Chapter 420 - 364: This Is Top-Tier Knife Work

Chapter 420: Chapter 364: This Is Top-Tier Knife Work

Li You said, "This is a dish from Huaiyang Cuisine, a famous traditional dish from Jiangsu Province."

Ling Xiaoru said, "So it’s Huaiyang Cuisine. I think I’ve vaguely heard the name of the dish before, but I don’t know anything else about it. Since it’s Huaiyang Cuisine, it shouldn’t be spicy, right?"

Li You nodded. "Not spicy at all."

Ling Xiaoru asked again, "Is the dish complicated?"

Li You said, "Relatively speaking, this dish isn’t complicated. You could even say it’s quite simple. However, the demands on one’s knife skills are extremely high."

"How high?" Ling Xiaoru asked.

"You need to cut the tofu into fine threads. So fine they can pass through the eye of a needle," Li You said.

"Cut into fine threads? And they have to be able to pass through the eye of a needle?" Ling Xiaoru’s eyes went wide with disbelief.

’Can tofu be cut into fine threads?’

’That’s just too incredible, isn’t it?’

This was the first time Ling Xiaoru had ever heard that tofu could be cut into fine threads. It was also the first time she learned that a dish required tofu to be cut this way.

’Can that even be done?’

Li You smiled and said, "As long as your knife skills are good enough, it can be done. However, not all tofu can be shredded. Only soft tofu and silken tofu work; firm tofu won’t do."

"That’s still hard to believe," Ling Xiaoru said. "Just how good must your knife skills be to do that? It’s amazing! I never would have thought Wensi Tofu was a dish like this."

Li You said, "The demands on knife skills are indeed very high. But the cooking method is relatively simple, so I guess it evens out."

"But," Ling Xiaoru added, "isn’t there a saying that the simplest dishes are the truest test of a chef’s skill? With a simple dish, anyone can probably make it taste okay. But to make it taste exceptionally good, far beyond the ordinary, is often more difficult than making a complicated dish. Isn’t that right?"

Li You nodded. "That’s a fair point. It’s true."

"So, even though Wensi Tofu is relatively simple, making it truly delicious is very difficult. In other words, this dish not only demands extremely high knife skills, but also extremely high culinary skills," Ling Xiaoru said.

Li You chuckled and said, "You have a point there."

Ling Xiaoru giggled and added, "I do, don’t I? Boss, I’d like to try the Wensi Tofu tomorrow morning too. Is that okay?"

Li You nodded. "Of course."

"Thank you, Boss!" Ling Xiaoru was delighted. "Boss, come on, I’ll have a bowl with you."

"Haven’t you already eaten?"

"I’ve eaten, but I haven’t had a drink."

"Alright then, let’s have a bowl."

"Let’s do it!"

...

「The next day.」

At seven in the morning, Li You went downstairs, opened the shop’s door, and then started his prep work for the day in the kitchen.

At eight o’clock, Ling Xiaoru came downstairs as well.

She was up this early today because she wanted to watch Li You shred the tofu.

She still found the idea of shredding tofu utterly incredible.

So, she had to see him do it with her own eyes.

Just then, Guyi and Liu Bai arrived.

Li You and Ling Xiaoru both greeted them. "Elder Gu, Elder Liu, good morning!"

Guyi and Liu Bai both smiled in response. "Good morning, Boss Li! Good morning, Miss Xiaoru!"

Then, Liu Bai added, "Boss, can you start making the Wensi Tofu? We’re dying to eat it."

Li You smiled. "I’ll start right now. If you two elders would just wait a moment."

"Good, good."

Li You walked toward the kitchen.

Ling Xiaoru said, "I’m going to watch the Boss shred the tofu."

After saying that, she followed Li You toward the kitchen.

Liu Bai’s eyes lit up. He said to Guyi, "Old Gu, let’s go watch too. Let’s witness Boss Li’s knife skills today."

Guyi nodded. "Alright."

And so, the two of them followed along into the kitchen as well.

Li You didn’t mind the three of them watching him shred the tofu.

He placed a block of soft tofu, which he had already taken from the Storage Pavilion, onto the cutting board.

He picked up the Exquisite Kitchen Knife.

If the tofu had a tough outer skin, it would need to be trimmed off.

Otherwise, it would affect the shredding.

The tofu Li You was using was a top-quality drop from a game dungeon; it had no tough skin. So, the step of trimming it off was unnecessary.

He began shredding it directly.

The method was similar to julienning potatoes: first, you slice it, then you lay the slices flat and shred them.

Li You’s hand rose and fell with the knife, moving at extreme speed. All that could be heard was a rapid series of THWACK-THWACK-THWACK sounds.

Ling Xiaoru’s eyes widened. This was her first time watching Li You chop vegetables. As she watched his hand move up and down relentlessly, it seemed to leave afterimages.

’How fast do you have to be to create afterimages?’

It was unbelievable to Ling Xiaoru. Only today did she learn that a person’s knife skills could reach such a level.

Soon, Li You stopped. He had finished cutting the entire block of tofu.

But the tofu, which had already been sliced, didn’t fall apart. It still maintained its original shape, looking just like an uncut block.

Ling Xiaoru couldn’t believe it. This was a real eye-opener.

’So damn cool!’

She usually saw Da Bai and Xiaohai doing most of the chopping, and Li You rarely did it himself, so she had assumed his knife skills weren’t that great.

Now she knew his knife skills were incredible.

Even Guyi and Liu Bai were thoroughly amazed. They had seen many chefs with outstanding knife skills, but Li You was the most astonishing of them all.

In terms of pure knife skills, Li You was among the absolute best in the country.

