"This is called fried bean curd skin."
What is fried tofu skin?
"Fried bean curd skin is the layer that floats on the surface after the soy milk boils," Su Yun'er said, pointing to the bean curd skin that was about to take shape on the side of the pot. "This stuff is delicious. I'll make it for you later."
"Mom, I never knew soy milk could turn into something like this, like a piece of paper."
At the dinner table, Xiaoshu sighed.
"Not only that, soy milk can be transformed into other things," Su Yun'er said. "After dinner, Mother will perform magic tricks for you."
Not only were the children interested, but even Grandma Chen was very interested.
Su Yun'er poured some more raw soy milk into the pot, brought it to a boil, turned off the heat, and when a layer of oily soy skin formed on the surface of the soy milk, she gently lifted it up and hung it on a bamboo pole above the large pot. Then she poured the soy milk from a height into a large wooden bucket.
The large wooden tub had been washed clean beforehand, and some calcined gypsum had been stirred evenly inside with warm water.
After mixing the hot soy milk and gypsum water evenly, cover the container and let it sit for a while.
While waiting, the grass and saplings squatted beside the wooden barrel, occasionally leaning over and peering over the lid to see if they could see inside.
After about five or six minutes, Su Yun'er clapped her hands lightly: "Okay, you can open the lid now."
The two children immediately tried to open the lid, both holding onto the handle and refusing to let go.
Old Mrs. Chen was about to speak when Su Yun'er raised her hand to stop her: "Mother, let them discuss it themselves."
Su Yun'er didn't want her two children to grow up in an environment where they were taken care of in every way by their elders. She wanted to cultivate their ability to resolve any conflicts between them.
Seeing that the little grass also wanted to open the lid, and remembering her mother's teachings, the little tree said, "Little sister, let's open the lid together!"
Xiao Cao paused for a moment, then looked at Su Yun'er and Old Lady Chen.
Grandma Chen simply looked at them gently without saying anything; Su Yun'er gestured to her with her eyes, and Xiao Cao understood what she meant, then grinned and said, "Yes! Brother, let's open the lid together!"
The two children each grabbed one side of the lid handle and counted to three together: "One, two, three, open!"
"Wow... huh?"
What started as a joyful "wow" slowly turned into a sound of doubt.
Looking into the wooden bucket, all I could see was a layer of foam.
"What is this?" the little grass asked in confusion.
Su Yun'er handed over two chopsticks and said to the two children, "Little trees and little grasses, let me ask you, when there's a bowl of soy milk in the bowl, what would happen if we stuck a chopstick into it?"
"I know, I know!" Little Tree immediately blurted out. "You'll get a beating!"
"puff!"
Grandma Chen was drinking tea when Xiaoshu's words made her spit it all out.
"Ah... Xiaoshu is right." Su Yun'er couldn't help but laugh, then cleared her throat. "Then let me ask you this: can chopsticks stand upright in a bowl of water or soy milk?"
"It won't stand up!" Little Grass answered first this time. "Last time, my brother got a beating because he stuck chopsticks in his porridge bowl, and the chopsticks fell over, splashing porridge all over Grandma's face."
"puff!"
This time, it was Su Yun'er who was spraying the tea.
After laughing enough, she continued, "Okay, so even the little trees and grass know that chopsticks can't stand upright in soy milk, porridge, or water. Now, try sticking your chopsticks in there."
Although the little tree and grass looked puzzled, they each took a chopstick and carefully stuck it into the bucket.
"Oh, the chopsticks are standing upright! Grandma, come quick, the chopsticks are standing upright!"
The little trees and grass were overjoyed, and even Grandma Chen found it strange.
Then, Su Yun'er carefully scraped off the foam on top of the bucket with a spatula and a bowl, revealing the true contents of the bottom layer.
What was originally a pale yellow liquid soy milk has turned into tender white tofu pudding. As Su Yun'er gently scrapes it with a spatula, it leaves marks of varying depths on the surface.
The little grass wanted to reach out and touch it, but the little tree stopped it: "Don't touch it. Mother said that you can't touch things that go in your mouth with dirty hands. It's unhygienic."
Su Yun'er served each of the three—grandmother, grandmother, and grandson—a small bowl of tofu pudding so they could taste it.
Grandma Chen scooped up a spoonful of the tofu pudding. It was so smooth and tender that it crumbled at the slightest touch, still trembling on the spoon. When she put it in her mouth, it was slippery and crumbled with a single bite, but it didn't have any other flavor.
"I've had soy milk before, but this is the first time I've heard of soy milk being used to make tofu pudding. And tofu pudding doesn't have much flavor, it's soft and fluffy, which is perfect for people with bad teeth."
They slurped up the little trees and grass, playing as they ate, but they didn't waste anything. Su Yun'er didn't stop them. She continued what Old Lady Chen had said: "This tofu pudding itself has no flavor, so you can season it according to different people's different tastes. You can make it sweet, salty, spicy, with soup or gravy, or whatever you like."
"So many ways to eat it? You're amazing, coming up with so many great ideas for food. I'm so lucky to have such a delicious meal." Old Mrs. Chen's eyes crinkled with laughter.
"Not only that, I can also come up with a new trick for you."
Su Yun'er found a small wooden basin with holes and cracks that she had found before. The basin was dilapidated and had been piled up in the storage room. It was originally broken, but Su Yun'er cleaned it thoroughly and scalded it with boiling water many times before it was finally clean.
I never expected it would come in handy today.
Line the basin with two layers of fine gauze, then pour some of the tofu onto the gauze. Fold the gauze over and carefully spread it evenly over the tofu. Place a wooden board on top, and then place a heavy object on the board. Soon, water will begin to seep out from the cracks in the broken wooden basin.
"This water is the moisture in the tofu. Once the moisture has been pressed out enough, you'll have something new to eat."
"Mom, when will this be ready?" The little grass and the little tree were getting impatient.
"It will take a while. Let's go back inside first. Everyone is crammed into the kitchen, there's nowhere to stand or sit."
The family of four sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) in Old Mrs. Chen's room.
Su Yun'er brewed hawthorn tea for everyone.
While chatting and drinking tea, Su Yun'er noticed something was missing.
There were a few snacks missing.
So she started thinking about what snacks she could make.
I lay down with my eyes closed, listening to the whispers of the children and their grandmother chatting, while my mind searched through my memories.
Slowly, slowly, Su Yun'er suddenly began to doze off.
Just as she was about to fall asleep, there was a knocking sound at the door outside the yard.
The sound of slapping made Su Yun'er sit up abruptly.
"Who is it? Who is knocking at the door?"
"Yun'er, are you home?"
The person knocking on the door called out.
Grandma Chen recognized the voice immediately.
"It's He Liu," she whispered to Su Yun'er.
He Liu?
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