Xialun Lao Zhou Cold Tofu Pudding Introduction
Lao Zhou Ice Tofu Pudding primarily operates at various night markets. The bustling evening market in front of the Lower Lunzai (Xia Lun) Fuan Temple draws crowds, and every Wednesday, when it coincides with the night market, Lao Zhou has become one of the must-try snacks for the local people. The owner, Cai Yiying (born in 1978), learned the production methods from her uncle Zhou Wenda, who started selling tofu pudding in 1990 and established the renowned brand "Lao Zhou Ice Tofu Pudding." After acquiring her uncle's permission in 2009, Cai Yiying and her wife, Lin Yushan, began selling traditional handmade ice tofu pudding under the same brand name at various night markets. In addition to the traditional white tofu pudding, Lao Zhou has developed a variety of flavors including glutinous rice balls, taro balls, flour balls, sweet potato balls, aiyu jelly, red beans, mung beans, and soybeans (also known as "sensitive beans"). All the ingredients for the tofu pudding are homemade, with no ready-made products used. The glutinous rice ball tofu pudding is particularly popular, and it serves as the signature dish of Lao Zhou Ice Tofu Pudding. The preparation of the glutinous rice balls involves grinding long glutinous rice into a batter, filtering the water, pressing it dry, and kneading it to the right softness before shaping it into balls and boiling them. Once cooked, the balls are placed in ice water, which causes them to expand in heat and contract in cold, giving them a chewy texture with elasticity. When customers order, they first scoop glutinous rice balls into a bowl, then add tofu pudding, and drizzle sugar syrup before serving. Lao Zhou Ice Tofu Pudding also has a stall at the Taizi Village night market, operating at specific times...
