Leshan Tofu Pudding

Leshan tofu pudding centres on silken bean curd, laden with sweet-potato glass noodles, crisp fried pork and steamed pork in starch (or beef and shredded chicken), then flooded with a bone-broth thickened into a red chilli-oil gravy or a clear version, scattered with Sichuan pepper, scallion, coriander and crushed peanut, abundant in topping and rich in broth, hot, numbing and savoury.

Tofu pudding was already being made in the Leshan area under the Qing dynasty and was refined over generations into a distinctive craft. It splits into three schools by place: the Niuhua school adds glass noodles and steamed pork, the Emei school uses crisp fried pork in place of noodles, and the Yangwan school serves it with white rice, each with its loyal following.

Stirred hot and eaten by the spoonful, the bean curd melting on the tongue while the toppings layer texture upon texture, it is often paired with a ka-bing, a flatbread stuffed with meat and vegetables, the everyday taste with which Leshan people begin their day.

The silken bean curd heaped with a dozen toppings, the rich bone-broth gravy, and the cleavage between the red-oil and clear-broth schools are what make Leshan tofu pudding distinctive.