Talk about tofu: old and tender with a little bittern.

I accidentally read a tofu poem by Mr. Wang Zengqi, which is really interesting:

The phrase "old and tender with some brine" really reminds me of the smell of tofu. I really hope I can not fast-forward to a bowl of tofu brain to satisfy my hunger tomorrow morning. I'm afraid only Wang Lao can write such a colorful and interesting snack, and I'm afraid only Wang Lao can do it in those essays I've read. Without good taste, I can't write such an article, and I can't reach such a state.

Think about the legend that Huainan Wang failed in alchemy, but instead created tofu to make him immortal and a household name. It is also another way. It can be said that "tofu is eternal and the taste is knowable." In fact, the Western Han Dynasty advocated frugality and forbade nobles to use precious metals. Therefore, in order to put on airs, they also have to eat and drink. From a large number of Han Dynasty foods unearthed from Mawangdui Han Tomb, it can be seen that the nobles of the Western Han Dynasty loved to eat, so Liu An probably invented tofu out of sincerity, not just by accident in the process of alchemy.

No matter how tofu was invented, people in China have made great efforts to eat tofu. No matter what seems to have something to do with it, even when dealing with leftovers, I always like to add tofu to neutralize the taste. No matter north or south, people can always create new tricks on the original flavor of tofu. Let's take the tofu brain I'm talking about now. If you like sweet food, you can sprinkle brown sugar or white sugar or pour sugar water on it. If you like salty, you can pour your favorite marinade.

Making tofu brain is also very particular. When cooking soybean milk, you must cook the pot for two or three times to cook the soybean milk thoroughly, because the organic matter in soybean milk will produce the so-called "false boiling phenomenon" after being heated and expanded, which is false boiling. The soybean milk at this time is actually uncooked, and uncooked soybean milk is toxic. After cooking soybean milk, you must skim off the foam on the surface, otherwise the final product will be unsightly and "make people lose their appetite." After ordering soybean milk, you can start making marinade when the bean curd brain is formed. Jiang Mo is added to the broth to remove the fishy smell, and shrimp, peanuts, fungus, day lily, bean skin, mushrooms or seafood are added according to personal preference. Half a spoonful of soy sauce is colored and thickened with appropriate water starch, boiled until it is thick, and poured on the delicate tofu brain, which looks lovely and attractive. Or drenched with brown sugar syrup, red and white tofu will suddenly have more charm.

Although I can't give up eating tofu now, I didn't like eating tofu when I was a child. Every time I change tofu, my mouth is always closed and the tofu at home often goes bad. But even if I ruined tofu, I didn't spare me. I mashed it and fried it with chopped green onion and Jiang Mo, but it was not allowed to be the main course of a meal. Hunger tastes terrible, so I have no choice but to eat. Tofu was a rare good dish at that time, but I never understood how something that smelled fishy and tasted astringent could be a good thing.

At that time, the people who made tofu were in the back street of my house, and I often stopped to watch them make tofu. At that time, the small workshops in the countryside were very humble, and my impression of tofu was even worse. However, tofu can be made. I love to go home and get a ladle of soybeans for some tofu. It's much better to ask the family for a few cents to buy pear cream than tofu. However, this kind of rotten potato in the countryside has now become something that can't be found anywhere. When I came home at the beginning of the year, I once put a piece of tofu with chopped green onion and fried with Jiang Mo. This dish is full of aftertaste, but tofu is not that piece of tofu.

Today's tofu is more delicate and smooth, but it always tastes a little worse. It is really "coming and going, unconsciously" to taste the original flavor of tofu.

Think about life at that time. It's like an onion mixed with tofu.