Chapter 89 089 Tofu and Beef, Hot and Sour Soup [Second Update]...
When this bowl of tofu and beef was served, it was still sizzling with oil, and the aroma of spiciness instantly filled the table.
The surface is covered with bright red chili oil, and a little bit of Sichuan peppercorns, scallions and minced garlic has just been poured over it with hot oil. The fresh, fragrant and spicy aroma is like an invisible hook. Even before you take a bite, you are already conquered by this hot and spicy flavor.
"...I'll have another serving of rice!"
Good heavens, tonight's dishes are all rice-consuming!
The beef was incredibly tender; a quick blanching preserved its juices to the fullest extent. Thin slices of beef were sprinkled with white sesame seeds, placed in a bowl, and wrapped around a mouthful of rice. The tender beef melted quickly in your mouth. The spicy and numbing flavor arrived a beat later, arriving belatedly as the beef slices passed the back of your tongue and entered your esophagus.
The spiciness of the chili peppers and the numbing sensation of the Sichuan peppercorns are like lighting a match, instantly turning into a wildfire with the next bite of beef.
Both the four-person and five-person tables were so spicy that we were shoveling rice into our hands, and we also marveled at the chef's personality.
Logically speaking, chefs always have their own cooking habits. Some chefs like to cook sweet dishes, some like to stir-fry, and some like to stew.
People are always more comfortable with what they are good at.
But the chef at this restaurant, who had just made a savory and delicious home-style dish, immediately followed up with this pure Sichuan dish with no shortage of chili peppers.
At the five-person table, there was a genuine Sichuan native who was thoroughly enjoying eating chili peppers.
"This is the taste of my hometown!"
That's the style—plenty of Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers! Spicy, numbing, that's the flavor we're after!
Of all the people at the table, he was the only one who seemed at ease, as if he had returned to his hometown. He didn't even need a drink, and he ate bowl after bowl of rice.
The others looked at him with envy, saying the beef was too spicy and he should just have tofu instead.
Locals are used to boiling beef in water, so adding tofu is a rare practice.
The cooked tofu pudding is soaked in chili oil. When you take a bite, it's like a warm cloud coming from the sunset. It's delicate and tender, with a strong bean aroma. Tofu pudding itself has a light and refreshing quality. Although it's coated in chili oil, the fresh and fragrant interior still makes your numb lips and tongue feel relaxed.
"Wow! The tofu pudding is so delicious!"
Especially when mixed into rice, the bolder ones can add a spoonful of chili oil and two slices of beef. Don't stop, eat it all in one go, the instant satisfaction surpasses everything.
Young people's pursuit of spiciness is more straightforward. The rice at the four-person and five-person tables was refilled again and again, and the beef and tofu were eaten up completely.
Looking at Mr. Qu's side, he was holding a spoon, speechless with astonishment.
His master, an old man in a family who was considered to have died young if he lived to eighty, usually preferred a light diet. But when the tofu and beef dish was served, this old man ate just as fast as the young people!
Fine beads of sweat covered his forehead, his nostrils flared, and his lips were very red and, upon closer inspection, appeared somewhat swollen…
Mr. Qu said cautiously, "Old man, please take it easy."
You're already seventy-eight this year!
The old man ate his food quickly, and even had time to roll his eyes at him.
"Just eat yours!"
They really can't read the room.
In other words, it means having a good life.
The daughter-in-law and daughter take care of things.
Qu's father ate in a slurping manner and searched everywhere for water.
Hot water doesn't relieve the spiciness, and cold water has no flavor.
After thinking about it for a moment, I tentatively took two cans of Coke.
The old man didn't say anything, he just opened the Coke and drank it.
Yes, this kind of spicy dish is best paired with ice-cold cola!
The three dishes were all served in very large portions.
In particular, Qu's father paid three hundred, but only two people came. The master and apprentice ate for a long time, and there was still a lot of food left over.
