Bayiji Tofu Paste

Bayiji Tofu Paste

　　The founder of Bayiji Tofu Paste, Liu Xiangsheng, was from Gupi, Suining County. Around the year 1740, due to severe flooding in the Gupi area that led to total crop failure, Liu Xiangsheng and his son fled to Bayiji, where they made a living by producing their family’s traditional tofu paste. The techniques and methods for making Liu family’s tofu paste spread widely throughout the Bayiji region and have a history of over two hundred and forty years. Bayiji Tofu Paste enjoys widespread fame for its appealing color, rich aroma, and delicious taste, yet its production method is actually simple and straightforward. Generally, freshly made tofu blocks are first placed upright on wooden racks in the basement, maintained at an appropriate temperature to allow fermentation until 2–3 cm-long fungal whiskers grow. Then, they are placed in a salt jar for seven to eight months before being taken out for sale. Bayiji Tofu Paste is widely loved for its unique flavor—its grayish-green color, soft texture, distinctive aroma, and appetite-enhancing qualities make it highly popular among consumers.

　　Currently, the Bayiji Tofu Paste Factory has a small workforce, but despite receiving no extra compensation, they manage to produce seventy to eighty thousand jin of tofu paste for the nation each year. Even so, supply still falls far short of demand. The product is distributed by plan across six counties in Xuzhou City, and the remaining stock sells well in the provinces of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Zhejiang, and Hebei, as well as in municipalities like Beijing and Shanghai. There are also frequent purchase requests by mail from customers in distant regions such as Fujian, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Heilongjiang. Although production increases every year, the demand continues to outstrip supply.