Chapter 240: Tofu's Choice
Looking at the bowl of plump, slightly translucent soybeans glistening faintly on the table, Qi Han couldn't help but sigh.
Who would have thought that to make a dish of Wensi Tofu, one would have to start by making tofu from scratch?
And who could have imagined that the soybeans used for this Wensi Tofu would turn out to be a Heaven and Earth treasure-tier ingredient?
Heaven and Earth treasure: Nu Earth Linglong Beans.
Among the 28 Lunar Mansions, one of the Northern Black Tortoise's seven mansions is Nu Earth Bat. Its shape resembles a sieve, used for sorting grains, symbolizing auspiciousness.
Nu Earth Linglong Beans, as the legend goes, carry the power of this star mansion. Infused with the essence of five grains, they form these extraordinary soybeans—each deserving of the title of "Heaven and Earth treasure."
On closer inspection, the soybeans in the bowl, though yellow, have a depth and richness far surpassing ordinary soybeans.
Qi Han picked up the bowl and gave it a slight lift—it was precisely two jin (around 1 kilogram).
Skilled in his actions, Qi Han rinsed the soybeans clean and soaked them in spiritual spring water until fully submerged. Then, he opened the door of a device resembling a microwave nearby, placing the bowl of soybeans inside.
After setting the dial and closing the door, the device emitted a crisp chime after just a minute.
What usually required 12 hours of soaking had been achieved during this process: the soybeans, slightly swollen, had absorbed enough water to soften their previously hard shells.
Carefully retrieving the soaked soybeans, Qi Han moved to a grindstone and began leisurely grinding them.
Although modern blenders could be used to combine soybeans and water into a uniform mixture, tofu made this way always lacked something essential—a certain soul.
It was like ground meat from a machine, missing the elasticity and texture that comes from traditional methods.
Grinding soybeans wasn't particularly complicated. Qi Han simply filled the grindstone's feed inlet with soybeans, adding water gradually while continuously turning the grindstone. The grindstone's design, provided by Ru Yi, was highly efficient—it had a large feed capacity and ground the beans thoroughly.
After about ten minutes of grinding, all the soybeans were processed into a bowl of murky raw soybean milk, its surface dotted with tiny bubbles.
Pouring the raw soybean milk into a pot, Qi Han cooked it on low heat, stirring as it simmered. He brought it to a boil three times, each time adding a small amount of clean water to reduce the foam that formed.
Lifting the pot, Qi Han filtered the cooked soybean milk through a strainer and cheesecloth, discarding the soybean pulp residue.
This residue would later be collected by Ru Yi to supplement the diet of herbivorous animals in their miniature world.
The filtered soybean milk was left to settle in the pot. Qi Han then prepared a small bowl, mixing around 20 grams of glucono delta-lactone with warm water. After dissolving it thoroughly, he poured the solution into a rectangular mold.
Once the soybean milk cooled and a layer of tofu skin formed on the surface, he carefully removed it, pouring the remaining milk into the mold. Ensuring the glucono delta-lactone solution mixed evenly with the soybean milk, Qi Han meticulously skimmed off any foam from the surface.
The presence of foam would result in holes in the tofu, affecting the preparation of Wensi Tofu, so this step had to be executed with utmost precision.
After removing all the foam, Qi Han placed the mold back into the microwave-like device. A two-hour process was compressed into just one minute.
During this time, the glucono delta-lactone slowly hydrolyzed into gluconic acid, reacting with the proteins in the soybean milk to coagulate it into tofu.
Due to the slow breakdown of glucono delta-lactone, the coagulation reaction occurs evenly and consistently, resulting in a highly efficient process. Compared to traditional brine-coagulated tofu, the tofu made this way—known as gypsum-free tofu—is whiter, finer in texture, better at retaining moisture, and more resistant to boiling and stir-frying. Its flavor is uniquely delicious and rich.
