China 9: Tofu
20 January 2009
Boy, was I gullible. Back home in North America, it is too often said: “Oh, tofu only tastes what you season it with, on its own it has no flavor.” To that, my western friends, I answer: no deal. I have now travelled and tasted tofu, real tofu, and I testify in its favor for it has flavor, flavor perceptible no matter the garnish or sauce. It doesn’t taste something or anything, it tastes like tofu.
As we’ve been going throught every local speciality of Sichuanese’s cuisine—over the top hot and spicy are the keywords here—, my current favorite is ma po dou fu: tofu cubes in an oily red hot spicy peppery sauce. As you can guess, no matter how spicy the sauce, you can still taste the tofu. The texture of the fresh kind—the good kind, made and bought daily at the market—lies somewhere between firm and soft, holding itself together betweeen the baguettes, while melting deliciously in your mouth. Quite the opposite of the sterile brick of blandness found chez nous.
New best breakfast: steamed warmed baozi (puffy and soft little stuffed breads), dipped in warm fresh soy milk.
