pertwk Chapter 30 Mapo Tofu
Chapter 30 Mapo Tofu
After thanking Granny Wang, Xu Liang carried the large bag of freshly ground tofu home.
On his way home, he carefully looked at the freshly ground tofu in the bag as he walked.
This is something that hasn't been paid for at all.
Xu Liang thought that if he had time in the future, he could invite Granny Wang to the restaurant for a meal.
He arrived at Xiao Liangzi Restaurant soon.
The familiar sound of the door opening, and the little dog barking and wagging its tail at Xu Liang.
Its mental state is even better than the one Xu Tian brought back that day, so Xu Liang must have taken good care of this puppy.
As soon as Xu Liang entered his small restaurant, he casually dropped what he was holding.
He first looked at the game panel in his mind, and then opened the main interface.
They discovered that it was still the same mission.
Making Mapo Tofu rewards you with two points of increased skill in controlling the heat.
However, Xu Liang had only heard of Mapo Tofu; as for the specifics of how to make it, he would have to look at a recipe. He didn't know the method.
So Xu Liang scrolled back and saw a red dot in the upper right corner of the menu.
When Xu Liang clicked on it, a menu popped up showing the steps to make Mapo Tofu.
The recipe for Mapo Tofu is as follows.
【menu】
Dish Name: Mapo Tofu
[Ingredients: 1 block of soft tofu (about 500g), 100g minced pork, 2 tablespoons Pixian chili bean paste, 1 tablespoon each of minced ginger and garlic, 1 tablespoon dried chili powder, 1.5 tablespoons Sichuan peppercorn powder, appropriate amount of chopped green onion, 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon cooking wine, a pinch of sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, appropriate amount of cooking oil]
Step 1: Processing the tofu
Cut the tofu into 2cm cubes, put them in boiling water with a little salt, cook for 1 minute, then drain.
【Step 2: Sauté the minced meat until fragrant】
Heat a pan with cold oil. Once the oil is hot, add the minced pork and stir-fry over medium heat until the pork changes color. Add a spoonful of cooking wine to remove any gamey smell, and continue stir-frying until the pork is slightly browned and the excess oil is rendered out.
【Step 3: Stir-fry until the oil turns red】
Turn the heat to low, add minced ginger and garlic, and Pixian chili bean paste. Stir-fry slowly until the sauce turns red, about 1 minute. Be careful not to burn it, otherwise it will taste bitter. Then add dried chili powder and stir-fry for about ten seconds to bring out the spiciness.
【Step 4: Simmer to infuse flavor】
Add about 300 ml of water or bone broth, bring to a boil over high heat, then add the blanched tofu. Gently stir the bottom of the pot, avoiding poking the tofu with a spatula. Add light soy sauce and a little sugar to taste, then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes.
【Step 5: Thicken with cornstarch】
Pour in the cornstarch slurry while gently stirring to mix. Once the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat. Remember not to reduce the sauce too much; leaving a little sauce makes it very fragrant when mixed with rice.
【Step Six: Adding the Finishing Touches and Fragrance】
Sprinkle with a spoonful of Sichuan peppercorn powder and chopped green onions, then drizzle with a spoonful of hot oil (the oil needs to be quite hot to release the aroma). Add another half spoonful of Sichuan peppercorn powder to enhance the numbing sensation, mix well, and it's ready to serve.
Xu Liang finished reading the above six steps in a few minutes.
He has a strong comprehension ability.
This information, once it came out, rushed into his mind like a raging storm.
Xu Liang closed the panel.
He then searched for the kitchen utensils needed to make the dish, taking out all the pots and pans and placing them on the gas stove.
Also, take some white plates out of the kitchen cabinet.
He started construction.
Xu Liang first washed his hands clean.
He first took out two large pieces of tofu from the bag, put them together, and then picked up a small cleaver to prepare to cut them.
Because the large tofu pieces that Wang Po cuts are extremely standard squares.
Therefore, whether Xu Liang cuts it horizontally or vertically, it makes no difference whatsoever.
But he personally prefers to cut it vertically first, into very long strips of tofu.
Then, Xu Liang cut horizontally.
In a short while, Xu Liang neatly placed about a dozen small tofu cubes, each about two centimeters on each side, on the cutting board.
Then he took a Western-style bowl and filled it with the tofu.
Soak in lightly salted water for ten minutes, blanch, then drain.
In this way, the small tofu cubes are more tender and less likely to break.
Xu Liang set the small, soaking tofu cubes aside and turned to walk towards the refrigerator.
He took a piece of pork loin from the freezer compartment; it had no white fat on it.
The meat was still a bit frozen, so Xu Liang took it out and thawed it with cold water.
Why didn't Xu Liang use boiling water? Boiling water would easily scald the surface of the pork.