This type of tofu, called glucono delta-lactone tofu, is particularly suitable for slicing into fine threads, making it an ideal choice for dishes like Wensi Tofu. As such, it is widely used in the preparation of this dish.
Placing the freshly coagulated tofu aside, Qi Han did not immediately tend to it. Instead, he reached into the ingredients cabinet and pulled out a millennial-grade Five-Colored Brocade Chicken.
Five-Colored Brocade Chicken: Why is it me again?!
Qi Han could only shrug helplessly—after all, when it came to preparing a clear chicken broth, the Five-Colored Brocade Chicken was the best choice.
Yes, this dish involves chicken.
Why would a monk prepare a dish with chicken? Perhaps it's because Master Wen Si, the originator of this dish, had already transcended into the realm of "meat and wine pass through the stomach, but Buddha sits steadfast in the heart."
Sinful, sinful.
Skilled and efficient, Qi Han cleaned the chicken, plucked its feathers, removed its head, feet, and innards, then separated the two chicken breasts. The remaining parts were divided into eight sections and set aside.
The art of clear broth reaches its pinnacle with dishes like Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth. Having mastered Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth, Qi Han could handle any clear broth with ease.
The chicken breasts were minced into a fine paste, mixed with water to create a chicken puree, and placed in a small bowl for later use.
Next, Qi Han placed the eight chicken pieces into a pot, added water to cover them, and included ginger and garlic to eliminate any gaminess. After bringing the pot to a boil and skimming off the foam, he reduced the heat to simmer for approximately three hours.
With advanced technology at hand, the process was, of course, sped up significantly.
Midway through, Qi Han skimmed off the layer of chicken fat that floated to the surface. Once the simmering was complete, the chicken pieces were removed, and the chicken puree was added to the pot. He let it simmer for another 30 minutes on low heat to allow the puree to absorb impurities from the broth fully.
Finally, the broth was strained, yielding a pristine, crystal-clear chicken consommé with a vibrant golden hue.
Next came the preparation of the accompaniments.
Qi Han took the Jade Delicate Apricots, carefully removing their white stems and leaving only the tender green leaves. After stacking the leaves neatly, he sliced them finely into threads, placing them on a small dish for later use.
The threads were cut to an ultra-fine width of about 0.3 millimeters, matching the tofu threads in size and precision.
And that was just one of the many garnishes.
From the ingredients cabinet, Qi Han took out a large block of ham. Cutting a small piece, he sliced it into threads of similar thickness.
The ham used here came from the same source as that in Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth—the hind leg of a thousand years-old Cinnamon Pig, smoked with the branches of a thousand years-old plant spirit, Cloud-Patterned Cypress.
Once the ham threads were ready, they were placed on another small dish.
Next came the mushroom threads, wood ear threads, and bamboo shoot threads.
The ingredients for these three were equally extraordinary, all belonging to the Heaven and Earth treasure tier.
If it weren't for the relatively small amount required for garnishes—allowing one Heaven and Earth treasure to support multiple servings of Wensi Tofu—this dish would cost no less than 1,500 Gold Coins.
The mushroom threads were made from a Heaven and Earth treasure called Lotus Phoenix Matsutake. Resembling regular matsutake mushrooms but with vibrant red lines on the surface forming patterns akin to a dancing phoenix, this ingredient was both exquisite and valuable. It's said to be born from the essence of phoenix blood, allowing those who eat it to absorb a trace of phoenix lineage.
The wood ear threads were prepared from Dragon Vein Mother Earth, a spiritual plant rooted in dragon nests. Absorbing the essence of true dragons, its surface was adorned with magnificent golden dragon patterns. Consuming it could grant a trace of dragon energy.
The final garnish, bamboo shoot threads, came from the Heaven and Earth treasure Nine-Forged Seven-Vein Bamboo Shoots, renowned for their powerful restorative and strengthening effects on the body and physical strength.
After slicing all three treasures into fine threads and setting them aside, Qi Han's gaze finally returned to the tofu that had been resting for some time.
It was time to showcase some real skills.
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