Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 444: Stinky Tofu, a Strange Food

Lu Lang smiled and said, "Miss, you don't know that my grandmother is from Leji County in the south. Although she has been married to the north for a long time, she still misses the food in her hometown."

“There are many kinds of food in Beijing, but most of them are northern-style food.”

“There are also people from the south who come here to open restaurants and hotels, but over time, they are influenced by the local ingredients and diners, and the taste gradually becomes more suitable for northerners and becomes less authentic.”

"Many of the food the girl made were things I had never seen or heard of before."

“But some of the dishes are similar to the hometown dishes my grandmother mentioned.”

"For example, the braised pork with preserved vegetables from a few days ago. I remember my grandmother told me that in her hometown, they would also dry vegetables in late autumn and store them for cooking in winter."

"My father had the same feeling as me on his way back from the restaurant after lunch that day, saying that this dish had the flavor of my grandmother's hometown."

"Sometimes when I eat the dishes you cook, I always think to myself, if my grandmother could taste your dishes, she would be so happy."

"It's a pity that the girl doesn't run a restaurant in the capital. Grandmother is old and it's unlikely that she will come to Anping County."

Shen Yu was quite moved after hearing this, and wanted to fulfill Lu Lang's pure love, so he said: "Mr. Lu is very filial. I wonder what the lady of the mansion likes to eat. If I can cook, I will do my best to make it."

Lu Lang had a smile on his face and didn't speak for a long time, as if he was recalling what food his grandmother had mentioned to him when he was a child.

Shen Yu didn't disturb him and just sat quietly aside.

I was so bored that I tried to find an open book on the top of the bookcase to pass the time.

The book seemed to be a copybook of calligraphy, with each line of characters written in a very free and unrestrained style.

Unfortunately, Shen Yuzhi's eyes were dizzy from looking at it, and he could only barely recognize a few words, and he didn't even know if he recognized them correctly.

Shen Yu was laughing at himself in his heart: "This calligraphy is really beautiful, but it doesn't recognize me, and I don't recognize it either. I spent half a day looking at it, and it was all in vain."

Suddenly, Lu Lang smiled and said, "Miss Shen, can you make a kind of stinky tofu called Qingfang?"

"Ah, what?" Shen Yu was daydreaming and enjoying himself. When he suddenly heard this question, he was unable to react for a moment.

Lu Lang had a mischievous smile on his face. He was playing with the empty teacup in his hand and recounting a wonderful time in his childhood.

“Among my grandchildren, my taste is most similar to my grandmother’s.”

"So when I was little, I often stayed in my grandmother's room and refused to leave, eating different kinds of food with her."

"I remember eating a kind of tofu called Qingfang at my grandmother's house. It was dark green and looked very ugly."

"When it was served to me, there was a strong smell that I couldn't tell whether it was stinky or fragrant."

"My grandmother had it fried in oil and poured some sauce on it. It tasted really good and had an amazing aroma."

"It just doesn't taste good, but if you eat a small dish, the smell will always linger in the house for most of the day, and even burning incense and opening the windows can't help."

"My grandfather would gag every time he smelled it. Even though he knew it was the flavor of my grandmother's hometown, he had to persuade her not to eat it anymore."

"I heard that my grandmother was sad for a while because of this incident. She felt that she and my grandfather were from different regions and their tastes were too different."

"So when she eats this fried green square, she always eats a few pieces when her grandfather is not at home all day."

"But later on, I realized that other than me, no one else thought it was delicious."

"Every time she eats it, the whole family stays away from her. Even the cook who helps her fry the green noodles always has an expression of disgust that she can't hide."

"Although she is the mistress of the family, no one will stop her from eating whatever she wants, and grandfather is not angry at her for eating such smelly food."

"But if outsiders hear about it, it's always inappropriate to eat such smelly food."

"In order to avoid being criticized, my grandmother had to reluctantly stop eating fried green onion."

"Many years have passed since then, and food like Qing Fang has never appeared in the palace again."

"Although she no longer eats it, my grandmother still mentions this food in private whenever she thinks of her hometown."

"When I grew up, I asked someone to bring some back for her when they went south, but my grandmother was afraid that she would be disliked when she ate it, so she always refused."

"So I want to ask you, do you know how to make stinky tofu? It would be best if you could improve the method so that it doesn't smell so bad but still tastes delicious."

“If you know how to cook, could you please make some for me? I will bring it back for my grandmother to taste and ease her homesickness.

After hearing this, Shen Yu couldn't help but laugh.

Stinky tofu is a unique food that people who love it say has an attractive fragrance and is loved as their life. They will miss it if they don't eat it for a few days.

People who don't like to eat it say it stinks extremely and try to avoid it. Even if they see it from a distance, they will smell the stench and change color and take a detour.

Shen Yu happened to be the one who loved it so much that whenever he was on a business trip, he would stop in front of the fried stinky tofu stall and queue up to buy a few skewers whenever he had the chance.

I waited patiently for the stall owner to take the fried stinky tofu, which was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, out of the oil pan, roll it in the condiment plate, remove the bamboo skewer, pour bright red chili oil on it, sprinkle with finely chopped coriander, and put it in the food box and hand it to me.

At this time, Shen Yu always stood on the street and ate heartily, regardless of his image, and exclaimed that it was so enjoyable.

Speaking of making stinky tofu, Shen Yu really knows how to make it, and the one he makes is indeed the kind that doesn't smell too bad.

Although she has never made stinky tofu herself, she has heard the method from a master chef.

But in modern times, no matter which city, as long as there are snack stalls everywhere, you can always smell that special aroma and buy stinky tofu of various flavors.

Whether it’s with soup, dry mix, or fried and then topped with sauce, everything is delicious. There’s no need to make it yourself, and there’s no need to go through the trouble of making the house smelly.

So she just wrote down the method out of habit as a good student, but never put it into practice.

She didn't expect that when she came here, someone would ask her if she could make stinky tofu.

If you think about it, it’s a very interesting thing.

It seems that the method was recorded at that time in order to make it today, to comfort an old man's homesickness.

Shen Yu thought for a moment and said, "Although I've heard of the method, I've never done it before, and I don't know if I can do it. I can only say that I'll go back and try it."

"If it can be done, make a small jar and let Mr. Lu take it back for Madam Tai to taste."

Lu Lang was very happy to hear that, and was about to thank him when he saw Qi Xi and Master Qian coming over together.

Lu Lang told Shen Yu about transferring the money to him, and Master Qian smiled and said, "How difficult is that? Just take the two banknotes and the young master's private seal and go to the bank to transfer the money."