Moreover, although boiling water at 100 degrees Celsius will cause rapid short-term melting, the subsequent melting process takes a long time.
The difference lies in the specific heat capacity of cold water and hot water.
In fact, it has been proven that cold water is more effective at melting than hot water.
After thawing the frozen pork, Xu Liang moved on to the next step.
The pork softened and became fluffy from being frozen.
He changed the knives; this time, the number of knives and their sharpness were different.
Xu Liang held two large knives, one in his right hand and one in his left, just like Li Xunhuan (Little Li Flying Dagger).
Unfortunately, he didn't have that kind of skill.
The tip of the knife was gleaming and incredibly sharp.
Xu Liang gripped the handles of the two knives and then proceeded to wield them wildly on the cutting board.
The kitchen emitted a clicking sound, which was not only loud but also indicated that the knife was falling very quickly.
Before long, the tender pork loin meat became mushy, yet surprisingly, there were no strands still attached – a truly amazing phenomenon.
Therefore, the whole pork spine meat turned into minced meat.
Xu Liang grabbed a handful of the meat, only to find it was quite sticky, but there weren't any large chunks of uncut meat mixed in.
It seems his knife skills are quite good.
After dealing with that, Xu Liang followed closely behind.
After preparing the pot, Xu Liang heated the pot, poured in oil, and first stir-fried the minced meat until it changed color.
Then scoop up the finely chopped cooked meat and place it on an empty plate.
Next is to stir-fry the base ingredients.
Xu Liang left the oil in the pan, added scallions, ginger, garlic, dried chili peppers, and Pixian chili bean paste.
The purpose is to stir-fry until the oil turns red.
Next, add water to cover the tofu, then add minced meat, a spoonful of light soy sauce, a little dark soy sauce, and half a spoonful of sugar to enhance the flavor. Simmer over low heat for three minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
This ensures that the ingredients are evenly mixed in, resulting in a balanced flavor distribution.
After this step was completed, Xu Liang poured in the water starch in two batches.
He gently stirred the tofu with a spoon, allowing the broth in the pot to coat it.
Finally, Xu Liang sprinkled a large amount of Sichuan peppercorn powder and chopped green onions on top.
After a while, the Mapo Tofu was ready.
It's hot and fragrant as soon as it comes out of the pot.
Xu Liang took a good sniff; it looked very appealing, with a numbing and spicy aroma.
I just don't know if it tastes good. If I want to verify it, I'll have to try it myself.
Xu Liang quickly grabbed a pair of chopsticks and began to eat with anticipation in his eyes.
It's numbing on the first bite, then spicy, and not oily or greasy.
It perfectly suits diners' strong taste preferences.
Xu Liang gave himself a thumbs up, praising his self-esteem.
The system occasionally sighed in amazement.
[Ding! Congratulations, player, you have completed the task of making Mapo Tofu]
[Game rewards have been distributed, please check carefully]
After saying that, he opened the attribute panel and found that the proficiency in seasoning had increased by two progress bars.
Xu Liang retreated; his next mission awaited him.
[Next task: Compete with other restaurants in town and rank among the top three in terms of customer traffic]
A moment later, he exited the game.
Xu Liangxin thought that he not only wanted to taste the food himself, but also to provide a different taste experience for the diners of the small restaurant.
After finishing his meal, Xu Liang immediately grabbed a small stool and placed it on the wall where the price list was posted.
The small stool was pressed tightly against the wall to stabilize it and prevent Xu Liang from falling off if he went up.
He then took out a black ink pen from the drawer of the small restaurant counter.
Standing on that bench, I added a new dish to it with a pen.
He wrote on it:
Mapo tofu 4 yuan
This price is just right, affordable for diners, and with such delicious food prepared by myself, I'm sure I can sell it for a good price.
So, Xu Liang will definitely have to make a lot of these later, because he's looking at the clock on the wall of the small restaurant and knows it's almost lunchtime.
Xu Liang needed to make some money at noon, so he had to prepare lunch immediately.
The factory was his main source of customers.
In other words, the factory employees who come to patronize his restaurant are the economic lifeline of his business.
The accumulation of these past few days.
The money I earn is something I can justify.
These diners are his superiors; if he were to turn against them, he really would.
What's even more outrageous is that they also have a crowd effect; if one person says the food is bad, they can take a whole group of people with them. With this kind of thing, Xu Liang's small restaurant is destined to be empty.
However, improving the quality of your dishes is always the most crucial thing.
Xu Liang will still need to eat with diners and chat with them about everyday things, providing them with ample emotional support.
The small restaurant has achieved a perfect balance of customer traffic, food quality, and emotional value; it's not just a win-win situation, it's a win-win-win situation.
At that moment, Xu Liang began calling out to the group of diners who had come in for lunch.
He stood outside silently to greet them.