As early as the fifth century Wei Dynasty’s ancient books, there are records of fermented bean curd: “Dried tofu is made into fermented bean curd after being matured with salt.” The "Compendium of Materia Medica" written by Li Shizhen in the Ming Dynasty records: "Bean curd is also known as bean curd. It is made from tofu pickled with distiller's grains or sauce. It has a salty and sweet taste." Any famous product is often accompanied by beautiful folklore, and Shaoxing fermented bean curd is no exception. It is said that once upon a time, there was a family who bought a piece of tofu, put it in the cupboard, and forgot to cook it. A few days later, I accidentally discovered this piece of tofu, which was fermented and fragrant. There was plenty of wine at home, so I sprinkled some old wine on it, and it became extremely crispy and fragrant. In this way, Shaoxing fermented bean curd was born.
As early as the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Shaoxing fermented bean curd had been sold overseas. At that time, India, Myanmar, Singapore and other places were selling Shaoxing fermented bean curd. Some shops even hung billboards of "Shaoxing Southern Bean Curd" at the door. , business is very prosperous. Fermented bean curd has always been one of the main products of major sauce gardens in Shaoxing. In the Qing Dynasty, Shaoxing's Shen Tongmei, Xianheng, Qianyu, Tongxin, Laoshuntai, Zhengde and other soy sauce gardens all produced fermented bean curd. In terms of quality, Xianheng was the most popular. Xianheng Sauce Garden (the predecessor of today's Xianheng Food Factory) was founded during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. Because of its exquisite selection of ingredients and fine workmanship, its quality is higher than that of its peers.
As of 2009, the annual output of Shaoxing fermented bean curd is about 1,400 tons. It is not only widely sold throughout the country, Hong Kong, Macao, Southeast Asia, Japan and West Germany, but also across the oceans and exported to the United States.