Food: How come this boss knows everything?

Chapter 42 What are you going to do to an old lady?
It rained heavily all night yesterday.

After Li Rui woke up, the short video platform on his mobile phone was flooded with images of heavy rain.

The rain has not stopped in some cities, causing floods.

However, the situation in Jianghai City is still good.

New renovation and upgrading of the sponge city has been carried out.

Except for some places in the old city where there was water accumulation, most areas were not seriously affected.

Li Rui looked at the sunny weather outside. It was sunny.

The weather forecast also shows sunny.

There shouldn’t be any problem selling boxed lunches today.

The dish he unlocked today was Mapo Tofu, which could enrich his variety of stir-fried dishes.

In addition, a hidden achievement called [Newbie on the Road] was triggered yesterday.

The rewards are straightforward.

10 yuan in cash was directly transferred to Li Ruijiang’s bank account.

Compared to all kinds of weird stuff.

Cash is undoubtedly the most touching thing.

The thought of providing delicious food to customers can not only win their smiles, but also earn them various rewards.

Li Rui is full of energy.

Let’s go grocery shopping!

Due to the heavy rain, transportation became more difficult.

Although vegetable prices remain at reasonable levels, they are bound to rise.

If you don't buy groceries every day, you might ignore these problems.

After buying vegetables and meat, Li Rui bought a large piece of fresh tofu nearby.

When making Mapo Tofu, some people choose tender tofu, while others choose to use traditional brine tofu.

The difference between these two types of tofu is:

Traditional braised tofu looks a little rough on the outside, has less water and is tougher, has a stronger bean flavor, and does not break easily when stir-fried.

Tender tofu is also called gypsum tofu. It is whiter and more tender than brine tofu. If used to make Mapo tofu, the finished dish will be finer, whiter and smoother.

In addition to the above two types of tofu, there is also rennet tofu on the market. This kind of tofu has more water. The commonly eaten preserved egg tofu and tofu in soup are made of rennet tofu.

The dishes cooked by Li Rui have to be transported all the way to Jianghai Avenue.

So I chose the tougher braised tofu.

Go home.

It’s still the same process of steaming rice and cooking as yesterday.

But today we added a new dish: Mapo Tofu.

The first step is dicing.

The whole block of tofu has been divided into several large pieces by the stall owner.

Li Rui took the tofu block in his hand.

With his other hand he held a kitchen knife and dipped it in the water twice.

Dipping the knife in some water can prevent the blade from moving the tofu off track.

The key to cutting tofu is speed.

While tofu wasn't paying attention, he cut it a few times.

Before the big tofu cubes could react, they had already turned into small, even cubes and fell into the pot.

The pot contains half-boiled hot water with a little salt added.

Boil the tofu cubes in water for one or two minutes to retain the original flavor of the tofu while removing the fishy smell.

Take out the tofu and put it in a bowl along with the hot water for later use.

At this point, if you add a little soy sauce to the tofu, it can actually become a simple and convenient side dish.

Next comes step two.

Stir-fried meat.

The beef has been chopped into small pieces in advance.

Add oil to a pan and stir-fry over low heat.

After frying the beef until loose and fragrant, add a small amount of cooking wine to remove the fishy smell.

The beef does not need to be overcooked, just fry until crispy and fragrant.

Add a little salt before serving to make it taste more delicious.

Remove the beef cubes and set aside.

Then comes the third step, cooking the tofu.

Add oil to the pan and add chopped bean paste and fermented black beans. Chopped bean paste and fermented black beans are more suitable for the overall taste of this dish, and after chopping, it is easier to bring out the flavor.

Still on low heat, stir-fry to bring out the aroma of the red oil of the bean paste and the fermented black beans.

Add chili powder to increase the spiciness and color of the whole dish.

When the chili powder is cooked, add the chopped ginger and garlic.

The tofu tastes amazing even before it’s put into the pot.

Add hot water to the pot, then take out the blanched tofu and add it into the pot to stew.

To cook tofu, you can only push it gently with a spatula or shake it gently with a wok.

Do not break the tofu.

The tofu is bubbling in the pot for two minutes, then the minced beef is added into the pot, with MSG and sugar for flavor, a little soy sauce for color, and then a small amount of pepper and garlic sprouts.

The whole dish is almost complete.

The next most critical step is thickening.

Mapo tofu is thickened three times with the starch becoming thinner each time. The first time is to thicken the soup, the second time is to let the starch wrap around the tofu, and the third time is to add starch over high heat to thicken the soup.

Before serving, sprinkle with pepper powder and add a little pepper oil to give the Mapo Tofu a final spicy flavor.

In this way, a spicy and delicious Mapo Tofu is ready.

The dish is just out of the pot and is still steaming.

It would be a shame if you don't eat it while it's hot.

Li Ruisheng brought out a bowl of rice and started eating it in the kitchen.

In the region where Mapo Tofu originated, there is a saying that goes, "If you eat hot tofu, you will marry a fat wife."

That makes a lot of sense indeed.

Li Rui deliberately saved this dish for last.

Tofu has the property of keeping warm, and with the help of the thermos bucket, when selling lunch boxes on Jianghai Avenue, customers should be able to feel the temperature while eating.

Jianghai Avenue.

The road is very clean after the heavy rain.

However, a very strange scene appeared in the open space beside the road - several young men surrounded an old lady selling water.

If Aunt Cai didn’t know that she was already 62 years old and not very pretty at all.

I am really a little afraid that these people may have ulterior motives.

She explained earnestly to the people in front of her:

"I'm just helping my boss. It rained so hard yesterday, I can't say for sure whether he will come today."

"Why don't you buy a bottle of drink and drink it while you wait."

Finally, it was eleven o'clock in the afternoon.

Li Rui drove the food truck to the place where lunch boxes were sold again.

He also didn't expect that when he was selling lunch boxes on the roadside, some people would come and wait for him.

Judging from the style of their clothes and the little blue vests, they are all errand boys.

The small sign was put up and the side panel of the dining car was opened.

Several people gathered around immediately.

"Boss, I thought you weren't coming today." This was not the first time Brother A came here, and he obviously had some experience.

Brother B finally felt relieved. He thought it was a fake order at first, but he didn't expect that someone was really selling lunch boxes here. He checked the order information on his phone and said:
"Boss, small stew, roasted eggplant, twice-cooked pork, smashed cucumber, pack up."

Brother C watched his colleagues taking their lunch boxes and was very curious. What kind of lunch box would make people go to the trouble of asking a runner to deliver it?
His customer had some special requests, so there was no rush to order.

Brother C took a photo and sent it through the errand running platform.

The customer quickly responded:

"Brother, buy me two servings so I can try all these dishes."

Young man C repeated the customer's request to the lunch box owner, "Boss, two lunch boxes, please help pack all these dishes."

"alright, please wait."

The boss was very efficient and started working immediately.

He watched the boss packing portions of freshly cooked food into lunch boxes, and suddenly felt a little hungry.

Wow, look at this twice-cooked pork, it smells so good.

This Mapo Tofu is very authentic. This dish is best eaten while hot.

The two home-cooked dishes are very tempting to Brother C.

"What errands are you running? I'll do it first."

In an office building more than ten kilometers away, Liu Xueying received a reminder message from the errand running platform:
"Your errand boy ate your order."

(End of this chapter)