"Boss Chen, this is not right. I am an old customer after all. How can you mock me like this? This dish is very different from what I had this morning. Did you ask someone to make it for you?" The fat Chinese man said to Chen Tian angrily.
Chen Tian, who was full of expectation and confidence, was stunned when she heard these words. How could her dish be so much worse than Ye Chui's? She shuddered subconsciously, and then said angrily: "You... what do you mean by that? What's wrong with this dish?"
The fat Chinese man also realized that what he said seemed a bit too much, so he calmed down and continued: "The tofu I ate at the Chen's Hotel opposite this morning was not like this. It tasted much better than this. Chen Jiao told me that it was a new method you developed. What seasoning did you put in it... Oh, yes, it was Sichuan peppercorns. The whole dish has a numbing taste. It tastes numbing and spicy, but it is particularly delicious. In addition to the numbing taste, the garlic sprouts in it are also a major feature. They look like they are raw, but they are fried in your mouth. It's amazing... What, didn't you make that dish?"
Chen Tian's face turned pale and he shook his head: "No..."
"That's strange. There is someone in the entire Chinatown who makes tofu better than you. Is there anyone else?" the fat Chinese man asked with a strange look on his face.
Chen Tian didn't say anything, but her expression seemed to become even uglier. She had always been the best at making tofu in Chinatown, and now that Ye Chui was here, some people actually said that the tofu he made was even more delicious than hers
This made Chen Tian feel that his authority was violated!
She immediately rushed towards the opposite side in anger.
The fat Chinese man seemed to realize something and quickly put down the spoon in his hand and followed him out.
Angel followed closely behind.
When the three of them arrived at the Chen Family Inn opposite, it was evening and many people were already having meals in the small hall. In addition to Chen Family Tofu (Mapo Tofu), there were also some dishes sold in Chen Family Restaurant. Ye Chui cooked here to replace the Chen Family Restaurant opposite, so if customers ordered other dishes, Ye Chui would naturally cook them as well. As for the dishes in Chen Family Restaurant, Ye Chui had no difficulty at all.
When Chen Tian walked into the hotel, several guests were happily praising the hotel waiter.
"This dish is really good, even better than what I've had before. Tell your boss that his sister's dishes are getting better and better lately."
"I've eaten this Chen's tofu made by the lady boss across the street many times before, so I'm pretty familiar with it. But today's dish is the first time I've eaten it. The newly added condiment called Sichuan peppercorns, although it felt strange when I first put it in my mouth, I couldn't stop eating it after I got used to it. Sichuan peppercorns are really magical."
"Good, that's great."
Most of these guests are of Chinese descent, but some are native-born Americans.
Listening to these conversations, Chen Tian's expression became even worse. She yelled, "Chen Jiao, get out of here!"
"I'm coming." Tofu Xishi's voice was incredibly loud. Chen Jiao quickly came out from the back of the hotel. When he saw Chen Tian, he paused for a moment, then came up with a shy smile, "Sister, why are you here? Isn't the restaurant busy at this time? Come on and take a seat."
As Chen Jiao said this, he pulled out a chair next to him for Chen Tian.
As a result, Chen Tian kicked the chair away: "Don't give me that, what do you mean?"
"What do you mean? I don't understand what you are saying, sister." Chen Jiao said pretending to be confused.
"Stop pretending, let Ye Chui make me another plate of tofu to try!" Chen Tian seemed to have calmed down for a while. She sat down on a stool next to her and said angrily, "You're bullying me now. I want to see how delicious his tofu is!"
"Sister, don't be like this..." Chen Jiao tried to persuade his sister.
But in the end, Chen Tian glared at her, and Chen Jiao swallowed back all the words that followed: "Okay, okay, then sister, don't regret it. The tofu made by Master Ye Chui is really amazing."
After saying this for a few minutes, seeing that Chen Tian's face was getting more gloomy, Chen Jiao hurriedly ran to the back of the hotel. The fat Chinese man had already found a seat and sat down. He hurriedly shouted from behind: "Don't forget to get my share."
Ye Chui already knew that Chen Tian had come to the hotel. Han Yuyan was outside the hotel lobby at the time and saw the situation clearly. Without waiting for Chen Jiao to find Ye Chui, she ran to the kitchen and reported to Ye Chui what had just happened. Ye Chui was cooking in the kitchen, and Li Xiuyun and Tang Shanshan, who had rushed over this afternoon, were helping. After hearing Han Yuyan's report, Ye Chui laughed, "You're here so soon? That's just right."
