Chapter 171 (1/2)

Chapter 171: Definition of Delicacies

Wu Hai said directly, “Since your dishes are so delicious, how can she eat anything else?”

By his standards, he would rather eat the dishes without white rice than eating inferior rice along with the delicious dishes.

“Eat your food. People are waiting behind,” Yuan Zhou signaled him to hurry up as many customers were still waiting in line.

Wu Hai turned the head and found the line was indeed getting longer. With his two small tufts of mustache turning up, he said proudly, “My home is near .”

As this guy always looked for trouble every day, Yuan Zhou just ignored him and went back to the kitchen to cook dishes.

The main ingredient of Steamed Tofu with Minced Pork was tofu, which was made by Yuan Zhou himself. Since it was used for steamed dishes, it was definitely tofu from the north school.

First of all, Yuan Zhou was quite satisfied with the raw ingredients. The soybeans provided by the system were all plump and uniform in the size, looking round and lovable. After being soaked in water and becoming bloated, they carried a faint aroma of bean flavor in the atmosphere, Each of them looked chubby.

For this time, Yuan Zhou used the stone mill to grind the soybeans manually. After grinding carefully thrice, he filtered the soybean milk to be used later. Then he added the brine water inside to solidify the soybean milk. During the process, the spring water taken from the mountain streams was used.

The scent was pure and sweet. Taken during the winter, the spring water carried a faint cool air. Yuan Zhou then poured the solidified soybean milk directly into the bamboo frame. The subtly-woven bamboo splits left clear and visible patterns on the tofu, as if they had been allocated beforehand.

With every piece being identical in the size, the finished tofu was white and tender. While it emitted a strong aroma of bean flavor into the atmosphere, it also carried the sweetness of the spring water.

“Hua Hua”, Yuan Zhou waved the bamboo knife and cut one piece of the tofu off before holding it with the bamboo knife and placing it on a flat plate.

Every surface of the tofu was incomparably neat as if they had all been measured.

“Boss Yuan likes bamboo very much, but unfortunately he isn’t like the bamboo,” Wu Hai gave him another hit while smiling at the side.

Yuan Zhou took a glance at Wu Hai and then continued with his own work, not preparing to answer him.

However, he waved the bamboo knife faster this time. With only several cuts, he split the tofu into a few smaller blocks of the same size.

It was enjoyable to watch Yuan Zhou cook. Every time he prepared such ingredients that were soon to be eaten, he would usually keep them away from the direct touch of his hands, like the previous treatment of the Phoenix-Tail Prawns. This time, it was the tofu.

Although it was the firm tofu from the north school, it nevertheless appeared to be white and tender as well as tottering, like pieces of top-grade white jade.

Yuan Zhou heated the pot until it became hot. Then, he poured some oil into the pot until a sound of “Zi La” was heard in order to sauté the tofu.

This time he used the soybean oil. Provided it was not processed properly, the soybean oil would emit a faint beany flavor. Nonetheless, Yuan Zhou immediately put some pieces of red onions straight inside the pot. After the onions were stir-fried in the oil, the soybean oil, on the contrary, carried the delicate fragrance of the onion. Therefore, it couldn’t be better to sauté the tofu with it.

When the tofu was sautéed until two sides turned golden, Yuan Zhou changed the oil again. Apart from the onions, he also added a spoonful of vegetables oil this time to increase the fragrance. After that, he put other flavorings into the pot and stir-fried them until the scent was emitted. During the process, the pot was ceaselessly making the melodious sound of “Zi La”, as if the ingredients were melting together blissfully.

Then, he poured the sautéed tofu into the pot for braising, added other flavorings inside, and cooked it with slow fire in order to let the sauce penetrate the tofu, thus making the inside of the tofu taste the same as the sauce. When it came to the step of sauce reduction, Yuan Zhou added the green garlic sprouts into the pot to increase the aroma.

Finally, a plate of Steamed Tofu with Minced Pork was ready. Meanwhile, Boss Tong entered the restaurant with a bowl of steaming hot rice.

“Enjoy your meal, Boss Tong,” Yuan Zhou served the tofu and said to her politely.

“Yuan Zhou, your swift actions resemble your father,” looking at the steaming hot tofu served to her, Boss Tong said to Yuan Zhou.

“Thank you,” Yuan Zhou answered with a nod.

It was strange that although the tofu was steaming hot, the aroma was surprisingly little. With slight curiosity, Boss Tong broke apart a piece of the tofu with the chopsticks, after which the aroma started to become stronger.

“It seems the aroma was all wrapped inside the tofu,” Boss Tong could also be considered to be knowledgeable, hence brought out Yuan Zhou’s technique of cooking in one go.

She picked up the broken tofu and stuffed into her mouth. She got burned immediately by the scalding inside of the tofu. Then, Boss Tong constantly inhaled the air with a sound of “Si Si” to cool her burnt tongue down. Even so, the tofu was soft, tender, salty and fresh, along with an extraordinarily wonderful taste. Being reluctant to spit it out, Boss Tong had to chew and swallow up the tofu while breathing incessantly.

“Little Yuan, your craftsmanship is really nice,” after eating up the piece, Boss Tong heaved a sigh with emotion and then said.