Guanyin tofu - a bite of summer in Songxi

Foreign students watch and take notes as Xu Baozhu stirs the leaves in the hot water. [Photo by Qin Jun/chinadaily.com.cn]

Here comes the most important part, also the key to the coagulation of leaf bean curd - ash alkalinity burnt from bean pod rods. Filter the ash alkaline water and pour it into the cyan leaf juice. Stir the juice, and leave it for a couple of hours before it turns into a jelly.

Now you can cut the jade-like jelly into slices and enjoy the delicious summer dessert.

The filtered ash alkaline water is poured into the cyan leaf juice. [Photo by Qin Jun/chinadaily.com.cn]

There is an old tale in Songxi village that tells the story of how a long time ago, when there was a famine, Buddhism goddess Guanyin Tuas used magic powers to grow this kind of magic plant in the mountains, and taught people to pick its leaves and make the bean curd.

It's only a legend of course, but back in the era of scarcity, Guanyin tofu was indeed a method that locals used to feed themselves. Made from materials found in nature, the leaf bean curd is more than a summer dessert; it is also a reflection of how Songxi villagers coexist with nature.