Tofu history in China
Tofu is very popular in the East today, and tofu was first used in China over 2, 000 years ago. There is an ancient picture. It shows a kitchen scene which proves that soymilk (豆浆) and tofu were being made in China. The oldest history of tofu also appeared in China around 1,500 AD, in a poem Ode to Tofu by Su Ping.
Tofu history in Japan
Kento priests (教士), who went to China, brought tofu back to Japan during the Nara Era(奈良时代(710-794)).The word tofu was first mentioned in Japan in the diary of another priest called Nakaomi. In 1489, the word tofu was first written in the actual Japanese characters. Tofu gradually became popular in Japan. The cooking book Tofu Hyakuchin came out in 1782 and sold very well.
Tofu history in Western world
In 1603, The Spanish Dictionary was the first European document (文献) with the word tofu. The first English reference (参考书目) to tofu was in 1704. And tofu was first produced in France by Paillieux in 1880. Hirata & Co started to make tofu in San Francisco in 1895.
