Everyone knows moldy tofu and everyone loves to eat it. It is a good delicacy and a good addition to meals. Before the 1990s, almost every household would make a few cans of moldy tofu and keep them at home! The molded tofu made by my mother is particularly delicious. My mother s

Moldy tofu Everyone knows and loves to eat it. It is a good delicacy and a good addition to meals. Before the 1990s, almost every household would make a few cans of moldy tofu and keep it at home!

The molded tofu made by my mother is particularly delicious. My mother said that she learned it from her grandpa when she was still at her parents’ home. She said that the molded tofu made by her grandpa is even more delicious than what she makes now. Because my grandpa specialized in making molded tofu and sold it in the market, he was quite famous in the local area. Unfortunately, my grandpa passed away early, and he died of illness before I was born!

When I was a child, my mother would make moldy tofu several times a year! As soon as the previous meal is almost finished, I will buy tofu to make again. The moldy tofu at home is never cut off all year round. At that time, it was just because my family was poor! My father had been working in the gold or coal mines in Liling, a neighboring province, for many years. At home, my mother took care of us four sisters. In order for us to study, my mother also lived frugally with us! I rarely buy food from outside, let alone meat! You grow your own vegetables and raise your own poultry. Tofu is cheap, so you buy it and process it yourself to make molded tofu.

Before preparing to make molded tofu, my mother would always say hello to a family named Li who makes tofu in our village! Order the quantity and make the tofu tender. I also asked for it to be delivered on weekends, so that my mother would have enough time, and we could also help her with it. If they do it well, they will deliver the customized tofu to my house when they go out to sell tofu at the agreed time.

Start making the tofu when it is ready. The eldest sister helps cut the tofu. First, cut the tofu into cubes about the size of mahjong pieces. My younger sister used to play by herself when she was young. My second sister and I found clean rice straws, spread them on woven bamboo pots, and then placed the cut tofu on top to dry and let it ferment naturally! Fermentation depends on the weather. The fermentation time is different on sunny days and cloudy days. Just observe the color of the tofu pieces and see if there is a little green mold. Then prepare chili powder, thirteen spices, edible salt , and white wine. The liquor must be above 45 degrees, and you cannot use Maotai-flavor liquor, otherwise the aroma will turn into another flavor! Stir the chili powder and thirteen spices together, put the wine in a small bowl, soak the tofu in the wine, and then put it in the mixture to coat the tofu with a layer of mixture. You can put it directly into the can. After filling the can, add a little cooking oil, tea oil is even better! Pour in the oil to increase the aroma and taste better; seal the jar and wait for a month and a half before you can eat it!

At that time, my mother would get up early every morning and go to the house of a firecracker maker to pick out "pancakes" and then plant them! If you go late, either there are none or you have to wait! In order to grab the "pancakes", she went out with a flashlight every day before dawn; then she had to steam the rice and told the eldest sister to take us to eat together and go to school! Because sometimes my mother didn’t have time to cook, we just had lard rice with or soy sauce rice, and then each of us had a piece of moldy tofu. This was what we had for breakfast. In fact, sometimes it is like this at noon or at night. At that time, a small piece of moldy tofu can really finish a meal, and it still feels delicious!

Although life is getting better now, my sisters are all married, and their families are also very good! But my mother would still make molded tofu once or twice a year, making six or seven cans at a time. If she could eat it, she would give it to her older sisters and younger sisters. The taste is still the same as before, it is also the taste of maternal love, a taste that I will never forget!