Chapter 31 - Tofu Pudding and Pork Fried Dumplings
Ch31 – Tofu Pudding and Pork Fried Dumplings
Because he had an appointment with He Yun Yi at 10 o’clock at the Academy of Sciences, Ruan Tang got up early today. He also gave notice ahead of time regarding the earlier broadcast. After the live broadcast, Ruan Tang would go to the Academy of Sciences.
The soybeans that had been soaking overnight had completely plumped up. The two pounds of beans were soaked and turned to ten pounds. He was going to take half to make tofu pudding, and the other half would go to the Academy of Sciences. This was to let He Yun Yi help to find ways to quickly make lactone or Epsom salts.
However, just tofu pudding wasn’t enough for breakfast. After thinking about it, Ruan Tang decided to make pork dumplings as well. Flour and pork were available at home, so there was no need to purchase them on the star network.
Once the preparations were done, Ruan Tang opened the live broadcast.
It may be because the broadcast was relatively early today, but the number of viewers online wasn’t as many as during the evening broadcast. Be that as it may, there were still millions of people.
[Small transparent: Good morning to the anchor!]
[Nine Moons who is sneakily watching live broadcasts at work: It is rare for the anchor to make a broadcast so early! The working party sends a sly laugh!]
[Su Huai: I set an alarm just for this! Good morning to the anchor!]
“Good morning everyone, I am your anchor, Ruan Tang. I want to bring you tofu pudding and pork dumplings today.” He smiled and said hello to the audience.
“These soybeans were soaked yesterday, in preparation for making tofu pudding.” Ruan Tang said to everyone as he took out the soaked soybeans. “The starting steps are similar to when I made soy milk last time. For everyone doing this at home, it is best to buy the freshest soybeans from the shopping site. If you have some that have been at home for a few days, you have to throw out those beans that have already blackened.”
The things sold in the shopping site were all carefully monitored by the Academy of Sciences. They were shipped directly from the breeding center and so they were always very fresh. Ruan Tang was already used to buying new ingredients from the mall every day. In any case, intergalactic express delivery was fast and convenient.
However, even the soymilk squeezed out with a juicer will inevitably have the presence of bean dregs, it must be filtered again with the pre-sterilized while cotton cloth.
“Everyone, please pay attention. The soymilk must be boiled and cooked, otherwise there will be a bean-y flavor.” Ruan Tang poured the filtered soymilk into a large pot, boiled it three times in a row, and used a ladle to remove the floating foam.
After the third boiling, he added the appropriate amount of cold water to cool the temperature of the soymilk to around 80 degrees. He then slowly added the diluted white vinegar to the pot and stirred it with the most gentle of movements. In the absence of Epsom salt, lactones or gypsum, only white vinegar could be used to make tofu.
“If too much vinegar is put in, the tofu could become too tough.” Vinegar and water were diluted in a 1:6 ration. In this way, the tofu would have the best texture.
After a few minutes, the soymilk in the pot slowly condensed into fine bits of soft bean curd. Ruan Tang continued to heat it until the bean curds and water were completely separated. The water was then pressed out, leaving only the bean curds in the pot. The water that was pressed out wasn’t thrown away. Instead it was packed into a container. There was white vinegar in it, and after forty-eight hours, it would ferment and become a natural acidic coagulant (probably fermented whey). It could be used to create tofu later on and it would have a better texture.
Ruan Tang flattened the remaining bean curd in the pot and closed the lid. As long as it was left for a while, the tofu pudding would form.
Taking advantage of this waiting time, Ruan Tang started to knead some dough. This wasn’t the first time he has done it, so there was no longer any need to explain. He kneaded the flour and water into a dough, wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it to the side. He then started to make the dumpling filling.
Ruan Tang was making the simplest pork stuffing, so after washing the pork, he used a kitchen knife to mince the pork and then added a small amount of scallion-ginger juice. After mixing it well, he added salt and soy sauce to taste. When it was all incorporated evenly, it was done.
He deliberately left a small portion of the minced meat. Starch and light soy sauce was added to the minced meat in the bowl and mixed well. Later, it would be made into sauce for the tofu pudding.
Ruan Tang took the rested though and rolled it into a long strip. He divided it into small lumps of dough, and used a rolling pin to flatten them into dumpling wrappers. Ruan Tang deliberately left the middle of the dough slightly thicker so that it wouldn’t break easily.
He placed the pork stuffing in the middle of the dumpling skin and then folded it in half. Along the edge of the folded dumpling skin he began to pinch petal-like creases. Ruan Tang’s dumpling folding skills were very good and in minutes a row of completed dumplings were done. With plump tummies, they all looked very cute.
He took a clean pan and put in a layer of cooking oil. After the oil was heated, he put the dumplings one by one, and arranged them neatly. They were slowly being pan fried. When the bottom of the dumplings were slightly golden yellow, he added a small amount of water and covered it with the lid. He let the water boil at a high temperature, and then turned it down to let it simmer until the dumpling skin became slightly browned.
