There are many Chinese cuisine dishes that can showcase knife work.
But if we're talking about rankings, Wensi Tofu might not claim the top spot, but it's definitely among the top few!
First, prepare a piece of lactone Tofu.
The reason not to use soft Tofu is that lactone Tofu has a delicate texture and stronger resilience, making it less prone to breaking when cut.
Then, Sosuke drizzled some water on the blade of his knife.
His left hand's three fingers rested against the kitchen knife and slowly moved backward, while his right hand continuously lifted and rapidly brought the knife down onto the Tofu.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
The sound of the kitchen knife colliding with the cutting board was continuous.
Perhaps because he was cutting the Tofu too fast, it felt to Annie and Sonoka like he was haphazardly chopping!
But in reality, every one of Sosuke's cuts, in terms of speed and force, was meticulously calculated.
Finally, when he finished cutting the Tofu block, he saw that the lactone Tofu on the cutting board was still perfectly square, with no visible traces of being cut by the kitchen knife!
"That's really strange."
"He just chopped so many times, how does the Tofu still look perfectly intact?"
Witnessing this scene, Annie felt very puzzled.
As a first-class executive officer of the WGO, she had previously investigated many chefs skilled in Chinese cuisine and had seen many ways of making Wensi Tofu.
However, undoubtedly, the skill Sosuke displayed, especially this knife technique for cutting lactone Tofu, was truly unique!
...
"Next,"
"Don't blink."
"This is a moment where you can witness a miracle!"
After speaking, Sosuke gently immersed the cut Tofu block into a pot full of water.
Soon, each delicate strand of Tofu, as fine as hair, began to slowly spread out in the pot, like a small pincushion with countless bristles, or a chrysanthemum with countless petals blooming, a truly spectacular sight!
"Huh?"
"Is this Tofu threads?"
"Are... are they really that thin?"
Annie immediately covered her small mouth in shock, her eyes filled with disbelief!
The greatest characteristics of Chinese food are definitely knife work and heat control.
However, controlling the heat is actually quite easy to master, while knife work is a process of year-after-year practice, and should belong to muscle memory.
Based on her experience, knife work like Sosuke's would probably take 10 years, no, at least 15 years, to hone and perfect, right?
"Shopkeeper,"
"How old are you this year?"
Then, Annie couldn't help but raise her head and ask Sosuke.
"On the day the Izakaya opened, I just happened to celebrate my 20th birthday," Sosuke shrugged, replying without hesitation.
"20 years old?"
"And he possesses such skilled knife work?"
Upon hearing this, Annie's face instantly filled with shock and bewilderment!
...
Lately, her work had been very busy.
So, tonight she wanted to come to the Izakaya to have a drink and relax.
She truly hadn't expected the Shopkeeper of this Izakaya to be so mysterious and powerful.
Then, no longer paying attention to Annie, Sosuke continued to finely shred the washed shiitake mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, chicken breast, green vegetables, and other ingredients.
He placed the pot on the stove, scooped in carefully simmered chicken broth to bring it to a boil, then added the shredded shiitake mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, chicken breast, and green vegetable leaves, added salt, and brought it to a boil again.
Next, he took another pot.
He scooped in clear broth, brought it to a boil, then added the Tofu threads. Once the Tofu threads floated to the surface, he used a slotted spoon to scoop them out and placed them into a soup bowl.
Finally, a bowl of Wensi Tofu was completed!
Fine!
This is the characteristic of Wensi Tofu.
But the Wensi Tofu made by Sosuke was even more meticulously done to an insane degree.
"Cutting the Tofu so finely,"
"It doesn't affect the taste of the entire dish, I really don't understand you!"
Looking at the miraculous bowl of Wensi Tofu in front of her, Annie suddenly realized the problem and didn't forget to complain to Sosuke.
...
Undeniably, the purpose of knife work is to make the dish more cooked, more evenly heated, more flavorful, or to change the shape of the ingredients to affect the texture of the entire dish.
So, for stir-fries, when slicing or shredding, the thinner and finer the cuts, the faster they will cook.
For stews, because they are cooked for a long time, ingredients are usually cut into large pieces; otherwise, they would disintegrate and not be a proper dish!
In other words, knife work ultimately still needs to consider its impact on the flavor and texture of the ingredients.
Therefore, in Annie's eyes, knife work that doesn't aim to make food more delicious is just showing off.
Looking at this bowl of Wensi Tofu, besides the extremely fine Tofu cuts, which seemed to make it different from other chefs' versions, she couldn't think of how cutting lactone Tofu so finely could significantly improve its taste and texture.
"Is that so?"
"I thought you were a first-class executive officer of the WGO."
"Facing this bowl of Wensi Tofu, you would have some profound insights, but I didn't expect it to be so shallow!"
Hearing this, Sosuke merely shook his head, then his lips curved slightly, seemingly mocking Annie with this half-smile.
"Hmm?"
"Could it be that this bowl of Wensi Tofu..."
Listening to Sosuke's words, Annie didn't get angry.
She paused, then quickly scooped a tiny bit of Tofu threads with a small spoon, and then observed them with wide eyes.
"What?"
"What's going on?"
"These Tofu threads are clearly cut so finely."
"But after a high-temperature stew, they actually don't dissolve, don't break, don't soften, and don't crumble!"
Finally, as if realizing the most terrifying aspect of this Wensi Tofu dish, Annie couldn't help but be greatly astonished!
So that's it, this Izakaya Shopkeeper's skill isn't just limited to his knife work!
...
Unable to resist, Annie eagerly put a spoonful of the Tofu threads into her mouth.
The moment it entered her mouth, many thoughts instantly popped into her head.
"How does it feel?"
"Huh?"
"This..."
Facing Sosuke's question, Annie looked a bit embarrassed!
After all, she was a first-class executive officer of the WGO, yet in the end, she couldn't even discern the taste of a Wensi Tofu dish!
"I ate the first bite too quickly just now, so I didn't taste anything."
After saying that, Annie continued to use her spoon, taking another small mouthful of Tofu threads, and slowly savored it under Sosuke's gaze.
Yes!
Slowly.
Then, her brows furrowed tightly.
Hmm!
How should I put it?
The taste wasn't as amazing as she had imagined!
It felt particularly bland, even to the point of being like drinking plain water, with absolutely nothing that felt shocking!
Wait!
This melt-in-your-mouth sensation.
This feeling of every single Tofu thread quickly breaking apart in her mouth, what... what exactly is going on?
"No!"
"This feeling."
"Ah... I... I... I can't take it anymore!"
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