Ancient Foodie Survival Guide Chapter 17
Translated by Serena Love
Edited by Azure and unsaltedfish
Chapter 17: Stinky Tofu in Soup
Xie Xun didn't have lunch, was working on an empty stomach, and was extremely busy.
Jiang Shuyao’s situation was completely opposite to his. She had a full meal at noon and was idle in the afternoon with nothing to do, so she started to tinker with snacks again.
She took a jar from the kitchen corner and put it on the countertop.
The maids enjoyed all kinds of delicacies by her side these days. Seeing that she had new ideas, they looked forward to the jar.
Then, they saw Jiang Shuyao uncover the lid and use chopsticks to pick out a piece of black-gray dried tofu.
The maids couldn't help but widen their eyes, and the gluttony in their hearts disappeared instantly.
The dried stinky tofu was successfully fermented, and Jiang Shuyao was extremely satisfied.
The stinky tofu had a strong smell and an overbearing taste. People could smell that foul scent from far away. It could be described as the master of the snack street.
To cook the stinky tofu, her first step was to adjust the sauce. She ground dried shiitake mushrooms and shrimp into powder for freshness, chopped garlic and green onions, added corn oil, an appropriate amount of sugar, soy sauce, salt, and water, stirred well, and set them aside.
She took a wok and heated the oil. After the oil temperature rose, she added the dried stinky tofu.
The maids were taken aback and hurriedly stopped her. "Miss, the tofu is ruined, you can't eat it."
"Yes, it's moldy."
Several people are chattering, trying to persuade her with every word.
Before Jiang Shuyao had time to explain, the oil was already hot, making the strange smell of stinky tofu overflow immediately, and stunned the maids for a moment.
Then they tried to stop her even more anxiously: "Miss, this smells so... you mustn't eat this."
"It's too unpleasant, Miss, just think about fresh food, you can't use this rotten tofu as an ingredient."
The maid took a few steps back and took out a handkerchief to cover her nose, "Miss, come here quickly, don't get that smell on your body."
Jiang Shuyao could understand the disgust of the maids, but she, a stinky tofu fanatic, started to get hungry just by smelling the scent. How could she be easily stopped by them?
"Believe me, this stinky tofu smells bad, but it tastes delicious and attractive."
The maids couldn't allow this "prank". If the master hurt her stomach, none of them would be able to escape punishment.
"Miss, just by smelling it, you'd know that it's not delicious, you mustn't eat it.”
"And it's all rotten, look at this color, black and moldy. I have never seen dried tofu so rotten.
"Okay, okay, if you don't like the smell, just go out." Jiang Shuyao focused on doing two things and put the fried stinky tofu into a bowl while talking to the maids.
Seeing her picking the tofu one by one, the maids were even more anxious, but Jiang Shuyao's previous reputation was still there, so no maids dared to go up and stop her.
There were many sauces and flavors for stinky tofu. Jiang Shuyao preferred the sauce to be slightly thickened, but not too thick, a gravy that was just able to hang on the dried tofu so that the fragrant and spicy hot soup could fully cover the stinky tofu.
She ordered the kitchen girl to take firewood and burn it on a low fire. She poured the sauce into the pot, added starch, and boiled it for a while, and the thick gravy was ready.
She poked a few small holes in the fried stinky tofu with chopsticks, poured the gravy, and the hot soup slowly soaked the stinky tofu along the holes.
Finally, she sprinkled it with chopped green onion and sesame seeds, and the soup with stinky tofu was ready.
Jiang Shuyao swallowed, then turned around, scaring the four maids.
"Miss!" Bai Zhi's face was about to twist, "You can't eat it!"
Jiang Shuyao didn't expect them to worry about this and smiled helplessly. "Of course it can be eaten. This is fried and not rotten, it's fermented. Isn’t the soy sauce you usually eat also fermented?"
Bai Zhi retorted, "How can it be the same?" But seeing Jiang Shuyao look as straight as a bamboo, she was slightly relieved.
Smelling the smell of stinky tofu, Jiang Shuyao swallowed, ignoring the maids who tried to stop her, she picked up a piece and put it in her mouth.
Biting the fragrant and fluffy stinky tofu skin, the hot gravy overflowed from the stinky tofu, and the tender tofu inside retained the heat from the pot, so that Jiang Shuyao's tears were about to come out.
As she breathed, she chewed the stinky tofu happily. The more she chewed, the more flavorful it became. Spicy and hot, every bite had the unique mellow taste of stinky tofu.
With extra chili oil, the piping hot, spicy stinky tofu went down, and its warmth spreading to her stomach was sheer bliss.
Seeing her eating happily stunned the maids, and they were at a loss on what to do.
Jiang Shuyao was not the kind of person who ate alone; she had a mouth addiction and she would not forget others.
"Do you want to eat?"
The maids shook their heads quickly and refused, fearing that Jiang Shuyao would be angry, so they didn't dare to raise their heads.
"It's really delicious, believe me!"
When she was persuading the maids, a small dumpling rushed in from the door of the kitchen, and a milky voice shouted, "What is delicious? What is delicious?"
In the blink of an eye, he rushed to Jiang Shuyao.
Jiang Shuyao looked down at Xie Zhao, as if she had seen a husky in modern times before. When she touched the plastic snack bag, it could rush over quickly.
It was just that Xie Zhao ran so fast that he only smelled the stinky tofu when he arrived.
He took a few steps back, wrinkled his face, and raised his neck to look at Jiang Shuyao. "What is this? How come it smells weird?"
