The Flavor of the New Year: The Traditional "Tofu Making" Custom in Southern Hubei

March 19, 2026

The Flavor of the New Year: The Traditional "Tofu Making" Custom in Southern Hubei

From Stone Mill to the Tip of the Tongue: A Two or Three-Day Family Tradition of Culinary Creation

In the mountainous villages of southern Hubei, the custom of making tofu on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month is still preserved in some areas. In the past, when productivity was low, this task, commonly known as "Dǎ Dòufu" (Tofu Making), often required the participation of most of the family's labor force, especially the process of grinding the soaked soybeans into soy pulp using a stone mill.

I vaguely remember the scene of the whole family gathered in the kitchen, busy making tofu: the young and strong men took turns pushing the stone mill, while the women were responsible for adding soybeans to the mill opening. The white raw soy milk, mixed with rough bean dregs, slowly flowed down the stone mill into the wooden bucket below.

Today, although the most strenuous part—grinding the beans—has been replaced by machinery, the entire tofu-making process still takes about two to three days: soaking the soybeans the day before, then grinding the beans, filtering the dregs, boiling the soy milk on the second day, followed by "setting" the tofu with brine (lye) (rock gypsum was used in the past, but is now reportedly almost impossible to buy on the market), causing the soy protein to curdle into tofu pudding, and finally, pressing the tofu pudding into a mold to form a block. If you want tender tofu, you can enjoy it that day; if pressed until the next day, it becomes firm tofu.

Of course, the most appealing part of the process is the variety of delicious ways to eat the tofu:

Hot Soy Milk: After the soy milk boils, we first have a steaming cup of hot soy milk, which locals here are accustomed to drinking sweetened.

Yuba (Tofu Skin): After the soy milk boils, the oily film that condenses on the surface is lifted, allowed to hang down naturally and air dry, forming strips with a chewy texture and rich bean flavor.

Tofu Pudding (Dòufu Nǎo): The soy milk curdles into tofu pudding after the brine is added. This is my favorite way to eat it, and I also prefer the sweet version.