云南豆花米饭

Yunnan is known for its beancurd (or tofu). Along the streets, you'll see vendors selling roasted/grilled/preserved beancurd, smelly beancurd etc, topped with chilli paste and whatnot to add a measure of saltiness. There're beancurd rolls stuffed with all sorts of fillings besides fish paste. This simple dish which I'm very fond of, is '豆花米饭'- beancurd with rice at the side. It also comes with preserved vegetables or pickles. It's one of those dishes where it's so bland till you either love or hate it. I love it!

For one lunch, I hunted down this particular little shop on a mountain (yes, the best things are found on mountains) that specializes in making beancurd. Very few food items attract me. I don't necessarily need to try 'the best of', unless it's something I really like. Tofu/Beancurd happens to be incredibly attractive. This shop sells nothing else but beancurd, of course. I came to try its '豆花米线' (beancurd with rice vermicelli). For a change, I decided to skip the vermicelli and asked for rice instead. Yunnan uses a sort of sticky short-grain rice which I like very much. Add vinegar and one can probably do a sushi roll with it.