Hanzhong-Style Vegetable Tofu
A traditional Hanzhong home-style tofu dish set with jiangshui, served with sour jiangshui porridge and potatoes, accompanied by a special dipping sauce.
Ingredients
Soaked soybeans (soaked until expanded, for grinding into soy milk)
to taste
Sour fermented soy liquid (for coagulating tofu and cooking porridge)
to taste
Rice (for making rice porridge)
to taste
Potato (peeled whole)
to taste
Fresh ginger sprouts (for the dipping sauce)
to taste
Fresh garlic (for the dipping sauce)
to taste
Green pointed chili peppers (for the dipping sauce)
to taste
Scallions (for the dipping sauce)
to taste
Mature walnuts (for the dipping sauce)
to taste
Aged sesame seeds (for the dipping sauce)
to taste
Chili oil (for making the dipping sauce)
to taste
Stone-ground sesame oil (for making the dipping sauce)
to taste
Vinegar (for making the dipping sauce)
to taste
Instructions
1
Grinding the soybeans
Slowly grind the fully soaked soybeans into smooth soy milk, taking care to ensure a fine, even texture.
2
Heating the soy milk
Slowly heat the soy milk in a large iron wok over a wood fire, stirring to prevent it from sticking and scorching.
3
Coagulating the tofu
Coagulate the soy milk with the sour fermented soy liquid, adding it slowly and checking the curdling as you work. Allow the curds to form a solid mass.
4
Pressing the tofu
Lift the tofu curds into a bamboo sieve and press them gently into shape.
5
Cooking the porridge
Wash the rice with clear sour soy liquid, place it in a pot, and cook it into a thin porridge. Add the whole peeled potato and cook it alongside the rice.
6
Combining and simmering
Cut the tofu into pieces, return it to the pot, and simmer it briefly with the porridge and potato.
7
Making the dipping sauce
Roast the walnuts until crisp and remove their skins, toast the sesame seeds, and blister the green chilies. Combine the walnuts, sesame seeds, ginger, garlic, and salt, then pound them into a paste. Mix in the pickled scallions, chili oil, sesame oil, and vinegar.
