Food: Random stalls, customers chase me all over the country

Chapter 409-State Banquet Dish, Wensi Tofu

Fresh mushrooms, Xuanwei ham, green vegetables, soaked Northeastern fungus, and small and tender winter bamboo shoots. Although it is a skillful dish, there is not a single step in making Wensi tofu that is sloppy.

Wang Fan picked up various materials and cut them into thin slices less than 2 mm with a few "swishes", and then cut them evenly into thin strips. Kurban and others were so amazed by what they saw.

Whether watching through the window or in a video, it is far less shocking than watching it live.

Although we have been using knives for most of our lives, we have never thought of trying this dish.

Everyone has their own comfort zone. It is very difficult to step out of the comfort zone and learn new things. This dish is obviously outside their comfort zone.

Huaiyang cuisine can be said to have the highest requirements for knife skills among all cuisines, but it is not just about pursuing knife skills. The original flavor of the ingredients and the control of the heat are also very particular.

Wang Fan took every step quickly and steadily, without being impatient or anxious. With gentle force and steady hands, he boiled the tofu cut into hair-like strands with boiling water without breaking the tofu strands at all.

Finally, all the cooked ingredients except tofu shreds are put into a pot and seasoned and thickened.

"Thickening the sauce is the most important and difficult part of this dish. If the sauce isn't thickened properly, the tofu shreds won't open."

While Wang Fan was cooking, he also started teaching. Although Kurban felt that cutting tofu was the most difficult thing for them, it did not affect learning the thickening technique from the master. After all, even if they were not making Wensi tofu, many other dishes still required thickening.

"If you're not sure, just use low heat, then turn it up to a boil, and keep it at that level until you can draw a line with just one pull."

"Add the drained tofu shreds and use the back of a ladle to knead the shredded tofu until all the shreds are spread out into the pot."

“If you do this step well, the dish is ready.”

As Wang Fan spoke, the ingredients that had been gathered together in the pot had all scattered in the pot like flowers from the sky.

White tofu shreds, black wood ear mushrooms, brown shiitake mushroom shreds, green vegetable shreds, and light yellow winter bamboo shoots shreds, all as thin as hair, now mixed with various colors, swirling around in a small vortex with the movement of the iron spoon, which is very eye-catching.

Wang Fan lifted the spoon, and the center of the vortex gradually flattened, and the speed of rotation became slower and slower, until it finally calmed down.

It was not until the tofu was put into the soup bowl that Kurban and the others came to their senses.

As soon as he came back to his senses, Rainbow Flattery began to attack Wang Fan non-stop: "Amazing, simply amazing."

"I used to think I was pretty good at cutting, but after seeing Master Wang's Wensi tofu, I really want to find a piece of tofu and kill myself."

"The bright and clear soup, the translucent tofu shreds, and the various side dishes are not only beautiful in color but also very unique in shape."

"Master Wang is the cooking god in my mind!"

"Master Wang was just being modest, but this one dish alone is enough to make him a god!"

Listening to the flattery from both sides, especially the more outrageous the words became at the end, Wang Fan felt embarrassed.

Kurban and his companions did not think so. At least 90% of these words came from the heart, and the remaining 10% was just a little selfish.

As they talked, they stared eagerly at their dinner. Their intentions were clear: they all wanted to taste this dish, a testament to masterful knife skills, and see if it was just a superficial effort. Ultimately, you have to eat the food. If it only looks good but doesn't taste good, it's just a side dish to practice your knife skills. If it was delicious, wouldn't they be able to brag about it to their colleagues from other guesthouses?

"Hey, do you know what Wensi tofu tastes like? I saw it cut right before my eyes. It was made for me by a chef who's at the level of a state banquet chef!"

When this awesome thing comes out, won’t you hear the sound of frogs?
Wang Fan always made more soup, especially since so many ingredients were cut out. This dish was bound to be quite large. In order to stop the increasingly outrageous flattery from the others, Wang Fan said helplessly, "Alright, alright, chefs, let's stop the commercial flattery. If you continue, I'll be so inflated that I'll lose my way. I make a lot of this soup, so please try it."

Wang Fan divided the amount prepared for Grandma Wu, and then divided the remaining into 5 portions, just enough for each of the five chefs.

Kurban and others were so excited. Hadn't they been waiting for this sentence for so long?

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I came here to learn. Not only did I learn new knowledge, but I also had a good meal. Thank you so much, Master Wang."

"I've never seen someone as capable as Master Wang at such a young age. What's more, he's so approachable and doesn't have the impetuous nature of youth at all."

"That brat of mine was so over-the-top that he almost looked down on people. He's a far cry from Master Wang. When I get home, I'll give him a feast of firewood and stewed meat to teach him a lesson in humility."

After interacting with Wang Fan, the stereotypes of Kurban and others were indeed broken.

It is hard to imagine that someone so young, with such outstanding skills, would have such a humble personality and be so gentle and easy to talk to.

Several masters got married early and their children are about the same age as Wang Fan. Seeing such a capable young man, they couldn't help but compare him with others.

Comparing yourself to others will make you die, and comparing goods to others will make you throw them away. When the master compared his own spoon with others, he instantly wanted to delete it and practice again.

In DJI, the meaning of spoon is roughly equivalent to the silly roe deer in Northeast China, so when you go out, especially when eating, don’t call the waiter over and say to him: "Waiter, spoon".

If the waiter didn't get beaten up, it was considered that he had a good temper.

After a lot of flattery, Kurban and his friends got the Wensi tofu they had been longing for.

Each soup bowl contains more than half a bowl, so it won’t burn your hands when you hold it.

When you put it under your nose and smell it, you can taste the rich aroma of chicken soup mixed with the fresh fragrance of various ingredients. This aroma alone is worthy of the entire set of knife skills.

With a gentle breath, the white mist on the soup bowl dissipated a little, the thick soup rippled slightly, and a few strands of tofu as thin as hair were blown away, but quickly gathered back together mischievously.

Kurban took a sip, and the moment the slightly hot rich soup entered his mouth, he felt an extraordinary smoothness.

This is the real silky taste!

Kurban sighed and swallowed the first bite in a hurry without even chewing it.

After swallowing it, he felt a warm current with an extremely delicious aroma flowing directly into his stomach. The delicious feeling was something he had never experienced in his life.

He couldn't wait to take the second sip, and with a light chew, the crispy wood ear mushrooms and winter bamboo shoots gave him an interesting feeling. His whole mouth was wrapped in a rich chicken soup flavor, and the chicken soup was permeated with a subtle bean fragrance. It was both delicious and tasteful. Every time he swallowed, he could feel the smoothness sliding from his mouth all the way to his stomach. The feeling can only be described with one word "refreshing"!
(End of this chapter)