Shokugeki: Start with an izakaya, making everyone cry

Chapter 153 Six flavors, the magic Mapo Tofu appears!
hot!
That's how it should be said.

Since modern times, it has gradually occupied an increasingly important position in the culinary world.

First of all, spicy food can cover up all kinds of ugliness.

If the ingredients are not fresh, you won’t be able to taste them if they are spicy; if the chef’s seasoning skills are not good, if you add some spiciness, it will not be so obvious!
Secondly, spicy food tends to produce neurological pleasure, and the more you eat, the more addictive you feel. This allows spicy food to be used at the cheapest cost to enhance the eating experience.

Of course, excessive use of spicy food will also destroy the original taste of the ingredients, and some high-end ingredients are still rarely used.

This can be seen in the Chinese state banquet dishes, where Sichuan cuisine reduces the use of peppers, Sichuan peppercorns and other seasonings.

……

"Kyuuga, your cooking skills have improved a bit."

"The overuse of spicy food has never changed!"

Finally, a plate of steaming mapo tofu was finally finished by Kobayashi Rgentian.

She was sweating profusely and felt quite happy.

The spiciness seemed to make her lose her mind, forcing her to crazily crave for the taste, no, the pain experience brought by Mapo Tofu!
But after eating, she calmed down a little, but she became a little disgusted.

She herself is a master of "rare ingredients" and what she pursues is the value, taste and function of the ingredients.

This kind of cooking concept that puts "spicy" as the supreme one completely destroys and masks the taste of the ingredients, which is naturally contrary to her philosophy.

"Senior sister, I don't want to hear people tell you that spicy food can ruin people's taste buds."

"After all, spicy food is just a sensation of pain, not taste, and there is no force on the tongue at all. So I just want to prove to the world that spicy food does not choose everyone, but everyone chooses spicy food!"

When I heard this, I just shrugged.

He knew that these words would definitely not convince Xiaobayashi Rgentan, but he also had his own persistence.

Cooking is easy to master but difficult to master.

There is no upper limit for any kind of cuisine, and there is no upper limit for any dish.

If Teruki Kuaga can let people taste this kind of "spicy"-based cuisine with enough spices, it will also have a variety of flavors!
So, isn’t it also the right path?

Despite his current level of ability, Ringtong Kobayashi feels that he should not be able to reach this level.

……

At night, an izakaya with the smell of human fireworks.

Any diners who come here can enjoy all the flavors of life in this small square dining place while the owner chats and laughs in front of the walnut kitchen counter.

At this moment, a social worker who works during the day is eating mapo tofu.

But I saw him first put a piece of shiny tofu, "huhuhuhu" and blew a few puffs of air-conditioning. When the tofu was slightly cool, he slowly put it into his mouth.

Smooth, tender, numb and spicy, just chew it carefully.

An unexplainable taste bursts out in the mouth instantly, occupying every part of the tongue.

And this wonderful feeling made the diner linger.

Although eating mapo tofu cuisine in an izakaya does have an inexplicable weird feeling.

But the izakaya itself has a rule of "diners order whatever they want". Moreover, the mapo tofu made by Zhang Fan is different from many Chinese restaurants outside. The taste is indeed quite "proper"!
In some restaurants, the tofu is made from northern tofu, which is not smooth enough.

Because if you use smooth and tender southern tofu, it will break easily when stir-frying, which will test the chef's spooning skills.

Some restaurants, in order to save costs and time, even use hot pot base ingredients to stew directly, but the taste is inevitably unsatisfactory.

Only Zhang Fan’s Mapo Tofu can make diners think about it for a long time every time they taste it.

……

In Neon Country, all spicy Chinese dishes are called "Ma Po XX", such as:

Fish-flavored eggplant is Mapo eggplant.

It seems that in the eyes of the neon people, Mapo is the creator of the spicy world.

In order to adapt to the light taste of the Neon people, Zhang Fan naturally made slight changes in the method of making Mapo Tofu!
He first abandoned the original method of stir-frying over high heat and directly used the "gurgling" method of simmering over low heat.

This method can make the minced beef tender and the flavors of various ingredients can be completely integrated into the tofu, making it more flavorful.

At the same time, the gravy method is still used three times to thicken the soup, so that the tofu cubes are as smooth and tender as water, and can slide directly into the mouth without paying attention, catching diners off guard.

As for the taste, it's not very spicy, but the amazing thing is that the aftertaste lingers for a long time every time.

As long as I eat it once, it feels like the food has been drugged, so delicious that I want to lick the plate at all costs...

