Chapter 101 Pepper and Tofu
Jian Mo had been to the salt lake several times and had also taken salt lake water several times.
This step was not difficult at all, and they took the salt lake water back the next day.
The salt lake water in summer is slightly clearer than the salt lake water in winter, but it is still a translucent yellow.
Jian Mo dipped a little and tasted it. It was salty and bitter. There should be a lot of metal ions in it. It would probably be good for making brine.
Jian Mo said to Wu Jiong, "The salt lake water has been fetched back. The next step is to soak the beans and grind the soy milk."
Wu Jiong: "Do we need to boil the beans in salt water first?"
Jian Mo: "Boil! It's safer. After boiling, I'll soak them in the river for two days, and then we'll make tofu the day after tomorrow." It was
the first time making tofu, and Jian Mo didn't know if it would be successful. He originally wanted to make less, but Qingkuang and a few others took the initiative to bring some beans to his house, saying they wanted to make tofu with him. After it was done, everyone tasted it.
Qing Kuang explained, "There are quite a lot of beans out there. If we can make tofu successfully, we can add beans to the recipe in the future."
Jian Mo thought about it and decided, "Let's give it a name, how about bitter beans? If we find beans that are not bitter in the future, we can distinguish them."
Qing Kuang agreed, "This is a good name. We can tell what kind of ingredient it is just by hearing it."
Jian Mo, "Okay, let's boil and soak the beans tonight, and then take them out the day after tomorrow to make tofu."
Qing Kuang, "I'll make some arrangements and leave the day after tomorrow empty."
A few days passed in a flash, and on the day when the tofu was officially made, half of the beastmen in the tribe came.
Qing Kuang said, "Today we will follow your instructions. What shall we do?"
Jian Mo had a plan in mind: "First, send these beans to the stone mill to grind them into soy milk. Once they are ground, we will proceed to the next step."
Hearing this, everyone picked up the beans from the river and followed Jian Mo to grind the beans in the back mountain. After
soaking for two days, these beans swelled to three times their previous size. Each one was crystal clear and looked a bit like translucent pebbles.
Jian Mo gently pinched them with his hands, and the outer layer of skin came off. The two bean curds were also easily crushed in his hands.
Jian Mo looked at the already cleaned stone mill and said, "Remove the outer skin of the beans before grinding. Remember to wash your hands."
Everyone laughed, "We washed them earlier. How could we not wash our hands when following your cooking?"
Jian Mo also laughed, "I just said a few more words just in case."
They had enough hands and feet. After carefully removing the outer skin, they directly put the large beans into the hole of the stone mill and slowly pushed the stone mill to grind the soy milk. When
grinding the soy milk today, they did not add any water at all. The soy milk they ground was white and thick, and it felt very fine and smelled good.
Jian Mo instructed them to grind three large baskets of beans and grind out five barrels of soy milk.
The five barrels of soy milk contained a lot of bean dregs. He led everyone back to the kitchen, poured the bean dregs into a large iron pot, added water and boiled, stirring while boiling.
Perhaps because of the multiple steaming, boiling and soaking, the soy milk now finally smells of beans.
After the soy milk boiled, Jian Mo scooped a spoonful and tasted it. The bitterness was very light, and it was more of a bean flavor.
He had an idea and asked everyone to wait, then went to get a jar of sweet tree juice.
The sweet juice had been stored for a few days and was now further concentrated. It was thicker and sweeter than honey. It should be very good to use it with soy milk.
Jian Mo said, "Everyone, take out your bowls and try this soy milk."
Before distributing the soy milk, Jian Mo specifically asked Qing Kuang, "The beans have been boiled and soaked. The soy milk is boiled like this, so it should be non-toxic, right?"
Qing Kuang said with certainty, "No."
Jian Mo then took out a spoon and asked someone to put half a spoonful of sweet juice in each bowl, and then pour in the boiling soy milk.
The snow-white soy milk and sweet juice immediately turned slightly yellow when mixed.
Jian Mo was especially careful when distributing soy milk to the kids, and only poured half a bowl: "Hold it steady, be careful not to burn it."
The soy milk in the pot was still boiling, and the aroma of the beans became stronger and stronger, while the soy milk in their bowls had a sweet fragrance.