While Ruan Tang was pouring some vinegar in a dish, some viewers couldn’t hold back any longer.
[Can’t stop hugging trees: Ah, ah, it’s hot! But it’s delicious! Really tasty!]
[Miao Miao loves to eat all the dishes of the anchor: crispy outside and tender on the inside, the meat is delicious, the bottom of this fried dumpling is brittle, and it’s exceptionally tasty. I like it!]
Ruan Tang was already accustomed to the antics of these two jokesters. He poured the vinegar into the dish and placed it next to the plate of fried dumplings. “You can choose according to your own preference. You can eat it as is or dip it in some vinegar.”
Ruan Tang had always been very generous with ingredients, so these fried dumplings were all thin-skinned but fully stuffed. The bottom of the fried dumplings was crispy and brittle while the outer skin was soft and delicious, and the pork stuffing was meaty and juicy. The audience was full of praise. After dipping it in vinegar, it brought a bit of sourness and brought a whole new kind of taste.
[ID27324740: Will the anchor also draw a lottery today? ]
[Drinking plain boiled water in the middle of the night: I like this fried dumpling! I hope my luck is good today! ]
“Sorry, because I will go out in a while, I may not be able to make more fried dumplings. I’ll make more delicious food tonight and use that for the lottery, ok?” Seeing the live chat discussing the lottery, Ruan Tang explained while feeling sorry.
[Gorgeous little jingle: Oh wow, so sad! T^T]
[I don’t care if I don’t want to pay off: Oh, I’m crying, I’m gonna lay down sobbing and won’t get up until the anchor returns tonight QvQ]
[Small transparent: Oh... that’s fine then, you must promise to have a draw tonight, ok!]
[Drinking plain boiled water in the middle of the night: ( >_<)]
“Yes, there’ll be a lottery tonight for sure.” Ruan Tang appeased the audience and went to check on the tofu pudding.
At this time, the tofu pudding in the pot has almost formed.
Ruan Tang took out a clean pan and heated some oil. When it was hot, he then added the garlic and ginger, stir frying it. Next he stir-fried the minced meat and then poured in a small bowl of water. He let it boil over high heat and sprinkled salt and added some starch slurry. The pan started to fill with light brown broth and the aroma started to spread.
Ruan Tang scooped out a few slices of tofu pudding into a small bowl, then poured in some of the minced meat sauce from the pot. The broth seeped into the tofu pudding while the meat was piled on top. Finally he sprinkled some chopped green onions and a bowl of simple savory tofu pudding was finished.
“If you make it yourself, you can add toppings according to your own taste. You can add anything you like to eat.” In fact, Ruan Tang felt that it would be better with some nori seaweeds, dried shrimps, hot pickled mustard tubers and preserved eggs. But these weren’t available in this era so he could only make do with this.
[Wearing the forest and hitting the leaves: delicious, so delicious!]
[Blowing Wind : So soft and smooth, very tasty, super delicious!]
[The April turtledove flicks its feathers: Yes, the taste is really good! I might like this more than soy milk!]
The tofu pudding was very soft, and there was no way to use the chopsticks to eat it up. It could only be eaten spoonful by spoonful. The white tofu pudding simply melted upon entering one’s mouth. It had a taste different from pork skin and fatty meat, more light and fragrant. It might not be very creamy but it was tenderer, and when mixed with the rich broth and minced meat, one spoonful was so full of flavor.
When almost everyone had had a taste and the time was already past 9 o’clock, Ruan Tang said, “The broadcast ends here. See everyone tonight!”
After closing the live broadcast, Ruan Tang started to pack things up. Those soy beans that were soaked plump must be taken to the Academy of Sciences. They were ready to be used to give He Yun Yi a demonstration of the principle of making tofu. Maybe they have a way to simplify this process and make fresh tofu available for sale as soon as possible. Otherwise he would need to make it from soymilk every time. Making it would take time and be very tiring. There were also noodles, dumpling skins, wonton skins and the like. They could also be mass-produced. It was really a waste of effort to knead dough every day.
The water separated from the tofu pudding was also packed up. Perhaps it could help the Academy to research lactones and yeast. He would also discuss with them the method to produce those soybean based products like soybean paste and doubanjiang. The process to make these was simply too long and he had no intention of making these himself.
Thinking about it, there were quite a lot of things to do...
After eating his own breakfast, he put the remaining finished dumplings and tofu pudding in the preservation box and prepared to take it to the Academy of Sciences. When asking for help, you have to bring a little gift, right? With the temptation of food, maybe those researchers would become even more motivated and efficient.
Packing things into a light case, Ruan Tang logged into the star network and called a suspended car. He was ready to go.
But before he left, by curious coincidence, he grabbed a small jar of chili oil.