At that time, the local tourist attractions had not yet begun to be vigorously protected, and the ecology was somewhat primitive. Ancient villages are scattered on the roadside, lights are in full bloom on the roadside, and stalls selling bayberry are also on the roadside ... On the roadside, we also ate this unforgettable snack-
Shiping tofu, the most famous local specialty.
It's also very interesting. When I first ate it, the first thing I saw was unprocessed, white in color and smelly. At that time, I called my traveling companion and said, Come on! There is stinky tofu here!
The stall owner gave me a white look and ignored me.
In the process of waiting for the pot, I saw clearly the making process of tofu, which is different from the "stinky tofu" I imagined. In my impression, this tofu is also different from the small piece I bought now. It turned out to be a big strip cut from a "heap".
The stall owner holds a long knife, cuts the tofu into pieces, fried it in oil, or baked it on a shelf. Shiping tofu only played down the taste of brine, revealing the original aroma, and gradually became golden with the increase of temperature. While it was hot, I "buckled" it with chopsticks and put it in my mouth. It was very fragrant, and it didn't seem to have any special taste until it was seasoned. Wow!
Shiping tofu, once a seasoning, has become the "unforgettable" flavor we mentioned at the beginning.
I can't find other words to describe it. I can only say: this seasoning is the essence, seasoning is the essence, seasoning is the essence, and the important things are said three times. Only then did I understand why my local friends told me that this kind of tofu must be "eaten with local millet spicy"-even if it can't be spicy, it must be added with this seasoning.
In fact, this "secret" Chili noodle is not so spicy, and it is easy for northerners and Cantonese to get started, but in my feeling, it is really the essence of the whole snack. I wonder what special spices have been added to it. If you take a bite while it is hot, tofu will spit out a "package" of spicy pulp on the tip of your tongue, making you feel smooth and tender, and people can't help eating it bite by bite. But that's not the most important thing. The key is-
I thought I found a treasure, and this Chili noodle is a treasure, so I kept a little of this Chili noodle privately.
Later, I tried dipping it in chicken nuggets, hot dishes and noodles ... no, it was delicious, but it was not as amazing as Shiping tofu. So this incident made me realize that a snack has been passed down for 400 years, and it has been tried and tested, and it can penetrate into thousands of households. Its history, geography and culture should be presented as a complete closed loop, and nothing can be done without it-this is the most interesting place of food, and I have to study it.
Even after eating two meals of Shiping tofu, I found that the bad smell I first smelled was not the smell of tofu itself, but the water that soaked it (temporarily)-strictly speaking, it was not bad smell, but sour taste. The reason why this kind of tofu can't make a stone screen is precisely because its most critical process is not the brine point system, but the local groundwater.
This is the essence of Shiping tofu.
There is a secret hidden in Shiping's well water.
Although this county is located in the plateau, its latitude is relatively low, with an elevation difference of more than 2000 meters from northwest to southeast. However, where God is, people are "poor" in a three-dimensional way: the terrain of the whole county is like an inclined funnel, but the altitude of more than 200 meters at the bottom is neither high nor low. In addition, the climate in this area is dry and wet alternately, with clear air in spring, autumn and winter and concentrated rainy season in summer, which provides a rare natural complex for groundwater storage environment. The most important thing is:
Only in Shiping can the beans in Shiping get this taste and nutrition.
18℃, the "heating bottom line temperature" in this northern winter is the best soaking temperature of tofu beans, which happens to be the annual average temperature of Shiping. Even with the most advanced tofu machine, the preparation temperature is the same as that of Shiping, but it is not as good as the local natural environment ... As mentioned above, Shiping tofu has become a geographical indication product in China.
As we all know, all delicious foods listed as "geographical indications" actually have this feature.
Look at the specialties of our hometown, all kinds of magical species, delicious food or snacks. It seems that most of them are not earth-shattering in technology, mainly relying on the natural beauty of a specific region to distinguish the essence. As Shiping told me: I can teach you the technique of making tofu, but it's useless for you to learn it. Your family doesn't have this geographical advantage.
Therefore, a person, a job, God has already made it clear. No matter how delicious the rice in other people's bowls is, your family can't make it without this millet. It's just that some people are born with tofu bowls handed down from their ancestors, and some people work hard all their lives and stare at other people's bowls unrealistically. ...
Make use of one's own advantages to survive and take food as the sky-Shiping tofu taught me the philosophy of life. In addition:
Before writing this article, I searched online and found that the word "patina" was added after the name of Shiping Tofu (maybe it has always been called this, didn't you notice it before? ) It is also found that the original "Shiping wrapped bean curd" has already become "network celebrity bean curd", and there is another name called "Shiping Explosicum bean curd".
In fact, up to now, Shiping County has not fully developed tourism. Or, it has been developed, but it can't shake the ancient rhyme of the Millennium ancient city and the almost stubborn customs and culture of the local aborigines. It is still a treasure town in Yunnan, very small. However, there are a large number of "Chinese geographical indication products" in Shiping today, which are intangible, intangible, medicinal and protective. After eating this tofu for many years, the taste is still irreplaceable.
I'm Sister Dahong, the anchor of the audio radio travel channel, a professional traveler, focusing on minority games and sharing unpopular destinations. Travel is not an attitude, but life itself.