Jianshui grilled tofu, and the corn kernels that keep the bill

In Jianshui, a walled town in southern Yunnan, the most dependable dinner happens at a low charcoal table. It comes as a pile of tofu squares no bigger than a matchbox, plus a saucer of dried corn kernels that keeps the accounts. Locals call it shao doufu (烧豆腐, shāo dòufu), and the town plans its evenings around it.

Why the water matters

Jianshui tofu is pressed from soybeans and set with water from the town's old wells. The best known is Daban Well (大板井, Dàbǎn Jǐng), near the west gate, where residents still fill plastic jugs to carry home. The blocks are cut small and left on bamboo trays for a day or two. That rest gives them a faint sourness and a firm skin, so they puff up on the grill instead of sticking.

How the table works

You sit on a stool around a wire grate set into the tabletop over the coals. The cook turns each square with long bamboo chopsticks until it swells and splits along one side. Every time a piece lands in front of you, a corn kernel or a bean drops into your dish. At the end the kernels are counted and you pay by the piece, so there is nothing to argue over.

老板每夹一块豆腐给你，就往你的小碟里放一粒苞谷。

What to dip, and when to go

Pull a hot square open with your chopsticks and drag it through one of two dips. One is a dry mix of chilli, salt and Sichuan pepper. The other is a wet sauce of fermented-tofu brine, garlic and coriander. People usually have a bowl of rice noodles or a bottle of local beer alongside.

Grills light up in the late afternoon and many keep going well past midnight. Plenty of them are in the lanes within walking distance of Chaoyang Tower (朝阳楼, Cháoyáng Lóu), the old east gate. Order ten to start, and the cook will keep the squares coming until you say stop. Nearly every table has a payment QR code taped to its edge, but small cash is worth carrying as a backup.