Mazu Temple A-Je Tofu Pudding Introduction
Chen Yili (born in 1953) used to rely on fish traps (fixed nets) for a living at the Luerhmen River. When Pingtung aquaculture operators came to the area to raise shrimp, everyone flocked to cultivate shrimp, leading to good profits. However, after a few years, shrimp became infected with disease, and the bacteria from the shrimp ponds flowed into the rivers, causing environmental pollution. To this day, grass shrimp, bamboo shrimp, and white shrimp cannot be farmed. Eventually, Chen Yili gave up the fish traps and started selling tofu pudding and cold drinks. The tofu pudding sold by Chen Yili includes traditional tofu pudding and three-color tofu pudding. The three-color tofu pudding consists of three colors: yellow, black, and white. The yellow is egg custard, the black is chocolate pudding, and the white is milk pudding. In other words, the three-color tofu pudding is a combination of egg custard, chocolate pudding, and milk pudding, which is also known as three-color pudding tofu pudding. The three-color tofu pudding offers a variety of textures, including sweet, bitter, smooth, and tender, and is loved by both adults and children. After selling for a period, Chen Yili found that traditional tofu pudding was more favored by northern tourists, while locals preferred the three-color tofu pudding and did not have much interest in traditional tofu pudding, leading him to stop making traditional tofu pudding and focus solely on selling three-color tofu pudding.
