Guanyin tofu making technique
Guanyin tofu is a green food made by collecting wild Fubi leaves from the mountainous areas of southern Anhui and extracting pectin through processing technology. At the turn of the Song and Yuan dynasties, there were constant wars and droughts, and farmers were hungry. Some people dreamed of Guanyin Bodhisattva instructing them to squeeze juice from the leaves and solidify them to satisfy their hunger. So the product came out, and it was named Guanyin tofu because it looked like tofu after solidification. Fubi is a wild upright shrub belonging to the Verbenaceae family. The leaves are ovate, 313 cm long and 1.56 cm wide. Among them, a variety of fragrances such as orchid, rose, and plum are contained in the thick green air, exuding a pungent fragrance, so it is also called stinky lady. The people of She County call it tofu wood and tofu wood. Pharmacopoeias such as "Compendium of Materia Medica", "Shenlong Materia Medica", and "Food Materia Medica" record that it has the efficacy of treating malaria, diarrhea, painful carbuncle, traumatic bleeding, snake bites, sobering up, and lowering blood pressure. The production period is from late April to November every year. Three kilograms of leaves can make seven kilograms of "tofu". No special tools are needed for the production, and local materials can be used. The production process is not complicated. Before the 1960s, farmers in the mountainous areas of Shenan generally made it, which was used as a meal and a dish. The color is as green as emerald, solid and not broken. It tastes fresh and refreshing in the mouth, with a slightly astringent taste, but full of fragrance and unique flavor. After three difficult years of land reclamation and grain planting, the number of tofu trees has been greatly reduced, and it is necessary to go to the mountains to collect sporadic collections. In addition, the food is abundant. After 1980, very few people have made Guanyin tofu, and it is on the verge of being lost. Both resources and technology should be protected as soon as possible. Information source: Anhui Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center Information source: Anhui Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center