Dafang Dried Tofu Hot Pot 大方豆干火锅

Dafang Dried Tofu Hot Pot (大方豆干火锅) is a spicy hotpot of hand-pressed squares of dried tofu from Dafang County (大方县) in Bijie (毕节), Guizhou. It is built on Liulong dried tofu (六龙豆干), mostly made by hand in Liulong town (六龙镇), where the dish is served as Liulong dried-tofu hotpot, and it is also served in Bijie's city district of Qixingguan (七星关区).

Ingredients

Liulong has more than 200 dried-tofu workshops. According to the Guizhou Agricultural Economy Net (贵州农经网), they curdle the soya milk with sour liquid (酸汤), a method handed down for 300 years, and use local soybeans and underground water from Longtan (龙潭). Liulong dried tofu was recognised as a national geographical-indication product in 2018. Guizhou Daily (贵州日报) watched a workshop hand-shaping the pieces: a pinch of tofu goes into a small square of cloth, which is pressed and folded at the four corners. Liu Mengxue (刘孟雪), who runs a tofu works in Liulong, told Contemporary Guizhou (当代贵州) that she fires with coal for a fierce heat and curdles with home-made sour liquid.

Flavour and texture

A Contemporary Guizhou report republished by the Dafang county government describes Dafang dried tofu as soft and tender, with some chew. A visitor from Chongqing quoted by the Guizhou Agricultural Economy Net picked out the fermented black bean (豆豉) aroma of the soup base mixed with ciba chilli (糍粑辣椒), a pounded chilli paste, and found it quite unlike the beef-tallow hotpots of Sichuan and Chongqing: hot but not harsh. A diner quoted by Guizhou Daily called the base spicy without being harsh and oily without being greasy.

How it is eaten

Diners cook the tofu in the pot until it has soaked up the flavour of the base. The Red Lantern (红灯笼) restaurant in Liulong, whose owner has cooked the dish for more than 20 years, also packs its hotpot base for customers to take away. Guizhou Daily found it full on 14 February 2024, over the Spring Festival holiday, with many people home for the holiday; one diner who has lived in Yunnan for years said she eats there every time she comes back.