As a person from Xianju, I have a certain understanding of this kind of tofu, and my mother can also make it, but to find the answer for you, I still relied on the almighty Du Niang.

This kind of firewood used for making tofu is a wild plant with the scientific name "Verbenaceae Tofu firewood". It is a kind of deciduous shrub with gray leaf stems, green leaves and white flowers. The small flowers grow beside the vegetable fields or along the paths in the mountains. They may seem unattractive, but the dark green leaves exude a different kind of fragrance, which is refreshing. You can find this kind of firewood by going up the mountain and smelling its fragrance. You can either just pick the leaves or break off the branches. This plant has a very strong regeneration ability. The treetops will continue to grow in spring, summer and autumn. After being picked, it will soon sprout branches and leaves again.

Picking firewood seems to be an easy task, but it is actually quite sophisticated. In the selection of firewood leaves, it is better to choose firewood leaves with strong sunlight. This kind of firewood leaves are thicker, darker in color and have more juice; on the contrary, the leaves are thin and have less juice. It is better to use younger leaves. If the leaves are too old, they will have less juice and the tofu will not taste good. When picking the leaves, you must also be careful not to break or break them. Once the leaves are broken, the tofu made will have an unpleasant grassy smell.

Pick the young leaves of tofu sticks, wash them, and rub them vigorously with your hands to squeeze out the juice in the leaves until they become thick; then pour the liquid into gauze and filter. The filtrate gradually melts into the clean water, and then continuously adds an appropriate amount of alkaline water made from straw or firewood ash to the gauze. After standing for a few minutes, it condenses into a green jelly-like substance, which is as pure as jade and crystal clear, but still Place on a dry surface overnight and then cut into cubes with a knife. The finished Chai Tofu can be mixed with sugar or soy sauce and eaten cold, or it can be cooked or stir-fried with seasonings. It is tender and fragrant, and has an excellent taste.

According to the nutritional study of tofu leaves, researchers found that the protein content is 13.39%, the pectin content is 17-19%, and the ethanol soluble content (including pigments, sugars, etc.) is 22.36%. The pure cellulose is 25.71% and the ash content is 8.25%. It is also rich in a variety of vitamins, trace elements and amino acids. It has the function of clearing away heat and detoxifying. It is a good product for preventing heatstroke and cooling in midsummer. It can be described as a pure natural green food.