The two men were filled with silent admiration.

But at this point, the tofu threads weren’t finished. This was only the first step.

Next came the second step.

He pressed the stack of tofu slices to one side and began to cut again.

The knife rose and fell, moving just as fast as before. It was still so fast that it seemed to leave afterimages.

Soon, Li You finished cutting and stopped once more.

However, the tofu on the cutting board didn’t look like threads at all. Instead, it resembled a sort of tofu paste.

’What’s going on?’

Ling Xiaoru was confused. ’Didn’t he finish cutting? Why can’t I see any threads?’

Guyi and Liu Bai smiled, signaling for Ling Xiaoru to be patient.

Ling Xiaoru nodded. Then she saw Li You slide the "tofu paste" from the cutting board into a basin filled with clear water.

He gave it a gentle swirl.

A miracle occurred.

Countless tofu threads unfurled in the water, blooming like a flower. It was incredibly beautiful!

Ling Xiaoru was dumbfounded.

’This is too magical!’

Looking at the tofu threads in the water, every single one was almost perfectly identical in thickness. They were all so fine that, without even trying, she knew they could easily pass through the eye of an embroidery needle.

’I can’t believe a person cut this.’

’This is a true eye-opener!’

Ling Xiaoru was thrilled.

Guyi and Liu Bai were once again astounded. They had seen plenty of well-cut tofu threads before.

However, compared to the threads before them now, the difference was quite obvious.

These tofu threads were truly too beautiful! It was the finest they had ever seen in their lives.

’This is the pinnacle of knife skills!’

While the three of them were marveling, Li You began the next step.

The four secondary ingredients—ham, winter bamboo shoots, chicken breast, and shiitake mushrooms—also had to be cut into fine threads.

Compared to the tofu, shredding these ingredients was far less difficult.

Although it was much less difficult, Ling Xiaoru, Guyi, and Liu Bai still watched with great fascination.

It was mainly because Li You’s speed was still so fast; watching him was inexplicably exciting.

Soon, all four secondary ingredients were shredded.

He then took two lettuce leaves and shredded them as well.

Next, the actual cooking began.

At this point, Ling Xiaoru, Guyi, and Liu Bai left the kitchen.

They had come to watch Li You shred the tofu. Now that the tofu and the other ingredients were all shredded, they wouldn’t disturb his work any longer.

They would wait in the dining area for the Wensi Tofu to be served.

After witnessing Li You’s god-like knife skills, their anticipation for his Wensi Tofu grew even stronger.

Li You continued with the process.

First, he blanched the tofu threads to remove the yellowish water and any beany taste.

Then, the shredded ham, shiitake mushroom, chicken breast, winter bamboo shoot, and lettuce were also blanched in turn.

Next, he heated a wok and added a suitable amount of chicken stock.

Chicken stock was already a staple in the kitchen, always on hand, so there was no need to prepare it in advance.

Of course, once Wensi Tofu was officially on the menu, all the ingredients would be prepped to a semi-cooked state ahead of time.

After the chicken stock came to a boil, he seasoned it with a little salt and MSG.

Once seasoned, he added the shredded shiitake, winter bamboo shoot, ham, chicken breast, and tofu, and finally the shredded greens...

All that remained was to control the heat and serve it at the right moment.

Finally, the Wensi Tofu was ready.

The waves of fresh aroma made Li You very satisfied with this first portion of Wensi Tofu.

He would bring it out for Guyi, Liu Bai, and Ling Xiaoru to taste.

Li You walked out of the kitchen carrying the Wensi Tofu.

Guyi, Liu Bai, and Ling Xiaoru were overjoyed when they saw it. It was finally ready; they had been waiting impatiently.

He placed the Wensi Tofu on the table where the three were sitting.

All three of them looked at it at once.

The various shredded ingredients floated in the broth, each a different color.

It looked incredibly beautiful!

Ling Xiaoru said excitedly, "I didn’t expect Wensi Tofu to be so beautiful."

Liu Bai smiled. "Not all Wensi Tofu is this beautiful. Only the most superb knife skills and the most exquisite cooking techniques can produce something like this. This is the most beautiful Wensi Tofu I have ever seen."

Guyi also said, "This is also the most beautiful Wensi Tofu I’ve ever seen."

Hearing this from Liu Bai and Guyi made Ling Xiaoru even more excited.

Because it meant that only Li You could make Wensi Tofu this beautiful.

Besides its beauty, they could also smell a very rich, savory aroma.

"This savory aroma is also much richer than other Wensi Tofu dishes," Liu Bai added.

This made him feel a stir of excitement.

Because without even tasting it, he knew. This Wensi Tofu would definitely be more delicious than any he had ever eaten before.

’The most delicious Wensi Tofu has truly appeared here.’

’I have to try a bite right now.’

Liu Bai could no longer resist the temptation and quickly said, "Everyone, dig in. Let’s eat first, taste it before we say anything else."

He then picked up a ladle and scooped a portion into his own bowl.

The ladle was large, able to scoop up both broth and ingredients together.

Guyi, Ling Xiaoru, and Li You also picked up the ladle and served themselves a scoop each.

Of course, Li You was going to have some himself.

To be honest, Li You had never eaten this dish before.

He had known about its existence, but had never once tried it.

Today was his first time.

He himself was also very much looking forward to the taste.

After the soup had cooled down a bit, Li You took a sip of the broth. It was savory, aromatic, and delicious.

Then, he used his chopsticks to pick up a bundle of the ingredients and put it in his mouth.

All the ingredients were soft, tender, and fragrant, melting in his mouth. It was a deliciousness that was hard to describe with words!

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