Chapter 26 Chapter 26 Brine-cured Tofu Brine-cured Tofu, a...
The seed that took off actually flew back to the ground according to Zhao Mingsheng's thoughts.
Zhao Mingsheng was pleasantly surprised to find that she could move objects in space with just her thoughts.
She doesn't have to do it herself and plant them one by one, which is so much easier!
After using her mind to drive the seeds to be planted, she used her mind to drive the spiritual spring to irrigate the fields. Soon, all the two large bags of seeds were planted.
After planting the vegetable seeds and watering them in the space, she thought about it and withdrew from the space.
Just as Zhao Mingsheng was packing up and preparing to go home, she suddenly noticed that in a corner of the medicinal field, there were several hibiscus plants in full bloom, and the gorgeous flowers were growing freely towards the sunlight.
Zhao Mingsheng suddenly remembered that she had read in the Classic of Materia Medica that the stamens of Hibiscus mutabilis could be used to make medicine, and could be used to make an ointment to treat burns.
When she was applying medicine to Cui Cen yesterday, she found that the burn ointment at home was almost used up, so she picked a few more flowers and put them all in a cloth bag, so that she could go back and ask her father how to make burn ointment.
It was still early today when I finished working in the fields, so I could get home in time for lunch.
After lunch, Zhao Mingsheng took a short nap. After waking up, he knocked on the door of Aunt Zou's house.
Aunt Zou was shelling beans. When she saw Zhao Mingsheng, she welcomed her in warmly.
It was Zhao Mingsheng’s first time to visit Aunt Zou’s house.
She knew that Aunt Zou's family was not well off. Although her husband and son worked outside, they only did the lowest-level hard labor and made very little money.
Most families in the village raise chicks in their yards, keeping them for laying eggs or selling them when they grow up. But the chicken coop in her yard was empty, and it looked like it hadn't been used to raise chicks in a long time. She was so poor that she couldn't even afford to buy chicks.
However, although the yard looks a bit shabby, it is kept in good order. Beans are drying in the places where the sun shines, and it is obvious that someone takes care of it regularly.
"Auntie, I want to learn how to make fermented bean curd and pickles from you."
After Zhao Mingsheng explained his purpose, Aunt Zou quickly waved her hand.
"No, no, just ask me when you want to eat it. This pickling method is very troublesome!"
Seeing the situation in Aunt Zou's family, how could Zhao Mingsheng have the nerve to let her spend money again.
"It's okay, Auntie. I don't mind the trouble. You pickled it so deliciously, just teach me." Zhao Mingsheng said coquettishly while holding Auntie Zou's arm.
When Aunt Zou heard others praising the delicious pickles she made, she smiled from ear to ear and nodded in agreement.
"I just dried some beans today, so why don't you learn how to make fermented bean curd from me?"
As Aunt Zou spoke, she took Zhao Mingsheng to see the soybeans she had soaked. Each one was large, round, and plump, with a golden sheen.
The two of them worked together to lift the wooden basin filled with soybeans into the yard. Zhao Mingsheng then noticed a large stone mill in the yard, which was as wide as two arms.
"Girl, use that small ladle to scoop a spoonful of beans and a spoonful of water, and pour them into the hole in the millstone."
Zhao Mingsheng did as he was told.
After the beans and water entered the hole, Aunt Zou started to push the millstone, which began to turn with a creaking sound. While pushing the mill, she was still discussing the techniques with Zhao Mingsheng.
"When you grind it, you must not push it fast sometimes and slow sometimes. You must grind it evenly. This way the soy milk you grind will be smooth and the steamed tofu will be delicious."
As the stone mill turned, milky white soy milk with a slightly yellowish hue slowly flowed out from the stone plate.
After pushing it seven or eight times, Aunt Zou instructed someone to add more beans. After repeating this several times, Aunt Zou's movements became obviously slower than before. After all, she was old and her physical strength could not keep up.
After pushing for a while, her movements slowed down, and the weather was hot, so beads of sweat appeared on her forehead like water.
Zhao Mingsheng wiped her sweat with a distressed look on his face and offered, "Auntie Zou, let me do it!"
Aunt Zou looked at her thin arms and legs and doubted whether she could push the millstone. But she finally gave up her position.
"Okay, you try it."
I thought the little girl would get tired after pushing a few rounds, but I didn't expect that after more than ten rounds, she was still pushing briskly and even had time to remind her to put in the beans.
Aunt Zou was so shocked that she was secretly shocked.
"Oh my goodness, girl, how come you are so strong!"
Zhao Mingsheng just smiled and didn't dare to say anything. She hadn't used her true strength yet. She was afraid of scaring Aunt Zou, so she only used less than half of her strength.
When Zhao Mingsheng took over the mill, the speed increased a lot. The beans that originally took an afternoon to grind were now finished in half an hour.
The ground soy milk exudes the fragrance of soybeans.
Aunt Zou found a large piece of fine mesh cloth, poured all the soy juice into the fine mesh cloth, filtered out the excess bean dregs, and only the mellow soy milk was left.
"Next we can cook the soy milk." Aunt Zou said as she poured the soy milk into a large pot.
