In the rural areas of southern Anhui, there is a special dish in summer and autumn, that is, "Guanyin tofu", also known as "leaf tofu". Guanyin tofu is a pure wild plant leaves after rubbing and filtering the juice, adding alkaline substances to solidify and form a gelatinous substance, the color is emerald green, crystal clear, slightly with the fresh breath of the plant, the food is soft and smooth, very delicious, the key is that Guanyin tofu can clear the heat and lose the fire, it is the best specialty food to cool off the summer.
So, what kind of plant leaves are Guanyin tofu made of? How to identify? Why can I make tofu? What to do?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" >What plant leaves are Guanyin tofu made of? How to identify? </h1>
The plants that make Guanyin tofu are very common in the area south of the Yangtze River, and there are many names, Anhui is called "tofu chai", "tofu leaf", "Guanyin chai", Jiangxi is called "stinky yellow wattle", and some places are called "cool powder chai", which is a small deciduous shrub.
Tofu chai is a small deciduous shrub of the genus Tofu chai in the verbena family, which is more upright and shade-tolerant, and often grows in trees and shrubs in the middle and lower parts of the hillside, especially in the shaded gentle slopes at the foot of the mountain and the most widely distributed on both sides of the creek.
The leaves of tofu chai are oblong, inverted ovate, ovate lanceolate, green in color, papery in color, irregular coarse serrations on the leaf margins, glabrous or nearly hairless, short petioles, with lower-extended leaves on both sides of the petiole, flowering and gathering branches in May, fruit hanging in June and October, initially green, purple-black when ripe.
Tofu chai comes with a special plant grass smell, some people think it is a smell, so it is also called "stinky yellow wattle". But after making Guanyin tofu, this special smell basically does not exist, and then accompanied by spices, fragrant and delicious, coupled with emerald green color, quite tempting.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" Why can the leaves of > tofu chai make Guanyin tofu? </h1>
The leaves of tofu chai can be made into "tofu", which sounds magical, in fact, when you understand the active ingredients of tofu chai leaves, it is not surprising.
It turns out that the leaves of tofu chai are rich in pectin. Pectin is an acidic polysaccharide substance in the plant body, usually white, light gray to light yellow, slightly sour, with a certain viscosity, quite sticky, mainly present in the plant's inner cell layer and cell wall, slightly acidic. When the pectin encounters a weak alkaline substance, it will react and solidify, becoming "Guanyin tofu". This is also the reason why it is necessary to add grass and wood ash water or lye when making Guanyin tofu.
In addition to being rich in pectin, tofu chai also contains a variety of amino acids, proteins, crude fiber and other nutrients, which is a pure natural green food and is very beneficial to human health.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="7" How is Guanyin tofu made >? </h1>
Watching farmers in the mountains make Guanyin tofu is very simple, and its production process is nothing more than picking leaves, preparing ingredients, kneading, filtering, and solidifying.
Leaf picking: In the mountains south of the Yangtze River, tofu firewood can be seen almost everywhere, especially in mountainous areas, farmers know where there are, and some even transplant them to the front of the house and behind the house, and they can collect a basket in a moment;
Preparation: collect clean straw or thatch, calcined into grass and wood ash, brewed with cold boiled water, and then filtered with fine gauze, after precipitation, take the upper part of the clean grass and wood ash water, you can also directly use edible alkali instead;
Kneading: Wash the collected tofu chai leaves and put them in a cloth bag and rub them repeatedly until they decay into a sticky green paste;
Filtration: pour the grass and wood ash water into the kneaded tofu wood juice, mix well and stir well and filter;
Solidification: After filtering, you can get the emerald green tofu chai pectin aqueous solution, put it into a clean container and solidify it.
The most common way to eat Guanyin tofu is to cut into regular small pieces, add ginger shreds, green onions, aged vinegar, soy sauce, drizzle with sesame oil cold mix, whether it is color or taste, whether it is shape or inner quality, is a unique, nutritious, heat-cooling food, have you ever eaten?