gourmet food

Chapter 790 The mentality of an old naughty boy

Mr. Li's hands were so skillful that the four people standing watching were amazed.

A small square of tofu is not very big. If you want to open a lid to the tofu, it is generally most convenient to use scissors, because with a light cut, you can easily open a skylight surface.

But Mr. Li is a traditional Sichuan cuisine chef who values ​​​​the world with one knife, which means that as long as I have a knife in my hand, I have the world!

The kitchen knife lightly cuts four times on such a small piece of tofu, and then gently pries it with the edge of the knife, and a neat square window is opened.

The speed is so fast and the intensity is just right, it is simply a joy to watch, and the smooth operation is even more dizzying.

"Oh my god, if it were me doing it, I would probably be either deep or shallow at such a fast speed. I would never have such a perfect work."

Guo Kui and Hu Yue calculated silently in their hearts. Although they did not dare to speak, they were shocked. How many years of practice would it take for them to achieve such a level?

Chu Yunfeng wanted to be a little more relaxed. He also secretly evaluated his own strength. If he got started like this, he would probably be able to achieve this effect.

But the speed is definitely worse, and he can't do as he pleases and downplay his general strength like Mr. Li.

High, indeed high!
Using a spoon to scoop out tofu is also very particular, and it is very fast. It is not the kind of random scooping.

After Mr. Li put a spoon in, he didn't take out the tofu inside bit by bit, but inserted the spoon in and turned it several times along the edge.

Finally, stir the inside with a spoon a few times, so that all the tofu inside can be easily shaken out.

This is not only fast, but also very clean.

But this method is very particular about strength, because Mr. Li completely relies on his own feeling to separate. If there is a slight deviation, the outer layer of skin will be broken.

After the tofu is fried to golden brown, the outer layer will become harder, but it is not unbreakable. As long as you use a little more force, the piece of tofu will be useless.

Many people think that it looks very simple and they can do it, but in fact, they only know how difficult it is after they get started.

The dozen or so pieces of tofu were quickly emptied. When Mr. Li told the story, he had already chopped all the pork, mushrooms and winter bamboo shoots.

And add some salt, pepper, light soy sauce and other spices, mix well and set aside, now it can be used.

Mr. Li poured the meat stuffing in with chopsticks, but it wasn't stuffed too full or tightly, as long as the lid that was opened before could be just covered.

At this step, Chu Yunfeng suddenly had an inspiration. After the tofu was fried and hollowed out, although the space in the middle was a little smaller, it was closed all around.

And its sealing ability is good, even if water is put in, it will not leak.

So what if we pour some fish soup into it?

After "sealing" and frying again, the fish soup inside will solidify after being heated, and the tofu outside will become more golden and crispy.

When you eat it, the inside will be tender and juicy, and the outside will be a little more crispy. Isn't this a wonderful combination?

Especially this seabass, it has no thorns, has little fishy smell, and the meat is very delicate. I will ask them to send some old tofu over later and try making this dish tonight.

I believe the guests coming to the dinner party tonight will like it very much.

Moreover, the fillings in this dish can be changed. When the time comes, it will be replaced with shrimps and other fillings, and the taste will have a different taste and texture.

Some people who don't like spicy food can make it into a braised sauce, which brings the umami flavor to a whole new level.

This dish is so wonderful. Not only can it be flexible, but it can also adapt to various groups of people. No wonder it can be served at a state banquet. It really has its own uniqueness.

Chu Yunfeng has already thought of several ways in the blink of an eye, and he can also make changes in the taste type, which has a lot to do with the accumulation of his usual cooking skills.

After all the "small wooden boxes" are covered with lids and "sealed", Mr. Li is ready to seal them. The thing needed for sealing is egg paste.

Although the lid on each piece of tofu is covered, there are gaps, and all these gaps need to be sealed with egg paste.

Let the ingredients poured into it be completely enclosed, so that all their fragrance can be locked inside. This step is very different from the "tofu box" in Shandong.

At this step, the tofu box is steamed directly in the pot. Most of the generally made tofu boxes are rectangular in shape, but the box tofu is cube and needs to be fried.

Egg paste!