He lit the fire with swift movements and heated it over high heat. After a while, the soy milk in the pot began to simmer.
Aunt Zou used a spoon to skim off the foam on the surface. After repeating this three times, the color of the soy milk became clearer and appeared as white as a mirror.
"Watch carefully, this is the most important step." Aunt Zou quietly gestured for her attention by the pot.
The reason why Aunt Zou’s fermented bean curd is delicious is that it is made from her own tofu, and the reason why her tofu is delicious is because she uses brine tofu.
As the saying goes, "One thing conquers another."
Zhao Mingsheng was stirring the soy milk while Aunt Zou was mixing the brine and water, then pouring the prepared brine into the pot drop by drop.
Zhao Mingsheng felt that with the addition of brine, the soy milk gradually became viscous, and he could clearly feel the resistance to stirring becoming greater and greater.
By the time this bowl of brine was poured in, the soy milk in this pot was already showing signs of changing from watery to lumpy, and was about to become tofu pudding.
Aunt Zou is very experienced, and when she saw this, she had a feeling that this tofu would be a success!
After standing for a while, pour the tofu pudding into a wooden frame covered with fine cotton cloth and place a heavy object on top to help fix it in shape.
After finishing all this, Aunt Zou breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off her face. She said:
"Okay, now the tofu will be formed quietly. You must be tired too, right? Let's sit down and rest!"
Zhao Mingsheng wasn't tired at all. This workload was nothing. But she still followed Aunt Zou's advice and nodded obediently.
The fire in the kitchen was blazing, making Aunt Zou sweat all over. However, Zhao Mingsheng looked clean and refreshed, which made Aunt Zou very envious. She thought that she was too old to tolerate the heat.
The two of them sat down in the yard, enjoying the afternoon breeze, and finally felt a little cooler.
Aunt Zou took out the flower tea she had dried, poured boiling water over it, and the flower stamens began to bloom in the bowl, rising and falling with the flow of water, which was very beautiful.
The floral fragrance also diffuses as it is soaked in hot water, and the fresh aroma is refreshing.
Zhao Mingsheng took small sips of the tea from the tea bowl, each sip filled with the fragrance of flowers. She squinted her eyes in a slight sense of enjoyment. Inwardly, she couldn't help but sigh that Aunt Zou really had a talent for food.
"Auntie Zou, your fermented bean curd and pickles are so delicious, have you ever thought about selling them?"
Aunt Zou disagreed. "How delicious can these ordinary pickles and fermented bean curd be? Every ordinary household in this village can pickle these things, so who would buy them?"
"It's different. Aunt Zou, the ones you pickle are tastier than theirs."
Aunt Zou smiled and tapped her nose, "You're the only one who has a sweet mouth!"
Zhao Mingsheng was a little anxious. She said, "Auntie Zou, I'm serious!"
She said seriously, "We can't sell them in the village. Aunt Zou, have you ever thought about selling them in town? Or even in the county town?"
"this......"
Aunt Zou has never tried it.
"How about this? I happen to be going to town tomorrow. If Aunt Zou trusts you, just give me two jars and I'll help you sell them!"
Aunt Zou still didn't take it to heart. She smiled and said, "Oh, these two jars of fermented bean curd are not worth much money. What's there to worry about?"
She stood up and took out two cans of fermented bean curd from the kitchen and stuffed them into Zhao Mingsheng's arms.
"I can give you these two jars of Auntie!"
The tofu has taken shape while we are chatting and laughing.
Aunt Zou lifted the fine cotton cloth, and the neatly arranged, white and tender tofu appeared before people's eyes. As the wooden frame moved, it trembled, looking very tempting.
She reached out and broke off a piece, tasted it and praised: "Not bad, not bad, it was a success this time."
At Aunt Zou's suggestion, Zhao Mingsheng also broke off a small piece and put it in his mouth.
The freshly made tofu is tender, smooth and a little sweet, without any bean smell at all.
Aunt Zou cut a piece of tender white tofu, put it on a plate and handed it to Zhao Mingsheng.
"You've helped me a lot today. Take this tofu home and make soup or stew with it. It's delicious."
Zhao Mingsheng couldn't refuse, so he had to accept it. "Then I thank you, Auntie!"
The remaining tofu was cut into small pieces by Aunt Zou and placed on clean straw to dry in the shade.
After finishing all this, Aunt Zou wiped her hands on her apron and said:
"It's hot now, so it should be ready in five days. Come back then and I'll teach you how to make fermented bean curd."
After learning this, Zhao Mingsheng felt that she had gained a lot today. Seeing that Aunt Zou was tired, she stood up and said goodbye.
Zhao Mingsheng returned to his kitchen carrying a plate of tofu.
She emptied the plate from Aunt Zou's house, but was too embarrassed to return it empty. She happened to see a piece of fresh meat on the chopping board, so she cut half a piece of pork belly into it.
She put the plate on the table in Aunt Zhou's yard and called out, "Auntie, I put the plate on the table."
Before Aunt Zou could reply, she ran back to her home.
When Aunt Zou came out of the room, she only saw a piece of clothing. Then she looked at the pork belly on the table and understood everything.
This girl is afraid that she won't accept it, so she runs faster than a rabbit, right?
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