"Shopkeeper, your Mapo Tofu is amazing!"

After licking the last drop of the rich soup on the plate, this unsatisfied diner finally sighed deeply.

Immediately afterwards, he asked Zhang Fan for a glass of water.

I started to drink it gurglingly, as if to relieve the spiciness.

Finally, after chatting with others and Zhang Fanchang for a short while, he settled the bill and left the izakaya with satisfaction.

……

Seeing the guests leaving, the kitchen assistant Kuchizono went to clear away the dishes.

Then use a clean rag to wipe the table clean, then turn around and throw the plate into the automatic dishwasher for cleaning.

If Taki Kadozaki saw her former friend, this former graduate of Totsuki, doing such chores in an izakaya, he would probably want to kill Zhang Fan!

However, Kikuzhi seemed to be enjoying it very much.

After all, working as a cook in an izakaya has made her very tired, but she has also gained a lot.

At least in terms of cooking skills, she learned a lot from Zhang Fan!

"I... what's wrong with me?"

Suddenly, Mu Jiuzhi, who had just finished his work, became a little confused, and the scene in front of him gradually became dark and no longer clear.

She hurriedly stretched out her hands to rub her forehead, trying to wake herself up.

But in the end, she fell back weakly. While she was screaming in her heart, she felt a hand on her back and quickly pulled her into his arms.

As she regained her footing, she gradually regained some consciousness.

"Are you okay?"

Looking at Mu Jiuzhi who looked haggard.

Zhang Fan couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt and heartache in his heart.

"Shopkeeper, I...I'm fine. Maybe I'm a little tired these days and my body has exceeded the limit it can bear."

Taking the initiative to cower in Zhang Fan's arms, Mu Jiuzhi felt an indescribable strange feeling in her heart. She only felt that she was indeed tired at the moment, but she also felt very safe.

"In the past few days, you have to run your own Harugotei during the day, and help out at the izakaya at night."

"Don't say it's you, even I would be exhausted. Don't do anything tonight, just focus on having a good rest!"

Zhang Fan said softly.

"Yeah, I...I listen to you."

Mu Jiuzhi didn't show any temper, just nodded quietly.

Then she blushed and murmured softly: "Then... what, shopkeeper, can you let go of your hand? I'm not used to you holding me like this!"

"Sorry sorry."

Zhang Fan looked down at the sight of his hands tightly around her waist, and then he realized and hurriedly retracted his hands.

"Ahem, I'm going to entertain other diners."

Immediately, Zhang Fan ran away and pretended to be busy doing other things.

And thinking about the intimate scene between the two of them just now, Mu Jiuzhi, who was still stunned, felt even more ashamed and started to think wildly.

……

"Master Nagi."

"Your body is still very weak, don't run so fast!" "Annie, while Erina is going to participate in the residential training activities, we have to have a good meal at the izakaya."

"But...but even if you don't want to meet your daughter, you don't have to be so anxious, right?"

"Can I not be in a hurry?"

"If I weren't worried about meeting Erina unexpectedly at the izakaya, I would have come a long time ago."

At this time, accompanied by a hurried sound, two beauties with different styles pushed open the door and appeared in the izakaya.

The person walking in front was a graceful mature woman.

She usually wears a kimono and holds a folding fan, and her appearance is always very powerful.

But tonight, she was wearing a light red backless dress embroidered with exquisite and complicated patterns, which looked very noble!

Of course, the most eye-catching thing is that her hair is styled into an elegant bun, with a few strands of hair hanging lightly around her neck. It is easy for people to mistake her for a girl in her 20s.

The other beauty behind her is slightly less temperamental, but she is still as fascinating as a blooming jasmine flower.

"You two, why are you free to come to the izakaya again?"

Seeing it was Nakiri Shinagi and Annie, Zhang Fan couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

It's not that he didn't expect them to show up at the izakaya, but he found that Nakiri Shinagi seemed to be more and more dependent on his cooking!
……

"Zhang Fan, give me a piece of Comet Fried Rice."

Nakiri Shinagi, who chose a seat to sit down, said anxiously.

"Unfortunately, the izakaya didn't prepare spinach tonight, so I can't make Comet fried rice."

Zhang Fan replied with a chuckle.

"If there is no Comet Fried Rice, then... where is the Lie Chilled Sea Bream?"

Nakiri Shinagi felt a little disappointed when she heard this, but then she raised her head and continued to ask expectantly.

"That's true." Nakiri Managi's eyes lit up when she heard that she could cook strong chilled Taiyang cuisine, but just when she was about to speak, she was suddenly interrupted by Zhang Fan: "But I recommend another dish. Magic Mapo Tofu!”

