This dish, known as Niang Tofu, lets the flavor of steamed meat sit on top of the bean curd, in addition to letting another sauce slightly flavor it on the bottom. Photo source: China Daily
The recent China Daily article highlighting tofu’s birthplace of Huainan in Anhui province reminded me of one thing.
I’m going to have to return to the area.
My visit will not focus on the glitz and glamour that has accompanied the area’s annual event, the Chinese Bean Curd Culture Festival. In September, Korean pop star group, Super Junior-M, highlighted the festival which attracted crowds.
Rather, it will be to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the chefs, both famous and ordinary, who have expanded our understanding and satisfied our taste buds with this food that goes back 2,000 years.
Crowds gather last week in Anhui province to mark tofu's birthplace and its long history.
People outside of China probably realize now that the country enjoys the noise, color and crowds of grand public spectacles – especially during Lunar New Year or much-ballyhooed state banquets.
Zhang Yimou impressed a global audience last year with his opening ceremony to the Beijing Olympics.
The Chinese Bean Curd Culture Festival, which is Anhui province’s annual celebration to mark the birthplace of the food, is no different.
The festival held in Huainan ended last week and drew big lights, scores of people, a large television audience and numerous entertainers – including Korean pop stars – and businesspeople.
More than 2,000 years ago, Liu An, the grandson of a Chinese emperor, told his assistants to make a medicine that would prolong his life.
As a daoist (taoist), he wanted a long life and an elixir to help.
I’ve covered or attended many meetings over the years. But this session from the World Science Festival in June would have been one that I lingered at for a long time.
You know, asking questions. Trying to figure things out.
Just look at Bobby McFerrin and his incredible, audience-involved demonstration of the Pentatonic Scale - which apparently is found in nearly all of the world’s music. (McFerrin’s Web site is here.)
This Vimeo clip is making the online rounds – and for good reason: Fun and lively but with important music history behind it.
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.
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