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Magic of the bean

By Pauline D Loh (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-17 09:40

Bean curd is eaten at every course on our dining table - from appetizer to entree to dessert. Pauline D Loh shares the history, stories and recipes of China's most famous food export

For the growing numbers of vegetarians worldwide, the soya bean is an important part of a balanced diet and its products now feature as part of everyday healthy meatless eating.

But it is still in its land of origin that the bean and its curd have been used with the greatest creativity. Bean curd on its own is eaten fresh, cured, smoked, deep-fried or even fermented in Chinese cuisine, and in a myriad ways.

It is paired with a cornucopia of other ingredients from the richest meats to the simplest herbs. Its unique flavors and properties allow the bean curd to soak up the flavors of its culinary partners, but it can also be eaten chilled in a bowl of crystal clear spring water, which enhances the subtle fragrance of the bean itself. It is a most democratic food - appearing equally at home on the most opulent banquet tables or the poorest pauper's hovel.

As an ingredient, it is extremely versatile. Eaten fresh, it can be dense or light as air, with a texture that ranges from silky smooth to grainy and cotton-like to an almost meat-like firmness. Deep-fried, its tactile properties undergo a change and the curd becomes crisp and fluffy. Process it further and the fermenting process brings out another unsuspected depth of flavor.

It is also seasoning and flavoring. The most important part of the Chinese chef's mise en place is soya sauce, fermented from the bean in a patient process that involves both mould and sun.

The soya bean is flavoring, too, witness the hot bean pastes of Sichuan and Hunan, and the varieties of salted black and yellow fermented beans of Guangzhou, Fujian and the lands south of the Yangtze River. In every province in every part of China, the soya bean and its products and by-products have been used for countless generations in countless ages.

Its first recorded use appears in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), but it must have been around much longer than that. Li Shizhen, the famous Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) pharmacologist, documented the making of bean curd in his famous Materia Medica, a herbal textbook that is still widely referred to Chinese.

As with all good things, the bean curd soon migrated to Korea and then to Japan, where it was adopted with great fervor. Korean or Japanese cuisine cannot do without tofu now.

As the Chinese migrated to the rest of the world, the humble bean curd traveled right along, and where the Chinese landed, the bean curd took root, happily blending into the various local cuisines.

There are too many famous bean curd dishes to document properly, but here are three of my favorites.

Just after the period of the Warring States (475-221 BC), there was an innovative merchant by the surname Tao. He was reputedly an ex-court politician of the Kingdom of Yue, who supposedly married one of the Four Great Beauties of China, Xi Shi.

Whatever his mysterious past may be, one thing we do know for sure. He started one of the first caravan trade routes along the coastal regions of the south, successfully trading textiles and embroidered goods from Suzhou with rice and dried seafood from the south. His caravans had regular stops along the coast, and it was along these stable stops that one of the most tasty tofu dishes originated.

It is called Da Ma Zhan or literally Big Horse Stop, referring to the inns where horses and caravans rested the night before they continued their way. This was rough, flavorful food which went well with big bowls of rice needed to fill the big appetites of the travelers.

Left-over pieces of roast pork were stewed with hearty chunks of firm tofu, and the whole pot seasoned with pungent prawn paste. Right at the end of cooking, huge handfuls of chives were cut up and tossed into the pot.

Further along the ages, bean curd dishes began to take on more sophistication, and the Hakkas, or "guest people", did their part in promoting dishes using bean curd, which were easy to carry and suited their itinerant lifestyle. One of the most famous among these is Niang Tofu or stuffed bean curd.

A filling made of meat, fish or prawns - whichever was most conveniently available - was used to fill little deep-fried bean curd puffs. To make it even more interesting, the bean curd puffs were turned inside-out, creating little smiling "mouths". This can be steamed or pan-fried, depending on your preference.

My third recommendation is a boon for tired mothers who have to put together a quick meal after a long day at work. It is a dish I fall back on myself very often - a chilled silken tofu block served with pieces of century egg, an oyster sauce and some meat floss and sesame seeds. It is easy to assemble and very appetizing and shows off the natural flavors of silken tofu at its best.