The old man patted his stomach: "There's still one dish left, right?"
Mr. Qu: "Yes, the last one is often the staple food."
He couldn't stop thinking about the salted meat dumplings he had eaten before, but unfortunately Wen Fan said he was too lazy to make them, and the shop wouldn't serve them either. As a result, Qu's father spent a lot of money eating out during that period, but he always felt that something was missing.
Some shops serve savory pork dumplings that taste just like dumplings! And they're the poorly made kind!
Mr. Qu's eyes were filled with anticipation. He wondered what the main dish would be for dinner tonight.
Although he still ate too much this time, Mr. Qu looked at the others and didn't regret it at all.
To put it bluntly, it would be a waste to eat these three dishes on their own.
It has to be served with rice!
I'll eat rice even if I'm stuffed!
Fortunately, Wen Fan wasn't that kind of person with a perverse sense of humor. He had already prepared three dishes to go with rice, so it would have been too much of a hassle to add fried rice at the end.
So, the fourth dish.
Hot and sour soup.
No one bothered to investigate why it ended up being soup.
Everyone was extremely grateful for the soup.
Pick up a big ladle and ladle out several bowls, then everyone drinks the soup together.
The soup is simple, just a tomato broth base with enoki mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, tofu skin, and a little silken tofu. Beat an egg to create egg ribbons, then thicken it with cornstarch. Just before serving, add some cilantro and a spoonful of sesame oil.
This soup must be made with plenty of aged vinegar and pepper. Unlike the numbing spiciness provided by the chili peppers, the spiciness of this hot and sour soup, strictly speaking, is more of a heat, relying entirely on the pepper. The pepper's heat carries a warm and mellow flavor, not pungent or burning the throat, finishing with a sour broth base, carrying a kind of rebellious spirit within the rules.
The soup is fresh and delicious.
Everyone at the three tables was holding a small bowl and drinking soup. The spiciness of the pepper warmed them from head to toe. They couldn't imagine how comforting it would be to have a bowl of this in the snowy winter.
After the old man finished his soup, the sweat on his forehead finally dried and slid down. He took a tissue and wiped it away, thinking to himself, "No wonder."
No wonder my apprentice gained weight so quickly.
This family's craftsmanship lives up to its reputation.
Qu's father drank one bowl of soup and then another, his small eyes glancing at his master, afraid that his master might suddenly say something hurtful.
Little did they know that the old man, sitting there, found the dinner tonight increasingly interesting.
While others might not pay attention to the connections between dishes on a table, he did notice the dishes on tonight's table, which consisted of tofu, tofu pudding, dried bean curd sheets, and fried tofu puffs.
They are all soy products.
In other words, while other chefs might rack their brains to prepare a meal, this one still has time to write some "assigned essays".
The old man stroked his chin and asked his apprentice, who had become as bloated as a pig.
"I remember Qingqing also graduated from a nursing school, right? Haven't you thought about having her learn acupuncture or massage or something?"
Mr. Qu quickly swallowed the food in his mouth and explained, "The child's grades were just average to begin with. Besides, city people go to the hospital a lot these days. If we were to open a clinic specializing in acupuncture and massage, we might as well open a physiotherapy center. We've figured it out. Anyway, we're not short of money, so let's just open this pharmacy. We're too lazy to set up any kind of clinic."
He and his wife only knew some basic remedies for headaches and fevers, which were effective in the county, but less so in the city. However, finding a doctor who could actually see patients and prescribe medicine wasn't an option.
He decided to open a pharmacy, which would be much cleaner and simpler. He and his wife could also retire earlier.
The old man was exasperated: "You two, are you really planning to keep your child out of this line of work?"
The eldest son now runs a pharmacy, and the younger one went even further, studying veterinary medicine!
When it comes to getting medical treatment for cats and dogs, you can find a veterinarian at any animal station in the village, but the old man absolutely refuses to go to any of them.
