gourmet food

Chapter 469: A strange injustice through the ages—"Ma Po is not Ma"

"No problem, even if you don't tell me, I will invite you to taste it. After all, you are most familiar with the original taste of this dish."

Chu Yunfeng not only readily agreed to Mr. Che's request, but was also very happy. He had originally planned to do so, but now there was no problem.

"Haha, then let's make an agreement, it's a deal." Old Che smiled like a child, showing his few remaining teeth.

"Yes, yes, it's a deal, we have to taste it as soon as possible." Xiaoxiao and Ai Ai immediately agreed, for fear that Chu Yunfeng would leave them behind.

"Mr. Che, please tell us about it. I'm really curious about the history of Mapo Tofu. If I hadn't found you, I would still be looking around like a headless fly."

Chu Yunfeng felt deeply about this. It was really not easy to find people in such a big city who still had memories of life in the 20s.

And he is someone who has a deep memory of the old store in Wanfu Bridge. It is definitely like finding a needle in a haystack. Today is already the second day of the 5-day mission. It seems that he should be able to make it in time.

"Okay, then I will tell you about the specific origin of this dish, and by the way, I will also help "Chen Mapo" to clear up the blame. Someone else invented this world-famous dish, but still has to bear the blame. It doesn’t make sense either emotionally or rationally, haha.”

Vindicated?

Is there any hidden secret here?

With strong curiosity, the three of them began to listen to Mr. Che’s story.
"In 1861, Mrs. Chen married her husband Chen Chunfu. They came to Rongcheng from the countryside to work. Since they had no education, no skills, and no capital, how could they make a living?

So the two of them looked around all the places in Chengdu, and then discovered that there was a Wanfu Bridge outside the north gate, and next to the Wanfu Bridge there was a row of dilapidated houses, where many people were doing business.

There are many people coming and going from this opening. Whether you are entering or leaving the city, you need to pass through here, especially there are many porters.

These people carry grain and oil, push carts, and carry sliding poles. There are countless people resting and working. Many people will have a meal, drink tea or something when they come here.

So the two found that if they opened a small restaurant here, the business would be very good.

So in 1862, the two rented a small shop here and opened their business.

When he opened this restaurant, Chen Chunfu thought that if the business at this intersection was so good, it would have a strong momentum, so he named the restaurant "Chen Xingsheng Restaurant".

He chose this name because his surname is Chen, and he hopes that this restaurant, which entrusts his family's hopes, will prosper.

So Chen Chunfu shouted at the guests outside, while Chen was cooking in the restaurant.

At the beginning, the two of them had little capital, and people from rural areas did not know how to cook any particularly good dishes, but they were very hardworking.

The main thing is to make some bean curds, seasonal side dishes, kimchi and pickled radish and other side dishes. Although these things look "small", they happen to be the favorite food of these traffickers.

The reason is simple, it’s cheap, delicious, and convenient to eat!

There are very few restaurants selling food here, and their tofu puddings and kimchi are very good and taste very authentic, so more and more people come to eat.

As time went by, some porters who carried oil and grain went into the city to unload their goods at the oil and grain stores, and when they walked out of the city to Wanfu Bridge, they were already very hungry.

It was still a long way home, so they had to eat something first, so they all came to Chen Xingsheng Restaurant and got together to eat.

At that time, bamboo baskets made of bamboo were used to carry oil. The porters poured the remaining oil in the bamboo basket, which was the base oil in the basket, and some oil residue into a small basin.

Then I went to the Wang tofu shop next door to buy some tofu and asked Chen to help bake it for a small processing fee.

Mrs. Chen readily accepted this method and started cooking it with the chili noodles she had made on a kang (called chili paste in the SC area) and some Sichuan peppercorns.

The tofu tasted numb, spicy, and hot, and was well received by the porters. At that time, everyone enthusiastically asked them to make "spicy hotpot", and the business began to get better and better.

Some of these porters, because they have been engaged in such physical labor for a long time, can't do without a little oily or meaty smell in their stomachs, so they went to the surrounding butcher shops to cut some pork back.

Because Chen is a kind person, when the porters brought the pork, they were willing to help them process it, so they thought of cooking the pork with tofu.

In order to enhance the flavor and make the pork easier to cook, Chen cut the pork into small slices and cooked it. The cooked meat tasted even more delicious, and many people said it was a satisfying meal.

Another group of porters had more discerning tastes and liked beef more, so they went to cut some beef and came back.

What needs to be noted here is that buffalo was not eaten in the Rongcheng area at that time. All they ate were yellow cattle, so the harvested beef was naturally yellow beef.

Mrs. Chen was a little confused when she saw the beef. This beef is different from pork. Beef is not easy to cook. Finally, she came up with an idea, which was to chop the beef into particles and then use rapeseed oil to cook it. It makes it crispy.

When the cooked tofu is about to be cooked, put the crispy minced beef in, and then go to the vegetable field behind the restaurant to pick some garlic sprouts and throw them in.

The tofu made in this way completely conquered the tastes of these porters. Everyone said that the taste was simply amazing and extremely delicious.

From this moment on, the tofu made by Chen Xingsheng Restaurant became completely famous. More and more people came to eat. Everyone spread the word and everyone knew that their tofu was very delicious.

Ever since, this famous tofu has started to have a name." Mr. Che took a sip of water, looked at the three pairs of curious eyes in front of him, smiled and continued.

“That’s what I’ve been working on, and it’s only recently that I’ve had a clear result.

That is, although this tofu is made spicy and delicious, but this Chen family is "not numb", which means that there is actually no "pockmark" on this Chen family's face, so you know the name of this "Chen Mapo" Where did the Dharma come from? "

When Che Lao said this, he deliberately stopped talking and looked at the three of them happily, just to whet everyone's appetite.

"Grandpa Che, just tell me quickly and I'll give you a leg kick."

"Grandpa Che, let me give you a shoulder massage. Please tell me quickly!"

Xiaoxiao and Ai Ai are very good at making trouble and immediately start an emotional offensive.
"Okay, okay, oh, stop, stop, stop, you two are about to tear my old bones apart.
Actually, the man with the pockmark on his face is Chen Chunfu. He has pits on his face, so everyone calls him Chen Pockmarked.

As for Mrs. Chen, because she married Chen Chunfu, according to the old social customs in the past, she had to take her husband's surname, so people gradually began to call Mrs. Chen "Chen Mapo".

And this tofu became more and more famous, and everyone began to call it "Ma Po Tofu".

This is the true origin of the name of this dish.”

(End of this chapter)