fermented bean curd

According to the 1596 Compendium of Materia Medica written by the Chinese polymath Li Shizhen during the Ming dynasty, the creation of tofu is attributed to the Western Han dynasty Prince Liu An (179 – 122 BC), prince of Huainan. Manufacturing began during the Han dynasty in China after it was created.{{cite book

|last = Steinkraus

|first = Keith H.

|title = Handbook of indigenous fermented foods

|publisher = CRC Press

|pages = 633–641

|year = 2008

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=VKlHKIvrogUC&q=fermented+bean+curd&pg=PR5

|isbn = 978-0-8247-9352-4 }}

It is disputed whether Li Shizhen mentioned fermentation of tofu, however. A clear reference to fermented tofu appeared in the 1610 Penglong Yehua ({{lang|zh-hant|蓬櫳夜話}}), under the name haifu ({{lang|zh-hant|醢腐}}).{{cite book |last1=Shurtleff |first1=William |last2=Aoyagi |first2=Akiko |title=History of Fermented Tofu - A Healthy Nondairy / Vegan Cheese (1610-2011) |date=2011 |publisher=Soyinfo Center |isbn=9781928914402 |url=https://www.soyinfocenter.com/books/149}}{{rp|18}}

In 1818, Englishman Basil Hall wrote about a red, cheese-like substance served in Ryukyu; he might be referring to fermented tofu. In 1855, Frenchman Baron de Montgaudry described the making of tofu and fermented tofu in writing.{{rp|5,23–4}}

In Mandarin, the product is generally known as dòufǔrǔ ({{lang|zh-hant|豆腐乳}}), "dòurǔ" ({{lang|zh-hant|豆乳}}) or fǔrǔ ({{lang|zh-hant|腐乳}}) {{mdash}} though in southwest China it is often known as lǔfǔ ({{lang|zh-hant|鹵腐}}). In English, it is sometimes referred to as "soy cheese".

File:HRW Fermented Chili Bean Curd.JPG

Fermented bean curd contains organic acids, alcohol, esters and other flavor primitives. It contains a large amount of hydrolyzed protein, free amino acids, fat, carbohydrates, thiamine, riboflavin, oxalic acid, calcium, phosphorus and other nutritional ingredients. It contains no cholesterol. The amount of protein in fermented tofu is about 12–22%.{{Cite journal|last=Li|first=Y.J.|date=2006|title=Modern research on Chinese sufu|journal=China Brewing|volume=1|pages=4–7}}

Ho et al. (1989) compared the volatile flavor compounds of red fermented bean curd and white fermented bean curd. Red fermented bean curd contains much larger amounts of alcohols, esters, and acids than the white variety. This may be due to the fermentation of red rice by Monascus spp.{{Cite book|title=Volatile components of the Chinese fermented soya bean curd as affected by the addition of ethanol in aging solution|last=Hwan, Chou|first=C.H, C.C|publisher=J. Sci. Food Agric.|pages=243–248}} The differences in nutritional properties and fermentation between the two varieties are accompanied by differences in flavor and color.

The Food Encyclopedia, written by Wang Su-Hsiung (1861) of the Qing dynasty, made reference to preserved bean curd as superior to difficult-to-digest, hardened tofu especially for the elderly, children, and ill persons. Fermented bean curd is reportedly easier to digest than unfermented bean curd, because it is made through the fermentation process of mold, making the protein more digestible, absorbable, and richer in vitamins. And the microorganisms decompose the phytic acid in the beans, making minerals such as iron and zinc, which are initially poorly absorbed in soybeans, more easily absorbed by the body.{{Cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Xu |last2=Liang |first2=Jingjing |last3=Ma |first3=Yanli |last4=Sun |first4=Jianfeng |last5=Liu |first5=Yaqiong |last6=Gu |first6=Xiaodong |last7=Wang |first7=Yinzhuang |date=October 2022 |title=The impact of protein hydrolysis on biogenic amines production during sufu fermentation |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0956713522002985 |journal=Food Control |language=en |volume=140 |pages=109105 |doi=10.1016/j.foodcont.2022.109105|s2cid=248802396 |url-access=subscription }} So it may be easier for patients, elderly, or children to eat and absorb the nutrients.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PCyhiOoe49cC&pg=PA238 |title=History of Fermented Black Soybeans (165 B. C. To 2011)|last=Shurtleff|first=William|year=2011|isbn=9781928914419|pages=238|publisher=Soyinfo Center }}

It has been suggested that fermented bean curd may have certain health benefits, although there is insufficient data to confirm these claims. One report claims that the fermentation process generates isoflavones, and that fermented bean curd could reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, lower blood pressure, and prevent osteoporosis.{{Cite journal|last=Lao|first=W.X.|date=2012|title=The production and nutrition value of "fuyu"|journal=Biology Teaching Chinese|volume=37|pages=19–20}}

