CHAPTER 710: CHAPTER 709: TRIO OF TOFU (PART 3)

A culinary masterpiece with tofu?

Xia Yu was attempting to bring the Shell Fairy’s magnum opus to the dining table.

"Ten minutes!"

After going over the process in his mind, Xia Yu smiled at Lei Zhe and Andrea, "Please wait ten minutes!"

Having said that, he rolled up his sleeves.

First standing at the stove, Xia Yu lifted a barrel of oil and poured fresh cooking fat into the newly set iron pot on the burner.

It was a deep-frying dedicated pot.

Next to it were two other identical iron pots, both immaculately clean, set aside for different procedures to be performed later.

The three pots corresponded perfectly to the "Tofu Trio’s" three key points.

Each key point would be cooked and completed in one of the pots, and when all three came together, the ultimate trio would be there!

"Deep frying?"

Seeing Xia Yu pour oil and light the fire, the crowd couldn’t help but express their surprise.

"What tofu dish requires deep frying?!"

Aoki Motota asked, rubbing his bald head in confusion.

"Fragrant fried tofu?"

Shinohara and Midori both pondered, "Hmm, this dish is also a mainstay in Chinese cuisine, available in many restaurants. The frying step, especially, has to ensure the tofu is flavorful yet undamaged..."

"That’s right, soft tofu has a high risk of breaking apart when deep-fried, doesn’t it? The commonly seen soft tofu isn’t really suitable for frying," Midori whispered.

Hearing the whispers, Dojima Yin joined the conversation, "Soft tofu and silken tofu are often collectively referred to as Southern tofu in the Chinese Cuisine World. Firm tofu and hard tofu are called Northern tofu."

"Based on the methods of production, Southern tofu is gypsum tofu while Northern tofu is nigari tofu. So, from a culinary perspective, the moist and tender Southern tofu is suitable for hot pot and soup, while the elastic Northern tofu with a stronger bean flavor is appropriate for frying, braising, stir-frying, and other cooking methods..."

Suddenly, a voice interjected, interrupting the discussion:

"But Chef Xia is preparing Southern tofu, isn’t he?"

Andrea smirked, her fingers painted with light purple nail polish, definitively pointing to the block of tofu on the counter that was dripping with water, milky white and delicate in texture under the light.

Unlike Northern tofu, the relatively snow-white appearance of Southern tofu made it easy to distinguish.

Seeing that the group had fallen silent, Andrea’s lips curled into an amused smile, "So, there’s no need to mention fragrant fried tofu anymore. These basic mistakes of choosing the wrong ingredients are not ones Chef Xia would make."

So what was it then?

"There can’t be a stronger tofu dish..."

Lei Zhe stressed once more, but before he could finish his sentence, his pupils suddenly shrank.

As the oil heated up and appeared to be at the right temperature, Xia Yu, very calmly, brought over a small stainless steel mixing bowl and poured a good amount of leftover bits and pieces of food into it.

A bean fragrance emanated from the residue.

"Is this... Okara?"

Liangzi Lina, with her lovely, astonished eyes, widened in surprise.

But it wasn’t just okara.

Without a word, Xia Yu gestured to his female assistant, and Yuchuan Ayaka, understanding what he needed, uncovered a steamer, took out two steamed taro roots, sliced, mashed them into a paste, and then handed a bowl filled with the taro paste to the head chef.

The next step was clear.

The onlookers watched as Xia Yu mixed the okara and taro paste, his meticulously cleaned hands ceaselessly kneading the mixture.

"Okara, taro mash, what is this for?"

The audience’s questions did not diminish with the cooking process but accumulated even more.

Okara!

Taro Mash!

Liangzi Lina’s slender, attractive eyebrows furrowed slightly, her bright, spirited eyes focused intently on every move Xia Yu made, not missing even the smallest detail.

Soon, the okara and fried remnants were mixed together, and soy sauce and douban sauce were added for coloring and flavoring. Xia Yu’s forehead showed a layer of sweat, but he kept himself busy chopping intensely, the rhythmic knife sounds creating a melody, as evenly cut meat-colored slices, two fingers wide and as long as a finger, were neatly stacked on the cutting board.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."