Several maids were slandering in their hearts: How is it only weird smelling? It's obviously very foul in odor...
"This is stinky tofu. It smells strange but tastes delicious." Jiang Shuyao explained tirelessly. Seeing him alone, she looked up and looked for Xie Yao's figure.
Sure enough, the twins were inseparable.
Xie Yao grabbed the door frame, only showing half of his face. He was hesitating to step into the small kitchen, and looked like he was "secretly observing".
Jiang Shuyao couldn't laugh or cry and rubbed Xie Zhao's head. "This plate is too spicy, I'll make another one for you."
She moved quickly, deep-fried another stinky tofu, re-adjusted the sauce, and repeated the set of actions just now. The steaming five-spiced stinky tofu was ready.
Xie Zhao was at the age of being curious about everything. He originally disliked the strange smell of stinky tofu, but when Jiang Shuyao fried the tofu and boiled the gravy, he became curious.
Jiang Shuyao bent down, handed the porcelain plate to him, and said, "Taste it."
Xie Zhao sniffed carefully. The dried tofu smelled tangy at first, but after smelling it more, he felt a faint fragrance.
He didn't hesitate, took the chopsticks, and put a piece of stinky tofu into his mouth.
"Be careful." Jiang Shuyao quickly reminded him.
The maidservants were desperate. Their young lady already had no place in Duke Xie's Mansion. If the food hurt the little sons of the main branch, there was really no one in this mansion who could protect her.
Jiang Shuyao didn't know their worries at all and looked at Xie Zhao expectantly. "How is it?"
The five-spiced stinky tofu highlighted the savory flavor. The gravy was wrapped with powder from shiitake mushrooms and dried shrimps. The pungent aroma enhanced the flavor, but it didn't cover up the mellow aroma of the stinky tofu itself. The more he chewed, the more mellow the aroma. It was crispy outside, tender inside, and extremely delicious.
"Hmm..." Xie Zhao felt so hot that he hummed, and he was stunned while breathing. "It's delicious, very delicious."
This action was exactly the same as Jiang Shuyao's, and the maids were silent.
Xie Zhao chewed, and before swallowing, he couldn't wait to clamp the second piece.
The white and tender chubby face was bulging, like a hamster hiding melon seeds.
Jiang Shuyao's heart melted. Seeing his admiration, she couldn't help but sigh, "You really look like my brother."
Xie Zhao blinked his eyes and smiled slyly at Jiang Shuyao.
Xie Yao, who was observing secretly by the door frame, raised his leg and stepped in, slowly walking over, and whispered. "He can't be a brother. It will mess up the seniority."
Aunt Jiang Shuyao, who was being blamed, bent down and poked Xie Yao's little face. "Ah, Yao wants to try it?"
Xie Yao squeezed his cuffs uncomfortably, glanced at his elder brother who was avoiding his gaze, then glanced at Jiang Shuyao. He didn't know what he was thinking, and he responded in a low voice, "Yes."
Xie Zhao ate the plate in his hand happily while babbling, causing several maids to surround him and look after him, fearing that he would choke.
There was only Jiang Shuyao on Xie Yao's side. Jiang Shuyao squatted in front of him, holding a plate, looking at Xie Yao's watery eyes, and wanted to feed him by hand.
Although Xie Yao was frail, Xu-shi never spoiled him, so he hadn't been fed by hand for a long time.
He was about to say "I'll do it myself." Jiang Shuyao had already brought the stinky tofu to his mouth.
"Be careful, blow it first, and take a small bite."
Xie Yao pursed his mouth, swallowing his sentence, and blowing on the stinky tofu under Jiang Shuyao's scorching sight, and lightly took a bite.
The way he eats was very different from Xie Zhao's. It was very gentle, but somewhat like his Third Uncle.
He chewed slowly, his eyes lit up like black grapes, and gradually he was surprised.
Jiang Shuyao looked at him with a grin. The little dumplings were so beautiful that even the small changes in their expressions were very cute.
After Xie Yao swallowed this small bite and there was nothing in his mouth, he opened his mouth and said, "It's really delicious."
"Will you eat more?" Jiang Shuyao asked, holding up her chopsticks.
Xie Yao nodded, and just opened his small mouth, but suddenly a roar came from the door.
"Jiang Shuyao!"
Jiang Shuyao's hand shook, and the stinky tofu dropped onto the plate.
Xie Pei stood at the door angrily, smelling the stench of the room, watching Jiang Shuyao squatting in front of Xie Yao to feed him. Her chest was rising and falling violently with anger.
She just heard that her maid said that Jiang Shuyao sent breakfast to the main hall today, and remembered the embarrassment she had yesterday. The more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she became. This embarrassment gradually turned into anger, so she ran to Jiang Shuyao to vent her anger.
Ever since Jiang Shuyao married in, Xie Pei had been holding back her resentment, never lowering herself to argue with this infamous fool of the capital. Seeing Jiang Shuyao living comfortably and freely in Duke Xie's Mansion only irritated Xie Pei more, and riding that wave of anger, she rushed in to find fault.
At the sight of the dark and lacquered thing in front of Xie Yao, the thought of finding fault disappeared instantly, leaving only anxiety.
She ran over and pulled Xie Yao away, then angrily and anxiously yelled at Jiang Shuyao. "What kind of dirty smelly thing are you feeding Ah Yao?!"
Stinky Tofu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71ig9-kLrBE
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