According to historical records, Taishan Tofu Banquet began in Han Dynasty, flourished in Song Dynasty and reached its peak in Ming and Qing Dynasties. In meditation activities, ancient emperors wanted to "bathe and change clothes, and be vegetarian and purify their hearts", so tofu became an essential dish in meditation.
With the sacrificial activities of Mount Tai in 2000, the "Imperial Diet" signboard of Mount Tai tofu with the theme of Mount Tai tofu came into being, which has influenced it to this day.
Nowadays, the Taishan Tofu Banquet has been excavated and sorted by the cooking team, and the former royal food has been served on the public table, enriching the Taishan food culture. In 20 16, it was listed in the provincial intangible cultural heritage list and became a brand-new cultural tourism business card in Taian.
According to Wu Shiguo, the provincial intangible cultural heritage inheritor of Taishan Tofu Banquet, the Taishan Tofu Banquet launched by him and the cooking team pays attention to the collocation of nutrition and food, dishes and culture.
"Cold dishes are four dishes and four dishes. Place them in pairs, select local specialties and tofu, and reflect the local folk culture and tofu culture handed down from generation to generation. Hot dishes are twelve main courses, representing twelve emperors who sacrificed to Mount Tai in history. " Wu Shiguo said that according to legend, "Dry Fried Tofu Pill" was tasted by Emperor Qianlong, and it was delicious and greatly appreciated, so it was named "Longan Golden Ball". It can be seen that the Taishan Tofu Banquet is a witness to the perfect integration of royal food culture and Taishan traditional diet.
According to reports, Taishan tofu can not be separated from the spring water flowing out of the cracks in Taishan rock mass. Its water quality is characterized by low salt, low sodium, much silicon and many rare elements. Known as "Taishan Shenshui" by the ancients, it is easy to solidify the protein in tofu, thus giving Taishan tofu superior characteristics.
Wu Shiguo said that Taishan tofu tastes delicate and smooth, rich in nutrition, fresh and tender as snow, fresh and tender as milk, and the flesh is delicate and pure. If you eat like a fish brain, a pound of soybeans in a folk workshop can make eight pounds of tofu, which will not collapse if you shake it in your hand and will not sink if you throw it into the soup for a long time.
In Tai 'an, there are many people who try their best to inherit and carry forward Taishan tofu culture like Wu Shiguo. In 2009, Wang Xiaogang, who is still a tour guide, began to organize personnel to dig deep into tofu culture with his love and understanding of Taishan culture. They set up the Taishan Tofu Banquet Culture Research Institute. After digging and sorting out, they boldly explored and innovated, and finally formed the Taishan Tofu Banquet with both historical origins and local characteristics.
"For example, the auspicious blessings tasted by Emperor Kangxi in the history books, the fragrant dried tofu that Emperor Qianlong loved, and the Kirin tofu fish in Song Zhenzong meditation were all presented at the tofu feast." Wang Xiaogang said.
In order to better introduce Taishan tofu culture, Wang Xiaogang has also opened a 600-square-meter tofu museum, making the restaurant a "cultural space" with the theme of tofu. Nowadays, when visitors enter this space, they can not only taste the Taishan Tofu Banquet with local characteristics, appreciate the rich collections of the museum, but also listen to the four-page bamboo board Shandong storytelling and learn about Taishan Tofu culture.
With characteristics, there will be a steady stream of tourists. Wang Xiaogang said that in recent years, tourism teams and research teams have come here one after another, with an annual reception volume of more than 500,000 people at the peak.