Fermented bean curd brewing technique (Wangzhihe Fermented bean curd brewing technique)
As early as the Han Dynasty, tofu was invented in my country. In order to facilitate storage, people added wine lees to pickle it, thus forming fermented bean curd. In the Qing Dynasty, the fermented bean curd brewing skills were improved and improved, and the famous Wang Zhihe fermented bean curd appeared. Its traditional production skills have been passed down to this day. In the eighth year of the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty (1669), Wang Zhihe, a scholar from Anhui, went to Beijing to take the imperial examination and lived in the Anhui Guild Hall in Beijing. During the preparation period, he made a living by selling tofu. Wang Zhihe used the fermented bean curd brewing skills of his hometown to preserve the remaining tofu, and inadvertently invented the unique variety of stinky tofu. Later, the stinky tofu business became increasingly prosperous, so Wang Zhihe gave up his studies and went into business. In the seventeenth year of the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty (1678), he founded the "Wang Zhihe South Soy Sauce Garden" on Yanshou Temple Street outside Qianmen, with a shop in front and a factory in the back, producing stinky tofu. After the public-private partnership in 1958, Wang Zhihe South Soy Sauce Garden moved to Haidian District, Beijing, and the production scale expanded year by year. Wangzhihe fermented bean curd brewing technique inherits the production process of fermented bean curd with Mucor, mainly producing red fermented bean curd and green fermented bean curd (stinky tofu), which are characterized by "fine, soft, fresh and fragrant". Wangzhihe fermented bean curd is made of soybeans as raw materials, and red and white wine, sugar and salt as auxiliary materials. It is fermented by microorganisms. The production process is relatively complicated. From raw material input to finished product output, it needs to go through dozens of processes such as soybean screening, cleaning, soaking, grinding, pulp-residue separation, soy milk heating, coagulation, pressing, cutting, inoculation, early fermentation, pickling, filling, and late fermentation, which takes about three months. In the old days, many tools were used for brewing Wangzhihe fermented bean curd, mainly large vats, stone mills, wood pots, stones, wooden boards, cages, jars, etc. In history, eating fermented bean curd was an important way for the majority of working people to take in plant protein. Wangzhihe fermented bean curd is a fermented soy product, which is not only nutritious, but also rich in medicinal value. It has multiple functions such as lowering cholesterol content and blood pressure. It is a rare ideal health food. In recent years, Wangzhihe fermented bean curd has made further progress in production. The "Wangzhihe" trademark has been recognized as a "well-known trademark" by relevant national departments, and Wangzhihe Nanjiangyuan has been identified as a "Chinese time-honored brand" by the Ministry of Commerce. At present, Wangzhihe fermented bean curd is sold in 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions across the country, and is exported to many countries and regions such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and the European Union. Wangzhihe fermented bean curd products are widely welcomed and praised by consumers at home and abroad.