A combination of vanilla, tofu and pumpkin create this cool way to end a hot night. Photo source: Japan Tofu Association

I’ll get to the ice cream in a moment. Really.

But I want to point out that even when it comes to history, even bean curd can be a tricky topic.  Who did what and when can be subject to interpretation and debate, based on what was recorded and what was found.

Well, the Japan Tofu Association is questioning whether Liu An, the grandson of a Chinese emperor, should be given credit as the general inventor of the food.

Chinese give Liu the nod as the man who led efforts around 164 BC that produced soybean cake. His assistants accidentally invented tofu in the Huainan area after he told them to make a medicine that would prolong his life.

The Japanese group acknowledges that bean curd started in China. It also talks about how Li Shizhen, a writer, linked Liu to originally making tofu in the text, Bencao Gangmu. Today, it’s considered to be an encyclopedia.

But the association notes:

The fact that this statement is found in this famous book is considered to be the reason for the dissemination of the ‘Tofu/Prince of Huainan Theory.’ …Some doubts remain….The raw ingredient of tofu, the soybean, was not available in China at the time of Prince Liu An. The soybean was introduced into China half a century later.

I question that statement about soybeans not being available during Liu’s time. Why?

The North Carolina Soybean Producers Association Inc. notes that Chinese farmers “domesticated” soybeans around 1100 BC.

The Japan Tofu Association also says that Liu wrote many scholarly books, including ones on philosophy. “But none of these contain the word ‘Tofu,’” the group writes.

 There is one statement from the group with which I agree:

…The current production technique was not a result of the first attempt and today’s tofu gradually resulted from much experimentation and experience.

Now, does this matter in 2009?

It’s nice to have an accurate answer. And I still lean toward the Chinese explanation because I haven’t seen enough convincing evidence from the Japan Tofu Association.

But in this summer heat, the question might not be a true global concern.

And when the inside of our house hits 82 degrees in the evening, my thoughts, interestingly enough, turn to ice cream.

Thankfully, the Japan Tofu Association also offers a variety of bean curd recipes, including the tofu-pumpkin ice cream.

Yes, I know it actually starts off with vanilla ice cream. But still, the addition of pumpkin (which I like as soup) and tofu sound intriguing.

Another recipe that looks delicious is the tofu steak with chili prawn sauce. When the weather gets colder, I want to try the corn soup with crab and tofu.

If I ever make the tofu-pumpkin ice cream, I’ll post my notes here.

If you’re looking for other tofu recipes, I’ve compiled the delicious ones here that I’ve posted before.

NOTE: I need to thank my friend, Hiroshi, for sending me the group’s link.

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.

Map from the Anhui government

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.