Inscription: The origin of Mapo tofu, there are several versions, the theme elements of the story are basically the same. During the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, Chen Xingsheng Rice Shop in Wanfu Bridge, north of Chengdu, the home-cooked dish invented by the boss lady Chen Mabo, I also became famous by this, so it was called Chen Ma po tofu. There are also highlights that the boss lady has suffered from smallpox and has numbness on her face, so she is called Ma Po. This article uses this interesting folklore, according to historical information, to dig and share the historical original appearance of this dish, feel the magical charm of food, an ordinary tofu that can no longer be ordinary, can achieve worldwide fame. If Liu An, the king of Huainan, had known in heaven, he would have been as happy as when he invented tofu, and the kung fu of 2000 years had not been in vain, and he had finally rushed to the peak of tofu.
How chen ma po tofu came from, there are many folk sayings, here are three different versions to share.
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In the past, marriage was not like today, when raw rice was boiled into leftovers, and the wedding was held. At that time, the two newlyweds had never met before marriage, and it was the first time they met when the red hijab was lifted at the wedding. Chen Ma Po was bad at this moment, the groom official opened a look, the handsome little lady's face was a little numb, and immediately returned the goods.
This is the version that has been circulated more around the local market. It is said that before Chen Ma po got married, her mother's surname was Wen, and the girl's name was Wen Qiaoqiao, and she looked like a flower. His father was Mr. Teaching, and he was a family of scholars. Chen Fugui, a young man of the same age in the neighboring family, and Wen Qiaoqiao, in order to marry her, are determined to study and become talents, in order to be worthy of Miss Wen. Did not admit that the fate was not good, several times to rush the exam were named Sun Shan, watching the sweetheart put on the wedding dress and leave. Chen Fugui was already dead as ashes, and he was also missed by God, Wen Qiaoqiao did not become a bride, and when the red hijab was lifted, he was dismissed. Chen Fugui immediately launched an offensive, thinking that the Fa had obtained Wen Qiaoqiao. So there is the mapo tofu in the back.
——Chen Ma po, who is a good person who will eventually be rewarded.
Chen Fugui was industrious and capable, and the two small families opened a small rice shop in Wanfu Bridge, North Pass, Chengdu, called Chen Xingsheng Rice Shop. This is a thoroughfare intersection, and the front of the restaurant has become a place for the coolies to stop, and the small shop has business to do. Behind the shop is an oil mill, next to the rice shop there is a small shop selling tofu and beef. So there is the origin of the story.
There is no three-foot flat land in the Sichuan-Guizhou area, and the cargo transportation is carried on the shoulders in the short distance except for horses and mules. The oil in the oil mill is to pick two oil baskets on the shoulder and transport them away in groups. These porters are called "sticks" in the local area, and their hard work is needless to say, they don't earn much money, they are not allowed to go home to eat, they can only "sharpen" when they stop, and they are messing up their stomachs. Lady Wen treated them as her own family, and each meal was carefully cooked, and the tofu and oil they brought were mixed with some minced beef to make a fragrant delicacy. It is also God who has eyes, and the reputation of this simple tofu dish has spread out, attracting people in the city to eat.
——Chen Ma Po recorded in the book.
In 2013, Jiangxi Science and Technology Publishing House published a book entitled "A Hundred Years of Sichuan Cuisine Legend", which contains mapo tofu among the 150 historical stories of Sichuan cuisine. It is said that in 1862, the young Chen Chunfu and Wen Qiaoqiao came to open a small restaurant by the Wanfu Bridge in the north of Chengdu. The plot of the story is similar, but there seems to be a correct solution to Chen Mabo's name. According to the past custom, calling women are crowned with the surname of their husbands, Wen Qiaoqiao can only be used when they are not married, and when they are married, they have no name, the rules are called Chen Wenshi, the colloquial language is Chen Niangzi, and the old man is called Chen Po. Because Chen Chunfu is Mazi, the people call her Chen Mabo, which means Chen Mazi's wife. In this way, Chen Ma po himself is not a mazi.
We all know that Chen Ma Po tofu is very famous, where is the big? Also share three stories.
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This dish was first famous, it was passed out by the sticks that picked up the oil, and the name of the dish was also called by them, simple to the end. So someone in the city came out to taste it. The first was a noble lady of an official family, who went out of the city to eat once. Unexpectedly, it was very delicious, and the taste was new, not inferior to the taste of mountains and treasures. Go back to their own circle to talk about, soon come to eat more people in the city, the flow of people to the courtyard of the city. Chen Ma Po simply put the name of the small shop and put up the sign of "Chen Ma Po Tofu Shop". She was also enthusiastic and generous, thinking that this simple dish had nothing to keep secret, so she was learned by the people in the city. As a result, there is one more dish in the city's luxurious banquet.
——The honor is added to the body, it is really "grass chicken has become a golden phoenix".
