Dried Bean Curd Soup,the Fragrance to the Heart’s Content
2 min readWhen talking about the bean curd soup,another dish in ancient times was well worth mentioning.It was called”Nine Shred Soup”.As recorded in the document,the Nine Shred Soup was frequently seen in banquets in Yangzhou during the reign of Emperor Qianlong in Qing Dynasty.Two different ways of interpreting the dish name were offered.One was that the soup was made of nine ingredients as the dish name implied.Another was that the soup was made of over nine food ingredients because the number”nine”could be considered as the noblest numerous.For instance,the emperor(Jiuwuzhizun)was titled as the most powerful person under the sun.
The soup was initially made of shredded bean curd and some other ingredients which included shredded ham,bamboo shoots,mushroom,Calocybe gambosa,egg sheet,chicken,and silver fish.Sometimes,sea cucumber and dried ‘dzor clam and bird’s nest were supplied in this soup to improve the flavor as a dish of high rank and quality taste.
The soup of Nine Shredded elements was very particular about the broth.In Pinciple,it must be chicken soup to ensure the freshness and fragrance.Later on, Mie soup in this dish was graduallv reduced in the feast.What came in place was the prominent Dried Bean Curd Soup.
Today,Dried Bean Curd Soup has alread) spread beyond Yangzhou.It has been reported that the chefs in Yangzhou. brought the bean curd by air to Beijing during the two sessions(NPC&CPPCC) and made the soup for the representatives and won universal praise.Besides,Initiative has been taken to make it enter the international market far to Japan,and to spread our Chinese food culture onto the international stage.More and more foreign friends admire Chinese culture through this dish.