Pingqiao tofu originated from Pingqiao Town, Chuzhou District. It is said that in the early Qing Dynasty, the Lin family of Pingqiao, Huai'an was extremely prosperous. Lin Bingzhi was a successful candidate in the imperial examination in the year of Shunzhi Wuzi (1648) and a successful candidate in the imperial examination in the year of Renchen (1652). His son, Lin Rujie, was promoted to the position of Director of the Ministry of Personnel and later died in Beijing. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, Lin Bingzhi became a wealthy man in Pingqiao Town, with countless acres of land and warehouses. When he had money, he wanted to curry favor with the government and get a job. In the 27th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1762), Emperor Qianlong's southern tour brought him an excellent opportunity. He assigned his tenants in advance to plant different crops on several hectares of his land according to his design patterns. At a certain season, the green and yellow crops would naturally show the four characters "Long Live the Emperor". When Emperor Qianlong passed the Huai River in the south, he went ashore to see it, and was overjoyed. He decided to come back to see it when he returned. The emperor's words not only brought favor and glory to the Lin family, but also added heavy tasks to his family. In feudal society, the emperor's tours and the extravagance of the subjects to welcome him required so much labor and money that ordinary people could not imagine. Lin Bingzhi had no choice but to do it. He did his best to build a temporary palace; the new carpets on the ground were made of extremely precious animal skins. When Qianlong returned to the palace, he stayed at the Lin family in Pingqiao again. What should be used to make the imperial meal? He believed that dragon liver and phoenix marrow, mountain delicacies and sea delicacies were the emperor's daily meals, and no matter how sumptuous it was, it could not compare to the royal family. Lin Bingzhi racked his brains and finally decided to make some "local game" to offer. He used crucian carp brains and Pingqiao's unique cube tofu to make a bowl of tofu soup for Qianlong. After eating the bowl of tofu, Emperor Qianlong was very pleased and praised it repeatedly: "Good food, good food, this is the best food in the world." Seeing that Emperor Qianlong was so happy, Lin Bingzhi wanted to ask Qianlong to say a few words. Emperor Qianlong opened his mouth and said with great confidence: "If Lin Baiwan is poor, the sea will dry up and the rocks will rot." It can be seen how rich Lin Baiwan, the owner of the grain warehouse, was at that time. After eating, Emperor Qianlong was still in high spirits and wrote a poem on the spot to express his feelings. Two of the lines were: "Moored at Pingqiao Ferry at night and stayed at Shangjia Lin at night." After writing the poem, he awarded Lin Bingzhi a hollow official position of Tongzhi of a state, and added the title of Daotai, and gave him a third-grade hat; he also picked up the imperial pen on the spot and personally wrote the word "Fu" and the plaque "Maonai Jiayou" to Lin Bingzhi. Emperor Qianlong also said: "Your family wealth is very large, it must be a million." Lin Bingzhi spent a lot of money and got a hollow official position of the third grade, and because of Emperor Qianlong's words, he got the elegant name "Lin Baiwan". Pingqiao tofu has also become widely known because of this legend. Until now, Pingqiao tofu is the first choice for Pingqiao people to entertain guests. The ingredients and production of Pingqiao tofu are very particular. Pingqiao tofu must be made of tender tofu with brine (if you use the current tofu with gypsum, the flavor of Pingqiao tofu will be gone). To make Pingqiao tofu, you need to prepare the following ingredients: 300 grams of tender tofu, 50 grams of water-soaked sea cucumber, 25 grams of dried shrimp, 50 grams of cooked chicken breast, 25 grams of mushrooms, 25 grams of dried scallops, 200 grams of chicken soup, 15 grams of green onions, 10 grams of ginger, 20 grams of Shaoxing wine, 10 grams of salt, 3 grams of MSG, 25 grams of starch, 15 grams of sesame oil, 15 grams of green garlic, and 100 grams of soup. When making it, first put the whole piece of tofu into a cold water pot and boil it until it is slightly boiled to remove the bean smell and yellow pulp. After taking it out, slice it into a sparrow tongue shape and put it into the hot chicken soup. Repeat twice, cut the chicken breast, mushrooms and sea cucumber into tofu-sized slices. Wash the dried shrimp and soak them in warm water. Wash the dried scallops, remove the old tendons, put them in a bowl, add onion, ginger, Shaoxing wine and water, steam them in a steamer and take them out. Heat the wok on the fire, add oil, add the ingredients, broth and dried scallop juice, boil the tofu, add salt, Shaoxing wine, MSG and essence, thicken with starch after boiling, pour in sesame oil, serve in a bowl, sprinkle with chopped green garlic. After the tofu is made, it is as white as pure jade, as fine as solidified fat, and has a tender texture. A bowl of good Pingqiao tofu is not hot, but it is very hot. Its shape, color and taste are all different. It has a feeling of not being greasy and endless aftertaste. Pingqiao tofu was once included in the Qing Dynasty court recipes. During the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China, Pingqiao tofu was also served on the banquet table of the "First Banquet of the Founding of the Country". Pingqiao tofu is an indispensable part of Huaiyang cuisine. Pingqiao tofu is handmade and requires a lot of skill. The local Party committee and government are working hard to train inheritors and pass down the cooking skills of Pingqiao tofu from generation to generation. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)