Chapter 31 Fried Tofu
Jiangyou hummed a song while happily preparing the staff meal for tonight.
Outsourcing the production of semi-finished food ingredients was indeed a very good idea. There was no shortage of tofu ingredients throughout the day, and Jiangyou himself made a lot of time to set up a pop-up beverage store in the Knights' Training Ground, earning a full three gold coins.
Jiangyou is very self-aware. A few buckets of winter melon tea and iced jelly are certainly not worth so much money. He can make so much money thanks to his extremely high-value investors.
Baron Neumann has evil intentions and he finds excuses to deduct Andre's salary. Making some money from such a person can be regarded as doing justice and robbing the rich to help the poor.
Although tofu does not last long in the summer, controlling the temperature, sterilizing it, and then promptly processing the tofu into a long-lasting soy product is another matter.
On the way back from the martial arts training ground, Jiangyou asked Jericho to drive to the oil mill and buy a few barrels of soybean oil.
While the sugar industry was underdeveloped during this era, the oil industry was relatively mature, with linseed oil, peanut oil, and soybean oil being the most common varieties. Huntington had high soybean and flax production, making soybean and linseed oil the cheapest oils.
Peanuts are a variety specially bred and modified by locals to adapt to northern temperatures. Because of this additional cultivation process, the cost is significantly increased, making peanut oil more expensive than linseed oil and soybean oil for the same weight. However, it has the best flavor and is favored by the nobility and wealthy.
Due to raw material limitations, tea seed oil and corn oil have low production, high prices, and mediocre taste, so they are rarely found in oil mills.
What’s amazing is that the oil mill also sells ready-made sesame paste and peanut butter. Jiangyou also bought a bottle of each, intending to try the local flavor.
Soybean oil has a high smoke point and is very suitable for frying. Jiangyou asked Jericho to transport the oil barrels directly to the tofu workshop and taught Alexi how to fry tofu.
Fried tofu is made with tofu that's been slightly pressed to remove some of its moisture. Cut the tofu into cubes or thin slices of suitable size and fry in the oil when it's 30% hot. Gently use chopsticks or a spatula to toss the tofu cubes in the oil. Once bubbles begin to form, turn the heat up high and fry until golden brown. Remove from the oil and drain.
At this time, a layer of shiny, golden, tough and delicious bean skin will form on the surface of the fried tofu, and many hollow bubbles will be produced inside due to the high temperature. When it is put into hot pot or used to make soup, it will absorb enough delicious soup.
This kind of fried tofu is super delicious when cooked casually, and Jiangyou knows more ways to cook it: whether you deep-fry it and bake it, then dip it in chive salt and serve it as a snack, or stuff it with meat, pour some soy sauce on it and steam it in a pot, or hollow out the inside to make fried tofu skin, cook it and then fill it with sushi rice to make Inari sushi, they are all excellent choices.
When they returned from the tofu workshop, Jiangyou and Jericho brought back a large basket of freshly fried tofu and a few pieces of juicy and tender tofu.
The weather is too hot today, so Jiangyou plans to make something cool for dinner.
As a true foodie, Jiang You not only loves the dishes of her hometown, but also cuisines from all over the world. Whether it's pizza, pasta, and cheese dumplings from Italy, sushi, tempura, and oden from Japan, or tacos, guacamole, and nachos from Mexico, she loves them all.
Every country has its own food culture. Even a food desert will have one or two dishes that are worth showing off. Occasionally, making exotic dishes according to the season is a good choice to change your mood and improve your quality of life.
What she planned to make tonight was Inari sushi and sesame tofu.
The difficulty in making sesame tofu lies in the sauce. Since there's no ready-made sesame dressing available, Jiangyou has to make his own. He uses pasteurized eggs, sugar, oil, and a little white vinegar to make mayonnaise. He then mixes it with sesame paste bought from the oil mill and seasons it with soy sauce, salt, white vinegar, and sugar until it has a rich, sour, sweet, and fragrant flavor. He then pours it over the pasteurized, tender tofu.
Finally, garnish the sauce with some sesame seeds and chopped green onions, and it will be a great appetizer in summer.
Inari sushi is essentially fried tofu sushi. Legend has it that in ancient times, mice would steal rice from farmland, and the foxes that caught them were considered messengers from the Inari god, the god of abundant harvests. Legend has it that foxes enjoyed fried tofu, and this led to the custom of offering fried tofu wrapped in vinegared rice as an offering.
The fried tofu used in inari sushi is cooked in a special sauce. The sauce itself is simple: salt, soy sauce, sugar, mirin (sweet rice wine), and some ground bonito flakes. The bonito flakes are simply used to make a quick dashi (broth) to add a touch of flavor, and can be substituted with real dashi.
Since opening the shop, Jiangyou has kept a pot of broth on the stove every day. The ingredients are frequently changed, and Jiangyou uses whatever is available: chicken bones, duck bones, pork bones, beef bones, seafood... all are perfect ingredients for making broth. The clear broth, after skimming off the foam, becomes the perfect seasoning.
Just scoop a spoonful of broth into your cooking to enhance the flavor of the dish. Add some to soup or noodles for an extra delicious taste.
Cut the fried tofu in half and hollow out the inner core, transforming the square block into a rectangular, half-open fried tofu skin. Jiangyou simmers the skin in the broth over low heat, gently stirring it with long chopsticks until the skin is evenly colored and flavored, a moist, slightly dark golden color. Then, remove the skin and place it on a wire rack to cool and drain any excess broth.
Nasha brought the steamed rice. Takuya mixed sushi vinegar with a little sugar, salt and rice vinegar, sprinkled it evenly into the rice, and mixed it evenly with a wooden rice spoon. After the water vapor dissipated, the rice grains were distinct and crystal clear, exuding a sweet and sour appetizing aroma.
Jiangyou nodded with satisfaction, took out the cooled fried tofu skin, stretched it into a small pocket, filled it with rice, and then folded the tofu skin to seal it.
Glossy golden triangle pockets soaked in soup were neatly arranged on the plate. The sweet aroma subtly aroused people's appetite. Naxia, who was standing next to them, had her eyes wide open and kept swallowing her saliva.
Jiang You: “…” It’s definitely not just foxes who like fried tofu!
After making the inari sushi and sesame tofu, they had the main course and side dishes. There was still quite a bit of fried tofu left, so Takuya looked at the remaining ingredients in the kitchen and decided to make another bowl of winter melon soup.
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