“If you never tried the food, you would not be able to know be able taste how good the food is.”
Based off that ancient saying and our eating habits, we tend to gravitate toward experiencing foods that have heavy flavor or is made with rare ingredients. Only the few will enjoy the true flavor of the food. Let’s take the aroma of tofu for example, many people cannot describe how the taste is. So for today we come to Chishang, together with Dou Fanghua, to rediscover the true flavor of tofu.
Tofu has a light soybean aroma and tender texture. When it comes to tofu dishes, it always reminds people of all kinds of delicious dishes. Tofu can be paired with a variety of ingredients without concealing the taste of others as it doesn’t cover the flavor of other dishes nor lose its own unique flavor.
“We don’t force to stand out even though we are plain” The silky aroma will tickle your taste buds as you sink your teeth into the tofu. You will taste the full flavor of the tofu if you chew it slowly. In addition to relishing the final product and how they make the homemade tofu, you should understand the story that was inspired by Dou Fanshua Chishang about the people and soybeans.
Photo：Doufanghua FB
The satisfaction of eating is not only related to the taste of the tofu, but also the knowledge of the ingredients, and the process of making the experience of making the food. This unique experience will touch your heart and open your eyes.
Needless to say, all the tofu we buy from the stores are made from large quantities imported soybeans which they got at low prices. They use gypsum powder as a coagulant, which in turns makes the aroma very bland and gives out a very ordinatry taste. The owner of Doufanghua （Chih-Chung Chang）, also known as the Tofu Master, founded his tofu shop in Chishang in 2012. In addition to providing unique tofu meals, he also provides tofu-making teaching sessions as he is committed to restoring the flavor of tofu from its original source.
Mr. Zhang personally grows soybeans in Chihshang. All of his tofu are made from Kaohsiung No. 10 beans (which has a milky fragrance), and Tainan No. 4 beans (sweet) and when combined produces the unique kind of tofu. You can first get to know the origin of soybeans and admire the “hometown” of tofu in Doufanghua. Mr. Zhang produces a whole field full of soybeans without herbicides and chemical fertilizers as he wants to share his experiences of growing soybeans as well as the hardships he had while maintaining his “organic” ways to produce fresher and safer soybeans for consumers. In In the emerald green fields, many urbanites will be slightly surprised that soybeans are grown in this way.
It is better to make the food by yourself as you can have more control over the ingredients. Mr. Zhang hopes that customers also knows the full process of making tofu, from processing of soaking the soybeans to pressing. After the soybean is soaked, they repeatedly pressed five or six times to filter the soybean liquid where it is poured into a large pot. The pot is boiled, stirred, and the soybean foam is scooped from the top. The tofu that is created by this process does not give the tofu any aroma. During this process, the heat an time control are very important. When the temperature of the soybean milk cools down, Mr. Zhang will slowly inject bittern from the Qigu Salt Mountain three times, stir and let the milk solidify. He would then spread a piece of cloth and put the soybean paste into the cedar bean mold while pressing it on to the cedar board. Stones are then pressed on the cedar slab and the different density are determine by the temperature from the dehydration.
Because the whole process is made by hand, you would be touched by the hard work that Mr. Zheng puts in each tofu.
Photo：Doufanghua FB
After you are able to physically experience the tofu making process, you can experience the hard work of the process when you taste the final product. Due to the inflex of tourist traffic, Mr. Zheng is always providing the best quality ingredients and showcased the ingenious cooking techniques to present the best taste of the ingredients.
Doufanghua uses tofu to produce many delicacies. The restaurant produces three sets of tofu dishes:
1.) turmeric tofu with plum tomato salsa: consists of cold tofu with pickled plums and tomatoes. It can be compared to an salad appetizers due to the fresh, sweet and sour taste. The combination of these taste are very unique.
2.) Brine Tofu with local island soy sauce: The tofu is made with bitter which has a thinner density and the taste is different from others. Dipped with aged soy sauce that is brewed by the use of ancient pottery, the richness of the tofu will come out.
3.) Black bean Tofu with House Vegetable Fried Sauce: The black bean tofu itself has a very unique smell and is paired with and homemade vegan bean curd. The sauce along with the rice makes it an appetizing choice for those people wanting to try a new dish.
There are a lot of local side dish that the restaurant provides:
1.) Okara pancake topped with pure vanilla: We will add tofu residue along with dill and scallion to make Okara Pancake. The initial taste is very crispy and the aroma is very strong.
2.) Terra Miso brewed vegetable broth: Miso soup brewed with soybean has a fragrant taste that is served with fresh melons and vegetables.
3.) Wild Seasonal vegetables with sesame ginger: Fresh and tender local vegetables bought in the morning with the aroma of sesame oil.
4.) Well’s small farmer and Friendly rice: utilize the rice that won the national rice champion (Qiu ChuiChang) where every bite of the rice has a rich rice flavor.
After each meal, you will be served the perfect combination of salted bean curd along with a cup of specially marked sugar water. The sugar water is an reminisce of the history of longevity and is also moisturizing for the skin.
Photo：Doufanghua FB
Since every tofu is handmade, and you can witness the vast fields of soybeans, you can ensure the best quality of the tofu. If you come on a romantic date with our tofu, you can taste the really mellow flavor and also experience the synergy between the local people and the land itself.