Chen Jiao hurried in and said, "Two servings of Mapo Tofu, Master Ye Chui, I think my sister is really upset this time, and wants to taste what your Mapo Tofu tastes like, please hurry up and make it."
"Wait a moment, the two servings of Mapo Tofu will be ready soon." Ye Chui said with a smile, without any hurry.
After a while, two plates of steaming Mapo Tofu were freshly cooked. Ye Chui personally carried the two plates of Mapo Tofu out of the kitchen and came to the lobby of the hotel.
Chen Tian was sitting on a stool sulking. When he saw Ye Chui coming in, he snorted in annoyance. As for the fat Chinese man sitting on the side, he had sharp eyes. He stood up with a smile on his face and helped Ye Chui bring a plate of mapo tofu to him. He couldn't wait to enjoy it. Ye Chui put the other side in front of Chen Tian: "Master Chen, please taste this dish. How is it? Compared with your Chen's tofu."
"It's been a long time since I met anyone who challenges my Chen's Tofu in Chinatown!" Chen Tian said with a cold face.
"You are wrong. What I made is not Chen's tofu. It is called Mapo tofu." Ye Chui corrected with a smile, "This dish originated from your Chen family. The original name was Mapo tofu. The name Chen's tofu was used by your family after they came to Chinatown. As for why the name was changed, I think I can guess some reasons."
"what reason?"
“You’ll know once you eat this dish.”
Ye Chui continued with a smile, picked up the spoon and handed it to Chen Tian himself.
Chen Tian snorted again and picked up the spoon. She scooped up a spoonful of tofu and soup with an impatient look on her face and looked at it carefully. She was very angry now, but besides being angry, she was also a little nervous. Chen's Tofu was her specialty. I'm afraid no one in the world could match the effort she put into this dish. She didn't believe that anyone could beat her in this dish. She had met people who came to challenge her before, but no one could make such delicious Mapo Tofu as hers. But today was different. The previous evaluation of the fat Chinese man and the conversation of everyone in the lobby of the hotel had told her a lot of things. The dish made by Ye Chui might... really be better than her own
With this uneasy feeling, Chen Tian put a spoonful of tofu into his mouth.
Spicy, soupy, fragrant, tender, fresh...
As an expert in this dish, Chen Tian tasted these flavors first. These flavors stimulated her taste buds and were very familiar to her. Judging from these flavors alone, this dish was no worse than what she cooked. However, this feeling of enjoyment had just appeared for a short while when another flavor appeared unexpectedly.
numb.
The tongue is very sensitive to this taste. The numbing feeling quickly broke through the siege of several other tastes, landed on her taste nerves, and took the dominant position in an instant.
Chen Tian was very picky when eating this dish, so the moment this strange taste appeared, she was about to spit out what was in her mouth, judging how poorly Ye Chu's dish was cooked. But suddenly, she was caught off guard and froze.
“This taste…”
Her eyes suddenly widened.
A long, long time ago, when his father had not yet passed away, in order to become the family's signature chef, he would practice making Chen's Tofu every day, and every time he made it, he would give it to Chen Tianlai to eat.
Chen Tiancai was eight years old at that time. She couldn’t say she hated the dish her father made, but she definitely didn’t like it either. There was a certain taste in it, in particular, that made her feel extremely painful every time she ate it.
After trying the dishes again and again, she developed a strong disgust for the taste.
But suddenly, her father fell ill and passed away. There was no one left to make that tofu dish even though her cooking skills were not very good. So she suddenly began to miss the taste.
Especially the taste of the dishes that she hates.
Gradually, she even began to feel that the taste was not actually unpleasant. That somewhat strange taste was actually so refreshing, but she could never taste that taste again.
She tried hard to recall the cooking tips her father taught her, and cooked this dish again and again. She made it a representative dish of Chinatown and one of the most famous dishes. However... the taste in her memory never appeared again.
Her father's cooking skills were not as good as hers, even worse than hers. The dish of Chen's Tofu had never shined so brilliantly in his hands. However, what she missed most was the taste of the dishes cooked by her father, that strange taste that she once hated but now reminisced about.
What exactly is that smell
When she ate Ye Chui's Mapo Tofu, she suddenly remembered it.
That's the taste.
It's this numb feeling.
It's disgusting, but it gives a strange sense of refreshment. Combined with the spicy taste, it seems to greatly stimulate the secretion of adrenaline, making you feel the preciousness and beauty of food.
"Sichuan pepper..." She thought of what the fat Chinese man had said, and murmured, "So, the taste in my memory is Sichuan pepper." (~^~)