Fermented bean curd has a special mouthfeel similar to certain dairy products due to the breakdown of its proteins which takes place during the air drying and fermentation. Lacking strong flavor prior to fermentation, fermented bean curd takes on the aroma and flavor of its marinade. The flavor is salty with mild sweetness.{{cite web|url=http://everything2.com/title/fermented+bean-curd |title= Fermented bean-curd |access-date=2009-11-21}} The texture and taste of fermented bean curd resembles a firm, smooth paste not unlike creamy blue cheese. (Indeed, this kind of tofu is sometimes called "Chinese cheese" in English.){{cite web|url=https://www.shine.cn/feature/taste/1808150505/|title= China's 'vegetarian cheese' has health benefits|access-date=September 29, 2019}} Refrigerated, it can be kept for several years, during which time its flavor is believed to improve.

image:Wonton Noodles with Pig Trotters Braised With Fermented Beancurd.jpg

Fermented tofu is commonly used as a condiment, combined into sauces to accompany hot pot, or consumed at breakfast to flavor rice, porridge, gruel, congee, or erkuai. Usually{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} either several bricks are placed in a small bowl covered in the flavored brine or one to one half bricks are placed into a bowl. Then, chunks are broken off the brick and consumed with a mouthful of porridge or gruel. The brine may also be used for flavoring.

Fermented bean curd can also be added in small amounts, together with its brine, to flavor stir-fried or braised vegetable dishes (particularly leafy green vegetables such as water spinach). In the Chaoshan region of China, fermented tofu is the main ingredient used to make a stuffed biscuit known as furu bing.

Both tofu and cheese are made from curds obtained from the coagulation of soy milk and dairy milk respectively. However, soybean curds are formed from the chemical destabilization of the micelles (using calcium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, etc.) allowing protein bonding while cheese curds are created from the enzymatic (rennet) hydrolysis of casein into para-casein.{{cite book

|last = Needham

|first = Joseph

|title = Science and civilisation in China, Volume 6, Part 5

|publisher = Cambridge University Press

|page = 328

|year = 2000

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FgtFxedkgbcC&q=fermented+bean+curd&pg=PA320

|isbn = 978-0-521-65270-4 }}

There is an analogy in subsequent processing of the curds. Tofu is produced by simply pressing the curds, so it, like unaged cheese, is bland and highly perishable. Fermented bean curd, like aged cheese, is ripened with microorganisms and thus flavorful and long-lasting.

File:Doufuru.JPG

• White preserved bean curd is the most common type and can be described without the white adjective. The flavor, color and aroma can be altered using various combinations of spices and seasoning in the brine with alterations in the commonly used combination of 10% rice wine and 12% salt.{{cite book

|last1 = Shurtleff

|first1 = William

|last2 = Aoyagi

|first2 = Akiko

|title = The book of tofu: protein source of the future-- now!

|publisher = Ten Speed Press

|page = 256

|year = 2008

|isbn = 978-1-58008-013-2

}}

Those with no alcohol produces "small cubes" ({{lang|zh|小方}}) while those with double the alcohol content produces "drunken cubes" ({{lang|zh|醉方}}). This variety is also available with chili and/or sesame oil. Seasonings can include anise, cinnamon, lemon juice, lemon zest, dried shrimp, and ham. In addition, one can also obtain the curd dried, and without brine, which are then sold in paper cartons.

• Red fermented bean curd ({{zh|t=紅腐乳 |p=hóngfǔrǔ |labels=no}}, or {{zh |t=南乳 |p=nánrǔ |labels=no|l=Southern cream}}; also nam yu) incorporates red yeast rice (cultivated with Monascus purpureus) with the brining liquor (a salted alcoholic mixture, commonly rice wine, sweet rice wine, or in Taiwan, diluted kaoliang liquor){{rp|87,126}} for a deep-red color and distinctively thickened flavor and aroma. A popular derivative of this variety has an appearance of ketchup and is seasoned with rose wine, caramel and natural sugar.
• Tofuyo ({{lang|ja|豆腐よう}}) is the Okinawan name for fermented bean curd. The local variety can be considered a variant of red fermented bean curd, with the key difference being it is pickled in local awamori.{{Cite journal |author =桂正子|title =豆腐よう|url=https://doi.org/10.11402/cookeryscience1995.29.4_314|date =1996|publisher =日本調理科学会|journal =日本調理科学会誌|volume =29|issue =4|doi=10.11402/cookeryscience1995.29.4_314|pages =314–322}}
• Stinky fermented bean curd is fermented for over six months and is also popular due to its strong creamy flavor. However, due to its strong acrid smell, this variety is an acquired taste.{{cite web|url=http://www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/stinkytofu.html|title= Stinky Tofu |access-date=2009-11-21}} Note that stinky sufu differs from stinky tofu in appearance, consistency and salt content. Stinky sufu are made in the same cube-like shapes and has a similar smooth soft creamy texture as regular white sufu. In Taiwan, a green version is popular and made with sake lees, crushed leaves and a green mucor mold. It is then fermented for 12 hours and sold on the streets.
• Sauced fermented bean curd (Jiang-rufu; {{lang|zh-hant|醬乳腐}}}) is made with curds fermented in a mixture of brine and either fermented bean paste (Jiang) or soy sauce for at least four months. It is usually reddish-brown in color and salty.{{rp|69}}
• Ham fermented bean curd ({{lang|zh-hant|火腿腐乳}}, {{lang|zh-hant|南腿乳腐}}) is the "sauced" furu with the addition of ham.{{rp|70}}
• Tofu misozuke ({{lang|ja|豆腐の味噌漬け}}) is a bean curd fermented by aging inside a layer of miso and then cloth, during with a culture of lactic acid bacteria develops.{{cite journal |last1=Takebe |first1=Youhei |last2=Takizaki |first2=Misato |last3=Tanaka |first3=Hiroko |last4=Ohta |first4=Hiroto |last5=Niidome |first5=Takuro |last6=Morimura |first6=Shigeru |title=Evaluation of the Biogenic Amine-production Ability of Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Tofu-misozuke |journal=Food Science and Technology Research |date=2016 |volume=22 |issue=5 |pages=673–678 |doi=10.3136/fstr.22.673}}{{cite journal |last1=Kawahara |first1=A |last2=Zendo |first2=T |last3=Matsusaki |first3=H |title=Identification and characterization of bacteriocin biosynthetic gene clusters found in multiple bacteriocins producing Lactiplantibacillus plantarum PUK6. |journal=Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering |date=May 2022 |volume=133 |issue=5 |pages=444–451 |doi=10.1016/j.jbiosc.2022.01.008 |pmid=35140055}} It is described in Tofu Hyakuchin.

