Tofu Culture in China

Tofu in Chinese History and Culture

Tofu and soybeans have woven their way into Chinese culture.

A woman who is beautiful but poor is known as “tofu xishi” (bean curd beauty). Xi Shi is known as one of the Four Great Beauties of China. It has been said while Xi Shi was washing her veil, her beauty caused fish to freeze and sink to the bottom of the river. Later, her name, Xi Shi, became synonymous with beauty. In Lu Xun’s novel Hometown, a beautiful tofu shop owner, Aunt Yang, is nicknamed “tofu xishi.” From then on, people often used “tofu xishi” to call those who have a good face but are born to a needy family – not necessarily relating to tofu.

A man who dallies with a woman is just “eating her tofu.” Once upon a time, a young couple ran a tofu shop in Chang’an. The husband made tofu during the nights and the wife kept the shop during the day. The wife was beautiful, which can be attributed partly to the effectiveness of tofu on cosmetic skin care. In order to attract customers, she often played around amorously. Men who lived nearby often go to the shop in the name of “eating tofu” to sexually harass the wife. Later on, “eating tofu” became a phrase used to refer to sexual harassment.

Tofu is an indispensable dish on the reunion dinner table during the Chinese lunar New Year, because it sounds like the word for fortune and happiness in Chinese. The food can bring good luck to the whole family. Just as the saying goes, “Tofu, tofu, mouthful of ‘Fu’.”

Process of Tofu-making

Tofu is very simple in production. Put soybeans in water until they are soaked. Then grind. Filter it, and the liquid is bean milk. The remains are bean dregs, which can be used to feed domestic animals. If you put a little gypsum or lushui (magnesium chloride) in the bean milk, it solidifies and becomes tofu. After that, people usually wrap the fresh tofu with cloth and wring out some water for better flavor. If you wring a lot of water out, it becomes dried tofu, which has a different taste but is equally delicious.