping Tofu. One legend says that in the 16th year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1383), when Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang sent troops to suppress rebellions in the southwest, they set up garrisons along the way using a military system where five soldiers formed a "wu," and five "wu" formed a "ying." Villages such as Wanjiaying, Weijiaying, and Fujia Ying, still present today, were originally military settlements in Shiping. It is said that the method of making tofu was introduced by soldiers stationed in Wanjiaying, who used the local natural “acidic water” as a coagulant. Another legend claims that long ago, the early inhabitants of Shiping dug four stone wells at the foot of the city’s north, south, east, and west gates. Though these wells produced abundant water, it had a sour, bitter, and unpleasant taste, rendering it undrinkable. Residents had to fetch drinking water from sources two kilometers outside the city. Using this freshwater to make tofu resulted in a strong sour taste and poor texture. By the Ming Dynasty, an elderly man named Pan Beixing, who ran a tofu workshop near the North Gate, needed 12 buckets of water daily to produce two batches of tofu. According to custom at the time, fetching water was the responsibility of his granddaughter-in-law. One day, while the family was away visiting others, she drew enough water from a nearby stone well for the next day’s tofu production. The next day, the soy milk coagulated rapidly upon adding the water, forming firm strips without the usual sourness. Surprised, Pan questioned his granddaughter-in-law and learned that the water came from the stone well—this “acidic water.” Instead of scolding her, he praised her and named the dried strip-like tofu “dried tofu.” Since then, the natural “acidic water” from the four stone wells in Shiping has become the ideal coagulant for making tofu. Shiping Tofu is made with strict ingredient selection and fine processing. It uses plump soybeans, which are first ground to remove the hulls, washed clean, and soaked for an appropriate time depending on the season and water temperature. The beans are then ground into soy milk, boiled, filtered, and boiled again before being coagulated with “acidic water” to form curds. Finally, the curds are pressed and shaped. Shiping Tofu comes in strips, each 30 cm long, 10 cm wide, and 2 cm thick. Once fresh tofu is dried, it becomes dried tofu. (Honghe) The production area of Shiping Tofu includes the administrative regions of nine towns in Shiping County, Yunnan Province: Yilong Town, Baoxiu Town, Baxin Town, Longpeng Town, Niujie Town, Longwu Town, Shachong Town, Daqiao Township, and Xincheng Township.

　　I. Ingredient Requirements

　　1. Soybeans: Soybeans harvested within one year, with protein content ≥40%.

　　2. Water: Mountain spring water within the production area, meeting national drinking water standards, with calcium ions ≤50mg/L, magnesium ions ≤5mg/L, sulfate ions ≤15mg/L, and pH value between 6.5 and 8.0.

　　3. Coagulant: Natural underground acidic water within the production area, with pH value ≤6.5.

　　4. Salt: Edible salt. II. Production and Processing Requirements

　　1. Process Flow: Soybeans → Screening → Washing → Soaking → Grinding → Filtering → Boiling → Coagulating → Shaping → Unwrapping → Cutting.

　　2. Key Processing Points:

　　(1) Screening: Remove moldy, unripe, sprouted, or otherwise defective beans and impurities.

　　(2) Soaking: Soak in room-temperature water; 7–9 hours in spring/autumn, 6–8 hours in summer, 8–10 hours in winter, until the beans feel soft with no hardness.

　　(3) Grinding: Grind using a stone mill or grinding machine.

　　(4) Filtering: Scald the ground soy milk with boiling water (i.e., the cooked slurry method), then filter to remove okara; use a filter mesh of 150 to 200 mesh.

　　(5) Boiling: Boil the soy milk directly over a flame or via steam injection until fully cooked with a rich soybean aroma; boil at normal pressure for 3–5 minutes, achieving a protein content of 3.6%–3.8%.

　　(6) Coagulating: Use the natural underground acidic water from the production area, mixing it with soy milk in the proper ratio according to traditional methods to coagulate the tofu.

　　(7) Shaping: Pour the coagulated tofu into molds wrapped in cloth and press to shape, reducing moisture content to ≤85%.

　　(8) Unwrapping: Unwrap the cloth, release the tofu, and lightly coat with edible salt.

　　(9) Cutting: Align the large pieces of tofu and cut them into uniform strips as per specifications.

　　III. Quality Characteristics

　　1. Sensory Characteristics: White to light yellow in color; long strip shape, soft and elastic to the touch; fine texture, high toughness, fragrant taste, and delicious flavor.

　　2. Physical and Chemical Indicators: Protein ≥10.0%, moisture ≤85.0%.

　　3. Safety and Other Quality Technical Requirements: Product safety and other quality technical requirements must comply with relevant national regulations.

One: Stir-fried Chives with Shiping Tofu.

1. Prepare ingredients: 1 piece of Shiping Tofu, 1 bunch of chives, appropriate amount of MSG, appropriate amount of salt, 2 dried chili peppers, appropriate amount of oil.

2. Cut the tofu and fry it in oil.

3. After frying, remove and drain the oil.

4. Heat oil in a pan, sauté dried chili peppers, then add chives, salt, tofu, and MSG. Stir-fry evenly until well combined.

II. Spicy Shiping Mini Tofu.

1. Prepare ingredients: 20 pieces of Shiping mini tofu, 1 green bell pepper, 2 small yellow chili peppers, 25 grams of chili sauce, 2 sprigs of cilantro, 2 small star anise, 5 grams of ginger slices, 15 milliliters of light soy sauce, 10 milliliters of oyster sauce, 3 grams of sugar.

2. Wash the mini tofu and pat dry with oil-absorbing paper. Deep-fry until the surface is lightly golden.

3. Break the green and yellow bell peppers into small pieces by hand; chop the cilantro.

4. Leave some oil in the pan, sauté the star anise and ginger slices until fragrant, add the chili sauce, then add the fried mini tofu and stir-fry.

5. Add the green and yellow bell peppers to the pan, stir-fry evenly until just cooked, then add the seasonings and stir well to finish.

III. Glazed Tofu.

1. Prepare ingredients: 500 grams of Shiping tofu, 100 grams of cowpea root (折耳根), 20 grams of homemade spicy chili powder, 5 grams of Sichuan peppercorn powder, 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 1 scallion.

2. Heat oil in a pan, add the tofu pieces, and pan-fry until both sides are lightly golden. Sprinkle with homemade spicy chili powder and Sichuan peppercorn powder.

3. Add cowpea root and chopped scallions, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, and pan-fry for 1–2 minutes.