Food starts with Mapo Tofu

Chapter 3 I understand, but not fully
About mapo tofu, aging is familiar.

Numb, spicy, hot, fragrant, crisp, tender, fresh and fresh are the essence of Mapo Tofu!

But this kind of thing is easier said than done.

And this dish of mapo tofu in front of me, fried well, white as jade, with rings and horns, it is enough to see the skill of the knife, the garlic sprouts on it are fresh and tender, and the thickened red oil hangs on every piece of fair girlish skin On Tofu's body, she looked like a girl in a boudoir who was waiting anxiously in a wedding dress, but accidentally exposed a small part of her calf and her wrist under the red gauze.

Feeling ashamed to say it, looming, pure and lustful, seduces people's itch.

Chen Nian tried to touch the tofu lightly with a small spoon, and it broke when he twisted it.

Finally couldn't bear it, I took a small spoon and slowly put it in my mouth
In an instant, the hemp of peppercorns, the spiciness of chili peppers, the hotness of tofu itself, the aroma of the soup mixed with the ingredients, these flavors explode in the mouth at the same time after mixing, every cell in the taste buds seems to be Everyone is cheering!
Gently sip the tofu and it will be melted directly, fully blended with those seasonings!
At the same time, a scorching breath came, but Chen Nian was reluctant to open his mouth, for fear that the fragrance would escape from his mouth.

After chewing, the crispness of the pre-marinated yellow beef that has been fried in hot oil is also reflected.

The color is darker, and the red crisp is not thick.

One by one, the unique aroma of yellow beef blends with the aroma of the previous sauce and tofu.

After swallowing, the strong and lingering taste still lingers in the mouth.

Absolutely!
To be honest, Chen Nian has never eaten such delicious mapo tofu since he was a child.

Even the mapo tofu made by Lao Chen is a little bit worse than this one.

However, as Master Xue's best and most famous dish, it is only natural that it should be perfected.

Although there may not be as many types of seasonings in this period as in later generations, and many varieties have not been improved, but with the blessing of Master Xue's craftsmanship, the taste is directly raised to the full level!
An ordinary meal made Chen Nian's blood boil.

It's as if I'm going to get married soon, every mouthful is hot, every mouthful is full of aftertaste, and every mouthful is irresistible.

As the only waiter in the shop, Chen Nian wiped the table after the meal, washed the dishes, and then began to think about Master Xue's cooking techniques in his mind.

The knife technique that is really as fast as a swan geese does not need eyes to see, each stroke accurately divides the soft and tender tofu into four squares, even before the tofu starts to tremble, the kitchen knife has already been lifted.

Aging probably summed up some of the tricks.

That is when the tofu is not paying attention.

It's just that this kind of thing is easy to say, but it is still quite difficult to do.

After that, Chen Nian prepared the ingredients every morning, started to work at noon, cleaned up the kitchen in the afternoon, and then started to prepare the meals for lunch. After cleaning the kitchen and the table outside in the evening, he practiced cutting tofu alone in the kitchen at night.

Because Chen Nian found that every night when there were no customers, Master Xue always bought more tofu.

In line with the principle that it will expire tomorrow, Chen Nian directly used these tofu.

Do not pursue speed, only seek fine workmanship.

Eat it all after cutting to avoid food waste, and it will be used as a midnight snack by the way.

Until one night a week later, Chen Nian was still practicing cutting tofu in the kitchen.

The sound of "bang bang bang" continued to sound, complementing Shen Xia's tenacious cicadas.

It is also constantly accompanied by "Huh?", "It's over!", "" It's broken again! "," Fuck you? ” as a harmony.

Suddenly, a low-pitched voice sounded from the dark blue curtain between the back kitchen and the front hall: "Chen Nian, are you still practicing?"

It was Xue Xiangshun's voice.

Chen Nian was still cutting the unevenly shaped tofu without distraction, when the sudden sound startled him, he couldn't help but let out a "huh", his hand trembled and he almost took the knife away.

"Ah, Master, I'm practicing cutting tofu. No, why haven't you slept yet?" Chen Nian hastily put down the kitchen knife, and subconsciously wiped his hand on the apron, as if to destroy the evidence, to prove it The tofu on the chopping board has nothing to do with me.

But some tofu residues left in the corner of his mouth betrayed him.

"It's too hot, let me come over and take a look." Xue Xiangshun pretended not to see the obvious flaw at the corner of Chen Nian's mouth, looked at the chopping board and the side dish full of cut tofu, and asked knowingly: "The rest of the days You used all the tofu?"

When Chen Nian heard this, he nodded quickly: "Master, I just see that these tofu won't be usable until tomorrow, and it's a pity to throw them away. So it's just Master, don't I still get paid every month? Anyway, there are With food and shelter, I want to spend my wages on leftover tofu for practice.”

Hearing Chen Nian's answer, Xue Xiangshun nodded. In fact, he bought more tofu on purpose and left it behind. He just heard that Chen Nian said that he would use all the money to buy the leftover tofu, so he couldn't help asking: "What do you think?" Don't save some money?"

"Money is something outside of me. I still want to learn Mapo Tofu first."

Xue Xiangshun was stunned for a moment, apparently he didn't expect Chen Nian to have such awareness at such a young age, so he continued to probe: "Seeing that you are not young anymore, you don't think about saving money to find a wife? If you learn how to be a mother-in-law Tofu, I guess by that time you will be no one wants it like me."

"Master, I just want to learn cooking with you now, and I don't want to do anything else." Chen Nian said firmly!

Women only affect how fast I can cut tofu!

Xue Xiangshun looked at Chen Nian, with both admiration and surprise in his eyes: "I'm in my 40s now, but it's rare to see a young man as calm as you, even if I'm at your age, I still want to rely on my culinary skills to get ahead in the future. "

Then he walked to the chopping board and looked at the cut tofu.

"The knife is not stable enough, the hand temperature is too high, and it should go from left to right, but you are from right to left. The knife is wet, but the speed is still not enough, too slow."

With just one glance, Xue Xiangshun saw basically all of Chen Nian's problems.

"If the knife is not stable, the tofu will rot; even if it is not rotten and not neat, it will still rot if you push it in the pot."

"If the hand temperature is too high, the tofu will not stand when it touches it, and it will fall apart when it is cut."

"From left to right, you can hold down gently on one side without climbing the knife."

While talking, Xue Xiangshun washed his hands with cold water, wiped them clean, and began to take a piece of white and soft tofu on the chopping board.

The kitchen knife fluttered, and the intimate contact between the blade and the chopping board gave off a continuous rhythmic beat, almost an afterimage. It was obviously very fast, but it gave people the feeling of a calm and unhurried posture.

The whole process is flowing like clouds and water, and the process of cutting tofu alone makes the aging process pleasing to the eye.

After cutting all the pieces, Chen Nian found that the tofu was still a whole piece at first glance!
This shows that the incision is extremely fine, and the knife has already been taken out before the tofu has time to react to being cut.

"Do you understand?" Xue Xiangshun put down the kitchen knife and asked calmly.

Chen Nian frowned: "I understand, but I don't fully understand."

　Brothers, new theme, A vinegar will never go back!

　　From left to right, because you need to hold the tofu when cutting tofu, so that the tofu does not stick to the knife

　　
　
(End of this chapter)