Chapter 25  The Great Magic Panda Tofu

The second floor of the villa had a massive dining room capable of seating over a hundred people at once. The accompanying kitchen was naturally large, covering over a hundred square meters, and next door was a special cold storage room for keeping fresh ingredients.

Additionally, there was a storage room in the basement that held long-shelf-life ingredients, such as dried goods and plant seeds. Li Yang was deep in thought, wondering what kind of dish could give diners both a sweet and fiery sensation.

“The sweet sensation can be expressed with sweetness. The most intuitive dish that conveys a ‘sweet sensation’ would be various kinds of desserts.”

“And the fiery sensation can be expressed with spiciness. Chili peppers stimulate the taste buds, causing a fiery sensation on the tongue. The kind of spiciness that makes you sweat and fills your heart with excitement—that’s the most intense feeling of heat.”

“So, this dish must have both sweetness and spiciness…”

In China, there’s no shortage of dishes that combine both spiciness and sweetness. Various sweet and spicy snacks are constantly emerging.

For example, fish-flavored shredded pork, spicy eggplant, the sweet and spicy duck snacks loved by young people, and even spicy strips. However, these dishes, while sweet and spicy, don’t pack enough heat to create the full fiery effect.

Only dishes like Mapo Tofu, which have that intense spiciness, contain the fiery essence that can melt the Snow Woman’s icy heart.

“Mapo Tofu… got it!”

Li Yang thought of a dish from the same Chinese culinary realm. It was another tofu dish!

It was the same dish that Liu Maoxing and Shao’an had used during their tofu culinary duel!

The Great Magic Panda Tofu!

“That’s right, it’s the Great Magic Panda Tofu—smooth and fragrant white tofu, rich and sweet black tofu, mixed with the hot, spicy Mapo sauce, perfectly presenting both sweetness and heat.”

Li Yang’s eyes lit up.

With his experience in cooking magical Mapo Tofu, making the Great Magic Panda Tofu wasn’t too difficult for him.

“Let’s do it!”

Li Yang was filled with a surge of determination. First, he needed to prepare yellow soybeans and black soybeans. The yellow soybeans were abundant, with many varieties of soybeans brought by the convoy, including regular yellow soybeans and exceptional varieties like the giant tuna belly soybeans and the strong bull soybeans. But there were no black soybeans.

However, Li Yang found them in the basement storage. These black soybeans were originally used to grow bean sprouts. The bean sprouts had thick, tender leaves and crisp white stems, perfect for hotpot.

With the main ingredients ready, the next step was to prepare the side ingredients and seasonings. The side ingredients and seasonings were the same as those for regular spicy tofu, but with one addition—black sugar. This would be added to the black soybean milk to make black tofu. Everything was ready.

Li Yang first ground the soybeans into soybean milk, bringing both the yellow soybean milk and black soybean milk to a boil. Then, he added the prepared brine to curdle the tofu, placing the mixture into molds and pressing them into shape.

Of course, the black tofu had an extra step: black sugar was added to the black soybean milk, turning the originally grayish-blue soybean milk into a light brown color.

“It’s still not dark enough… never mind, let’s give it a try!”

Li Yang cut the finished white tofu and light brown tofu into cubes, then followed the usual Mapo Tofu cooking process. Soon, Li Yang’s special Great Magic Panda Tofu was ready.

“System rating!”

[Congratulations, Master! Your “Sweet and Spicy Duo Mapo Tofu” has earned 66 points!].

It barely passed!

“What… What do you mean by ‘Sweet and Spicy Duo Mapo Tofu’? Don’t mess with the name. This is clearly the Great Magic Panda Tofu!”

After some protest, Li Yang lifted the lid, only to see the Mapo Tofu on the plate emitting a three-inch-high glow of culinary brilliance. Li Yang was mentally prepared for this—it was his normal cooking skill.

A three-star chef!

This level was enough to make 99% of chefs in the culinary world look up to, but for Li Yang, the Great Magic Panda Tofu he made on a whim was a failure.

After tasting the dish, Li Yang confirmed that the spiciness, numbness, fragrance, and heat were all spot on, and the cooking time was perfect.

“The only flaw is the appearance—the Mapo Tofu doesn’t look spectacular enough!”

No wonder.

Li Yang now understood the key.

“Since it’s Panda-colored, it has to be distinctly black and white. The black tofu isn’t dark enough. I can’t let this big panda lose its color, can I?”

“Also, since I’m making the Great Magic Panda Tofu, I have to showcase the magic. I need the diners (the audience) to feel the magic, to make them believe it’s something amazing.”

Li Yang had finally figured out the key to the Great Magic Panda Tofu—magic and pandas!

“So, I’ll try making it like the little chef in the anime!”

First, prepare a special tofu mold, and use tough fine threads to create a cross-grid at the bottom. Then, coat it with a thin layer of lard, followed by tofu curd made from yellow soybeans, a layer of lard, and then tofu curd made from black soybeans.

As Li Yang prepared the black tofu curd, in addition to using black soybeans and black sugar, he also added black sesame and dried mulberries ground into powder, turning the soy milk as dark as night.

Thus, layer by layer—first a layer of lard, then a layer of yellow soybean tofu curd, followed by another layer of lard, and another layer of black soybean tofu curd, repeated over and over.

Next, he poured the pre-cooked Mapo sauce into the mold, sealing in all the ingredients. Finally, he carefully placed the mold over the flame, allowing the lard to fully infuse into the tofu.

This lard had been seasoned in advance. Otherwise, when the tofu and Mapo sauce finally blended, it would not absorb the flavor in such a short time.

Li Yang used his enhanced senses, carefully feeling the temperature inside the mold, waiting for the perfect moment. Once the timing was right, he placed the mold into a plate he had prepared earlier.

The plate should have had a layer of fresh bamboo leaves to prevent the Mapo sauce from leaking out prematurely, but since Li Yang couldn’t find any bamboo leaves, he discovered some fresh bamboo shoots. He peeled the shoots, cleaned them, and placed them in the plate.

“Now, it’s time to witness the miracle!”

With a swift motion, he lifted the mold, revealing a large block of black-and-white tofu.

In an instant, a black light and a white light intertwined like twin dragons, spiraling towards the sky, merging and separating, one inside the other, both rising together. The intense heat transformed into a thick, impenetrable white mist that rapidly spread throughout the villa.

At the moment the culinary light appeared, Nagi Kiri Senzoemon, who was on the fifth floor, suddenly awoke. Looking at the cracks appearing on his sleepwear, a look of unprecedented surprise appeared on his face.

“What an overwhelming culinary aura! How could such a powerful cooking energy suddenly burst forth in this desolate, creature-free zone, shaking my taste buds so much?”

Next, Zhang Haoran, who was next door, was also awakened. Then, Erina and Hisako… more and more people in the villa woke from their sleep.

At this moment, Li Yang was looking at the system’s rating.

[Congratulations, Master! Your self-created glowing dish “Great Magic Panda Tofu” has scored 95 points!].