Wang Pan, a master of Sanqu in Ming Dynasty, collected 52 kinds of non-toxic wild vegetables and compiled a cookbook of wild vegetables in order to guide the people to spend the famine years and go deep into their lives. At the end of Ming Dynasty, Yao Kecheng added 60 species, totaling 1 12 species. In the famine years, most people will use the dug wild vegetables to support their families. "Small shepherd's purse tofu" was probably produced in that era, and now, "small wild bean curd" has become a famous specialty in Shandong.
My mother is from Shandong, and "shepherd's purse tofu" is very authentic. This dish is not only mom's signature dish, but also mom and dad's favorite dish. It was a bowl of shepherd's purse and tofu that made their love.
My father's and mother's villages are six miles apart. My third aunt married my father's second brother. Because my grandfather died early, my grandmother's family was poor. My father is the first college student in the village and completed his studies through work-study programs. One summer vacation, my father was groggy from hunger and returned to the village. My grandmother was very ill and could not cook. Mother happened to be visiting relatives in Third Aunt's house, unable to conceal her father's emaciated appearance, so she secretly dug a laundry list of shepherd's purse, ground all the beans left in Third Aunt's house, cooked a pot of shepherd's purse tofu, filled a big bowl, secretly put it on his father's desk, and gently said to his father, "Eat …".
Later, my father told me that he finished the bowl of "shepherd's purse tofu" with tears and vowed to marry your mother home. In this way, the mother married her father. There is a very special thing in my father's dowry to my mother, that is, a special tool for making "shepherd's purse tofu"-a stone mill for grinding beans. This humble mill is still in my father's study.
On the other hand, it is still very troublesome to really make this kind of "shepherd's purse tofu" authentic. Wait until May, after several spring rains, fragrant and tender shepherd's purse grows everywhere. After the shepherd's purse is dug back, the roots are removed, washed, drained and chopped for later use. Soybeans should be soaked in water in advance, moved to the stone mill, slowly put into the small hole on the stone mill, then add some water and start turning the grinding handle. Soon, with the creaking sound, milky white pulp will flow out of the funnel of the mill, and these pulp will boil. This is the bean juice we drink.
After the beans are ground into bean dregs, they can be ignited. First, heat the pot with a small torch, then spread the crushed shepherd's purse evenly on the bottom of the pot, cover it with a layer of bean dregs, then pour the soybean milk into the pot along the edge of the pot, add a proper amount of cold water, and simmer slowly. When the hot air in the pot rises, turn up the shepherd's purse with a shovel, stir it evenly with bean dregs, add a proper amount of refined salt and simmer for 20 minutes. In this way, a delicious "shepherd's purse tofu" is ready.
Because of the medicinal value and health care function of wild vegetables, wild vegetable recipes have been included in the dictionary of traditional Chinese medicine. People who are tired of eating big fish and meat naturally want to eat something light. In this way, eating wild vegetables has gradually become popular in cities, and "shepherd's purse and small tofu" has also angrily stepped onto the hotel table and become a "famous dish". I hope everyone has a good appetite, a good mood and love.