What is the meaning of cucha danfan？
2 min readCucha danfan means“weak tea and a simple food”，or“a simple diet”.
Traditionally it refers to a lifestyle of living thriftily in daily life.
In ancient times，ordinary families usually arranged their daily meals simply to get stomachs full.This brought out a general custom of trying not to eat dry cooked grains if they had porridge-like food made by boiling the grain in water.In winterslack-season and spring-famine period three meals might be reduced to two per day.
In addition，they tended to have few fried dishes.On many occasions fried dishes were substituted by paste-like thick sauce，fermented soybeans，or pickled vegetables.Ordinary families usually made a living this way.Even in normal harvest years，they admonished themselves against any indulgence in extravagant eating.
There is a belief，”water flowing out in a trickle takes a long time to exhaust .”“Being diligent and thrifty ”is another motto that remains an enduring popularity.
However，the situation would be different when a harvest，festival，or wedding occurred.On that occasion，a rich dinner or meal were provided.For example，in a rush-in-harvest or rush-planting season，peasants usually had four meals a day.In some rural areas there would be five meals offered because of hard labor by peasants working in the fields.By then，their meals usually contained abundant meat and fish.
How much do you know about beancurd in China？
Beancurd or tofu is the largest and most important soybean food in China.
Generally，beancurd is made by grinding soybeans，filtering the resulting soymilk，adding a coagulant and pressing out the excess water.Northerners traditionally prefer a harder beancurd while southerners prefer a softer，more watery product.A large portion of the beancurd made in China is further processed.
One of the most common processed products is the dried beancurd .This is often smoked or stewed in flavorful sauces and sold on the streets.
Another common processed product is fermented beancurd .This is made by taking very hard，small beancurd cubes，inoculating them with bacteria or mold and allowing them to ferment.These are sold in the markets in bottles or earthenware jars.
Beancurd jelly is a favorite of street vendors in the south.It is extremely soft.You will see the vendors scooping it out of large pots into bowls，adding sauces according to the customer’s specifications.
Bean paste is called miso in Japan.Bean paste is made by combining steamed soybeans with a starch-usually wheat or rice.To purchase bean paste，you bring your own container to one of the state markets and ask them to fill it with the flavor of your choice.
Fermented soybeans are steamed，cooled soybeans.The beans are fermented for three weeks and then mixed with salt，alcohol and water.This mixture is sealed in an earthenware vessel and stored for six months.The final product is fried or braised with meat dishes for a wonderful flavor.
