In the afternoon, Du Qi had nothing to do, so he planned to cook. The wok was ready-made, so he could use the same one he used to fry tea. Du Qi clasped his hands behind his back and acted like a little adult. He led his lackey, Liu Jian, to the kitchen at the back.
Liu Jian looked puzzled and asked, "Young Master, what are we doing in the kitchen?"
Du Qi said, "Looking for food."
"Looking for food?"
Liu Jian was even more puzzled.
The food in the residence had always been excellent, and there was even meat for lunch. There was no shortage of food, so why did the young master still want to look for food?
Liu Jian said, "Young Master, are you not full?"
"Yes, I'm not full!"
Du Qi answered directly.
Liu Jian frowned and looked puzzled. He asked, "The chef in the residence is very good at cooking, and the taste is also very good. Why is the young master not full?"
Du Qi said, "If I'm not full, then I'm not full. What else is there to say? You actually said that the taste is good. I'm afraid that even if I gave you pig feed, you'd still say that the taste is good. "
Du Qi really didn't want to complain about the lackey's taste. He put his hands behind his back and entered the kitchen not long after. The kitchen was clean, and there were some wild vegetables and mutton left. Other than that, there wasn't much other food.
Du Qi looked around, and his gaze finally fell on the only piece of tofu left.
Seeing this piece of tofu, Du Qi smiled.
For food, he would use tofu.
He took out the remaining tofu, cut it into small cubes, and soaked it in salt water. After doing all this, Du Qi began to prepare scallions, garlic, and other ingredients. Because in this era, there was no chili or bean paste, but there was a specially made dogwood paste.
This dogwood paste was specially made to replace chili before chili was introduced. With the dogwood paste, pepper powder, scallions, garlic, and other seasonings, it was already possible to make mapo tofu.
Du Qi did as he said.
He took the prepared ingredients to his courtyard. After all, the wok was in his courtyard, and there was no one in the kitchen. Nowadays, food was mainly steamed and boiled. There was no wok in the kitchen.
Just as Du Qi was about to leave the kitchen, he found a pot of rice.
This was extremely rare in the north.
After all, the food in the north was mainly pancakes, Hu pancakes, soup pancakes, steamed pancakes, and so on. Although rice was also present, it was not the mainstream. Du Qi did not expect to see rice in the kitchen. It was his favorite.
Du Qi said, "Bring the rice and two eggs."
"Yes!"
Liu Jian immediately agreed.
Du Qi and Liu Jian, one holding tofu and various condiments, and the other holding rice and eggs, went straight to their own courtyard. When they returned to the courtyard, Du Qi asked Liu Jian to bring some firewood to light the fire.
Du Qi started the fire in the simple stove, and the temperature in the pot gradually rose. To Du Qi, even though he was still young, cooking wasn't something complicated. He could do it easily.
As the temperature of the oil rose, the vegetable oil gradually became clear. It was already eighty percent hot. Du Qi first added the Dogwood sauce, chopped ginger, garlic, and a few Sichuan peppercorns.
The smell of oil and smoke was heavy, but with such stir-frying ingredients, in a short time, the fragrance had already reached the nose.
Liu Jian sniffed lightly and smacked his lips. A surprised expression appeared on his face. "Young Master, this smell is really fragrant!"
"Nonsense!"
Du Qi smelled the ingredients he stir-fried. When the ingredients were fragrant, he picked up a bowl and scooped half a bowl of water into the pot. After pouring in the water, Du Qi asked Liu Jian to add more firewood, and the fire burned fiercely.
In a short time, the pot was already boiling. The bright red chili oil boiled on the surface, and the smell of garlic and dogwood filled the air. The fragrance assailed the nostrils.
Du Qi added salt, and after adjusting the taste, he poured the tofu that had been cut into small cubes into the pot. As the soup was reduced, the taste also seeped into the tofu cubes.
Although there were no seasonings like chicken essence or MSG in this era, it was enough for Du Qi.
In the end, Du Qi added Kudzu Root Powder.
Kudzu Root Powder was similar to the sweet potato starch of the modern era. It had a sticky and lubricating effect. Kudzu Root Powder was made with Kudzu Root as the raw material.
Kudzu Root Powder had the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying when used in medicine.