Some people who are not afraid of being scalded took a sip and were immediately captivated by the wonderfully smooth texture and sweet taste.
"Delicious!"
"Soy milk with sweet juice is so fragrant, and it tastes completely different from adding it to water."
"Beast God, bitter beans can actually become this kind of taste?! I've really broadened my horizons."
Jian Mo drank two sips of soy milk with satisfaction: "This soy milk tastes a bit like the soy milk we have. Although it's still a bit bitter, it tastes very fragrant."
Ye Luo thoughtfully: "It's very fragrant, but it's a bit troublesome to soak, grind and cook the beans. If you don't put sweet juice in it, it should be delicious if you put some berries in it." Jian
Mo exclaimed in amazement at Ye Luo's action: "Yes, there is indeed this way of drinking it."
After drinking the soy milk, someone soon took the bowl out and put it away temporarily, and then came back to watch.
Qing Kuo: "What are we going to do next?"
Jian Mo: "Let's filter the cooked soy milk first. Yes, use the cloth I prepared in advance."
Jian Mo had already washed and disinfected the cloth, so it can be used directly now.
He tied the cloth to a wooden stick: "Just pour the soy milk in and filter it."
Two strong beastmen immediately lifted the soy milk and carefully poured it onto the cloth to start filtering. Jian Mo placed a large basin underneath to catch it.
After filtering, everyone lifted the cloth and squeezed it hard to squeeze out as much of the soy milk as possible.
They ground a lot of beans today, so Jian Mo added a lot of water when he put it in the pot to cook. In the end, he got a total of eight buckets of filtered soy milk.
Facing the slightly cooled soy milk, Jian Mo directly took out the salt lake water: "The next step is to add salt lake water to the soy milk. The secret of this step is to observe while adding. Don't add too much. Too much will make it bitter and bad for the body."
As he said, Jian Mo took a clean spoon, scooped salt lake water into the bucket and slowly poured it into the bucket, stirring it at the same time. As
soon as he poured it in, flocs condensed out of the soy milk immediately.
Success!
Jian Mo was refreshed. At this step, there was basically no problem.
Jian Mo slowly poured the salt lake water and stirred it with his hands. More and more flocs appeared and separated from the light yellow water.
He didn't know what this light yellow water was. It looked a bit like whey protein, but at this point, there must be no problem.
Jian Mo commanded: "Bring the washed basket in. It seems to be OK."
Qing Kuang and Ye Luo immediately brought the basket in and put an empty basin underneath.
Jian Mo checked to make sure that the bottom of the basket was covered with cloth, then scooped the solidified tofu in. When it was almost full, he wrapped the tofu with cloth, then pressed a wooden board on it, and then placed a large stone on it.
Qing Kuo: "Is that all?"
Jian Mo took a look and said, "Okay, it should be almost done. Lift it outside to dry. When a drop of water drips, the tofu inside will take shape, and the tofu will be ready."
Qing Kuo: "It doesn't seem too difficult."
Jian Mo: "Yes, the steps are not difficult. As long as you know the principle, you can basically make it."
Qing Kuo was eager to try: "I'll make the next bucket of soy milk."
Ye Luo followed and said, "I'll be the second one."
Min Dang followed up: "I want to try it too."
The rest of the people reacted and raised their hands to say they wanted to try making tofu.
Jian Mo made some arrangements. There were exactly eight people who could try with eight buckets of soy milk.
They made a basket of tofu with one bucket of soy milk, and soon the tofu was ready and carried out.
The water in the yard was dripping, and the whole yard was filled with the fragrance of beans.
After the last bucket of tofu was finished, everyone cleaned up the kitchen and washed the tools. Jian Mo took them to see the first basket of tofu.
To Jian Mo's surprise, this basket of tofu was very successful. Although it was more like tender tofu and not as solid as old tofu, it looked very good.
Jian Mo smelled it and felt that it was the smell of tofu he often smelled, with a little bitterness at most.
Jian Mo turned around and showed the tofu to everyone: "This is the tofu I was talking about."
Everyone crowded up to watch, and the cubs squeezed out from under the feet of the adults.
Jian Mo took out a clean dagger from his waist, cut off a large piece and shared it with everyone: "It's ready to eat, try it first?"
