Chapter 71: Making a Fire, Boiling Soy Milk
Besides the girls, Zhao Yanglin, He Xianfei, and Qu Feng, as well as Lin Guodong and the other villagers from Taoshan Village, were all looking forward to it.
That being the case, it was time to filter the slurry.
Li You’s method was to filter the slurry first, then boil it.
It was also possible to boil the slurry first and then filter it.
The order of these two steps could be reversed.
The different orders resulted in tofu with different properties.
Boiling first, then filtering. This order produced tofu with poor water retention, causing moisture to seep out easily. It was suitable for making firm tofu, also known as brine-curdled tofu.
On the other hand, filtering first and then boiling produced tofu with good water retention and a high moisture content, making it suitable for soft tofu.
This was the gypsum-curdled tofu that Li You intended to make.
Therefore, Li You had to filter first and boil later.
He placed a large basin under the filtering cloth to catch the soy milk.
Using a large ladle, he scooped up some of the freshly ground slurry and poured it into the filtering cloth.
He added several more scoops.
The soy milk steadily streamed through the filtering cloth.
But simply letting it drip on its own wouldn’t drain it completely.
Li You grabbed both ends of the cross-shaped wooden frame, pushing, pulling, and twisting it back and forth. More soy milk streamed out through the cloth.
Ye Shengge, Xia Xiaoyue, Yu Wei, and the other girls watched this process with fascination.
Xia Xiaoyue said enthusiastically, "Boss, can I give it a try? This looks so interesting, and it doesn’t seem to take much effort."
Li You smiled. "Of course! Go ahead."
He stepped aside, making room for her.
Xia Xiaoyue walked over and began to operate it, mimicking Li You’s movements.
After pushing and pulling a few times, she said with delight, "This really is fun."
"Xiao Yue, let me try, too."
"And me! I want to give it a go."
The girls all clamored for a turn.
Zhao Yanglin, He Xianfei, Qu Feng, Lin Guodong, and the others all watched with amused smiles.
After a flurry of activity, only the soybean pulp was left in the filtering cloth.
They poured out the soybean pulp.
Then they ladled in fresh slurry and repeated the process.
Of course, the soybean pulp couldn’t be thrown away.
This stuff could be mixed with eggs and flour to make soybean pulp patties.
They tasted pretty good.
It was a traditional folk food of sorts.
It was just that with better living standards these days, people rarely used the pulp to make patties anymore.
Li You didn’t plan on making any, either.
However, the soybean pulp could also be used as pig feed.
It had to be cooked before being fed to them, and as long as they weren’t given too much at once, it was perfectly fine.
He would have Uncle Jialiang take it back with him when he came to pick up the stone mill.
His family raised pigs.
Li You let the girls continue with the filtering while he went to find some stones to build a temporary stove.
After the filtering was done, it would be time to boil the soy milk.
Li You had originally planned to boil the soy milk in the kitchen.
But now, he had changed his mind.
He was going to build a temporary stove outside, bring a large wok out from the kitchen, and boil the soy milk right there.
He figured everyone would want to see the boiling process for themselves.
Li You was more than happy to oblige.
’Wouldn’t that be more interesting, anyway?’
There were plenty of rocks nearby. All he needed was to pick out a few of the right size to build a stove. It was very simple.
In the countryside, people always built outdoor stoves for banquets.
Li You quickly found two suitable rocks.
He carried them back.
When Li You returned carrying two rocks, Lin Guodong saw him and immediately understood his intention. He said, "Young man, are you planning to build a stove here to boil the soy milk? Is that right?"
Li You nodded.
Lin Guodong smiled. "Boiling it out here is a great idea. That way, everyone can see. Come on, young man, we’ll help you build the stove."
Li You nodded. "Thank you, Uncle Guodong."
Lin Guodong and a few other villagers from Taoshan Village went with Li You to gather more rocks.
When Ye Shengge, Xia Xiaoyue, Yu Wei, and the other girls heard they were going to build a stove and boil the soy milk right there, they were once again thrilled.
