CHAPTER 81: CHAPTER 80: BOSS, WHY IS YOUR DISH GLOWING?

The pieces of tofu were taken out from the sauce, and after being immersed in medium-high temperature for quite a while, the tender white tofu acquired a faint hue of the sauce.

However, due to the continuous soaking, the tofu remained very moist and tender.

Chen Mo scooped out two portions of tofu and placed them in a new, clean pan, and immediately turned on the heat!

A familiar progress bar appeared before him.

Chen Mo dared not be careless, his fingers pinching the control knob for the heat, unlike any progress bar he had seen before.

As he adjusted the heat, the light sphere slid back and forth on the progress bar, meaning the heat constantly changed.

When the light sphere slid to the brightest spot, Chen Mo abruptly stopped turning it!

He really didn’t dare to waste any more time, as each time the light sphere crossed the bright spot, the gleaming area would shrink, indicating that the optimal moment was slipping away.

[Perfect!]

Seeing the prompt appear, Chen Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He was really determined for the food truck to level up tonight!

Noticing the slight chill on his forehead, he saw that at some point Mu Mu had approached him, wiping his sweat, "Brother Chen Mo, if it really doesn’t work, maybe don’t put up the stall today."

Mu Mu only knew Chen Mo was assessing the market, completely unaware of his plan to earn the down payment for a house within a year.

Chen Mo shook his head and smiled at her, "You go take a rest."

Mu Mu immediately felt respect swell.

Is this the consciousness of an excellent employee?

Even if he’s sweating all over his head, even if the noodles and buns are all sold out, he still wants to set up the stall to finish the job?

Indeed, there are so many things to learn from Brother Chen Mo!

With the heat controlled to the perfect point, Chen Mo grabbed the pan handle with his left hand, and while others might think he was simply watching the tofu in the pan, he was actually staring intently at the progress bar in front of him.

[Perfect!]

The first time tossing the pan, he received the highest evaluation!

He couldn’t help but relax inside; the practice of fried rice in the previous days was not in vain, his pan-tossing skills were becoming increasingly proficient.

This was the main reason Chen Mo previously gave up on this step.

With tender tofu simmering in the pan, who dares to toss the pan without full confidence?

Using a spatula for flipping is definitely unrealistic; a forceful flip would turn it all to mush.

He could only toss the pan, and it had to be done by tossing all the tofu up, using the moment of pause in mid-air to catch them back in the pan!

Difficult or not? Hard to say.

Anyway, when Chen Mo executed the toss, the nine female technicians massaging in the vicinity were all stunned, their hands stopping all at once.

Du Qiming swallowed hard, "No way... Boss, have you trained for this?"

Impossible, that move was so difficult, could anyone really master it without at least a decade or more of practice?

Chen Mo grinned, "Just wait and see."

The light sphere passed by, and he continued to toss the pan!

[Perfect!]

Tossing the pan!

[Perfect!]

With each toss of the pan by Chen Mo, the tofu in the pan visibly started to dry, initially losing the moisture clinging to its surface, then the surface becoming parched, but Chen Mo seemed unsatisfied and continued to toss the pan.

"What’s this!" Hou Yao had unknowingly stood up, pacing back and forth in the room, "What does he intend to do?"

This method was entirely different from the traditional way of making ma po tofu, so much so that Hou Yao had never seen anyone make ma po tofu this way throughout his career.

But Hou Yao had a rough idea of the purpose behind this method.

This involves a common piece of knowledge: for dishes that require "braising," adding a step of "frying" before braising can make the food taste exceptionally good.

The reason is simple: frying can quickly evaporate the moisture on the surface of the ingredients, making the exterior crisp and dry, before braising allows the ingredients to reabsorb moisture and the seasoned broth.

This is the secret of braising.

And wasn’t Chen Mo mimicking this process now?

"He wants to dry out all the moisture on the surface of the tender tofu before cooking, aiming for a more flavorful result!"

Hou Yao quickly had the answer in his mind.

"This kid..."

At this moment, Hou Yao didn’t even know what to say.

Ma Po Tofu, it’s just a ma po tofu, a simple dish found on every street corner.

Yet Chen Mo went to such extraordinary lengths to make this dish, if those Sichuan Cuisine masters saw this, they might want to break his legs, right?

Hou Yao, suppressing his excitement, couldn’t resist sending a sports car emoji and a comment in the live stream: "Get a closer look."

With the last toss completed, Chen Mo instantly turned off the heat and then poured all the tofu into the adjacent black pot.

The black pot not only heats up quickly but also retains heat, and at the moment, the filtered spicy broth inside was still high in temperature.

As soon as the black pot was placed back on the stove, it began to boil again.

What came next was much simpler, steps that Chen Mo was nearly memorizing by now.

The broth in the pot boiled, and various seasonings were added in turn.

A first thickening, a second thickening.

Adding green onions and minced beef, a third thickening.

Remove from heat!

Sprinkle Sichuan pepper powder and minced beef on the surface, the broth thickened by three thickenings tightly clung to each piece of tender tofu.

LuLu zoomed in the camera.

Hou Yao could see even more clearly.

"Outstanding!"

This chef, with over thirty years in Cantonese cuisine, couldn’t help but exclaim to himself at the sight of the freshly finished Ma Po Tofu.

Everything was different, entirely different!

The tofu, with its moisture baked out and gradually simmered with the broth and then thickened three times, seemed to have fully absorbed all the savory, numbing, and spicy flavors into itself.

If, before, the Ma Po Tofu seemed like tender white tofu enveloped in a layer of bright red soup, now the tofu had turned into tender whiteness with bright red shining through, further enveloped by a layer of thick broth and minced beef!

The pace of Hou Yao’s steps quickened; he desperately wanted to call Lao Mu.

To inform Lao Mu that he had struck gold and should quickly arrange a betrothal with Mu Mu, no more delays!

Of course, Chen Mo was unaware that Master Hou was also watching the live stream.

After portioning the tofu into two dishes, he said to Mu Mu, "Can you serve two bowls of rice for them? All the other staples are sold out."

"Okay." Mu Mu obediently served the rice and placed it on the window ledge of the food truck, "Hey!"

She waved her hand in front of Du Qiming, "Stop staring, your dish is ready!"

Du Qiming finally snapped back to reality, suddenly feeling his throat dry.

The pieces of tofu, white with a tinge of red, wobbled and trembled in the bowl, as if taunting him: Come, eat me, eat me!

What truly left Du Qiming dumbfounded was how the tofu, shining with the red sauce, under the light of the street lamp or whatever, seemed to...

"Boss, what’s up with your dish, why is it glowing?"