An unusual seasoning

This is a much feistier version with a deep maroon skin that comes from the addition of red wine yeast. My grandmother used this lovely red seasoning to make a vegetarian dish called luohan zhai, or Arhat's Vegetarian Special, and served it during Spring Festival. I remember loving the sauce because it turned my bowl of rice such a lovely pale pink.

Basically, both bean curd cheeses are made by fermenting little tofu squares and then soaking them in concentrated brine, chili flakes and sesame oil for the white variety or red wine dregs and salt for the red version.

As a result of the pickling, the soy protein hardens into a "cheese-like" state, earning both furu and nanru the nickname "Chinese cheese".

Unlike cheese, however, these are pure blocks of intense flavoring. The Chinese are known for their great love for economy, and a 2-cm cube of either nanru or furu will happily accompany many bowls of rice at the dinner table.