At the same time, it also had the effect of making food tender and smooth. In the absence of the sweet potato starch of the modern era, Kudzu Root Powder was the most suitable ingredient for thickening.
As the Kudzu Root Starch was added into the pot, the original soup became more viscous. The bright red soup adhered to the small cubes of tofu, making the tofu more flavorful.
Du Qi grabbed a pinch of green onion and sprinkled it in. After flipping it twice, the tofu was taken out of the pot.
A large plate of tofu was taken out of the pot, and the fragrance filled the air.
The bright red color was filled with a refreshing fragrance. It could be said that the color, smell, and taste were perfect. Even if Du Qi saw it himself, his mouth and tongue would be moved. He couldn't help but take a bite.
Du Qi was not in a hurry. He still had to make the Egg-Fried Rice. If he had the Egg-Fried Rice, he would eat it with the tofu. For the current Du Qi, it was simply a heavenly life.
Du Qi asked Liu Jian to clean the wok and started to prepare the Egg-Fried Rice. As the golden egg was poured into the wok, under the hot oil, the egg was quickly formed.
Egg-Fried Rice was the best rice. It was best if it was cooked overnight.
This was the most suitable.
When the rice grains were poured in, they mixed with the golden fried egg. As the wok continued to flip, all the rice grains gradually had a trace of golden color. At this time, Du Qi poured a little water into the wok. The reason why he did this was to prevent the rice grains from becoming too dry. With this little bit of water, the rice would taste better.
Du Qi quickly seasoned the rice. When the last green onion was sprinkled in, the taste of the green onion was mixed in the rice grains. The taste of the Egg-Fried Rice was even more fragrant.
Gulp!
Liu Jian, who was at the side, could not help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.
It was too fragrant.
Logically speaking, as the family of an official, although now, the Du family was not considered a wealthy family, their food was still quite good. The Du family's food was also very good.
Liu Jian thought that the food in the residence was not bad. Even for a servant like him, the food was quite good. There was meat for every meal. But now, looking at the food cooked by Du Qi and smelling the aroma, he suddenly felt a little hungry.
Seeing Liu Jian's appearance, Du Qi immediately smiled.
His cooking was a success.
Du Qi ordered and said, "Bring two sets of bowls and chopsticks. Young Master is happy today. You can accompany him to eat."
"Okay!"
After hearing this, Liu Jian's face revealed a bright smile. Looking at the food in front of him, he already had a great appetite. Although he was full at noon, looking at the food now, he still wanted to eat.
Liu Jian ran to the kitchen. After a while, he came back with two sets of bowls and chopsticks and placed them in front of him and Du Qi.
Du Qi only cooked two bowls of Egg-Fried Rice, one for each person.
Liu Jian did not touch the bowl and chopsticks.
He could only eat when Du Qi started eating.
Du Qi picked up the chopsticks and put a piece of tofu into his mouth. In an instant, a wisp of spicy flavor permeated through the air. The tofu itself was wrapped in kudzu root powder, making it even more tender and smooth. Coupled with the aroma of garlic, all of the flavors burst forth between the taste buds.
"Comfortable! Really comfortable! "
Du Qi shook his head and praised, "I'm really a genius. This taste is amazing."
"Erlang Du, what taste is amazing?"
Suddenly, a deep and loud voice came from outside the courtyard.
Du Qi heard the voice and raised his eyebrows. This voice was somewhat familiar. Why did it sound like Li Er's voice?
In the next moment, two figures entered.
The people who came were Li Shimin and Du Ruhui. Li Shimin originally came to the residence to discuss some matters with Du Qi. After the discussion, Li Shimin thought that he heard that Du Qi was going to open a tea shop, so he came to take a look and see Du Qi at the same time.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered, he smelled a refreshing fragrance.
Li Shimin looked over and his gaze fell on the tofu and Egg-Fried Rice on the table in front of Du Qi. He said, "Erlang, what is this food? It's just past lunchtime. Why are you eating again?"
Smelling the fragrance, Li Shimin was also a little tempted.
This smell was too fragrant.
Although Li Shimin was born in the royal family and was the King of Qin in the Tang dynasty and had eaten delicacies, the fragrance of the tofu and rice made Li Shimin swallow his saliva.
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