Mr. Qu muttered to himself, "These days, veterinarians are much more sought after than human doctors."
The whole family approves of our son Qu Xiaoyu studying veterinary medicine.
Is this how things are going to develop in the future? This year, the admission scores for veterinary medicine are even higher!
The old man couldn't bear to look at his apprentice, and only coughed a few times after a while.
"Now that I'm here, it's not appropriate for me to leave so soon. Here's what I'll do: tomorrow, you can put up a doctor's sign at the pharmacy. I'll be seeing patients for a few days."
Qu's father: "Huh?"
"What do you mean 'ah'? Your master used to be someone who was eager to be with me, but I wouldn't even look at them. So just tell me, are you going to let me or not!"
Mr. Qu felt as if a huge pie had hit him on the head, and it still felt a little unreal.
He tentatively suggested, "Why don't you ask your senior brother? He runs a hospital there and has asked you several times..."
The two senior brothers mentioned above are from the same school and have a regular relationship. One of them is a big shot at the city's Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, and the other runs a specialized hospital in the suburbs that specializes in treating lumbar and leg fractures and pain.
These two men kept whispering in the old man's ear: one wanted him to go to the hospital to be a signboard, and the other wanted him to help him gain popularity.
Now the person has come to the city.
They actually chose his clinic!
"...You're just talking too much nonsense. If it's okay, it's okay; if it's not okay, it's not okay!"
"Of course I can do it!"
Who would turn down money!
Even if people around him don't know the old man's reputation, just if he posts on his WeChat Moments that the old man is practicing medicine in a certain place, people will drive hundreds of kilometers to find him the next day!
The old man was finally satisfied and directed his apprentice to pack up the leftovers.
"Perfect timing! I'll be here as long as you come to the shop, get some medicine for me, and get yourself some exercise. Look at all that fat on you!"
"……oh."
"Qingqing, you don't need to come. Your storefront is so small, why bring so many people? Let the child go out and play. Didn't you have a boyfriend? Go out on dates whenever you have time. Give the child more money."
"……oh."
"Also, please arrange the patient reception. I will only see ten patients in the morning and ten in the afternoon. Do not let any more come, as I cannot handle them all."
"……good."
Finally, the old man casually said, "This restaurant makes good food. You can ask if we can make it like this every day at noon. We don't need to make many dishes, just one dish a day."
Qu's father: ...
You're probably only seeing patients because you want vegetables!
"...Let me ask."
The cook at this house has to go to school, so whether or not he cooks is not up to the old man.
...
The three tables of guests gradually packed up their leftovers. The four-person and five-person tables also packed up the spicy red oil soup with all the beef and tofu left over. The plates left behind were even shinier than if they had been washed!
When it came to Mr. Qu, he also packed up thoroughly.
Wen's mother came out to clear the table and asked the old man if he had eaten well.
After finishing his meal, the old man, his lips still red, smiled and said, "I'm fine."
Wen's mother said, "I was worried that you wouldn't be able to handle the spiciness. I should have ordered less chili for your table."
"I'm very spoiled, it's okay."
Mr. Qu was packing the food with heavy breaths when the old man suddenly asked Mrs. Wen whether she should check her pulse.
"Your complexion looks so-so. Let me take your pulse and see what's wrong with you."
Although Wen's mother knew that this man was an old Chinese medicine doctor, she did not expect him to be so easygoing.
"I can't accept this..."
"It's okay, come on."
Qu's father gave up his seat and boasted to his master, "My master is famous in our area. You can rest assured that he will show you."
Wen's mother sat down, feeling embarrassed, and extended her hand.
The old man held her breath for a couple of breaths, then released her hand and asked about her mother's blood pressure.
"My blood pressure has been a bit high lately, and I'm taking medication."
It's amazing! When Wen's mother listened to the old man's analysis of her situation, nine out of ten sentences were accurate.
Qu Fu felt honored and held his head high.
"I told you, my master is amazing!"
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