Chapter 308 - 176: Jiazhou’s Best Mapo Tofu

Chapter 308: Chapter 176: Jiazhou’s Best Mapo Tofu

It couldn’t be helped. You really couldn’t find this flavor back in Jiazhou.

Li the Third’s Mapo Tofu used a ground beef topping too, but his thickening technique was terrible. The tofu couldn’t hold the sauce, which greatly diminished the flavor.

The Mapo Tofu at Le Ming Restaurant was just as bad. They even used ground pork for the topping.

This Mapo Tofu made by Zhou Yan, on the other hand, looked almost identical to the one from Chen Mapo Tofu just by its appearance.

The sauce and oil glistened. Green garlic sprouts, red douban paste, and white tofu were interspersed, making for a mouthwatering sight.

The sauce was thickened to perfection, evenly coating the tofu. In professional terms, it was "bound."

It was like a shell, binding the tofu within, creating the first layer of insulation. A layer of oil on the outside sealed it, making it difficult for the tofu’s heat to escape.

Mapo Tofu is meant to be eaten scalding hot.

As a "spoon dish," the only proper way to eat it was with rice.

Huang Ying picked up a spoon and ladled a scoop into her own bowl. The oil and sauce immediately seeped into the white rice, coating it in a glistening, crimson sheen.

"Well, little lady, give that Mapo Tofu a try and tell us how it is," said the man at the next table with a smile.

The other customers nearby also turned to look at Huang Ying, their faces full of expectation.

With her chubby figure and round face, Huang Ying not only looked friendly and approachable, but one glance at her and you knew she was an authority on food.

In this day and age, you couldn’t get a figure like that without a wealthy family backing you.

Just a couple of years ago, plenty of people were still going hungry.

"Don’t you worry, sir. Just by the looks of it, this Mapo Tofu is the real deal," Huang Ying replied with a smile, picking up her chopsticks to lift a piece of tofu from her bowl.

Her chopsticks sank into the soft tofu, which trembled precariously, looking as if it would fall apart at any moment.

It wouldn’t be easy to lift this piece of tofu without a good ten years of foodie experience.

The small cube of tofu was coated in the thickened sauce and red chili oil, laden with ground beef, and dusted with Sichuan peppercorn powder. She blew on it gently before popping it directly into her mouth.

HOT!

That was the first thing her tongue felt.

Numbing, spicy, savory, fragrant, crispy, tender, and rich—each flavor made its grand entrance!

Huang Ying’s eyebrows shot up, feeling as if they were about to dance.

’This is it!’

’This is the feeling!’

’This Mapo Tofu is so authentic!’

Huang Ying shoveled a mouthful of rice into her mouth. The grains, soaked in the sauce, were savory, fragrant, numbing, and spicy. It was absolutely divine!

The sound of gulping filled the air nearby.

"Order it! Don’t hesitate! This flavor is just as authentic as Chen Mapo Tofu! It’s numbing, spicy, savory, fragrant, crispy, tender, rich, and hot—the taste is incredible!" Huang Ying turned to the man who had just spoken. "Look at the amount of ground beef in this! There’s at least a tael of beef in here, and it’s perfectly crisp and fragrant! Eighty cents a serving? Is that expensive? I don’t think so! It’s the perfect dish to eat with rice. If you don’t think so, come find me, and I’ll pay for it myself."

"You got it! I’ll have one too!" the man said, nodding with a smile. The way the young lady was eating was just too appetizing, and she was pretty entertaining too.

It wasn’t just him; the customers who had been hesitating were now all rushing to place their orders.

No wonder it cost eighty cents.

A serving of Mapo Tofu with a whole tael of ground beef!

It was an incredible bargain.

"You’re laying it on a bit thick with that expression and review. Is it really that good?" Huang Bing asked casually. He had just ladled himself a bowl of Kneeling Beef soup and saw Huang Ying eating with such ecstatic glee.

"It’s so good it’ll make you fly!" Huang Ying nodded, her tone utterly certain. "The number one Mapo Tofu in Jiazhou! No doubt about it!"

