Anyone who has seen China on the Tip of the Tongue will never forget Vince Tofu in the film.
Siwen tofu is a traditional dish of Huaiyang cuisine, which started in Qing Dynasty and has a history of more than 300 years. I don't know what inspired Sven Monk to make this soup in such a delicate and extreme way. The material selection is very strict, the knife work is fine, soft and mellow, and it looks like water, but the taste is mellow and long, and it melts in the mouth. At the same time, it has the effect of conditioning and health care. In fact, the tofu we see and eat today is very different from the tofu invented by monk Si Wen.
Si Wen tofu originated from Si Wen monk's innovative move. In Yangzhou, every chef has a skill, and the chefs in temples are no exception. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Si Wen, a monk from Tianning Temple in Yangzhou, made this kind of bean curd soup with tofu, gold needles, fungus and other raw materials, which was very delicious. Yu Yue of A Qing Dynasty wrote in Notes on Tea Room: "Si Wen is good for tofu soup, and those who have done work on it so far are called Si Wen tofu." Diaoding Chicken is also called "Assorted Bean Curd Soup". Steven's bean curd was mentioned more than once in Yangzhou Painting Boat Record, saying that it was "delicious". Volume 4 records: "Shang Zhi Village is also the lower house of the West Garden of Tianning Temple. ..... and monk Siwen lived in it. The word is fu. Gong's family knows people and is good at their duties. There is a tendency to learn from deficiency and gain wisdom. At that time, all the rural sages were their friends. Suitable for bean curd soup and sweet porridge. So far, imitators have called it Sven Tofu. " Si Wen and Shang are both very talented and emotional. The dishes he created have been imitated by many people and spread widely. According to legend, when Qianlong visited Tianning Temple in the south, Monk Siwen offered tofu soup and beet porridge many times. Later, this dish was introduced to the people from Buddhism and named after its founder, monk Si Wen.
According to these records, we have no idea how to restore the tofu soup made by monk Siwen. In 1970s, Siwen Tofu was incorporated into the soup dishes in Jiangsu Cookbook and later Yangzhou Cookbook and Yangzhou Teaching Cuisine by China Financial and Economic Publishing House. That's delicious tofu soup.
Wang Zengqi's article Tofu also describes: "Si Wen and Shang Tofu are famous vegetarian dishes in Yangzhou in the Qing Dynasty, and several recipes are recorded, but I have never seen them on the menus of temples and vegetarian restaurants in Yangzhou. I don't know whether Vince and monk tofu are fried or not. I think it was fried for no reason, and I think it was made by hanging soup with soybean sprouts, adding good mushrooms or mushrooms and bamboo shoots, cooking with good autumn oil and slow fire. When the materials are all together, I will try to make Si Wen monk tofu according to my imagination. " Don't laugh at Mr. Wang. It is true that the historical records are not detailed enough to be restored.
Take a look at the production of Siwen tofu today, from material selection to knife work, to ingredients and heat, which is quite particular and the result of bold innovation.
Material selection innovation. Tofu should choose water tofu, and bittern tofu in the north can't be shredded. Monk Vince didn't have such nourishing tofu in those days.
Knife innovation. How could tofu be cut like this before? In order to cut out the effect, the knife method includes the algorithm. First peel off a layer of old skin on the surface of tofu, and then cut it vertically. This is a piece. This piece should be cut as thin as paper. After cutting, put the tofu slices obliquely with a knife, let them "lie" in a ladder shape, and then cut them into filaments. A piece of soft tofu usually needs a big knife, with at least 88 cuts horizontally and 188 vertically. Within a few minutes, a fragile piece of tofu turned into thousands of shredded tofu, which was put in clean water with distinct roots, uniform thickness and fine hair. It must also be non-sticky and unbreakable, which takes into account the workmanship of the knife.
Until after cutting, I took a shovel with a kitchen knife, touched the water, and gently waved it into the basin. Then I held the edge of the basin and shook it gently. A miracle happened-the original piece of tofu instantly turned into thousands of shredded tofu. At first glance, it looks like a whitebait in a soup, looming; Another example is a white silk chrysanthemum, which blooms leisurely and attracts guests to exclaim. "Silver knife swims the screen, cutting winter, summer, autumn, winter and spring." Tofu has always been a soft thing in the diet, and it has been cut into a silky state with magical craftsmanship. The whole process can't be distracted, which is not only the cooperation of hands, eyes and knives, but also the Zen realm of the unity of heart and hand.
Tang Chuangxin. Soup is the secret of Huaiyang cuisine. Add clear soup to the pot, and the most popular is chicken over three years old. Stew slowly with a small fire, and all the flavor and nutrition in the chicken will be absorbed by the soup. Clarify after boiling, and the clarified chicken soup is as clear as boiling water.
Innovation now. Huaiyang cuisine pays attention to color, aroma and shape, and the final presentation of Siwen tofu soup is also very important. Add shredded mushrooms and bamboo shoots to the soup, hook a thin layer of glass, gently turn the spoon on the noodle soup, separate the shredded tofu and slowly ripple away, just like the artistic conception of China ink painting.
In the final product, I saw thousands of pieces of bean curd silk as long as toothpicks and as thin as hair, swimming in the soup, light, white and delicate. Shredded tofu, shredded mushrooms, shredded winter bamboo shoots and shredded vegetables complement each other. When eating, the chicken soup is very fragrant, and the aroma of mushrooms and the umami taste of shredded bamboo shoots are layered. Slippery and slippery, fresh and delicious. Usually the diners haven't recovered, and it has comfortably reached your stomach. On the occasion of aftertaste, people clapped their hands and cheered.
So who made Siwen Tofu become Hua Dan, the master of Huaiyang cuisine?
This person is Cheng Fayin, the chef of Yangzhou Fuchun Tea Club, and is known as the first person of contemporary Si Wen tofu. In the 1970s and 1980s, Vince's method of cutting tofu was still naive. Slice first, then chop. No matter how thin silk is, it is as thick as a matchstick. Cheng Fayin conquered the world with a Vince bean curd soup and won the special gold medal in the 4th National Cooking Competition. In fact, his innovation is also quite risky. He took the lead in replacing Yangzhou old tofu with Japanese lactone tofu in the competition, which was amazing. He divided a piece of tofu into three layers, one of which was only one centimeter high, and then cut it layer by layer. Bean curd silk can be pierced with needles, which has always been the legend of Yangzhou Siwen bean curd soup.
Cheng cut Vince's tofu silk in one go, and the kung fu seems simple. Without three or five years of practice, he is really incompetent. Operation, not only to be cautious, but also die hard Rowen. It is more important to be calm and calm. Looking at it, I saw the knife rise and fall, and the knife was transported into the wind. The whole process is really smooth and amazing. Cheng's original method of cutting tofu has become the industry standard. The appearance of this method has truly realized the gorgeous turn of Vince Tofu and made Vince Tofu go to the kitchen and hall.
Without the innovation of Si Wen monk, there would be no such delicious food; Without the evolution of Cheng Fayin, Si Wen tofu would not look so good; Without the relay innovation of countless Cheng Fayin, Siwen Tofu would not be so wonderful!
Innovation is the soul of Huaiyang cuisine and the inexhaustible motive force for the development of the world food capital.