Fermented Bean Curd Brewing Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
As early as the Han dynasty, China had already invented tofu. By the Qing dynasty, the furu (fermented tofu) brewing craft was perfected and improved, and the renowned Wang Zhihe furu appeared, whose traditional production craft has been transmitted to the present day. In the eighth year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty (1669), Wang Zhihe, a juren (recommended man) from Anhui, went to the capital to take the imperial examination and stayed at the Anhui Native-Place Association in Beijing. Later, the stinky-tofu business grew increasingly prosperous, so Wang Zhihe abandoned his studies for commerce and, in the seventeenth year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty (1678), founded the "Wang Zhihe South Sauce Garden" on Yanshousi Street outside Qianmen, with a shop in front and a workshop behind, producing stinky tofu. After the public-private partnership in 1958, the Wang Zhihe South Sauce Garden moved to Haidian District, Beijing, and its production scale expanded year by year.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
To facilitate storage, people added distiller's grains for pickling, and thus furu came into being. During his examination preparations, he made a living by selling tofu. Wang Zhihe used the furu brewing craft from his hometown to preserve the leftover tofu, and inadvertently invented the unique variety of stinky tofu. The Wang Zhihe furu brewing craft inherits the Mucor-type fermented-tofu production process, mainly producing red furu and green furu (stinky tofu), with products characterized by being "fine, soft, fresh, and fragrant." Wang Zhihe furu uses soybeans as raw material, with red and white liquor, white sugar, and salt as auxiliary materials, and is formed through microbial fermentation; the production process is fairly complex—from input of raw materials to finished product it requires dozens of process steps such as soybean screening, washing, soaking, grinding into slurry, separation of slurry and dregs, heating the soy milk, coagulation, pressing, cutting into cubes, inoculation, preliminary fermentation, pickling, filling, and later fermentation, over a period of about three months. In the old days, Wang Zhihe furu brewing used many tools, mainly large vats, stone mills, firewood stoves, stone blocks, wooden boards, steaming baskets, and jars. Historically, eating furu was an important way for the broad laboring people to take in plant protein. The "Wang Zhihe" trademark was recognized as a "Well-Known Trademark" by the relevant state department, and the Wang Zhihe South Sauce Garden was designated a "China Time-Honored Brand" by the Ministry of Commerce.
Archival Record of Process Steps
Wang Zhihe furu uses soybeans as raw material, with red and white liquor, white sugar, and salt as auxiliary materials, and is formed through microbial fermentation; the production process is fairly complex—from input of raw materials to finished product it requires dozens of process steps such as soybean screening, washing, soaking, grinding into slurry, separation of slurry and dregs, heating the soy milk, coagulation, pressing, cutting into cubes, inoculation, preliminary fermentation, pickling, filling, and later fermentation, over a period of about three months.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Wang Zhihe furu brewing craft originated on Yanshousi Street outside Qianmen in Beijing and moved to Haidian District after the 1958 public-private partnership. The shop shared one set of equipment: the large vat was the cellar for inoculation and molding, the stone mill and firewood stove handled grinding the slurry and curdling it, the stone block was the weight for pressing and shaping the cakes, and the jar handled sealing. Red and green furu follow the same vat method but different paths; green furu is what is commonly called stinky tofu, following the old route of first pickling then molding.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Wang Zhihe furu is a fermented soy product that is not only nutritious but also rich in medicinal value, with functions such as lowering cholesterol and reducing blood pressure, making it an ideal health food that is hard to come by. In recent years, Wang Zhihe furu has achieved further development in production. At present, Wang Zhihe furu sells throughout all 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions of China, and is exported far to the United States, Canada, Australia, the European Union, and many other countries and regions; Wang Zhihe furu products are widely welcomed and praised by consumers at home and abroad.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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