Su Qingluan first looked at the clear soup after sweeping it twice, turned down the heat so that the soup base was in a slightly boiling state, but not too boiling, and turned around to start processing the tofu.
She cut off a piece of tender tofu and adjusted its shape: Well, it’s just the right hardness and softness, and can be used to make Chrysanthemum Wensi Tofu.
After rinsing her hands in clean water, Su Qingluan weighed the tofu in her hand, placed it on the chopping board, and began to cut it gently and quickly.
Different from the Wensi tofu that was simply cut into shreds, the Chrysanthemum Wensi tofu requires delicate knife skills while not completely cutting the tofu, otherwise the tofu shreds will float away and fail to form a complete chrysanthemum. Therefore, the depth of the knife skills must be more proficient.
When Su Qingluan just started cutting tofu, the people in the kitchen were still busy. As she cut one piece after another, the originally bustling kitchen gradually became quiet. Everyone looked at Su Qingluan in amazement, as if they were under a spell.
This "chrysanthemum" had to be cut thousands of times, even though it was only the size of a teacup when spread out. By the time she finished cutting, she felt her wrists were a little sore.
But it is not finished yet. Su Qingluan went to the white porcelain bowl that she had prepared in advance, carefully transferred the tofu into it, and added the broth that had been simmering over low heat. In an instant, the tofu stretched out in strands, like a white flower blooming in the bright and clear broth.
In an instant, the two or three people near Su Qingluan couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation, then quickly covered their mouths, exchanged expressions, and started to get busy again.
Place the white porcelain bowl on another steamer and steam it. This will remove the beany smell in the tofu and allow the flavor of the broth to penetrate into the tofu.
Su Qingluan then selected two leafy greens, blanched them in some broth, and then quickly chilled them, allowing the greens to absorb the broth's sweetness while also ensuring they were raw and free of bitterness. The chilling prevented the greens from turning yellow during the blanching process.
When everything was ready and Su Qingluan estimated that the tofu was steamed, she carefully took out the white porcelain bowl, poured out the broth inside, and scooped a spoonful of new broth to let the flowers expand again. Then she placed the green leafy vegetables that had just been blanched on one side of the flowers, and decorated the center of the flower with a wolfberry boiled in broth.
She covered the white porcelain bowl with a lid, carefully wiped the water stains on the outside with a rag, and placed it on the tray that had been placed aside. Su Qingluan turned and looked at her four followers: "I can cook this dish. When will we serve it?"
One of the maids ran out in small steps, and in a moment, she brought back the elderly woman who had led her. She asked the maid to get a set of bowls and chopsticks, opened the lid of the white porcelain bowl, and saw the chrysanthemum Wensi tofu inside. She raised her eyebrows slightly, as if a little surprised.
But after all, this woman was serving a wealthy family, so she was not startled. She just used a spoon to lightly dip a little broth into her mouth, and immediately covered the lid of the white porcelain cup to prevent the heat from dissipating.
After a moment, she nodded and said to Su Qingluan, "Please follow me."
At first, Su Qingluan was wondering why the old woman wanted to take a bite. But when she saw that she only took a bite and then stopped using her chopsticks, she realized that the old woman was "tasting the food", which is the so-called "testing for poison".
Su Qingluan complained in her heart: I thought I could see the legendary "silver needle poison testing", but it turns out that "human flesh poison testing" is the safest way - although in a sense it is also the cruelest.
Thinking of this, Su Qingluan followed the maid, passing through the garden and courtyard, passing by flowers and willows, and came to a pavilion with a gurgling stream beside it.
Su Qingluan felt jealous: "It's great to be rich! Not only can I have someone to help me clean, but I also have a yard with a pavilion and running water!"
Wait—she tried to calm herself down and not become jealous—this is Party A's father, she needs to respect him… at least she needs to respect him completely until she gets the money…
The weather was hot, and it was just past noon, the hottest time of the day. Xie Zian sat leaning against the railing in the pavilion, asking the housekeeper for some chilled cherries.
Su Qingluan was secretly delighted: So there are cherries in this era? If she had the chance, she would definitely take a closer look to see where they were sold!
The old housekeeper on the other side did not agree to the young master's request: "Your stomach is a little weak, and you just rode a horse and sweated. Eating something cold now might give you another stomachache."
"I'm fine, I want to eat! It's so hot!"
"Don't say that word, it's unlucky." The old housekeeper frowned slightly at the young master's outspokenness. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Su Qingluan approaching with a maid, and hurriedly bowed to Xie Zian and said, "Didn't you say you wanted to see the lady's cooking skills?"
Xie Zian turned his head and saw Su Qingluan. He quickly waved for her to come over and stretched his neck curiously: "What delicious food did you make?"
Seeing Su Qingluan holding the white porcelain cup on the tray, Xie Zian curled his lips: "It's not some bird's nest, rock sugar and snow pear, is it? I don't want to eat that sweet stuff."
Su Qingluan just shook her head, took the white porcelain cup off the tray, and placed it in front of Xie Zian. She then handed over the chopsticks and spoon and placed them on the small cutlery rack. She said calmly, "This dish has ordinary ingredients, but it shows my effort. I'm sorry to show you how good it is."
Xie Zian's interest was piqued by Su Qingluan's words. He opened the white porcelain cup and looked inside. He was stunned: "What...what is this?"
"Tofu."
"Tofu?!" Not only was Xie Zian surprised, but even the butler beside him widened his eyes slightly and looked at Su Qingluan again. This time, there was a hint of admiration in the old butler's eyes.
Xie Zian used his ivory chopsticks to fiddle with the tofu shreds swaying in the broth, praising them. "You can actually cut the tofu into a flower shape like this... But the tofu doesn't have much flavor, it's very bland. Even though it looks eye-catching, it's not tasty after all..."
Su Qingluan didn't argue, but handed over the spoon: "Please thank you, young master, for the soup."
"Tsk... This soup is so light and bland, I guess it tastes bland..." Xie Zian said, lazily taking the spoon and scooping a spoonful of the light yellow clear soup -
"It's so delicious! So fresh!" Xie Zian's lazy expression disappeared, and his face, which still had baby fat, immediately flashed with surprise. "How did you make this soup? How come I've never tasted such delicious soup?"
As he spoke, Xie Zian picked up the white porcelain cup and spoon, and quickly devoured the entire bowl of Chrysanthemum Wensi Tofu, including the soup and the tofu. He looked up at Su Qingluan and asked, "Anything else?"
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