"Sichuan peppercorn?"
After hearing Ye Chui's words, Han Yuyan and Li Xiuyun hurriedly picked up some tofu and put them in their mouths. Then they realized what was going on. Han Yuyan said strangely, "That's right. It seems that they forgot to put peppercorns in this dish. How can Mapo Tofu be without peppercorns? This restaurant is too unreliable."
Han Yu and Han Yuyan followed Ye Chui and had eaten the authentic Mapo Tofu countless times. Ye Chui and Tian Xiaodu could both cook this dish, but Lin Wei liked the taste of this dish very much. She was naturally very familiar with some of the tricks of this dish. Although the "numbing" in Mapo Tofu was not the same as the numbing taste, the most important taste in this dish was "numbing".
Li Xiuyun is not as familiar with Mapo Tofu as Han Yuyan. He has eaten this dish before. Although the taste is not authentic, the spicy texture is unmistakable. It is very different from the Mapo Tofu here.
Tang Shanshan, who couldn't wait to eat a bite of tofu, showed a look of enjoyment on her face, as if to say that the famous Chen's tofu is indeed extraordinary...
It was obviously the first time for her to eat this expensive dish. She was very puzzled by the surprise of Ye Chui and the others: "This dish is delicious. I have always wanted to try it, but it is too expensive and I couldn't afford it before... Do you still think this dish is not delicious? By the way, what is the Mapo Tofu you are talking about?"
"The previous name of this dish was Mapo Tofu, a Chinese delicacy." Han Yuyan explained to Tang Shanshan, and then asked curiously, "Shanshan, is this the taste of Chen's tofu in Chinatown?"
"Of course not." Tang Shanshan ate another piece of tofu and said with great enjoyment, "This Chen's tofu is made by the boss's wife herself. It's much better than the ordinary Chen's tofu. The taste is extraordinary."
Han Yuyan and Ye Chui exchanged glances. Could it be that Chen’s tofu doesn’t contain peppercorns
This also reminded Ye Chui of why Gordon Ramsay said that the Mapo Tofu was very similar to Chen's Tofu, but also had some differences when he ate the Mapo Tofu made by Ye Chui at Man Han Lou. However, he couldn't explain the differences in detail. The numb taste was unique to Asian cuisine, so it was understandable that Gordon was not familiar with it.
"Mr. Ye Chui, which dish is more delicious, the Chen family tofu here or the Mapo tofu you make?" Li Xiuyun asked curiously.
"How can I answer this question? You have to try it to know." Ye Chui said vaguely, but the confident smile on his face seemed to explain a lot - the most authentic way to say Mapo Tofu is because of its spicy taste. The spicy taste is the most important. The reason why this dish was so popular all over the country was that the handful of Sichuan pepper in the hand of Liu, who created it, played an indispensable role.
For some reason, this dish in Chinatown lacks the "numbing" taste, which greatly reduces the original charm of this dish. Ye Chui is confident that the Mapo Tofu in his hands can surpass this dish here.
"But Master, what should we do next? How do we continue to challenge?" Han Yuyan continued to ask Ye Chui in a low voice. She looked around at the guests in the restaurant. Although she felt very excited before coming here and was indescribably excited about the challenge to Chinatown, when she really got here, Sister Han couldn't help but feel a little timid.
Ye Chui thought for a moment and said, "Let's find a way to meet with the lady boss here first."
After hearing this, Han Yuyan immediately became interested and said, "Shanshan said that the proprietress here is the famous tofu beauty. I wonder if she looks very beautiful."
"Of course the proprietress here is very beautiful, otherwise there wouldn't be so many people coming to eat her tofu." Tang Shanshan, who had focused all her attention on the plate of Mapo Tofu, still didn't understand why Ye Chui and Han Yuyan came here, but when she heard them mention the Tofu Xishi, she still took a moment to explain.
But her words are obviously too ambiguous. It seems that although this girl knows how to speak Mandarin, she seems unable to understand the profoundness of the Chinese language...
Ye Chui, Han Yuyan and Li Xiuyun were all sweating, and then Ye Chui stood up and prepared to look for the proprietress of the restaurant.
"Sir, may I ask what I can do for you?" A waiter who had just processed a customer's order immediately came over and asked.
"I want to meet your boss's wife, is that okay?" Ye Chui asked with a smile.
"You want to see our lady boss?" The waiter was slightly stunned, and was about to continue speaking, but at this moment, there was a sudden sound of pots and pans falling to the ground from the kitchen, which made all the guests who were eating in the lobby look towards the kitchen. Then they saw a man in his twenties running out of the kitchen in a hurry, his face full of panic, and a woman following behind him -
The woman looked to be about 30 years old. She was wearing a white chef's uniform and a scarf. She looked very pretty, but her cold expression was a bit daunting. Of course, what made people even more daunted was that she was holding two kitchen knives in her hands...
