Pan-fry the dried tofu and sprinkle with salt to easily taste its original flavor.

One day at noon in April, my mother came back from the old street in Shiding with two blocks of tofu and happened to walk into the kitchen. All of a sudden, the whole house was filled with the aroma of food. "Mom, what are you cooking?" I shouted, while bouncing into the kitchen to see today's big dish. "Ah! Only tofu?" I was dumbfounded. I had thought it would be something like soy-braised pork. "The old tofu shop in Shiding makes fresh tofu every day. You did not know about this place?" my mother answered calmly.

I had heard that the old tofu shop in Shiding is very famous, and I also like braised firm tofu, soft tofu with century egg, pan-fried egg tofu, stinky tofu, fried tofu…, but what made me curious was how merely pan-fried tofu could smell so layered with bean aroma, and even carry an enticing charred fragrance.

"Do you want to dip it in soy sauce?"

"No, I just want to sprinkle some salt and eat the original flavor." Oh… as I recall it, my salivary glands automatically start producing saliva. The century-old shop insists on using local mountain spring water every day, making it fresh by traditional hand methods, with no additives; just sprinkle a little salt to bring out the flavor, and even when it cools down it still has a rich bean aroma. Why did it seem like I had never eaten pan-fried tofu before? I thought of two reasons:

1. Restaurants or snack shops always have to carefully prepare it as tofu soup, tofu casserole, mapo tofu, crispy old skin with tender meat, or red-braised tofu…, so plain "pan-fried tofu" where the customer sprinkles the salt themselves would very likely be criticized as a rip-off.

2. Soy products are rich in protein, but because consumer habits have changed and supermarkets are widespread, consumers cannot easily obtain tofu made fresh the same day, and the bean aroma easily disappears as time passes after production. Without the bean aroma, tofu naturally becomes a supporting player to spicy hot pot, century egg, or soy sauce.

So, let's DIY a block of same-day, additive-free tofu!

**********************Simple Recipe**********************

Ingredients: firm tofu produced the same day, salt

Cookware: non-stick pan

Steps: 1. Cut the tofu into 1.5 cm thick slices.

2. Patiently pan-fry both sides of the tofu until goose-yellow.

3. Pinch a small amount of salt with your fingers, raise your hand high, and sprinkle it from above.

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Baozhu : )