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Tofu vs. hamburger: Looking at history

Life is complicated these days. So, it is easy to overlook that tofu made its debut in China during the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD).

That makes it older than the modern version of the hamburger, which started showing up around the 1800s. Yes, Egypt’s pyramids are more senior. But tofu predates the Gutenberg printing press and American-style democracy.

Not bad for food that starts with a roly-poly bean a bit smaller than the size of your fingertip.

 

 

As the story from China goes, Liu An, the grandson of a Chinese emperor, lived in Anhui province, which is west of Shanghai. Liu believed in Daoism (Taoism) and sought a long life. So, in 164 BC, he instructed eight of his assistants to discover a medicine, an elixir in a sense, to accomplish his goal.

During this process, the assistants went to the province’s Huainan area, which is north of the capital city of Hefei. There, they used fresh mountain water and soy beans to make milk. They took the milk and added coagulants. They worked feverishly to find the magical formula.

Instead, as the story goes, they created the wiggly mass known as tofu.

Apparently, a farmer entered the picture after the birth of this vegetarian dish. As the story is told, he was the first person to taste it.

Now, was he a cautious but curious bystander who volunteered to eat what was before him? Or did the assistants require this commoner to test it to help prolong the emperor’s lineage?

In any event, he tasted. He digested. And, as I’m sure the assistants noted, he lived. His reaction: It was nice and soft.

 

 

From there, a “bean culture” sprouted. People in different parts of China started experimenting with the food. A Chinese monk is said to have introduced tofu making to Japan.

Many believe it spread there and in Korea, Thailand and other parts of Asia because Buddhism grew in popularity in the region.

Buddhists, as we know, prefer to eat vegetables. In recent years, Anhui province has hosted a regular tofu festival.

In the West, people spell the food as ”tofu.” It’s the popular spelling from Japan. But in China, you’ll run across ”doufu.”

* Sincere thanks to my wife, who helped translate the tofu history, which was written in Chinese.