For the Hakka people, any ingredient can be "stuffed", and in front of the stuffed vegetables, there is a good reason to add a bowl of rice even when you are full.

Although everything can be brewed in Hakka cuisine, there is one dish that has firmly taken its place as an irreplaceable ingredient - stuffed tofu.

01 Meizhou stuffed tofu favored by Dr. Sun Yat-sen

It is said that in the summer of 1918, Dr. Sun Yat-sen came to the town of Songkou in Meixian County, Guangdong Province to inspect. Before saying goodbye, he was invited to eat a Hakka feast, dishes on the feast are rich, but he was still attracted by the stuffed tofu, the Hakka squire with a thick Hakka accent introduced the "stuffed tofu, send wine and rice". Sun Yat-sen did not understand, the companion translated to realize.

Stuffed tofu, which was favored by Dr. Sun, is a famous Hakka dish that every Hakka family knows how to make. Tofu is a cheap and easily accessible food for the common people, and has always been a good companion for the Hakka people.

02 Stuffed Water Tofu in Chedian

In addition to the stuffed tofu in Meizhou that Dr. Sun Yat-sen ate, the stuffed water tofu in Chedian has to be mentioned as well.

Chedian is a town in Longchuan County, Heyuan City, Guangdong Province, and this town has always had the custom of making tofu. The water quality here is excellent, so the people of Chetian use the local green-skinned soybeans, together with the clean well water, to make the unique flavor of the tofu.

The special thing about authentic Cheddar Tofu is that the soybean paste is brined and stirred to form a tofu brain, and then wrapped individually in a small cloth and pressed into shape. Finally, the tofu must be brushed with tea oil and roasted over a charcoal fire until lightly browned. The locals call this step "kang" (炕).

The tofu here is a perfect combination of sweet soybeans and sweet well water, and it's also a great ingredient for stuffed tofu.

To make stuffed tofu, fill the Chedian tofu with meat, fry it in a pan until it turns golden brown, and then put it in a clay pot. It's simmered in a gravy made from garlic and soy sauce, and while it sizzles when served, the chef will sprinkle a handful of fresh scallions to your personal preference.

To eat stuffed tofu, you have to use chopsticks and a spoon to get a piece of stuffed tofu into the bowl, otherwise the delicate it tends to crack.

When the tofu slides into your mouth, you first taste the crispness of it being fried over a high flame, followed by the softness of the tofu. The aromatic earthy pork filling naughtily blends with the tofu, and this unctuous, non-fishy meat and bean flavor is unforgettable once you taste it.

Stuffed tofu is like a code word for Hakka people. When Hakka people who are wandering around the countryside can have a bite of stuffed tofu, it is like coming back home.

Not only in Guangdong, scattered in Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi cities and counties of the Hakka people, in the festival full of pots of stuffed tofu, eat for a few days are not unusual.

What kind of stuffed vegetables have you eaten? What is your favorite stuffed dish?

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