"Didn’t the Old Man say the best Mapo Tofu in Jiazhou was at our Feiyan Restaurant?" Huang Bing was skeptical.

"I blush just thinking about the Old Man saying that," Huang Ying said with a pout. "Of course, before Zhou Yan made this Mapo Tofu, he wasn’t exactly wrong. But now, it’s time to step aside."

"I don’t believe it’s *that* good." Huang Bing picked up his chopsticks and reached for the tofu.

"It’s a spoon dish. You’re supposed to use a serving spoon to scoop it into your bowl. If you break it all to pieces with your chopsticks, how is anyone else supposed to eat?" Huang Ying glared at him.

Huang Bing’s chopsticks stopped mid-air, then retracted. It wasn’t Huang Ying who came up with that rule; his old man had said the same thing.

Their family was very particular about how they ate. The Old Man wasn’t here today, but he was feeling the same pressure from Huang Ying.

Nothing for it. He’d just have to drink his soup first.

At the next table, Duan Yu Yan also eagerly ladled a spoonful of Mapo Tofu into her bowl.

When she first arrived in Rongcheng, her father had taken her to Chen Mapo Tofu. A government official was dining with them, so after taking one piece of tofu, she had been too embarrassed to take any more.

She only remembered it being numbing and spicy, and that it tasted quite good.

That one spoonful of tofu had been enough for her to finish half a small bowl of rice; it went incredibly well with it.

Today’s Mapo Tofu was served in the same type of earthenware bowl as the Kneeling Beef. It was a generous, heaping portion, and it looked quite similar to the Mapo Tofu she remembered.

She had ordered it once at Feiyan Restaurant. The taste had been decent, but it hadn’t amazed her the way the one from Chen Mapo Tofu had.

It was so different it felt like another dish entirely.

She tried to pick up a piece of tofu with her chopsticks, but it was too tender. It broke as soon as she gripped it. After two attempts, the piece had completely fallen apart.

Duan Yu Yan looked at the broken tofu in her bowl, then at the chopsticks in her hand. ’This isn’t quite what I had in mind,’ she thought.

"Use a spoon. It’s soft tofu, not easy to pick up with chopsticks," Wang reminded her with a smile.

"Okay." Duan Yu Yan picked up a clean spoon, scooped up some of the tofu from her bowl, and put it in her mouth.

HOT!

The Mapo Tofu had just been served, and it was so scalding that it made her jump. If so many people hadn’t been watching, her first instinct would have been to spit it out.

Thankfully, the scalding sensation quickly subsided. The numbing taste of Sichuan peppercorn made its entrance, followed closely by the spiciness of the douban paste. The savory flavor of the ground beef and bone broth awakened her taste buds, and the fragrance of the green garlic sprouts was released.

The "crispiness" came from the fragrant and tender ground beef, while the tofu itself was so soft it melted in her mouth with the slightest pressure of her lips.

In that single bite, all her expectations for Mapo Tofu were met and exceeded.

It was very similar to what she’d had at Chen Mapo Tofu, but there were subtle differences.

It was as if...

This version tasted even better.

It must have been a difference in the seasoning. It wasn’t as salty—it was just right.

Delicious!

The flavor and texture were absolutely perfect.

"This Mapo Tofu is really good, but you definitely need to eat it with rice. It’s the perfect dish for it!"

Putting down her spoon, Duan Yu Yan served herself half a bowl of rice and quickly shoveled a mouthful into her mouth.

The fragrant, sweet, and fluffy rice tempered the numbing spiciness on her tongue, absorbed the excess salt, and brought an unparalleled feeling of satisfaction.

’So, when paired with the right dish, even plain rice can become exceptionally delicious.’

She ladled a spoonful of Mapo Tofu over her rice. With a press of her spoon, the tofu broke apart, scattering into the rice like clumps of snow. She mixed the tofu and sauce with the rice, then scooped up a spoonful and put it in her mouth.

Duan Yu Yan’s delicate eyebrows arched, and her whole expression brightened.

’Mapo Tofu mixed with rice... this is the best way to eat it!’

P.S. (Mapo Tofu with rice.) An extra Chapter for your monthly votes!