Grilling food on a stone slab is a method that has probably existed since the birth of humankind.
The savages discovered that if they held meat in their hands and placed it directly on the fire to roast, they would burn their hands, so they devised various methods to do so.
However, by the time when A-Mian lived, most of the villagers in Qingshan Village had an iron pot that had been passed down for generations.
Even the poorest family in the village always has a couple of earthenware pots, which they can use to cook porridge or boil water, and that's enough to keep them alive.
There are reasons why stone slabs were phased out: they heat up very slowly, cause soup to spill, and require more firewood to cook food.
Some of the villagers in Qingshan Village saw Meng Chijian bring back an iron plate and immediately recognized it as something that Amian's wife wanted. It was so extravagant—so much iron could have been used to make several iron pots!
That Meng San is really something, spending all his time fooling around.
In the Meng family courtyard, Meng Chijian lay on a bamboo chair, his hands behind his head, watching with great interest as his little wild child tinkered around. Actually, it didn't matter if it didn't succeed; the iron could be melted down and used to make other things—it would only take a few days of labor.
The little savage is quite something now, with another little savage following behind him, the latter with a leaf on its head, lying in the cradle watching curiously.
"Ah Yue, watch carefully, I'm going to teach you how to start a fire. Once you have a fire, you can cook food and survive if you eat your fill."
Ah Mian skillfully struck the flint against the pine needles, creating sparks that quickly ignited a fire.
Little A-Yue clapped her hands excitedly when she saw the firelight.
In any case, one dares to teach, and the other dares to learn.
Amian set up a simple stove, placed an iron plate on it, and put some vegetable oil on it.
Then place the prepared, sliced tofu on top.
Meng Jing frowned in thought, then slowly said, "A-Mian, what's the difference between this and stir-fried tofu?"
Ah Mian scratched her head and used long chopsticks to flip the tofu over one by one.
Now you can see the difference; the tofu has been fried to a golden brown.
Next came the main event. Ah Mian prepared a variety of seasonings: fermented black bean sauce, vinegar, minced ginger, minced garlic, salt, and a little chili pepper. She combined the seasonings in different ways and brushed them onto the tofu one by one to try.
"It smells so good! What delicious food has Madam A-Mian made this time?" The children wandering in the village sniffed the faint aroma coming from the Meng family's door.
"Not bad! I thought the outside would be burnt and the inside would still be raw. Hmm, usually when stewing tofu, you have to add water," Meng Jing tasted a few, "The outside is burnt, but the inside is quite tender."
Ah Mian sprinkled some more chopped green onions on the fried tofu.
If you want to know what the benefits of a hot plate are, you have to mention the billowing white smoke, the sizzling sound, and that somewhat overpowering aroma.
It really does look tempting, making you want to try it. What will it taste like?
After two attempts, A-Mian felt it had a unique flavor—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, salty, fragrant, and spicy—making it perfect as a snack. However, several problems also arose:
"Using chopsticks to flip the food is too slow, and it's easy to break it if you're not careful. Also, oil splatters on it from time to time." Ah Mian made two large bags out of cloth and tied them to her hands, but it wasn't very convenient to work like that.
So she obediently took apart the cloth, placed her hand on it, drew a circle around it with a brush, cut out four pieces of cloth, sewed them together to make gloves, tied straw ropes around the wrists, and thus a simple pair of gloves was made.
Then she found a carpenter in the city and made two small wooden shovels with short handles. The carpenter thought she was making toys.
It took quite a while, but we finally got everything ready after the autumn harvest.
Ah Mian carefully chose the date, fearing that people wouldn't want to eat fried or grilled food in the hot weather, and that everyone would have some extra money in their pockets after the autumn harvest.
As soon as A-Mian's stall appeared, the two tofu pudding stalls couldn't sit still (during this period, one tofu pudding stall couldn't hold on and went out of business).
They took turns pretending to pass by "casually," secretly observing what Ah Mian was up to.
"She had two boards of tofu on her donkey cart, which was strange, and a rather large plate. I don't know what she was going to do with it."
The stall owner of "Zhen Amian Douhua" and Aunt Liu looked around for a long time but couldn't find any rice or steamed buns on Amian's cart. They wondered if this would further impact their business.
Some of Ah Mian's old acquaintances also came over enthusiastically to ask, "What delicious food are you making this time?"
"You'll taste it soon! It took several months and a lot of money."
"Then I'll definitely have to support you—I'm not saying this to be rude, but I've tried those tofu pudding stalls, and none of them taste as good as yours. The ingredients aren't very high-quality either. I went there once, and I've never been back since. I'd rather go eat pig's trotter rice!"
Song Dongjia, waving his handkerchief and smiling, joined in the fun, "Young Master Lu, you've finally decided to come out? I thought you'd stopped setting up your stall now that you have a baby."
“Staying at home is boring, so I might as well come out and earn some money,” A-Mian said. “Have a seat, I’ll let you try the first one.”
Ah Mian's sizzling tofu has four slices in a bowl, a small portion costs three coins; a large portion has six slices and costs four coins.
A large block of tofu can be cut into about eleven or twelve slices.
To save costs, we stopped buying oil paper for packaging.
Although she had a feeling that it would be best if this kind of snack could be bought and taken away immediately, without taking up tables and chairs at the stall.
However, just like running a tofu pudding stall, you can either eat at the stall (A-Mian brought her own bowls and chopsticks) or bring your own bowl to serve.
"Grilled tofu, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with an unforgettable aftertaste, only three coins!"
"What the heck?"
"I could see and smell it from afar, give me one to try."
"Can you make it cheaper? How much is this block of tofu?"
As Ah Mian prepared it, she said earnestly, "Mine tastes great, and there's still plenty of sauce. This big iron plate was specially made for you. You'll know once you taste it!"
She did her business in the afternoon and found that selling snacks, though seemingly unremarkable, still managed to sell out two slabs of tofu one after another.
Moreover, unlike restaurants, snack vendors don't usually have customers concentrated at mealtimes; instead, people come to buy food from time to time. When there are few people, they can sit and rest for a while. When there are many people on the street, Ah Mian puts down lots and lots of tofu, frying it until it's completely full.
After finishing his meal, Song Dongjia nodded. "Your food is above average in taste. Its appeal lies in its presentation and aroma, which subtly makes people want to buy it. Moreover, it attracts attention from afar, which is quite clever."
At that time, most cooking methods were still stewing and braising. Ah Mian's "pan-fried tofu" made some of the hottest dishes in big restaurants, such as roasted mutton, more accessible to ordinary people.
Meanwhile, the owner and helper of "Zhen Amian Douhua Stall," located a few stalls away, looked gloomy and miserable.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
