Bagongshan Tofu

Place of Origin

Bagongshan, Huainan, Anhui, China

Description

Bagongshan tofu not only has a delicate and smooth texture but also excellent elasticity, so much so that it can be sliced thinly and used as dumpling wrappers.

Technical Aspects

Bagongshan tofu manages to simultaneously exhibit the seemingly contradictory qualities of delicacy alongside elasticity, without relying on any additional additives. This is attributed to two key details in its production process. The delicacy of Bagongshan tofu is attributed to an additional step called “cracking the beans” before soaking, compared to the regular production process of tofu. The primary purpose of this step is to remove the bean hull. After removing the bean hull, the cellulose content in the soy milk decreases, resulting in a finer texture of the tofu product. The elasticity of Bagongshan tofu comes from its unique moulding technique. In this step, while conventional tofu production involves crushing the douhua, known as “pò nǎo” in Chinese, and placing them into moulds for pressing, Bagongshan tofu does not crush the douhua. Instead, it slices large, thin pieces of douhua with a flat plate. Then, these slices are carefully arranged in the mould in the same direction, ensuring that the cuts between the slices overlap and align. This time-consuming and delicate process maximizes the preservation of the protein structure integrity, resulting in tofu that is less prone to breakage.