Bishan Soft Tofu with Rice 璧山豆花饭

How it is made

One maker, Lai Rongli (赖荣莉), has sold soft tofu for close to thirty years in Shuitianchi village (水天池村), Bicheng subdistrict (璧城街道), and grinds a large pot every day. She picks large, plump local soybeans and soaks them in mountain spring water, which is rich in minerals and tastes sweet, so the milk ground from the beans is more fragrant. The soaked beans are crushed in a stone mill, the milk is strained through gauze until the pulp no longer sticks to the cloth, and it is brought to the boil over a high flame.

To set the curd, a ladle holding brine (卤水) glides through the milk, and soon the milk turns from milky white to pale yellow. Once curd and water separate, the curd is pressed with a winnowing basket. The force and length of that pressing decide whether the curd ends up firm or tender, a skill she says lies in the hands and comes only with practice.

How it is eaten

The curd is dipped in an oil dip (油碟) and eaten with a bowl of rice steamed in a wooden barrel, a pairing many diners consider unbeatable. Lai describes her curd as fine and smooth, with a natural sweetness. The hikers who prompted her to open the shop ate it with the family's homemade chilli.

Where it comes from

In leaner times, heshui douhua (合水豆花, soft tofu curd) was the classic dish a farm household made for guests, and grinding a pot was the warmest welcome a family could offer. Shops serving tofu and rice still draw diners, in plain rooms with bare wooden tables. Lai's shop began about thirty years ago, when Shuitianchi had no road, only a winding path up the hill: she cooked a pot of tofu for a group of hikers who had stopped to ask the way, and they urged her to open a restaurant. She set a few wooden tables outside the family's earthen house, and is now teaching the craft to her daughter-in-law.

More dishes to compare

Explore related local specialties and compare their names, preparation notes and ordering guidance.