Food starts with Mapo Tofu

Chapter 6 Mapo Tofu
The Ma Po Chen family is still famous, and the tofu is baked with the most exquisite taste.

The curtains on the side of Wanfu Bridge are moving, Mr. Heguchun is drunk.

This is a poem "Bamboo Branch Ci·Ying Mapo Tofu" specially written by Feng Jiaji, a poet in the Qing Dynasty, for Mapo Tofu.

The Wanfu Bridge on the Fuhe River outside the North Gate was washed away by the flood in Chengdu in [-], so that the store was moved to the current Shangheba Street, but for the former regular customers, it was nothing more than running too much It's only a few miles.

The name of the store has also changed from the former Chen Xingsheng Restaurant, which lasted for nearly 1862 years from around 100, to the current Chen Mapo Restaurant.

"Wow~"

The sound of meat being put into the pot brought back the thoughts of Chen Nian.

High-end ingredients often only require the simplest cooking method. Master Xue, who has been busy all day, has now started the teaching mode.

Quickly put the marinated beef cubes into the pot, his face was glowed red by the fire in the stove, and the fine beads of sweat on his forehead were obviously the display of fatigue after a busy noon.

But even so, Xue Xiangshun's expression was still focused.

Holding the handle on the edge of the iron pot with one hand, and wielding the iron shovel that has been worn down to less than half of it due to years of use in the other hand.

The beef that was originally cut and sticking to each other quickly separated after being boiled in oil, and turned into soybean-sized beef cubes. After the high temperature of the oil, the fresh red beef began to turn off-white quickly.

A unique meaty smell of yellow beef came oncoming, and Chen Nian, who had been busy all day without eating, couldn't help but issued an ultimatum to Chen Nian himself.

At this time, under the master Xue's spatula, the beef dices are like firecrackers, constantly exploding their own fragrance.

Unlike when I was busy before, I didn't focus on this just now, so I haven't felt much yet.

Now observe carefully, after the beef in the pot turned white, the color gradually began to darken, and the final charm also started the ultimate offensive, like a big sister with a big heart who gradually turned red under her shyness.

"The oil should be slightly wide. When the temperature is up, add the beef and fry it slowly on a low heat. The fresh beef cubes have moisture. After frying, it will feel crispy and chewy. The more you chew, the more fragrant it will be."

Chen Nian listened and smashed, smashed his mouth, as if the beef cubes were in his mouth.

Although there was nothing real in his mouth, Chen Nian still felt the artistic conception.

"Indeed, it's very fragrant."

Master Xue nodded: "The beef will not be completely crispy until the oil is spit out, and then add an appropriate amount of salt, more chili noodles, more peppercorns, a little soy sauce, fermented soybeans, and seasoning."

After adding these seasonings, the taste quickly changed from the meaty aroma just now to a rich, spicy feeling.

Chen Nian understood the next steps. While he was watching just now, he had already boiled water on another stove, put the tofu in it, and added a little salt.

The purpose is to remove the beany smell and the taste of brine.

The difference in taste between blanched tofu and unblanched tofu can't be more clear than eating more than 100 catties of aged tofu so far.

Moreover, Chen Nian, who is a food professional, also knows that the high temperature of the water can also solidify the protein in the tofu.

After Master Xue's beef cubes are fried, the old man directly removes the tofu and simply drains the water.

Master Xue added a little water to the pot, rolled it a little, and then poured all the tofu into the pot.

"Remember, when frying tofu, you can only push it. If you pull it back and forth, the tofu will rot." As he spoke, he added some pepper powder again.

Watching Master Xue gently pushing the tofu, the bright red soup gradually seeps into the tofu body, slowly seeping in, silently and domineeringly.

The next step is to thicken the sauce. Chen Nian handed the prepared sauce to Xue Xiangshun.

The other party cleverly poured along the wall of the pot.

The soup began to thicken quickly, hanging firmly on the tofu, locking all the flavors inside.

The last thing is to sprinkle in the chopped garlic.

