Chen Ma Po is one of the most cattle nicknames in history

Veteran media personality Brother Fox

Now in Sichuan cuisine and even Chinese tofu dishes, Mapo tofu should be the most undisputed first "cover noodle dish", and its reputation has gone abroad. However, its "life" is not prominent, it comes from the bridge head small restaurant, the qualified "fly restaurant", not the main but "by-product".

The full name of "Mapo Tofu" should be "Chen Mapo Tofu". It was produced during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, more than 150 years ago, spanning three centuries, and its history as a dish with an uninterrupted name is long enough.

At that time, on the Fu River outside the north gate of Chengdu, there was a bridge called Wanfu Bridge, this place name is still there today, but the original bridge is not far downstream of today's Renmin North Road Wanfu Bridge, the original bridge has piers without arches, the bridge deck is tiled, and there is a tile roof on it, which is a simple wind and rain bridge. After 1949, road traffic gradually developed, and after the new North Gate Bridge was built, the old Wanfu Bridge, which had been destroyed by floods, was not rebuilt. At that time, the FuHe River was a moat, and there was a tall city wall on the side of the river, and wanfu bridge was the main entrance of Xinfan County, Peng County and other places to enter the north gate of Chengdu through Dongzikou and Renjiawan, and the flow of people was very large, and the industry of Chen Chunfu, the owner of the "Fly Restaurant", "Chen Ji Xingsheng Restaurant", was on the side of the bridge.

Legend has it that Chen Chunfu's wife's maiden name was Liu, and according to the custom at that time, she should be called "Chen Liu", because she had several hemp seeds on her face, people called her "Chen Ma Po". There is also a theory that Chen Chunfu herself has hemp on her face, and Chen's wife's maiden name is Wen; because she is Chen Mazi's wife, she is referred to as Chen Mabo. Anyway, anyway, the name Chen Ma po rang out, this name is more than a hundred years, can be described as one of the most cattle nicknames in history.

Chen Chunfu died earlier, and the restaurant was continued to be run by Chen Mabo. Coming to this small rice shop to eat, basically the past peddlers pawns, Chen Ma po understands the taste of these people eating, cooking particularly prominent oil and heavy taste, welcomed by diners. Xinfan and other northern counties transport vegetable oil and grain into the provincial city to pick up or push the porters of chicken buses, when they stop here, they like to scoop some vegetable oil from their own oil baskets, cut some yellow beef (Chengdu people do not eat buffalo beef), and then buy some tofu and give it to Chen Ma po for processing and cooking. There is beef, vegetable oil put more, spicy and hot, so that the tofu has meat and vegetarian natural delicious, word of mouth, Chen Ma Po's reputation has gradually entered the city, spread to the residents and Mr. Jin's ears, so some people came to the river, in the rice shop to borrow a bowl to the riverside market to buy vegetable oil, beef (there are also people do not eat beef and buy pork) and tofu to the Chen family rice shop for processing; there are willing to drink a cup slowly in the shop, you can go to the roast shop to buy some pickled brine and sell some wine, while drinking while waiting for the Mapo tofu to be served. This model has become a "rule" that has not changed for seventy or eighty years.

The stove of Chen Ma Po's restaurant is placed in front of the store, and the operation situation is clear, and anyone who wants to visit can be casual, not afraid to spy on secrets. However, more people watch it, and fewer learn from home. In fact, the biggest secret of Mapo tofu is the kung fu of the chef of the pot, including the mastery of the heat and the blending of taste. Moreover, its cooking methods and material selection are also changing, and even the way of doing business has changed later.