Zhangguan Hezha Ground Soybean Soup 张关合渣

Zhangguan Hezha Ground Soybean Soup (张关合渣) is a newer version of hezha (合渣), the ground-soybean dish of Enshi (恩施) in western Hubei. It was worked out in the 1970s by Huang Fengyi (黄凤仪) of Zhangguan village (张官村) in Xiaoguan Dong Ethnic Township (晓关侗族乡), Xuan'en County (宣恩县), who adapted the traditional method to modern tastes.

How it is made

Huang's granddaughter Chen En (陈恩), a county-level heritage inheritor of the dish, told Hubei Daily that each stage matters: choosing, soaking, grinding and simmering. The beans are plump, golden local soybeans, soaked thoroughly (in winter for no more than nine hours) and then ground by hand into soy milk at about 15 turns of the mill a minute. The pot is simmered over a very low flame until the hezha sets into curds. The method removes the raw-bean taste without scorching, and keeps the broth clear and the curds smooth and tender.

Where it comes from

A Xinhua photo report carried by People's Daily Online describes hezha as a soybean dish particular to the Tujia (土家族) of Enshi. The key step is grinding the soaked beans on a small stone mill, which is called 'pushing hezha' (推合渣). Hezha is a traditional home dish across Enshi Prefecture. In hard times people cooked soybeans and greens into hezha to fill their stomachs, and a folk saying runs 'chilli for salt, hezha for New Year' (辣椒当盐，合渣过年). Hubei Civilization Net lists Zhangguan hezha among the heritage foods of Xuan'en County.

How it is eaten

Tujia families once made hezha to serve honoured guests at festivals, weddings and funerals; it is now a dish that visitors to the mountains of western Hubei seek out. Hubei Daily describes a Xuan'en family ordering Zhangguan hezha for three at a Zhangguan hezha restaurant in the county, choosing the version with minced pork. Chen describes the finished hezha as mellow, not greasy and long-lasting in flavour.