This was getting more and more interesting.
Even Zhao Yanglin, He Xianfei, and Qu Feng’s eyes lit up with renewed interest.
Indeed, it was getting more and more interesting.
Li You, Lin Guodong, and the others quickly returned with more rocks.
Now they could bring out the wok and build the stove to fit its size.
Li You went into the kitchen and brought out a large wok, about a meter in diameter.
After one look, Lin Guodong and the other men knew exactly what to do.
They began to build the stove.
The men all seemed to be experts at building stoves; their movements were smooth and practiced.
Before long, a very impressive-looking stove was complete.
Li You placed the wok on top to test it.
It was a perfect fit.
To have built a perfectly sized stove so quickly, after just a single glance at the wok.
’They really are experts,’ Li You thought.
Li You praised them, "You guys are amazing, Uncles!"
Lin Guodong and the others all smiled and replied, "It’s nothing special. Just a simple, temporary stove."
Li You gave them a thumbs-up.
Then, he went behind the shop and brought over some firewood.
By this time, the girls had finished their task.
The soy milk and the pulp were completely separated.
They had a full three large basins of pure soy milk.
And so, it was time to light the fire and boil the milk.
"I’ll tend the fire," Ye Shengge volunteered.
Li You smiled. "Alright, thank you for your help."
Ye Shengge insisted it was no trouble at all.
Then she lit the kindling and began feeding firewood into the stove.
Meanwhile, Li You poured all of the soy milk into the wok.
He stirred it from time to time to keep it from burning and sticking to the bottom.
"Even though this stove is just temporary, it draws fire really well," Ye Shengge commented.
Li You smiled. "That’s because Uncle Guodong and the others did a great job building it."
Building a stove might look simple, but it actually requires a great deal of skill.
A stove built by someone without the proper skills wouldn’t get a strong fire going, and it might even go out easily.
Lin Guodong and the others were very pleased to hear this, but they said modestly, "We can’t say it’s that good. Just average, average."
"Sister Ye, let me tend the fire for a bit. What do you say?" said Xia Xiaoyue.
"Me too! I want to tend the fire. This is basically a country-style wood-fired stove, right? I’ve never used one before. I want to try it!"
"Same here. I want to try it, too."
The girls were even competing to tend the fire.
Ye Shengge laughed. "Alright. You all can take a turn."
With that, she moved aside.
Xia Xiaoyue, Yu Wei, and the other girls all took turns.
The temperature of the soy milk rose higher and higher. It began to bubble, and soon, a large amount of white foam formed on the surface.
The white foam churned and rose.
At this point, it looked as if the soy milk was already boiling.
But in fact, it wasn’t.
This was a phenomenon known as a "false boil."
They kept the fire going and continued to heat it.
After heating it for a while longer, the white foam subsided. They could clearly see the soy milk itself rolling in the wok.
Now it was truly boiling.
After the soy milk had come to a rolling boil for a bit, Li You said, "Lower the fire a little."
"Okay, Boss," said the girl who was tending the fire.
The soy milk was already drinkable at this point.
However, it wasn’t at its most delicious yet.
He would wait for the soy milk to cool down slightly and stop boiling, then increase the heat again to bring it back to a boil.
It was only after being brought to a boil three consecutive times that the soy milk would be at its most delicious.
The same three boils were required for making tofu.
So, when the soy milk in the wok had cooled slightly and was no longer boiling, Li You said again, "More heat."
"Okay, Boss," the girl at the fire replied again.
Just like that, after three successive boils, the task was complete.
Li You took a basin and ladled some of the soy milk into it.
He intended to serve this basin of soy milk to everyone.
This was completely pure, fresh soy milk, incredibly high in nutritional value.
Plus, it tasted fantastic.
It was far more delicious and nutritious than any store-bought soy milk.
The rest of the soy milk would be used to make the tofu.
Next, it was time to add the gypsum powder, which would cause the soy milk to coagulate into tofu.
The tofu was finally about to take shape.
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