The ancient city of Jianshui, located in the Red River region of Yunnan, was known as Lin'an in ancient times. It is a multi-ethnic settlement where various cultures are intermingled to form a unique atmosphere and pattern. Next to the most famous Dabanjing in Jianshui, women build an assembly line of tofu with the cooperation of their fingers alone.
Built in the early Ming Dynasty, the Dabanjing has a staggering diameter of three meters, and is still going strong after hundreds of years. The Chinese believe that water nourishes one's spirituality and awareness. This is analogous to the way water molds tofu. There is an ineffable ****tongue between the two.
Yao Guiwen and Wang Cuihua live a light, hard life around tofu. The husband's greatest wish is to be able to go fishing in a big lake far away, though he has never caught a fish. In the couple's eyes, every piece of tofu is precious. They can help them provide for their children and live a happy and stable life.
In late September, the Uzhumqin grasslands have faded to green. Mengke and his family seize the time to make their final outing to graze before the harsh winter. Milk tea is the ever-present protagonist of breakfast. Brick tea, butter, fried rice, and fresh milk are the key ingredients of a pot of milk tea.
Milk tofu was made a few days ago. People on the grassland can't live without milk tea and milk tofu. Vitamins and minerals that cannot be supplemented by vegetables and fruits can be obtained from here. All the way south, thousands of kilometers away in Yunnan, it's almost the same situation. The Bai people use similar techniques to transform the milk here. Milk fans are hung out to dry in the open courtyard, like giant wind chimes.
This kind of tacit understanding across the miles may date back to the Mongols' pioneering days. More than 800 years ago, the Mongols of Kublai's time traveled to Yunnan. The Mongols who settled here also brought with them the taste of milk from their distant homeland. They wouldn't have imagined that this transformative technique had been passed down in a vibrant way.
Soy foods are the only plant-based ingredient that can stand up to meat when it comes to protein availability. For vegetarians, it's pretty much perfect. The ancient Chinese praised tofu for its harmony and virtue. Those who eat tofu are content to live in poverty, and those who make it know how to "let nature take its course.
Southern Anhui Province, with its unique geography and temperate climate, has contributed to the people's quiet and conservative temperament, which has also given rise to a unique food, Mao Tofu. Fang Xingyu will not make tofu in the hot and humid summer, when it is difficult to control the fermentation of the tofu in the sauna. But in other seasons, Huizhou's warm and moist environment can guide the microorganisms on the right track of fermentation. She hopes that everything to do with this, her own daughter will be able to learn and understand.