Ye Luo: "Raw?"
Jian Mo: "Soy milk is already cooked, and I have boiled salt lake water before, so tofu should not be considered raw food."
Jian Mo said as he threw a piece into his mouth.
Raw tofu has a slight sweetness and bitterness, and a warm fragrance. It tastes soft and tender, and has a very unique taste.
If you ignore the bitterness, it is indeed the tofu that Jian Mo is most familiar with.
Jian Mo's expression was still calm, but the others couldn't stand it.
"Oh, this is the first time I've eaten this kind of food in my entire life."
"If I had known that beans could be made into tofu, I would have picked more last year."
"You know what, I've wanted to pick more these two days, but I found that when I didn't pick them, the vines were full of bean pods, and once I picked them, there were actually not many mature bean pods."
"That's true. Whenever you want to find something, it disappears."
Jian Mo listened to their chat: "What do you think? Is it a good idea to make tofu from these beans?"
Qing Kuan: "No, it's just a bit troublesome."
Jian Mo: "Yes, so we usually have people who specialize in making tofu, and they exchange the finished tofu for other supplies."
Min Dang couldn't help but say: "Tofu is so delicious, if you let me exchange it for meat, I'd be willing to do that."
Jian Mo: "That's what I mean. It's not bad to change it occasionally to improve the taste."
Qing Kuan: "How do you eat tofu? Just eat it like this now ?”
Jian Mo waved his hands: “It’s a waste to eat like this. I’ll teach you another way to eat it. Who has more delicious animal meat? I’ll exchange some.”
Someone in the crowd immediately shouted: “How about arrow bone beast? My partner caught an arrow bone beast yesterday and didn’t have time to eat it yet.”
Jian Mo: “Sure. Take out the meat of the arrow bone beast, chop it into cubes, and give it to me later. I’ll go cut some green onions and teach you how to make pepper tofu.”
He originally wanted to say Mapo tofu, but then he thought that there was no Mapo, no Sichuan pepper, and no bean paste here, so he could only use pepper tofu.
Qingkuan said: “How about we have a meal together? Let’s do it in the open space. It’s a good opportunity for everyone to learn and take out the ingredients from each family to make some other food.”
This statement was unanimously agreed by everyone.
Jian Mo said, "Then I'll make a few more dishes with tofu. Who of you has time to catch two fish?"
Before the adults could say anything, Jiang Xing led a group of kids and shouted, "We! Brother Jian Mo, we're free. Let's go catch fish!"
Jian Mo glanced at the kids' parents and saw that no one objected, so he smiled and said, "Okay, the task of catching fish is left to you."
Jiang Xing immediately led the kids to the river. The human-shaped kids ran faster, while the chubby beast-shaped kids were on all fours, running and falling, but luckily they caught up.
Everyone looked at Jian Mo, waiting for him to assign them tasks.
The tribe had gathered for so many meals, and as the head chef, Jian Mo was already able to skillfully direct the people to do the work.
Putting aside other things, prepare a large amount of stone-grilled meat and boiled stems. With these two staple foods, the dinner party is half successful.
Everyone was busy, and as the chef, Jian Mo did not get to work so quickly.
After he went to the field to pick spices, he went to see the cubs.
Jiujiu heard the noise and ran out, playing with the cubs.
The cubs ran to the river, each showing off their magical powers.
The cubs who can use the beast form have an advantage over the human form cubs, and can naturally float on the river.
The human form cubs have more skills and are more flexible, so they can catch fish with ease.
Jian Mo watched for a while on the shore, watching them killing and grabbing.
Of course, the cubs were killing and grabbing, and Jiujiu could only quack.
Jiujiu was not flexible to begin with and had a poor bite force. Jian Mo saw with his own eyes how Jiang Xing and his team drove a large fish under Jiujiu's feet. Jiujiu lowered its head and took a bite, successfully catching the large fish.
However, its bite force was too weak. The big fish struggled desperately in its mouth and slapped it several times. It couldn't hold the big fish, nor could it bite it. It could only open its mouth to let the big fish regain its freedom.
Jiang Xing and other cubs saw this scene, patted Jiujiu's belly, and sighed in a serious manner: "Oh."
Jiujiu was also a little ashamed. He lowered his head and sat in the water. His big eyes rolled around, and he didn't dare to look at his little friend.
