Chapter 115 Fried Tofu - No Rice Left to Eat
As the saying goes, you can't get fat in one bite, and the same goes for learning to cook.
Therefore, on the first day of cooking, Ning Jia only assigned Dong Kui two relatively simple and easy-to-make dishes.
One dish is shrimp and egg stew. The other is pan-fried egg and tofu.
Both of these dishes are common home-style dishes and are not complicated to make. Just follow the steps.
Because shrimp and egg stew tastes best when eaten hot, Dongkui, at Ningjia's suggestion, decided to make pan-fried tofu first.
After some thought, Dongkui stood beside her own small, lightweight cutting board, carefully holding a knife, and cut half a block of firm tofu horizontally and vertically into cubes the size of dice.
After the tofu was cut, Dongkui dragged over a white porcelain bowl.
He looked at the ingredients on the counter, carefully selected a smooth and round egg, held it in his arms, walked to the porcelain bowl, picked up a knife, and drilled a small hole in the eggshell.
Ning Jia had already finished processing all the chicken legs, and now she stopped with great interest to check on the progress of the okra.
Dongkui carefully held the egg with a small hole on top, stood on the large cabbage root that served as a stool by the bowl, and then tilted the egg slightly, allowing the yellow egg liquid to slowly flow into the bowl through the small hole.
One egg doesn't seem like enough.
He stared at the egg mixture in the bowl and muttered to himself, so engrossed that he didn't notice Ning Jia's gaze at all.
He grabbed the empty eggshell, jumped off the cabbage-root stool, threw the eggshell into the wall-mounted trash can next to the kitchen counter, and then cracked a second egg into the bowl in the same way.
But this time he was clearly much more skilled.
Once there were two eggs in the bowl, Dongkui picked up the hand whisk and stood by the bowl, patiently stirring and stirring until the egg mixture was very smooth. Then she placed the whisk on a plate, picked up the plastic basket full of tofu cubes, and poured all the tofu into the bowl.
With the ingredients for pan-fried tofu ready, Dongkui glanced at the kitchen utensils beside her, ran over, and dragged over a small square frying pan.
The small frying pan is made of iron. Although it is already very small, it is still quite heavy for a little person.
Just the simple step of dragging the small frying pan onto the induction cooker made Dongkui's forehead sweat profusely.
While marinating the chicken legs, Ning Jia quietly observed from the side, wanting to help several times, but holding back each time.
This small frying pan was the one she carefully calculated and chose as the most suitable for the little people. The same goes for the other kitchen utensils.
If these pots were any smaller, they wouldn't be able to cook anything at all; they'd only be good for playing house.
Ning Jia watched silently as Dong Kui moved the small frying pan little by little, like an ant carrying food, feeling both anxious and nervous.
Keep it up, Dongkui!
If this child can't even lift a pot for cooking, how will they be able to cook independently in the future?
She hasn't even taught him how to toss a wok with a spatula yet.
To be a real chef, you can't be too weak.
After much effort, Dongkui finally managed to move the small frying pan onto the small induction cooker. Not only was he covered in sweat, but Ning Jia next to him was also sweating profusely.
"Whoosh..."
Winter melon's short legs could no longer support her weight, and she leaned against the cabbage root, panting heavily as if she had just done an anaerobic exercise.
Ning Jia silently applauded him in her heart, then walked over nonchalantly and reminded him:
"Don't forget to heat the oil in a cold pan on a medium-low heat, otherwise the oil will splatter and the tofu will burn."
As she spoke, she pulled out a small cloth mask, similar to the one she had made for Juye before:
"If you're afraid of getting splashed with oil, wear this."
Dongkui shook her head. "No need. If you're going to be a chef, how can you be afraid of oil?"
Ning Jia couldn't help but chuckle, put away the small mask, and watched as Dong Kui slowly turned on the induction cooker and poured a little oil into the pot.
Once the oil is slightly heated, the little figure stands on the cabbage root, holding a small spatula, and scoops up pieces of tofu coated in egg wash from the bowl and puts them into the pot.
With a "sizzle," the egg tofu started to bubble in the pot.
Once all the tofu was evenly spread at the bottom of the pot, Dongkui immediately picked up a spatula and carefully flipped over the first piece of tofu that had been put into the pot to take a look—
It doesn't seem to have completely changed color yet.
He was unsure whether to wait a little longer and looked to Ning Jia for help.
Ning Jia smiled and gave instructions:
"The induction cooker doesn't have a high flame, and you've turned it to a low setting, so just fry it slowly. But tofu can be eaten raw anyway, so you don't need to fry it for too long. Once the surface turns golden brown, it's almost done."
After saying that, she added, "So far, you've done very well, there won't be any problems."
"Um."
Dongkui's little face lit up, and then she picked up the spatula and focused on "guarding" the pot of fried tofu in front of her.
Seeing his tense expression, Ning Jia thought to herself, "Once he's more skilled, I'll have to teach him how to manage his time."
For example, while waiting for the tofu to be fried, you can prepare the next dish in the meantime. If you make each dish one by one, it will take too long.
However, this parallel process is still too early for beginners; it's better to focus on practicing first.
...
