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As bland as as CCTV (china Central Television) news broadcast and yet potentially more noxious than rotting durian on a scorching summer's day, doufu is sometimes known locally as 'meat without bones'.

Legend has it that while searching for the elixir of life (did ancient Chinese nobles ever do anything else?) Crown Prince Liu An of Huainan (179-122 BC) stumbled across the very first beancurd, a fact is now commemorated in the Beancurd Cultural Festival which attracts more than 20,000 people to that eastern Anhui city every September.

Doufu is made by grinding cooked soya beans until a milk is produced, which is then solidified with calcium sulfate. The resulting doufu is an ideal additive to both sweet and savoury dishes. Steamed it is particularly good for vegetarians, as it will give the non-meat eater a plentiful supply of calcium as well as phosphorous, iron and vitamin B. recent studies have also shown that soya bean products may play a role in preventing various types of cancer (particularly breast cancer), as well as osteoporosis, heart disease and symptoms related to menopause. Soy in fact is one of nature's minor miracles as it is the only legume of offering complete protein benefits as it contains all eight essential amino acids. It is also low in saturated fat, contains no cholesterol and is abundant in anticarcinogens. Soy protein has been recently found to lower blood cholesterol levels, but Chinese medical practitioners have known this for centuries and describe it as liang - a food that cools and detoxifies the digestive system. Even in the west soya bean milk is so natural that it is regularly prescribed to infants who are allergic to dairy products and have no access to mother's milk.

At the wet market, look for stacks of cloth lined wooden trays from which the sheets of Jell-O-like beancurd are cut into cubes and sold. In cooking, doufu acts like a sponge and has the miraculous ability to soak up any flavour that is added to it. Crumble it into a pot of spicy chili sauce and presto, it tastes like chili, as in mapo doufu. Blend it with cocoa and sweetener and it becomes a double for chocolate cream pie filling. Cubes of firm doufu can be added to add texture and nutrition to any casserole or soup.

Stinky beancurd (chou doufu), although denigrated by some Chinese and abhorred by many foreigners, remains one of china's crowning culinary achievements, at least to those in the know. Actually, it has the puzzling property of smelling awful from a distance, but having little odour up close. The olfactory challenged can find this gastronomic delight at little street-side carts that sell nothing else. It is deep-fried and served with a helping of pickled cabbage and a large dollop of hot pepper paste on the side. Consumed while setting on a tiny stool at the cart's rail amid the bustle and colour of the night market, nothing is more delicious or soul satisfying. It is, however, not something to put in a hong bao or leave sitting out in the office over the weekend.

Guangzhou's most popular doufu dishes are perhaps you doufu (fried oily doufu), which are often filled with pork mince for stewing, and plain white doufu which is widely used in dishes such as a home-style quick fry up together with vegetables such as tomato or even a fish head. Most local restaurants offer doufu dishes and street markets sell doufu usually make on the same day.

Editor: Wings

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