Jian Mo saw that they were having a lot of fun, so he didn't disturb them. After simply washing the spices in his hands, he went back to the open space.
Everyone had prepared the dishes, the meat started to be grilled, and the stems were also cooked.
The barbecue powder specially made by Jian Mo was used for the barbecue. After being soaked in oil, the fragrance of the large-leaf garlic powder was stimulated and wafted over half of the tribe.
Whether orcs or sub-orcs, for the first time, no one was in the mood to sing and dance around the campfire. They were all preparing food.
Jian Mo saw this and did not waste time. He asked everyone to light a big fire, put a big metal pot on a simple stove, and then boil water to boil the tofu.
Qing Kuang was puzzled: "Didn't you say that the tofu was cooked?"
Jian Mo: "Yes! But boiling it again can remove the beany smell and bitterness."
Qing Kuang: "It's really complicated."
Jian Mo smiled and took a big spatula. He first poured oil, then poured the minced meat into the iron pot, stir-fried it over high heat, added seasonings and fruit wine after frying, and then added boiling water.
When the water boiled, he poured the tofu in, and boiled it for a while before thickening it with starch water.
The secret to making the tofu fragrant and boiling is to thicken it several times and not let the starch and tofu separate.
Soon, a rich aroma that the beastmen and beastmen had never smelled before wafted out .
Jian Mo ignored this and let the tofu simmer, and directly used another large iron pot to fry the fish.
When the fish was fried, he poured in boiling water to make a milky white soup, then added the tofu and started bubbling.
As the aroma became stronger and stronger, night fell.
Everyone gathered in a big circle and prepared to have dinner.
There was a limited amount of pepper tofu and tofu fish soup, and each person was given a small half bowl, while the stems and barbecued meat could be eaten as much as they wanted.
Everyone unanimously tasted the pepper tofu that they were given. The
pepper tofu is fresh, tender, hot and spicy. Blow it and put it on the tip of your tongue, and it seems to be bouncing on the tip of your tongue.
The taste is so special and the texture is also very special.
Most people are very surprised.
"This pepper tofu is different from the raw tofu we eat."
"The pepper tofu is good to eat with vegetables. If I have pepper tofu, I can eat wild vegetables boiled in salt water."
"The crispy minced meat inside is also delicious. It must be eaten with tofu!"
Everyone exchanged opinions while eating, and they all felt that the tofu was not made in vain.
It's so fragrant.
It's hard to imagine that the beans that are not only rejected by people but also by insects would taste like this after being made.
Although the process is rather complicated, it would be nice to stay in the tribe and make tofu when it is raining, snowing, windy, or other days when it is not suitable to go out.
Jian Mo felt that his craving for tofu was satisfied while eating the tofu, but Mapo tofu was still the best.
If only he could find all the seasonings, especially chili peppers, and make some spicy Mapo tofu.
It would be best to have a bowl of fragrant rice.
Wu Jiong really liked the pepper tofu. His movements while eating were still very beautiful, and his speed had obviously increased.
Jian Mo glanced at him and stuffed the pepper tofu he was given into his hands: "You eat it, and I'll have some barbecue."
Wu Jiong carefully observed Jian Mo's expression, and when he saw that he really didn't like it, he took his bowl.
The kitten Banchu turned his eyes and saw that the two fathers were facing each other and could not pay attention to him, so he rubbed his head against his brother Banming's leg: "Meow, brother, I want more."
Banming flicked the kitten's head: "You have eaten all the pepper tofu."
Banchu meowed again, jumped onto his brother's legs, and twisted his body to get into his brother's arms.
Banming pinched his neck and tried to pull him out, but the guy was purring and stepping on his milk, so Banming had no way to lift him up, so he could only scold him softly and let him shrink into his arms.
The kitten Banqiu raised his head and rubbed Banming's chin with his round head, staring at the pepper tofu: "Meow."
Banming sighed resignedly, rubbed the kitten twice, and took the pepper tofu from his bowl to give to him: "Who did you learn this from?" Banqiu
looked at Jian Mo and Wu Jiong beside him, retracted his gaze, and did not answer. He just rubbed his brother's wrist with his cheek and hooked his tail: "Meow."
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