Chapter 84: Chapter 84 Making Tofu (2)_1 Chapter 84: Chapter 84 Making Tofu (2)_1 Just as Lin Wei was about to scold her sister, she was captured by the pleading look in the little one’s eyes.

However, these little tricks couldn’t escape Lin Yuan’s notice.

With this little foodie around, it would be strange if she didn’t sneak a taste!

“Don’t think that this soy milk isn’t tasty; when it’s made into tofu, it’s particularly tender and smooth,” Lin Yuan ladled a scoop of soybeans into the small stone mill, smiling as she explained to her sisters, “Moreover, if you strain the soy milk a little finer later on and then cook it, add some sugar, and drink it directly, it’s sweet and fragrant.”

The soy milk they ground themselves was absolutely pure and natural, without added water, surely tastier than the ones sold in modern markets.

And if they added some cooked sesame seeds to grind in, that flavor, tsk tsk, these two little girls might just drink the soy milk like water.

Grinding soy milk was indeed a labor-intensive task.

It might look like just sitting on a small stool and pushing back and forth with hands, but without strength in the arms, one would definitely get tired quickly, not to mention the continuous rotation of the small stone mill.

Seeing that her older sister’s actions were slowing down and knowing that she must be tired, Lin Wei eagerly volunteered to take over the task of pushing the millstone.

In just a moment, she understood; as long as she didn’t move too fast, that was fine.

Too fast and the soy milk wouldn’t be fine enough, necessitating a second round.

For over two hours, the sisters busied themselves.

As the sky was about to darken, they had only ground a little over half of the ten pounds of beans.

There was no helping it; one, the stone mill was too small to produce much, and two, their strength was limited.

Although Lin Yuan and Lin Wei took turns at the stone mill, the efficiency was still too low.

Standing up to stretch her legs, Lin Yuan, looking at just over half a basin of soy milk, considered that if this batch of tofu succeeded, she would need to buy a larger stone mill.

And a donkey.

With a donkey to turn the mill, not only would they save effort, but they would also improve efficiency.

Since they still had tofu to make, Lin Yuan decided to use this batch of soy milk for now.

She changed the remaining beans for fresh water to soak them, but she dared not soak them too long; otherwise, the beans would sprout.

Tomorrow, when they had time, they would have to grind them as well.

Turning soy milk into tofu, now they needed white vinegar.

After straining the soy milk through a fine gauze, it was all poured into a large pot.

Lin Wei lit a fire under the stove, maintaining a low flame as her older sister instructed, while Lin Yuan stirred slowly with a spoon until the soy milk in the pot was fully boiled before quickly removing the heat.

The best way to boil soy milk was with a large pot and wood fire.

That way, the soy milk was full of fragrance, and the resulting tofu naturally tasted richer.

Taking advantage of the soy milk cooling, Lin Yuan took out the white vinegar, diluted it with water, stirred, and then poured it into the cooked soy milk.

Upon adding the vinegar, an immediate change occurred: the originally cloudy liquid turned into bits of tofu curds.

These could now be scooped up and seasoned to eat immediately, but if she wanted to make tofu, she would have to scoop out all the curds and mold them.

Now they would need some thin white cotton cloth.

Luckily during their last trip to town, Lin Yuan had bought extra cloth, otherwise, they would have had none to use this time.

Using the white cotton cloth, they scooped out the tofu curds, placing them on the tofu mold made by their father, Lin Jiaxin, according to his daughter’s blueprints.

The tofu mold wasn’t very large, but it was more than enough for these curds, so Lin Yuan had to make the tofu thinner this time.

After placing the tofu curds onto the mold, the next step was to press down on the mold.

If they wanted to make firmer tofu, they would press longer, but because Lin Yuan wanted to make soft and smooth tofu this time, it didn’t need much pressing.

Estimating the time was about right, she removed the top part of the mold, but could not remove the bottom, or the tofu would lose its shape.

Tofu tasted better once cooled, but at the moment, it was still piping hot.

While waiting for the tofu to cool, Lin Yuan scooped all the leftover curds from the pot into a big bowl since her sisters were curious about the taste of tofu.

While scooping earlier, she deliberately left some curds behind, and now they could be cooked for dinner.

Chopping green onions and coriander, adding soy sauce, vinegar, and salt, the tofu dish was ready.

Eating the fresh tofu curds with the pancake left from breakfast made for an exceptionally hearty dinner.

The Lin family was eating tofu curds for the first time, and they were both curious and full of praise for this delicacy, never expecting that beans fed to pigs could turn into something so delicious.

Thinking of the tofu still cooling in the kitchen, Lin Yuan continued to brag while biting on her chopsticks, “Mom and dad, wait until later, there’s even tastier stuff to come!”

Eating raw tofu was fragrant, sweet, and smooth, and it could be turned into a variety of cooked dishes.

Plus, tofu had many by-products, like tofu skin, dried tofu, and sprouts, which could be turned into a diverse range of cold and hot dishes.

With this thought, Lin Yuan seemed to see a great amount of silver waving at her!

No, when Lao Fan comes tomorrow, she must hastily promote her tofu!