1669 (8th year of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty), Wang Zhihe went to Beijing to take the exam, but fell out with Sun Shan and stayed in Beijing.
In order to make a living, he sold tofu, ready to do business while studying, and take the exam next time.
One summer, in order to prevent the leftover tofu from going bad, Wang Zhihe cut the tofu into small cubes, sprinkled salt, pepper and other condiments, and then put it away.
A few days later, he opened the container of tofu and found that tofu was blue and smelly. He felt it was a pity to throw it away, so he took a bite and it tasted unique. Later, Wang Zhihe began to concentrate on making stinky tofu.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, stinky tofu was introduced into the palace and was loved by Empress Dowager Cixi, named "Fang Qing". Since then, stinky tofu has doubled in value. Top scholars Sun Jianai and Lu Qixing personally wrote a plaque for Wang Zhihe. Sun Jianai also presented a poem, "Wan Li Road, a gourmet restaurant, keeps my secrets in my heart", "Peony with Dragon Pan Sauce, Lotus with Chicken Claw Garden". Wang Zhihe carved these four poems on four door panels, and the first word read together was "He Zhi Jiang Yuan".
The popularity of stinky tofu in Wang Zhihe is closely related to its exquisite craftsmanship and strict quality control.
The finished product made of the above-mentioned soybeans through grinding and other processes can only be completed through more than 20 processes such as inoculation, early fermentation, pickling, soup preparation and late fermentation. The production cycle is long and the process is complex. However, Wang Zhihe has maintained a rigorous work style from generation to generation, making the quality assurance of stinky tofu as always and winning people's praise.
Wang Zhihe stinky tofu has high nutritional value and contains a lot of calcium, titanium, zinc, amino acids and vitamins. After hundreds of years, its products are still favored by domestic and foreign customers with five characteristics of freshness, looseness, softness and fragrance.