With his hands, he grabbed these meat-colored slices and tossed them into the boiling, smoky oil pot.

For a brief moment, the Skywell open-air kitchen echoed with the pleasant sound of cooking, lively and rhythmic.

Before long, an exaggerated aroma wafted all around.

Andrea’s little nose was like that of a small dog, sniffing incessantly, her cheeks faintly flushed with a touch of red as she exclaimed, "What, what in the world is this? Is it a dish, or just a part of a dish? This flavor is truly surprising!"

The blend of taro and yellow bean flavors stirred her body and soul, a pair of radiant eyes gradually misting over.

No one answered her.

The cooking continued at a brisk pace.

When Xia Yu said ten minutes, he meant ten minutes, not a second was delayed.

"The ’dried bean curd’, finished!"

Watching the thin slices floating in the oil, the mastery of the Bursting Flame technique made controlling the heat all too easy for him. Xia Yu was confident that on the point of ’dried bean curd’ alone, not even Shao An or Shell Fairy reborn could surpass him.

Thus, the first piece of the "Tofu Trio" puzzle was complete!

"Only ’tofu noodles’ and ’thickened tofu’ are left!"

After lifting the fried dried bean curd out to drain the oil, Xia Yu tossed aside the frying pan, turned around cleanly, washed his hands, then stood before a worktable specially designed for kneading dough.

"Give me tofu!"

He said.

"How much?" Hozoi Midori asked.

"Half!"

As he spoke, he tossed a thick cloth-wrapped oblong object to the female assistant.

Hozoi Midori unwrapped it layer by layer, revealing a razor-sharp bamboo knife inside. She met Xia Yu’s eyes, which conveyed encouragement, and took a deep breath, "I’ll do my very best!"

This robust female student specialized in Chinese cuisine and was adept with a knife. She was appointed the task without a hint of hesitation or embarrassment and immediately began to wield the nimble bamboo blade!

Swish swish swish!

A few seconds later, Hozoi Midori brought Xia Yu a plate of neatly sliced tofu.

"Good knife work!"

After a brief compliment, Xia Yu took the plate of tofu and immediately got down to business.

Here, there was a critical step—

Draining water!

Soft tofu contains a lot of water, which seemed superfluous for the following cooking steps and could ruin the texture.

The original recipe’s method was to place a heavy stone on the uncut tofu, squeezing out the water without crushing the delicate tofu.

However, this method wasn’t suitable for learning on the fly as it required a significant amount of time.

Therefore, Xia Yu had his approach already figured out. Regardless, he had just one goal at this moment—

Quickly removing the excess water.

Hiss-slash!

He laid down a quite thick layer of kitchen paper on the countertop, and the tofu blocks were then rearranged and lined up on the kitchen paper like pieces of a puzzle.

Everyone watched as Xia Yu grabbed a shiny kitchen knife and were stunned.

"Ah!"

"What is he doing? Cutting tofu on paper?"

Before the discussion could develop, Lei Zhe, Dojima Yin, Andrea, and the others shut their mouths.

Thump!

The knife came down with a dazzling brilliance that caught everyone’s eye.

Despite the knife’s seemingly swift strike on the tofu, the force used was incredibly delicate. The tofu remained intact and unbroken while the kitchen paper underneath absorbed the seeping water, spreading out in visible trails.

And so the cycle continued.

Thump thump thump!

Just as this processing was about to end, down came the knife with a sudden, forceful descent.

Lei Zhe’s eyes showed a trace of shock as he said, "Is he going to..."

It was still a thump, but this time it wasn’t to remove water. It was to shatter the tofu.

Everyone’s eyes were glued to the slowly lifting knife.

And the nearby cameras captured well the scene after the knife was lifted—a block of tofu undergoing a transformation akin to melting snow.

A mound of finely crushed tofu mush was laid out on the damp paper!