"Chen Jiao, stop right there! Explain what you said!" He chased the woman out and shouted, "What did you say to that guy?"
"Chen Tian, is it necessary for you to be so serious? You just told your suitor a little about your situation. At your age, do you really plan to stay single for the rest of your life?" The man, Chen Jiao, looked warily at the kitchen knife in the hand of the beautiful woman Chen Tian, and said loudly with some anger.
—The two of them spoke Mandarin with a hint of Sichuan accent, which made it understandable to Ye Chui, Han Yuyan and Li Xiuyun.
This scene obviously shocked many people in the restaurant, especially the two kitchen knives in Chen Tian's hands, which seemed to be very impressive. Sister Han subconsciously stood in front of Ye Chui. It seemed that she still had the identity of a gold medal fighter. However, her body was shaking so much that Ye Chui couldn't bear to watch it...
Ye Chui looked around. This scene surprised many people, but it seemed that most people were able to remain calm.
"This brother and sister are fighting again." Tang Shanshan said, "That woman is Chen Tian, the proprietress of Chen's Restaurant, and the one next to her is her brother Chen Jiao, who runs a hotel across the street. This brother and sister often quarrel."
"You're even using a kitchen knife..." Han Yuyan pointed at the kitchen knife in Chen Tian's hand.
"Just to scare people." Tang Shanshan seemed used to it.
The Chen siblings in the lobby quarreled for a few more words. Seeing Chen Tian waving a kitchen knife and about to rush over, Chen Jiao shouted, "Tomboy, you deserve to be single all your life," and hurriedly slipped out, wishing he could run as far away as possible.
Chen Tian, waving a kitchen knife, shouted from behind: "You bastard, don't even think about asking me to provide food for your hotel anymore!"
After Chen Jiao left, the hotel quickly returned to normal.
Chen Tian's face was still livid, and she turned around to go back to the kitchen, but at this moment a waiter suddenly walked up to her and whispered a few words. Then Chen Tian turned his head to look at Ye Chui. The waiter was the one that Ye Chui had said he wanted to meet the proprietress, and she had obviously told Chen Tian that Ye Chui wanted to see her, so Chen Tian turned around and walked towards Ye Chui.
What a beautiful woman... But Ye Chui's attention was focused on the two kitchen knives beside her.
"Sir, may I ask what may I do for you?" Chen Tian was obviously very angry, so she tried hard to put on a smile while speaking - it would have been better if she hadn't smiled, as it made her feel even more gloomy.
We are here to challenge...
The words were stuck in Ye Chui, Han Yuyan and Li Xiuyun's throats and couldn't come out.
It would be better to find a gentle time to hold the cooking competition. She was angry at the moment and obviously couldn't communicate calmly... Ye Chui quickly made up his mind, and then prepared to tell the tofu beauty with a smile that he just wanted to ask her how the Chen family tofu was made, and he had no other plans.
But before he opened his mouth to speak, Tang Shanshan, who was standing at the side, said in a very cheerful tone: "They are here to challenge the club."
Ye Chui: “…”
Han Yuyan: “…”
Li Xiuyun: “…”
Tang Shanshan obviously didn't understand the meaning of the phrase "kick out the club", but that didn't mean Chen Tian didn't know. The smile on her face disappeared immediately, her brows furrowed, and she stared at Ye Chui: "Kick out the club?"
Ye Chui turned his head speechlessly and glanced at Tang Shanshan - this girl had actually sat down leisurely, and was enjoying picking up another piece of Chen's tofu, preparing to put it in her mouth. When she saw Ye Chui's gaze, she smiled foolishly at him.
"… "
Ye Cui looked at Chen Tian again. This time he had no choice but to go ahead.
"Hello, Miss Chen. My name is Ye Chui, and I'm a Chinese chef. I came here today to experience your Chen family tofu." Ye Chui said seriously.
"Are you Ye Chui?"
Chen Tian's expression suddenly changed. She had obviously heard of Ye Chui's name and understood his intentions. She sneered, "Are you planning to challenge all the representative dishes of Chinatown by yourself and make Chinatown admit that Chinatown cuisine is derived from Chinese cuisine?"
Ye Chui nodded seriously: "Yes, Chinatown's dishes originated from China, including your Chen's tofu, which can be traced back to Chinese cuisine. If you don't believe me, we can have a competition. I will make the most original dish of your Chen's tofu."
Ye Chui's words attracted the attention of other guests in the hotel. Some of them understood the meaning of Ye Chui's words and looked at him with unfriendly expressions.
Chen Tian suddenly smiled: "Mr. Ye Chui, you want to compete with me in cooking skills, right?" Her voice suddenly increased several times, "Where do I get the time to do that! I'm not interested in Chinatown and Chinese cuisine. Chen's tofu is a dish passed down in our family. Don't think I'm afraid of you just because I'm a woman. I don't think I'll compete with you in cooking skills. Believe it or not, I'll chop you up?" (~^~)