Chapter 99 Konjac
Looking at what Fan Xiaoxiao was holding, Uncle Wang frowned slightly. He recognized it: "Girl, isn't this konjac? I think it's a medicinal herb!"
Fan Xiaoxiao smiled and nodded, then went to the courtyard and drew some well water. After confirming that the well water was clean enough, she asked Fan Shi to pour her some water, and then used that water to wash the two konjac jelly beans.
"Yes, although it's a medicinal herb, it's edible."
In no time, the mud on the two konjacs was washed away, revealing their brown outer skin. The next step was to peel them.
At this point, Fan Xiaoxiao was truly facing a dilemma. Konjac is somewhat similar to taro, and if you handle it with bare hands, your hands will get very itchy.
After thinking for a moment, she stood up, found a wooden stick about the thickness of a finger, and inserted it into the konjac. Then she found a piece of tile and carefully began to scrape off the skin.
After much effort, the two konjac jelly kernels were finally processed. Next came grinding them and adding a little water.
Grinding wasn't difficult; you could simply find a rough stone, place it over the pot, and rub the konjac jelly on it. However, since Fan Xiaoxiao's shoulder was still injured, this task was left to Fan Shi.
As for getting some water, Fan Xiaoxiao remembered the things she had bought with Uncle Wang before.
"Uncle, didn't we buy lime powder?" Before leaving, Fan Xiaoxiao and Uncle Wang prepared a lot of medicinal herbs, and lime powder was one of them.
Fortunately, Uncle Wang and the others had stored the medicinal herbs away safely. Fan Xiaoxiao quickly prepared the lime water and poured it into the konjac paste. Then she instructed Fan Shi to keep stirring the pot of liquid.
"It should be ready in about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn." Fan Xiaoxiao glanced at the contents of the pot, muttered to herself, and then put the lid on.
Taking advantage of this break, Fan Xiaoxiao processed the Sichuan peppercorns she had picked, and then found the few remaining chili flakes she had.
Despite all her efforts, Fan still couldn't quite figure out what her younger sister was trying to do. Even when she asked, the replies were vague.
After an incense stick's time, the konjac in the pot had taken shape. Fan Xiaoxiao cut it into pieces with several scissors and then soaked them in a wooden bucket filled with well water.
Xiao Bao squatted down in front of the wooden tub and poked it: "Auntie, this is so soft! Is this what we'll eat?"
"Yes, but it's not tasty yet. Xiao Bao, please wait a little longer." As she said this, Fan Xiaoxiao didn't stop what she was doing.
The water used to boil the konjac was no longer needed, so they had to start a new pot. They had no oil left, so there was only some water at the bottom of the pot. After adding the seasonings in order, Fan Xiaoxiao took two pieces of konjac tofu, cut them into small pieces, and put them into the earthenware pot.
A short while later, Fan Xiaoxiao lifted the pot lid, and a spicy aroma wafted out, filling the entire courtyard.
Xiao Bao swallowed hard, his little nose twitching.
Wow! It smells so good!
Fan Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "Eat up! It's a pity we don't have a wok or any meat. This would taste even better if we stewed it with duck!"
As he finished speaking, a soft clattering sound seemed to come from the backyard. Then, everyone's attention was drawn to the pot of steaming food in front of them, and no one noticed the commotion behind them.
"Sister... what is a wok?" Madam Fan frowned, puzzled. She had never heard of this word before.
Upon hearing Madam Fan's question, Fan Xiaoxiao froze, almost wanting to slap herself. How could she have forgotten! Iron woks for stir-frying weren't common in the Zhou Dynasty yet!
“Uh…oh! It was brought to the village by the peddler who sold goods before! I’ve seen it, it’s so convenient! It can…uh, cook food very quickly!” Fan Xiaoxiao scratched her face and chuckled awkwardly.
Madam Fan still looked at her with some suspicion, but thankfully, Xiao Bao's stomach started growling. Madam Fan then stopped pressing the matter.
"Alright! Come and eat! This is my first time making this dish, so I don't know if it will taste good!" Fan Xiaoxiao wasn't lying. She had made Mapo Tofu many times before, but she had never made it with konjac before.
She ladled the Mapo Tofu from the pot one by one and handed it to everyone.
"Mmm! It smells so appetizing!" Uncle Wang praised loudly, glancing at Aunt Wang, who still seemed listless.
Fan Xiaoxiao, who was standing nearby, immediately understood what the other person meant and replied with a smile, "Auntie, why don't you try this and see if it tastes good?"
Aunt Wang knew perfectly well that everyone was worried about her, and she forced a smile. She picked up a piece of konjac tofu and put it in her mouth.
"Hmm?" The numbing and spicy flavor almost instantly filled Aunt Wang's entire mouth. She had been feeling rather down and had no taste in her mouth, but after eating two pieces of konjac tofu, she actually felt quite hungry.
Seeing that Aunt Wang had silently started eating, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief and also picked up some konjac tofu.
"Mmm! Sister, this is delicious! It's smooth, tender, and crisp, and it's soaked up all the spicy broth!" Fan's eyes lit up slightly when she tasted this novel flavor, and she seemed to really like this dish.
"Auntie, what's this called?"
Fan Xiaoxiao scratched her face: "Uh... it should be called Mapo Konjac Tofu."
Xiao Bao is a curious child. While eating, he kept asking, "Why is it called Mapo Konjac Tofu?"
This really stumped Fan Xiaoxiao. Just as she was wondering how to answer, she caught a glimpse of the Sichuan peppercorns boiling in the pot with the soup, and a brilliant idea flashed into her mind.
"Oh! Doesn't this taste a lot like tofu to you? And it's spicy and numbing!"
Xiao Bao nodded, his little mouth even mimicking a hissing sound.
"So, it's called Mapo Tofu! Because it's 'ma' (numbing) in Chinese, it's called 'Grandma's Tofu'!" Fan Xiaoxiao made up a story with a straight face, thankfully the other person was Xiaobao. After she finished speaking, Xiaobao nodded earnestly in agreement.
Everyone enjoyed the meal immensely, and Fan Xiaoxiao lazily patted her round belly.
Madam Fan glanced at the wooden bucket beside her; there was still quite a bit of konjac tofu left inside.
"Sister, what should we do about these?"
Fan Xiaoxiao paused slightly as she rubbed her stomach. She hadn't expected there to be so much left over when she was making tofu.
"Uh, let's put it on the ice by the well water first." Fan Xiaoxiao's idea was that if it was on the ice overnight, it could be used to make breakfast the next morning.
Fan nodded, picked up the wooden bucket, and walked towards the well.
"Little girl!! Leave some food under the bucket!!"
Startled by the shout, Fan instinctively dropped the wooden bucket from her hand.
Suddenly, Madam Fan felt a blur before her eyes, and the wooden bucket vanished right before her very eyes!
Almost instantly, Uncle Wang and Fan Xiaoxiao grabbed the nearest sharp weapon and shielded Xiaobao and Aunt Wang behind them.
"Little kids! Why are you wasting things!"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
