RBCT Chapter 100 Wensi Tofu
Chapter 100 Wensi Tofu
Master Huang picked up a piece of soft tofu, placed it flat on the cutting board, and prepared to demonstrate how to cut Wensi tofu.
He looked up, glanced around, and noticed that everyone was watching his actions intently.
Even Lu Yuan looked over curiously, and he clearly breathed a sigh of relief because Lu Yuan's expression didn't seem like he would agree.
Master Huang refocused his attention on the tofu. Instead of cutting it, he first shaped it into a regular rectangle and then sprinkled some water on it.
The purpose of sprinkling water is to prevent the tofu from sticking to the knife when cutting it.
He then bent down, took the knife in his right hand, and placed his left hand parallel to the tofu, extending his left thumb to support the knife, and began to lightly chop down the tofu, one cut after another.
The advantage of this is that you can use your thumb to give the knife some resistance, so that each cut can be made into thin strips evenly.
He moved quickly, and the tofu only deformed slightly; it did not collapse because it was cut.
After cutting the tofu once, it was cut into soft, limp slices. Then he rotated the cutting board 180 degrees.
In this way, the tofu slices are placed one on top of the other, facing his knife, making it easier for him to cut.
If you don't rotate the cutting board and instead use a knife to lift the tofu and change its direction, it will easily break.
When slicing the second time, Master Huang didn't rush to cut it. Instead, he trimmed off some of the edges to keep it a perfect square.
Then he started cutting, still using his thumb to push the knife, cutting one slice at a time.
After finally cutting the tofu twice, Chef Huang scooped up some water with his hand to rinse off the chopped bits on the tofu, and then slowly scooped up the tofu with a knife and put it into the water.
The tofu only reveals its final form the moment it enters the water.
The tofu strips in the water looked like strands of white hair, floating quietly and beautifully.
What was originally a 1-yuan tofu is now cut into the shape of a 100-yuan piece – that's the charm of knife skills.
Master Huang was very satisfied with his work. He picked up the bowl, walked towards the onlookers, and turned around so that everyone could see it.
The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause when they saw the tofu floating in the water like silver threads up close.
The waiter arranged by General Manager Zhang also called out from below at the opportune moment: "Chef Huang, does your restaurant sell this dish? I want to order one!"
"It's for sale!" Master Huang replied with a smile, "and the finished product will look much better than today's. Due to space limitations, this is all I could manage today."
Master Huang and "Tuo'er" chatted back and forth, and in just a few words, Master Huang conveyed the situation of Jianghuai Tower to everyone.
After the "GG effect" was completed, Master Huang announced the start of this round of the competition, with a time limit of 15 minutes.
After this round, the match had been going on for an hour, and he was very satisfied with this "GG".
He vaguely heard people behind him discussing going to Jianghuailou for lunch.
After this round of competition began, the players were clearly in a dilemma.
They did watch Master Huang operate the equipment face-to-face, but when it was their turn to operate it, they didn't know where to start.
Master Huang's face remained expressionless, but he was overjoyed inside; this was exactly the effect he wanted.
If everyone else knows how to do it, then what's the point of him?
Suddenly, he caught sight of Lu Yuan in the corner.
Lu Yuan was chopping the tofu quickly, one slice after another, his movements clearly the technique used to cut Wensi tofu.
However, Lu Yuan didn't make any clicking sounds, so he didn't notice it at first.
After seeing Lu Yuan's actions, Master Huang's eyes remained fixed on Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan's cutting method was different from his. First of all, Lu Yuan did not use his thumb to support the blade, but instead relied on his sense of touch to chop down one slice after another.
This requires a high degree of precision; if one cut is too much or too little, the tofu will be shredded.
However, judging from Lu Yuan's expression and movements, Master Huang saw that he was completely at ease.
After Lu Yuan finished cutting once, he didn't turn the cutting board around at all.
Instead, he quickly placed the knife at the end of the tofu, gently lifted it, and changed the direction of the tofu.
This move greatly shocked Master Huang!
When Lu Yuan made the second cut, his knife wasn't quite straight, which puzzled Master Huang.
But there was also no clicking sound, which puzzled Master Huang even more.
Lu Yuan quickly finished cutting the tofu, put the knife aside, crossed his hands, and gently stretched it.
He was a little tired from focusing so intently on cutting tofu.
Finally, this round of the competition ended, and everyone except Lu Yuan was a little dejected.
Making Wensi Tofu is still too difficult for housewives.
With a mix of trepidation and excitement, Master Huang began to inspect each tofu one by one, using the standard of checking the tofu's consistency in water.
After all, if you're lying on the cutting board, you can't see exactly how it's cut.
As the contestants dropped tofu into the water one by one, a truly disastrous mess of tofu pudding appeared.
Master Huang ruthlessly eliminated every contestant he saw.
Finally, he stood before Lu Yuan, and the entire room turned its attention to him.
Master Huang glanced at Lu Yuan, who responded with a faint smile, then used a knife to scoop up the tofu and put it into the water.
In an instant, a silver chrysanthemum bloomed in the water!
Master Huang instantly understood why he hadn't heard Lu Yuan's click.
Because Lu Yuan didn't cut the tofu at all!
If you cut it, all you'll see in the water are messy, shredded tofu.
However, if you leave a base, these extremely thin strips of tofu will be held by the base and will be shaped like a chrysanthemum!
Master Huang froze, almost losing his balance.
His eyes were filled with shock; the young man's knife skills were simply too good.
If you want to test him further, you can only try him with dishes that require skillful preparation, such as deboning a whole duck or stewing a fish head.
He used to work in a big restaurant in the Jiangnan area, and he had never seen such an outrageous waiter.
Lu Yuan's good performance in these rounds of the competition is not just based on his skill in knife work.
It was a feeling of mastery and effortless mastery, a feeling he had only ever seen in his master.
His master is over 70 years old and is a master of Huaiyang cuisine.
But the young man in front of me is too young, how can he be so composed?
Could he be a master as well?
Just then, Lu Yuan suddenly reached into the bowl and scooped up the tofu.
Then pick up a kitchen knife and cut off the uncut root of the tofu in one stroke, then hold it in your palm.
The tofu strips, no longer restrained, slipped from Lu Yuan's hand into the bowl, looking just like an ordinary bowl of Wensi tofu.
Lu Yuan asked with a smile, "Master Huang, did I pass?"
Master Huang was deeply shocked. He hesitated for a long time, unsure whether he should pick up Lu Yuan's tofu to show everyone.
If it's not shown, the audience won't know whether Lu Yuan passed or not.
If the exhibition were to take place and everyone saw those breathtaking chrysanthemums, he and Jianghuai Tower would lose face.
But what he didn't expect was that Lu Yuan's vision was so grand that he directly destroyed the tofu chrysanthemum, which was like a work of art!
What he didn't know was that Lu Yuan was getting a little anxious about the competition; it was already 12 o'clock, and he hadn't bought anything yet.
He wasn't there to show off; he just wanted to get the 5% off coupon and hurry up and buy what he needed.