After nearly two hours of tense and busy work, the family finally reached the most crucial step in making tofu—coagulating the soy milk with gypsum. At this moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on the large vat, eagerly awaiting a miracle.
As for Shi An, the method she used was to coagulate the tofu using gypsum. As far as she knew, gypsum was not merely something used to make delicious tofu! In fact, it was also an extremely precious and indispensable traditional Chinese medicinal herb!
Precisely because of its unique and wonderful properties, gypsum had become one of the treasures in the field of traditional Chinese medicine. It could be found in large and small pharmacies alike. This seemingly ordinary substance harbored endless medicinal value and mysteries. Perhaps it was precisely this mystery and uniqueness that made it easier for Shi An to teach the Su Family how to make tofu.
The crucial coagulation stage had arrived! Shi An asked Deng Xian to dissolve an appropriate amount of gypsum powder in water to prepare gypsum water. Once the soy milk boiled, she slowly poured in the gypsum water while stirring constantly and evenly.
As the gypsum water mixed with the soy milk, a wonderful transformation took place—the originally fluid soy milk gradually grew thicker and began to curdle into pure white, tender bean curds.
Everyone was astonished, crying out in shock: "What is this? How extraordinary!" Su Shikuan was drooling so much from hunger that he violently wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve while muttering to himself: "It really is unlike anything else. I'd love to have a huge bowl of it..."
"I feel the same way," Su Daya chimed in, nodding repeatedly in agreement.
At that moment, Su Yu couldn't help asking: "Xiaoya, can we eat it now?"
Su Shirong was well-deservedly the most patient and composed of them all, but right then, even he could no longer hold back his inner curiosity and anticipation, continuously stretching his neck toward the edge of the pot, eager to get a closer look. His gaze seemed tightly glued, unable to move away from the mysterious pot for even a second, lest he miss any wonderful moment. Finally, a fresh fragrance wafted over, flowing like a clear spring through their hearts and intoxicating everyone.
Su Shirong couldn't help exclaiming: "It smells so good!" These four words not only expressed his praise for the delicacy but also revealed his anticipation for the upcoming culinary experience.
Shi An hadn't tasted bean curds in a very long time, and she eagerly nodded in response: "Of course you can, it's ready to eat!"
Seeing this, Deng Xian instinctively picked up the salt jar nearby, handed it to Shi An, and asked doubtfully: "Xiaoya, is this used for salt?"
"Well... use it as salt? Using sugar would be more..." Shi An suddenly realized that she seemed to have only ever drunk sweet bean curds in her past life, but there was no sugar to be had in the house at the moment... Oh well, she answered with a helpless sigh: "That's right, just use salt."
Su Shikuan asked with a puzzled expression: "Ah? Can we use other things instead?" By this time, he could no longer spare any attention to talking, because Deng Xian had just scooped out a large basin of bean curds and placed it on the table. She then ladled out a bowl of steaming hot bean curds for him, their alluring aroma making his mouth water. He eagerly picked up the bowl, slurping the bean curds down in large mouthfuls while snatching moments to look up at Shi An.
Shi An took a gentle sip of the exclusively salty bean curds, savoring their unique flavor. Although this taste differed from what she usually loved, it brought her a completely new experience. She smiled and said to Su Shikuan: "Next time, try making it with sugar too." Her words carried a hint of anticipation and curiosity.
"Does Xiaoya think the taste isn't quite right?" Deng Xian said. "Actually, I feel like using just salt is missing something. You all wait a moment..."
Deng walked hurriedly to the vegetable plot she had planted not long ago, squatted down, and felt around in the soil with her hand. Before long, her fingers brushed against a lumpy object, and she carefully dug it out. Then, she forcefully snapped off a small section and reburied the remaining part back into the earth.
Having finished this series of actions, Deng stood up, her gaze falling upon a few sparse scallion seedlings nearby. She walked over and plucked a few stalks without hesitation. Afterward, she hurried back into the house with these ingredients and washed them thoroughly.
Promptly following that, Deng fetched a sharp kitchen knife, skillfully minced the washed ingredients into tiny pieces, and dumped them all into the large basin filled with bean curds. Once done, she lightly dusted her hands together, seemingly quite satisfied with the fruits of her labor.
Only at that very moment did Shi An finally see clearly what was before her—it turned out that the lump her mother had dug up from the earth was actually a piece of ginger! Who could have expected such a thing?
Just by adding a little bit of scallion and ginger as seasonings, that bowl of plain, uninspiring salted bean curds seemed instantly infused with a new life, becoming unimaginably alluring and mouth-watering. The unique fragrance of scallion and ginger mingled with the rich, mellow texture of the bean curds, blending together perfectly to make the entire dish emit an indescribable, wonderful flavor.
It could be said that precisely because of these seemingly insignificant additions of scallion and ginger, that ordinary bowl of salted bean curds was thoroughly reborn, acquiring a true "soul."
Actually, there was still a final step to making tofu: scooping the bean curds into a mold, pressing them down to set, and draining away the excess water. After cooling, a fresh, tender, and nutritious block of tofu would be successfully completed!
Clearly, it couldn't be done today. First, their family lacked a mold to shape the tofu, and second, they were just trying it out in the first place, so the quantity was very small. The family had eaten a large portion of it, and the remaining bean curds in the pot were no longer enough to make tofu.
Su Yu felt the flavor was wonderful—it didn't feel like something made from the same ingredients as the bean-rice they used to eat. He asked: "Xiaoya, is this already tofu?"
Shi An replied: "Strictly speaking, it's called bean curd, not quite tofu yet."
Deng Xian asked curiously: "Not quite yet? Then how do we make it into tofu?" Ever since she started taking charge of the household these past few days, she had realized that cooking delicious food could be so much fun. Looking back at her time at the Su Family shop, what she feared most was facing the old lady's endless nagging during meals. If not for survival, she probably wouldn't even have had the desire to eat. Therefore, she would rather wake up early and toil in the fields in the dark than stay cooped up in the house.
"We need to use a tofu press to push out the water..." Shi An turned her gaze toward Su Yu. "Father, do you know how to make a tofu press?"
"Er..." For a moment, Su Yu couldn't be certain whether he possessed this skill. "Xiaoya, tell us how a tofu press is actually made."
"It's made of wood," Su Daya chimed in. "You'd need to find a carpenter for that; Father doesn't know how to make such things."