Food: Starting with Wonton Noodles

The reason why Mapo Tofu has an extra "Chen" in its name is because it was created by the wife of Chen Senfu, a famous chef from Sichuan during the Tongzhi era.

Actually, Chen Mapo Tofu still exists in Sichuan today, but it's now being run by his disciple.

Traditional Chen Mapo Tofu uses tofu made from soybeans ground by hand, then coagulated with gypsum, resulting in a more tender texture compared to regular tofu.

However, Zhou Yu didn't have a millstone, and he didn't have that much time, so he just used ordinary gypsum tofu that he bought from the market.

However, he still cut down a bamboo in the neighborhood and made a bamboo knife.

Fortunately, there weren't many people around in the morning, and no security guards saw anything.

After preparing all the ingredients, Zhou Yu first used a bamboo knife to cut the tofu into small cubes about six-tenths of an inch in size.

The main purpose of using a bamboo knife is to prevent the tofu from absorbing the metallic taste of a regular kitchen knife.

Place the chopped tofu pieces into a bowl, pour in boiling water, and soak to remove the astringent taste of the gypsum.

After draining the water, Zhou Yu began chopping the beef sauce.

Because he still needed to make boiled beef, Zhou Yu bought beef tenderloin.

Heat the wok until it starts to smoke slightly, then add the minced beef and stir-fry quickly. Add a little salt to taste, then add 2.5 qian (approximately 125 grams) of Sichuan-style fermented black beans.

Only after the fermented black beans are completely cooked until they are no longer visible do you start adding a small amount of chili powder.

The moment the chili powder was poured in, Zhou Yu, who was cooking with chili powder for the first time, choked a little.

Although he doesn't mind eating spicy food, he still finds it a bit hard to handle cooking like this.

He felt tears and snot about to flow.

After calming down a bit, he continued cooking.

A spoonful of wonton noodle soup was poured in.

Actually, authentic Chen Mapo Tofu requires pork bones and oxtail to be simmered in the broth.

However, since it was just a meal at home, Zhou Yu didn't intend to be too particular.

After the broth boiled, Zhou Yu added the chopped tofu and then simmered it over low heat.

The broth covered half of the tofu, and at this point, the pot began to bubble and bubble continuously.

Zhou Yu felt that just hearing that voice made him very hungry.

Cao Xuezhen stood at the kitchen door, covering her mouth and nose, and frowned at Zhou Yu, saying, "Hey, why didn't you make that Jiangnan Hundred Flower Chicken you mentioned yesterday? Why did you make some spicy dish instead?"

"Mom, eating Cantonese food every day is too bland. Eating something spicy once in a while can whet your appetite."

Looking at the kitchen full of ingredients that Zhou Yu had bought, Cao Xuezhen said with great heartache, "There's no need for so many ingredients. This isn't the way to whet the appetite."

The home-cooked dishes prepared by people in Lingnan usually use very few seasonings.

When Cao Xuezhen cooked, aside from using braised goose sauce and oyster sauce once a year for festivals when making braised goose, she mostly just added salt and soy sauce to her stir-fries.

The spices are also very simple, just a little garlic and ginger.

Looking at the various seasonings and spices that Zhou Yu bought back, she couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.

After all, she didn't think Zhou Yu would keep cooking Sichuan cuisine, so buying so much now would be a waste.

"It's okay, Mom. Your son has still made some money. Besides, we can use these leftover seasonings when we go out for barbecues with Linlin and the others!"

"You should save the money you earn; it's not easy to make money these days."

"Okay, Mom, you can just wait in the living room to eat. Your son's cooking skills are very good now."

Cao Xuezhen left the kitchen grumbling.

She's no longer afraid that Zhou Yu will tear down the kitchen, but she still can't help nagging about how Zhou Yu seems to spend money extravagantly.

At this point, the tofu in the pot is gradually cooked, the excess water has been drained, and the seasoning has seeped into the tofu.

Zhou Yu sprinkled on some chopped scallions and poured in six parts mushroom oil for color.

Finally, drizzle a little bit of cornstarch slurry over the top to lock in the flavor.

After removing it from the pan and plating it, I sprinkled some Sichuan peppercorn powder on top.

At this point, Zhou Mapo Tofu is ready.

Zhou Yu picked up a piece of tofu himself first.

The aroma and spiciness of Sichuan peppercorns immediately pierced the nose, followed by a slight tingling sensation, and then the unique salty and savory flavor of Sichuan-style fermented black beans.

Then comes the aroma of scallions intertwined with the fat of beef.

Zhou Yu couldn't help but swallow.

This smell is both terrifying and irresistible!

As Zhou Yu put the square piece of tofu into his mouth, the hot sensation made him involuntarily open his mouth and slowly chew.

Then a wave of heat spread out, followed by the numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns that went straight from the tip of the tongue to the back.

The smoothness of the tofu, the rich aroma of the beef sauce, and the various flavors stimulated Zhou Yu in turn, until he even tasted a hint of sweetness.

"That felt so good!"

Zhou Yu felt tears, snot, and sweat streaming down his face.

"But it felt so good!"

After finishing his meal, Zhou Yu breathed out for a while before recovering.

There's no way around it, people from Lingnan just can't handle spicy food.

Zhou Yu was the weakest of the weak, the kind who was both incompetent and loved to eat.

After wiping the sweat from his face and washing the pot thoroughly, Zhou Yu began preparing the second dish: boiled beef.

Good beef doesn't actually need overly complicated seasoning.

Zhou Yu sliced ​​half a pound of beef against the grain into extremely thin slices, and used only one whole egg, cornstarch, and a small amount of salt to make a thickening sauce. He then marinated the sliced ​​beef.

After removing the stems from the dried chilies, Zhou Yu briefly fried them in oil at about 60% heat before chopping them into coarse pieces.

I added another 1.5 ounces of peanut oil and heated it to about 40% of its maximum temperature, then stir-fried the fermented soybeans until they were crispy.

Then add chili powder, Sichuan peppercorns, fermented black beans, ginger, and garlic to start stir-frying the bamboo shoot tips.

Zhou Yu gradually got used to the spiciness rising from the stir-fried dishes, and it wasn't as unpleasant as it had been at first.

I added a little glutinous rice wine and cooking wine and stir-fried it quickly until the sauce thickened. When the bamboo shoots were about 70-80% cooked, I added two spoonfuls of broth.

Then pour the marinated beef slices directly into the pot and simmer over low heat.

Seeing that the blood in the beef slices had disappeared, Zhou Yu immediately scooped up both the beef and bamboo shoots.

Reheat the oil in the pan, fry the dried chilies until they turn reddish-brown, and then quickly pour the oil and chilies over the beef.

At this point, the boiled beef is ready.

Zhou Yu brought two dishes out of the dining table in the living room.

"Mom, hasn't Dad come back yet?"

"He should be back soon," Cao Xuezhen said, looking at the clock on the wall.

Zhou's father, Zhou Weiqiang, works in the decoration business and at a nearby construction site.

He's over sixty years old, so it's impossible for him to be doing a job like carrying bricks.

In his youth, Zhou Weiqiang was a carpenter by trade, but eventually followed the trend of the times and entered the real estate industry.

During the most glorious decade of the real estate industry, I also established a small studio-sized company, leading my own team to take on some decoration projects and do them myself.

Although he is now retired, he has not been able to stay idle.

Because he also had a Level 2 Construction Engineer certificate, his juniors who followed him out were rehired.