File:The manufacturing of Sufi and low-salt Sufu paste.jpg

In order to produce fermented bean curd, cubes of dried tofu are allowed to fully air-dry under hay and slowly ferment from aerial bacteria and fungal spores. Commercially available fermented bean curd is made by using dry firm tofu that has been inoculated with the fungal spores of Actinomucor elegans, Mucor sufu, Mucor rouxanus, Mucor wutuongkiao, Mucor racemosus, or Rhizopus spp.. This freshly fermented tofu is known as mold tofu ({{lang|zh-hant|霉豆腐}}).

The dry fermented tofu is then soaked in brine, typically enhanced with Chinese rice wine, vinegar, chili peppers or sesame oil, or a paste made of rice and soybeans. In the case of red fermented bean curd, red yeast rice (cultivated with Monascus purpureus) is added for color.{{efn|1=The Hwang Ryh Shang Company of Taiwan, a major producer of fermented bean curd, mislabels this ingredient as "red date" (jujube) on the English-language list of ingredients on its product labels [http://www.yifanmall.com/english/product.asp?id=322], although the Chinese list of ingredients on the same product lists 紅糟 (literally "red lees", i.e. red yeast rice).}} Fermented bean curd is generally sold in small glass jars.

{{portal|Food}}

• {{annotated link|List of fermented soy products}}
• {{annotated link|List of tofu dishes}}
• {{annotated link|Lufu (food)}}
• {{annotated link|Stinky tofu}}

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite journal | title=Comparative analysis of the microbial community and nutritional quality of sufu| year=2021| pmc=8358361| last1=Li| first1=X.| last2=He| first2=Y.| last3=Yang| first3=W.| last4=Mu| first4=D.| last5=Zhang| first5=M.| last6=Dai| first6=Y.| last7=Zheng| first7=Z.| last8=Jiang| first8=S.| last9=Wu| first9=X.| journal=Food Science & Nutrition| volume=9| issue=8| pages=4117–4126| doi=10.1002/fsn3.2372| pmid=34401063}}
• {{cite journal | title=Fermented Soy Products: Beneficial Potential in Neurodegenerative Diseases| year=2021| pmc=8003083| last1=Jang| first1=C. H.| last2=Oh| first2=J.| last3=Lim| first3=J. S.| last4=Kim| first4=H. J.| last5=Kim| first5=J. S.| journal=Foods| volume=10| issue=3| page=636| doi=10.3390/foods10030636| pmid=33803607| doi-access=free}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20061216142042/http://life.61soft.com/11/373059.htm Guide to making fermented bean curd] (archived 16 December 2006) {{in lang|zh}}
• {{Cite book|title = History of Fermented Tofu – A Healthy Nondairy / Vegan Cheese (1610–2011)|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ltqO3LrvaE0C|publisher = Soyinfo Center|date = 2011-01-01|isbn = 9781928914402|language = en|last1=Shurtleff |first1=William |author-link=William Shurtleff |last2=Aoyagi |first2=Akiko|author-link2=Akiko Aoyagi }} The history of fermented bean curd is provided in this book as well as recipes for dishes that it can be used in. There is also a brief section on the production and how it is made.
• {{Cite journal|title = Bean-Curd Consumption in Hong Kong|jstor = 3773926|journal = Ethnology|date = 2001-01-01|pages = 113–128|volume = 40|issue = 2|doi = 10.2307/3773926|first1 = Sidney W.|last1 = Mintz|first2 = Chee Beng|last2 = Tan}} The consumption of fermented bean curd in China is examined in this article. It shows the ways that both the consumption and market has changed over time.

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bean curd

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