If you want to compare bean curd to a beautiful woman, red makeup and Bi Pei are always suitable.

Chen Nian was already starving, he didn't feel that way when he was busy with Master Xue before, but now he just thinks it's a torment.

But this time, Chen Nian has kept all the steps in mind.

For the next two nights, Chen Nian’s supper changed from tofu to mapo tofu every night, and they were open during the day until the remaining dishes at night were basically the amount of two plates of mapo tofu.

It wasn't until the next day that Chen Nian finally realized that the tofu he used to practice every night was not unfinished, but that Master Xue deliberately put in some more and kept it for himself to practice.

Having been in charge of the red table for decades, it is very clear how many dishes are used every day.

How could there be more?
Even if there is more, why do you leave just one or two catties of tofu every day?
And now it is exactly the amount of two plates of tofu.

"Take great pains, master!" Chen Nian looked out the window at night, although it was the first day of the new year, but at night, there were still no people wandering on the street.

Chen Nian seemed to hear the voice of Master getting up at night again.

I can't help but wonder if I am like this when I reach middle age.

He turned his head and looked at the two plates of mapo tofu that he had just fried. They both had a good color, and a piece of it was smashed with a spoon, and the top was steaming.

Tofu needs to be eaten hot, and the wife needs to gain weight.

"Ahhh."

"Hold the Cotton. Hot, hot, hot"

After all, Chen Nian was overshadowed by his own tofu.

Finally, he opened his mouth and kept breathing out the mist, and when it cooled down a bit, he swallowed it into his stomach with a thud.

Smash it, smash it.

"Tsk."

"It's salty."

Try another serving.

"It's numb."

I found a steamed bun and finished the two plates of mapo tofu. Although it was a bit salty, it didn't matter if there were steamed buns and water.

"Today's practice is over, and tomorrow will continue!"

In this way, Chen Nian started the work that was basically repeated every day.

The only difference is that the customers who come to the store are different every day, and the mapo tofu made every night is different.

Because in Xue Xiangshun's mouth, every seasoning is in the right amount, cooking day after day, all these actions have formed an instinct.

Therefore, Chen Nian can only think about it by himself.

After all, Master Xue is willing to teach him these unreservedly. In Chen Nian's heart, no matter whether this world is real or not, perhaps Xue Xiangshun in real history has nothing to do with him.

But Xue Xiangshun is his master.

In the days to come, the progress of Chen Nian is getting bigger and bigger.

In just two months, the made Mapo Tofu can already be served on guests' tables.

Behind this is the dedication of 120 plates of mapo tofu aged for two months.

And in the process, he found that in his dream, no matter whether he ate a catty or two of tofu every day for half a year, or two plates of strange-flavored mapo tofu every night for two months, he never lost his way.

Those who work hard will always be rewarded by God.

Chen Nian took this as a small benefit.

In the first year of traveling to this world, Chen Nian lived with Master Xue and the proprietress.

A table of New Year's Eve dinner, two catties of bulk liquor, three people.

The radio is still the familiar voice of the emotional announcer, and there is a little more joy in welcoming the New Year in his words.

The sound of firecrackers outside is endless, perhaps because of the legend of the Nian Beast, or because this is the first Spring Festival after liberation.

It’s just that Master Xue put a piece of tofu into his mouth, tasted it, raised his head and sighed, and said in a low voice: “I have to go to the army to cook after the Chinese New Year. There was no one in the shop before, so I kept talking to that While dragging, now they are calling me again, Xiao Chen can also get started, so after the New Year I will "

The voice fell, and the two people on the opposite side were silent.

After a while, the proprietress Lu Junqing raised her head, showing a relieved smile, as if she knew it already: "Go, cooking is a good job for the army, maybe you can get a pension when you retire."

Chen Nian got up silently and went back to his resting room, and came out after a while, holding a bag in his hand.

"Master, I have saved some money in the past six months. Here is a new set of clothes for you."

(End of this chapter)