Food is the core culture of our country's tradition, which makes people feel that we have been eating all our lives. Therefore, for food, it is really "heroes do not ask the source", no matter how cheap and expensive the ingredients are, as long as everyone loves to eat, they have the opportunity to climb the hall of elegance. For example, Mapo tofu, a country woman with ordinary tofu, home cooking, made delicious, the same on the rich people's luxurious feast, listed in the top of the food. Legend has it that a poet named Feng Jiaji wrote a poem called "Chengdu Bamboo Branch Words" that is more evocative:
Ma Po Chen clan is still famous, tofu baked to taste the most refined, Wanfu Bridge side curtain shadow moving, Hegu Chun drunken Mr.
Although mapo tofu has a short history, it is only 157 years old, and it is famous for its delicious taste. In 1909, the late Qing scholar Fu Chongju wrote a book called "Chengdu General Survey". The book lists Mapo Tofu and Chen Mapo Tofu Shop alongside 23 top restaurants in Chengdu City, such as Lai Tangyuan, Bao Xi Guan, and Zhengxing Garden
A famous food store in Chengdu
——Mapo tofu all over the world has a pronunciation.
As the world's three major dishes (China, France, Turkey), Chinese cuisine was officially released on September 10, 2018, and Mapo tofu was listed among the top ten famous dishes of Sichuan cuisine. At this time, mapo tofu has long gone abroad, including the United States, Britain, Japan and other parts of the world.
This dish is no longer normal when it goes abroad, how many times the crooked nuts have come to eat, the unforgettable food that has been repeatedly verified, going to them is equivalent to sending food to the door, of course, warm welcome. However, there was a problem translating the name of the dish, and the English could not accurately translate the word "Ma Po". Or are they simple and bright, simply unchanged, just like we translated their "three grams of oil, get a horse to ride", they also come to a "Mapo Tofu", the same as the Chinese pronunciation, but there is no Chinese pronunciation of the ups and downs. But it sounds quite comfortable, and national pride is born.
——Chen Ma po's approach.
The tofu that makes mapo tofu is called water tofu. Sichuan tofu belongs to the typical southern tofu, characterized by tenderness, after the break the phrase "horse's tail through the tofu - can not lift up", "water tofu fell into the ash pile - can not be blown and can not be beaten", are to describe the tenderness of tofu. Unlike northern tofu, it can be weighed with a hook and weighed, hard and solid.
Mapo tofu became famous by chance, saying that there are three reasons:
● At that time, the people's living standards were not high, and they were reluctant to put much oil in cooking. But Ma Po does put a lot of oil, those who pick up oil sticks, empty oil basket casually drained is a bowl, normal enough for a family to cook for ten days and a half months, they will use it. It is also vegetable oil, the most fragrant oil for Sichuan cuisine. This inadvertent multi-oil cooking method later became a major feature of Sichuan cuisine, and it is still the same, such as the "wide oil" dafa of internet celebrity Wang Gang.
●Although beef is small, it has raised the grade of tofu. Tofu alone, how to get it can not become a big climate. The addition of beef is different, and vegetarian dishes become meat dishes.
● Chen Ma Po's kindness gives this dish spirituality. Her kindness is also reflected in the addition of beef, making it with sincerity and sincerity, just like the rice cooked by the mother of the family, no matter how simple, it is also delicious.
Her method is very simple, wok hot vegetable oil, fried fragrant red pepper minced, put the minced beef and stir-fry until caramelized, add water to boil and then add tempeh and tofu, simmer until the juice comes out of the pot, put garlic seedlings, sprinkle pepper noodles into a dish.
- Now the improved version of the practice.
The main ingredient tofu remains unchanged, beef and pork are available, vegetable oil is replaced by peanut oil, more seasonings such as bean paste and scallion ginger parsley, and water is also replaced by broth. The cooking order is: first stir-fry the minced beef in hot pan and cold oil, sauté until caramelized and add bean paste, then add tempeh, chili noodles and ginger rice, then add the broth, add the tofu and cook over high heat, then add soy sauce and salt to tone salty and light. Then tickle, pot, sprinkle peppercorns and green onions into a dish.
——Precautions for cooking modern mapo tofu.
Due to the changes in materials and tastes for more than a hundred years, today's mapo tofu to make the original taste, at least close to the original taste, to grasp the three details on the line:
●Tofu. Nowadays, many of them are industrial tofu, and there are fewer and fewer traditional tofus. It is not that industrial tofu is not good, but it really has no tofu flavor and cannot make the flavor of normal tofu dishes. Therefore, to make this dish you must use traditional tofu, south tofu. In order to solve this problem, some restaurants grind their own tofu, which deserves praise.
●With oil. The main thing is the traditional wide oil practice of Sichuan cuisine, which is no longer suitable. Not bad, but unhealthy. Although this dish requires peanut oil, it is not easy to do in many restaurants, using the cheapest blending oil, and it is even less healthy.
●Beef. Be sure to glue the meat of healthy beef with no water.