What you need to use is naturally eggs, plus some soybean flour. After it is fully mixed, it will look golden, and when you pour it from the air, you can see that it is very sticky.

Because soybean flour is not very sticky, eggs need to be added to increase the sealing strength. After adding eggs, not only does the color look much better, but it also adds a little fragrance.

When Mr. Li was beating the eggs, he shook his head slightly. Chu Yunfeng immediately understood that he thought the eggs were too small and had to beat a dozen at a time.

Chu Yunfeng, who smiled bitterly in his heart, had already calculated these synthetic eggs and spent hundreds of dollars on them.
After the egg slurry was made, Mr. Li used a spoon to pour it back and forth on the tofu. Soon, you could see that the egg slurry slightly penetrated in, sealing the mouth.

Needless to say, the next step is a very critical step. You need to put the tofu into the oil pan and fry it again.

When frying this kind of wrapped food, special attention is needed, that is, the oil temperature must not be too low.

When the oil temperature is too low, a large amount of oil will penetrate into the food, which will make the food taste full of oil. It will also make people feel stuffy, greasy, and most importantly, unhealthy.

But the oil temperature cannot be too high. If it exceeds 200 degrees, the fillings inside will not be fried yet, and the outer layer of tofu will be fried, which will definitely be a failure.

Mastering the heat is familiar to Mr. Li, but only Chu Yunfeng has figured out the trick. Guo Kui and Hu Yue don't seem to understand the necessity of this kind of oil temperature.

During the frying process, Mr. Li kept shaking the tofu with a spatula, but he only shook it and did not turn it.

And from time to time, bring a little oil and pour it from the top a few times, so that the topmost egg yolk can be heated evenly, and the seal will be sealed more tightly.

Because the oil is not used when pouring the oil, after the tofu is put into the pot, the amount of oil is only just covered by the tofu, not completely submerged.

This made Chu Yunfeng understand at once. If the amount of oil does not exceed the tofu, the sealing paste on the tofu that has just been cooked will crack, and a large amount of oil will take the opportunity to get in.

When you eat it, if you take a bite, a lot of fat will pop out. No one would like that kind of texture, right?

details!
These are all details, and Chu Yunfeng got them right away, while Guo Kui and Hu Yue, on the other hand, seemed to be still immersed in a state of careful observation.

Their understanding of the details of Mr. Li's cooking is still a bit poor. After all, this is their first time watching Mr. Li cook, and what about cooking skills?
Of course Chu Yunfeng thinks that he is number one!
After a while, the tofu that had been lying in the pot began to float, which meant that the filling inside was already cooked. Mr. Li poured them all into a colander and began to control the oil.

The next step is seasoning and plating.

Fish flavor is not difficult for Chu Yunfeng. When making the nine-color box, he knew all the flavors well.

None of the master chefs who came last time were built. Each of them has a very unique opinion on their special dishes.

Moreover, many master masters have their own unique techniques and some improved formulas, but Chu Yunfeng has easily learned them.

These are the technical summaries and experiences of the masters over the past few decades. I didn't expect that Chu Yunfeng would be cheaper in the end, so I gave him a good drink when I drank last time.

The seasoning of fish flavor requires frying pickled peppers and other seasonings, but before frying, you need to prepare the sauce first, so that it will be more convenient during production.

In fact, this step is completely redundant for Mr. Li. When he comes to cook at other people's homes, he adds seasonings very quickly, so there is no need to make this preparation at all.

Therefore, the purpose of doing this now is to let the three of them become more familiar with and understand the proportions and types of these seasonings. It can be said that they are well-intentioned.

Add salt, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, stock, cooking wine and water starch into a small bowl, and slowly stir it with a spoon. The cooking wine is the same wine that was used to make the jar meat. It has been used for 20 years and has a fragrant aroma. Very rich.

During the stirring process, Mr. Li boiled a small amount of water and prepared to chop the green vegetables. Like Chu Yunfeng, he also started to use it attentively.

Put oil in the pot and pour in the minced pickled peppers. When the sound of "嗤啦" sounded, everyone could smell the spicy smell.

Pickled peppers are full of flavor, but also very fragrant.