"Mapo tofu?"

When Shinagi heard this, he was stunned.

"Pay attention to my wording, it's not Mapo Tofu, it's Magic Mapo Tofu."

"Is there...what's the difference?"

"Yes, Magic Mapo Tofu is the magical version of Mapo Tofu!"

After hearing this nonsense, Nakiri Shinagi was speechless. She rolled her eyes at Zhang Fan angrily and said, "How does the taste compare to the strong chilled sea bream and comet fried rice?"

"There are six flavors, what do you think?"

"Okay, let's have some magic mapo tofu."

Shinagi lowered her head and thought for a few seconds. Finally, she was secretly surprised and quickly nodded to Zhang Fan and replied.

"OK, then wait a moment."

After saying this, Zhang Fan turned around and returned to the cooking table.

……

The plot at the beginning of "The Little Master of China".

First of all, it shows people the sects and geographical distribution of Chinese cuisine. Chinese cuisine is divided into several categories:

Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Sichuan!

Among them, Mapo Tofu from Sichuan cuisine was also the first to appear.

"Samagi-sama, doesn't the average mapo tofu only have spicy and spicy flavors?"

Annie here could never figure out what the six flavors of Mapo tofu were, so she could only whisper in Shinagi's ear and ask.

"I don't know. In my impression, if the heat in the protein inside the tofu block is not easily lost, the hotness produced can also be a kind of smell."

"Huh? Hotness is also a smell, isn't it?"

Annie blinked her eyes and seemed to have some realization after thinking about it for a while.

"Well, let's just watch quietly and see how he makes Mapo Tofu have six flavors."

Nakiri Shinagi's eyes flickered, then he sat up straight and began to observe Zhang Fan.

Heat the pot slightly, add a little more oil, add minced garlic, garlic sprouts, tempeh, and dried chili and stir-fry until fragrant, then the most important bean paste, stir-fry until red oil emerges.

sizzle.

sizzle.

As the temperature in the pot gradually rises, a rich spicy flavor also bursts out.

"This is the first taste, spicy!"

"Then the second flavor comes next, fragrance!"

After saying that, Zhang Fan quickly added the soup stock and mixed it with soy sauce, old wine, sugar, salt and seasonings.

Add the soft tofu and sprinkle some garlic leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer until the flavors of the ingredients are completely integrated into the tofu.

"Hmm...Managi-sama, the smell wafting out smells so good!"

On the side, moving the tip of her nose and smelling the unusually rich fragrance in the air, Annie almost got drunk.

Immediately afterwards, add starch to water at a ratio of about 2:1 and stir well until ready to be used as thickener.

Add the prepared water starch to the tofu to thicken it, two spoons at a time, and thicken it three times. Only in this way can all the soup be wrapped around the tofu.

After thickening is completed, when red oil emerges, turn on high heat and cook while gently shaking the pot to prevent the ingredients from being burned.

"This is the third and fourth taste, color and hotness."

After finishing speaking, Zhang Fan sprinkled in the "minced meat" made from soybeans, put it on a plate, and sprinkled with the remaining garlic leaves and peppercorns.

The six-flavored Mapo Tofu is now complete!
……

Grumpy Grumpy!

Grumpy Grumpy!

When the piping hot Magic Mapo Tofu was served, it was so hot that it was still bubbling.

The green scallions and the red soup collide with each other, causing the white tofu to swim in the clear but not too sticky base, which makes people's appetite increase just by looking at it.

At the same time, a strong pungent aroma swooped over like a ferocious beast and attacked the entire izakaya!
"Huh? This kind of Mapo Tofu..."

Looking at the brown minced meat, mixed with tofu in the red soup, sliding down bit by bit.

Nakiri Shinagi couldn't help but widen his eyes and wanted to get closer and observe carefully.

As a result, a dazzling light suddenly shot out from the plate with a "whoosh" sound, illuminating the entire dark sky.

"What? It's actually glowing again?"

After learning that this magical mapo tofu dish could actually shine, Nakiri Makoto swallowed and became even more excited.

Because she knows that any dish that shines in Zhang Fan's hands is a good dish!

"It's spicy, fragrant, colorful, hot, and there's a numbing sensation you didn't mention, but it's actually caused by Sichuan peppercorns."

"After all, doesn't it mean there are only five flavors?"

Finally, after she calmed down a little, she asked Zhang Fan doubtfully.

"Eat first and see."

"The sixth taste is hidden in it."

Zhang Fan replied mysteriously.

(End of this chapter)