By the time Dongkui had finally finished making a plate of pan-fried egg tofu, Ningjia had already successfully cooked her third dish.
By the time Dongkui had finally successfully steamed the shrimp and egg stew, Ningjia had already finished preparing all the dishes.
Dongkui was a little embarrassed. "I... am I too slow?"
Ning Jia shook her head, "No, that's not true. It's my first time cooking, and I'm already super good at not burning myself or the food."
Really?
Dongkui tilted her head back and looked into Ning Jia's affirmative eyes, and her unease immediately dissipated.
After the lunch dishes were served on the coffee table, everyone started praising each other as usual.
"Oh my god, more meat today!" "This chicken leg smells so good!" "Today it's winter melon and pork rib soup, I'm drinking it all!" "What? There are pork ribs too?!" "Aww, the pork ribs are so delicious!"
The little one ate for a while before suddenly realizing that today's lunch was different:
"Huh, why isn't there any rice?"
After these words were spoken, others also noticed:
Oh right, why isn't there any rice today? This chicken leg is so delicious. If it were served with soft, sticky rice and a thick sauce, it would be so fragrant that I could eat several bowls!
Some people speculated, "Did Ning Jia forget to bring it over?"
"No, there's no rice for lunch today."
Ning Jia calmly brought over a large bowl of steamed mashed yam:
"The clan chief said that many people were a bit overweight and not very healthy during yesterday's physical examination. It's probably because everyone has been consuming too many carbohydrates lately, so I replaced the rice with yams today."
"If anyone wants to eat rice, they can eat some yam instead, it's quite delicious too."
What? Yam for rice?
The villains' expressions suddenly changed, as if they had a bad feeling.
It's not that they dislike eating yams, but... once the clan leader enters health mode, he becomes very strict, which means they can't eat many delicious things anymore, which is really scary!
If we don't have rice to eat today, we might not have meat to eat tomorrow, and we might not have eggs to eat the day after tomorrow. Gradually, we won't be able to eat any good food at all. What will we do then?
Seeing that the little people had started to have wild thoughts and were in a state of widespread panic, Ning Jia quickly said:
"Don't worry, don't worry, it just means you can't eat some unhealthy foods as often, but you'll still have regular meals..."
Inagi and Seki asked nervously, "Really?"
Ning Jia nodded emphatically:
"Really, although some vegetables can't be eaten often, there are still many delicious and healthy dishes. We definitely won't let you eat vegetable leaves every day."
"Okay, then we believe you."
Everyone still had faith in Ning Jia's cooking skills, and their doubts were quickly dispelled. They happily buried themselves in their rice again.
Hearing that He Meng, who eats so much every day, is "not fat," many people secretly planned to go with her when she strolls around the yard in the future!
The clan chief said that sitting for long periods of time is bad for your health, and it's easy to gain weight if you're always sitting or lying at home!
Others turned their attention to the far edge of the coffee table, where the newly created "health-focused dining area" had been set up.
I heard that Shan Nai, Ze Lan, and the others are so thin that they can only eat bland food. I wonder if they're eating vegetable salad every day? That's so sad.
When Ning Jia brought out the steaming hot shrimp and egg stew, the fragrant pan-fried egg and tofu, and other dishes, everyone was dumbfounded.
Huh? Is this a light diet? It looks delicious!
Shrimp stewed with egg, pan-fried tofu, cabbage and winter melon chicken rolls, as well as steamed yam and sweet potato, were placed in front of Shan Nai and the others on small plates, making them look so tempting that they could whet their appetites!
Ning Jia pointed to the steamed egg and tofu and introduced them:
"I didn't make these two dishes; Dongkui made them herself."
What?! A dish made with mallow?!
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Dongkui in shock.
Although Dongkui stayed in the kitchen as usual today, everyone assumed he was helping Ning Jia cook. They never expected that he could actually cook for himself!
"Winter Okra, you're amazing!" "Wow, Winter Okra can cook such delicious food!"
Licorice and sappanwood were the first to come to their senses and showered the winter mallow with praise.
Everyone else looked at Dongkui with admiration.
After all, the average cooking skills of the Lilliputians are probably only about the same as those of white people. So how could it not be surprising to suddenly find a chef who can make truly delicious food?
Suddenly, all sorts of praise rained down on Dongkui like they were free, making the child look quite embarrassed.
Canglan cleared her throat and reminded her:
"The food will get cold if we don't eat it soon."
Then everyone returned to the main topic of eating and continued to enjoy today's dishes.
I don’t know if it’s because her family is giving her special treatment, but Shan Nai was eating very seriously today. Even with meat dishes that she doesn’t like, she chewed them up and swallowed them.
She also said to Zhelan in a very sensible way:
"Aunt Zhelan, I'm going to eat well. Once I'm better, I won't have to trouble Sister Ningjia and Brother Dongkui anymore."
Zelan smiled and patted her little head.
Even such a young child understands this principle, so naturally she, as an adult, cannot let everyone down.
Everyone was very satisfied with their meal, whether at the "health-focused small restaurant" or the large canteen.
As He Meng, Xue Cao, and the others ate heartily, they thought of a companion who was not present:
Is Bai Su enjoying a delicious lunch in the park right now?
She's so smart and capable, she definitely won't go hungry!
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