The whole pot turned red and the color was very bright. Then Mr. Li added a little more bean paste to make the red color darker and the spiciness seemed to be sublimated a little.

The last thing left is that the ginger and garlic particles start to sauté. After the sauté, pour the previously prepared sauce directly into the pot, sprinkle some chopped green onions, and immediately release the fishy aroma.

The spicy and sour taste immediately lured the greedy out.

After the fish-flavored sauce was prepared, Mr. Li placed the blanched green vegetables on the plate and combed out all the leaves on it to form an arch.

Then put the oil-controlled tofu on the arched leaves, and then pour the fish-flavored sauce on top.

Then use some bright green mint leaf tips to decorate it, which looks very beautiful.

Especially the wisp of green vegetables on the plate, the green stem is like emerald, and the looming golden tofu on the leaves is like heavy wealth.

The layer of fresh and rich sauce wrapped on the outside is like a coat of wealth and splendor, giving people a sense of nobility.

There is a piece of tofu in this dinner plate. It is obvious that this is a set menu dish. Mr. Li's hand is so cool and fried.

If you don't take action, that's it. Once you do, people will look up at you like mountains and rivers.

But it wasn't over yet. Mr. Li pushed the set menu aside, without even looking at it, and took another plate over.

This dinner plate is JDZ's top-notch porcelain newly customized by Chu Yunfeng. The whole plate is long and has golden patterns on the edges, which looks very expensive.

This plate costs more than 8000, but it took me a lot of effort. Although there is still a batch of goods that have not arrived, and the final payment has not yet been paid, I still owe a large foreign debt.

Nodding, seemingly very satisfied with the dinner plate, Mr. Li began to place the remaining vegetables after blanching on it, and then placed the tofu on top one by one.

The placement of the green vegetables is very interesting. Two green vegetables are placed together horizontally, and then two more green vegetables are placed at the same distance, and finally the rest of the green vegetables are placed together.

There are two tofu placed in the first row, five in the second row, three at the bottom and two at the top.

The last row has three floors. From this point of view, one floor is higher than the other, which has a very good meaning.

After setting it up, it is natural to pour the sauce. When the red sauce is poured on, the shape is like the finishing touch and immediately becomes vivid.

After decorating it with some small vegetables, Mr. Li's boxes of tofu are finally ready.

As for the set meal that was thrown aside before, it seemed a bit innocent. It seemed that Mr. Li was actually more concerned about this complete dish.

As for the set menu?
It's just like playing. Yes, it's the nature of playing with tickets. It seems that Mr. Li is more traditional and more rigorous about traditional skills.

But Chu Yunfeng soon discovered that his idea was somewhat misunderstood, because Mr. Li had three pieces of tofu left in the oily spoon, and there was obviously still a little sauce left in the pot.

But he was carrying the boxes of tofu and two pairs of chopsticks. After giving Mu Qing a signal, the two of them went directly to the table opposite.

The three people left at the scene were staring at each other, haven't they come to their senses yet?

Chu Yunfeng reacted quickly, especially when he saw that the fire for cooking the sauce hadn't been turned off yet?
For a master-level figure like Mr. Li, could this be something he has forgotten?

It's simply impossible?
Moreover, the fire has been turned to the minimum, and there are still three pieces of tofu in the colander. Isn't this obvious?

He just left a piece for each of the three people to show off their skills and make a plate, and then compare it with what he made.

The meaning is obvious. Mr. Li wanted to test the three people's presentation skills. It seems that this is also the mentality of an old naughty boy. He didn't say anything about it and even left questions for everyone.

And it's so obscure, it's obviously just easy to pick up, just like playing!
After Chu Yunfeng realized this, he immediately picked up the dinner plate and started thinking about it. When Guo Kui saw it, he was ready to taste it. Why didn't he say anything?
So he picked up his chopsticks and immediately prepared to have a quick bite, but just as he took a step, Hu Yue stopped him.

Then he turned his head, pointed at Chu Yunfeng, and then pointed at the things left by Mr. Li, and Guo Kui quickly put down the chopsticks in his hands.

Then he looked back at Mr. Li quietly, and found that the old man didn't seem to pay attention to this side, so he took a deep breath and retracted the foot that was stretched out before.
(End of this chapter)