Gusu tofu pudding

"Tofu flower" is a flavor snack in Gusu, and it is a good breakfast with low price and good quality. In October 1985, when Mr. I.M. Pei, a world-famous architect and Chinese American, went to his hometown of Suzhou to meet friends and pay homage to his ancestral temple, he asked for "tofu flower" from Gusu for breakfast. During the meal, Mr. I.M. Pei laughed and laughed, and was extremely happy. Why is he so partial to the "tofu flower" in Gusu? This is because it has the local characteristics of Gusu. The "bean curd flower" in Gusu is a kind of bean product that is more tender than stewed egg juice. This kind of bean products are usually made in round wooden barrels about 65 cm high and 50 cm in diameter. When it is made, soybean milk is poured into the barrel and shaped; Then, with a very flat copper spoon, scoop the absolutely tender tofu into a prepared soup pot mixed with water, salt and soy sauce. The soup pot is simmered with slow fire, and the tender tofu slices are cooked in the soup pot without a moment. Because the furnace temperature is just right, the tender degree of the cooked tofu slices will not change at all. Smart vendors in Gusu put spices such as mustard tuber, dried shrimps, shredded eggs, monosodium glutamate and garlic leaves in white porcelain bowls with open blue edges. Put the cooked tofu slices in the pot into a bowl with soup and water. Finally, the peddler deliberately dropped a few drops of sesame oil into the bowl. When you pick up the steaming white porcelain bowl with an open blue edge, the fragrance comes to your nose. The pieces of white tofu are like white jade petals, floating up and down in the soup in the bowl, which is very touching. At this point, you can enjoy the ingenious meaning of the word "tofu flower". The "bean curd flower" in Gusu is delicious and elegant, and it melts in the mouth, which is enjoyed by men, women and children. In the old days, the "tofu flower" in Suzhou was generally carried by vendors with a burden called "tofu flower bear", which was peddled along the street. The front shoulder of this kind of "bean curd flower bear" is composed of a table top, a soup pot, a stove shoulder seat and a semi-hexagonal three-dimensional seasoning seat inlaid with glass. The back shoulder is the round wooden barrel filled with tender tofu. Gusu's "tofu flower", the cries of vendors selling it are very strange; There is only one word "bowl", which is similar to the word "wan" in Wu dialect; When calling the word "bowl", vendors often drag a long, melodious drawl: "finish (bowl)-". For Suzhou people, the word "bowl" called by vendors is a household name; This is the hawker greeting the diners to return the bowl of "tofu flower" in time, but for foreigners who come to Suzhou for the first time, they don't know what is going on.
Reprinted with attribution： https://cnlocality.com/(Chinese Specialty Products)