Soy bean food

Soy bean first appeared in written Chinese annals some 3, 000 years ago. At that time its food use had already been highly developed and has continued development up until today. The place soy bean foods hold in Chinese society could easily be compared to that of dairy foods in Europe and America. Following are brief descriptions of categories of soy bean foods that are general considerations for shopping.
Bean curd, or tofu (豆腐) is the largest and the most important of the soy bean categories. Generally, Bean curd is made by grinding soybeans, filtering the resulting soymilk, adding a coagulant and pressing out the excess water. Northerners traditionally prefer a harder Bean curd while southerners prefer a softer, more watery product. A large portion of the bean curd made in China is further processed.
One of the most common processed product pressed bean curd (豆腐 干). This is often smoked or stewed in flavorful sauces and sold on the streets.
Another common processed product is fermented bean curd (豆腐乳). This is made by taking hard, small bean curd cubes, inoculating them with bacteria or mold and allowing them to ferment. These are sold in the markets in bottles or earthenware jars. Bean curd junket (豆腐脑) is a favorite of street vendors in the south. It is extremely soft, looking very much like vanilla pudding. You will see the vendors scooping it out of large pots into bowls, adding sauces according to the customer's specifications.
Bean paste, or soybean milk (豆浆) is called miso in Japan. Bean paste is made by combining steamed soybeans with a starch-usually wheat or rice.
Fermented Soy beans ( 豆豉) is steamed, cooled soy beans. 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.