1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 125 I understand! It's a business war! (Bonus chapter for 3000 monthly votes!)
The so-called "egg-pouring tofu pudding" involves cracking an egg into a bowl, then scooping up boiling tofu pudding from a pot and pouring it into the bowl. The egg is then constantly stirred with a spoon to create egg flowers that are evenly incorporated into the tofu pudding.

Add a spoonful of chili oil, then add chopped pickled mustard greens, and top with a portion of steamed beef cut into small pieces. This makes a very authentic Emei tofu pudding.

Aunt Zhao picked up a spoon and started stirring from the bottom up, making sure that the ingredients on top were fully mixed with the egg drop soup and tofu pudding, creating a perfect balance where each ingredient was incorporated into the other.

At this point, the aroma of the steamed beef immediately wafted out with the steam.

"Gulp." Zhou Momo swallowed loudly beside her.

"Don't you like sweet tofu pudding? Why are you drooling?" Aunt Zhao looked at her with a smile.

"Hmph, I just love sweet tofu pudding!" The little guy hugged his hands and looked away.

"Slurp." Aunt Zhao scooped up a spoonful and put it in her mouth, a satisfied smile on her face. She nodded and said, "Mmm, this is the taste. It's quite authentic, exactly the same as the one I ate at in town when I was a kid."

"Sister, you're from Emei too?" The proprietress looked at Zhao Tieying with some surprise upon hearing this.

“Yes, it’s from Heishui Village, Tianjing Commune.” Zhao Tieying nodded with a smile. “Your tofu pudding is excellent; I’ve had it twice before.”

"We're from Suishan Town, we're even from the same hometown!" The proprietress, beaming with pride after being recognized by her fellow townsmen, said with a smile, "The authentic recipe is definitely top-notch! Here, let me add an extra serving of steamed pork intestines for you to try."

"Oh, big sister, no need, no need, that's enough." Zhao Tieying quickly waved her hand.

"Don't mention it, you don't need to pay extra." The proprietress placed the small steamer basket directly into Zhao Tieying's bowl, covering it with a layer of steamed pork intestines, and didn't forget to say to Zhou Miao and his son Zhou Yan, "You should also try our steamed pork intestines, the taste is really quite good."

The father and son nodded quickly.

Under the proprietress's determined gaze, Zhou Yan picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of steamed pork intestines. The intestines were an enticing amber color, glistening with oil, and coated with rice flour.

When you put it in your mouth, the soft and glutinous fatty intestines and the smooth rice noodles intertwine, making it rich but not greasy, soft and refreshing, and fragrant and mellow. It is truly quite delicious!
"Delicious! The cooking time and seasoning are just right. It's really great." Zhou Yan nodded in approval.

“I think so too,” Zhou Miao said, taking a bite of the food and agreeing.

The proprietress smiled smugly and casually asked, "Would you like a kabing? Our kabing is very fragrant, and our customers love it when filled with steamed pork intestines and steamed beef."

Aunt Zhao smiled and said, "Two, one with pork intestines and one with beef."

"Okay, I'll make them for you," the proprietress replied, happily going back to make the flatbread.

Aunt Zhao is from Emei; her hometown is at the foot of Mount Emei.

Zhou Yan's memories of her maternal grandmother's house are vague. In fact, she only went there two or three times and remembers that there were large tea gardens.

My maternal grandmother was a short, elderly woman. My maternal grandfather had passed away many years ago, and I also had two maternal uncles.

They live not far apart, but there isn't much foot traffic.

"Mom, let me try it for you." Zhou Momo leaned over, gazing at her expectantly, her big eyes filled with longing.

"It's a little spicy, you can only eat a small bite." Aunt Zhao scooped a little chili oil from the side with a spoon, wrapped it around a piece of steamed beef, and fed it to Zhou Momo.

"Mmm~" The little guy opened his mouth and took it in one bite, chewing happily, and then began: "Shh~ Shh~~ Delicious! But a little spicy!"

"Here you go, sweetie, your sweet tofu pudding." The shopkeeper brought over Zhou Momo's tofu pudding and placed it in front of her.

The tofu pudding was white and fluffy, with less than a third of it being starch paste.

This was the first time Zhou Yan had ever seen such sweet tofu pudding in Jiaozhou.

Zhou Momo also got to eat the special version; she's pretty and definitely has the looks to get noticed.

"Thank you, Uncle!" Zhou Momo called out, picked up her spoon and started eating, slurping and slurping, one bite after another, and not forgetting to look up and praise, "So sweet! So delicious!"

The boss rubbed his hands together, his smile growing even brighter.

It's okay, she's the only one who gets to sell sweet tofu pudding!

Zhou Yan and Old Zhou's tofu pudding also arrived.

Zhou Yan's portion is covered with steamed pork intestines, and this amount seems a bit much?

It almost completely covered the bowl of noodles, which was not what he expected at all.

He looked up at the proprietress next door, who had her arms crossed and looked resentful.

understood!

It's a business war!

Zhou Yan also picked up his chopsticks and first turned the tofu pudding over and stirred it from bottom to top. The special feature of Niuhua tofu pudding is that it is made with sweet potato starch as the base and a spoonful of beef soup. When the sweet potato starch is turned over, it is immediately covered with the starch paste and tofu pudding dyed red by red oil, and each soybean and steamed pork intestine is garnished on top.

Rather than calling it tofu pudding, Zhou Yan felt it was more like... tofu pudding noodles?
First, slurp up a mouthful of noodles.

The sweet potato starch noodles, coated with starch paste and tofu, are smooth and bouncy, with a rich texture and an amazing flavor!

It's spicy and savory, with a hint of vinegar and a touch of sweetness—a rather complex seasoning flavor, somewhat similar to the seasoning for cold chicken salad.

Zhou Yan ordered the extra spicy version, so the spiciness was more pronounced, but not dry; it was a fragrant spiciness. The beef broth was delicious, greatly enhancing the tofu pudding. It tasted absolutely perfect!
It tasted even better than the Niuhua tofu pudding he remembered.

I tried a piece of steamed pork intestines with rice flour. It was soft, sticky, spicy, and very fragrant. The rice flour was a bit coarser than that of the Emei School version, so the texture was slightly different. But it was delicious!

No wonder he dared to confront the Emei Sect head-on; he's an elder from the Niuhua Sect!
Zhou Yan's slurping of rice noodles sounded so enticing that even Zhou Momo, who was engrossed in eating tofu pudding, couldn't help but look up at him.

"Don't even think about it. Your husband ate the extra spicy version. You'll cry if you try one bite." Aunt Zhao ruthlessly shattered her fantasy.

Zhou Momo then turned to look at Comrade Lao Zhou.

Old Zhou hadn't mixed the tofu pudding yet. Seeing her looking over, he smiled and used his chopsticks to put two fried dough sticks into her spoon.

"Crack, click, click!"

The little guy chewed with a satisfying crunch and continued eating, completely content.

Comrade Lao Zhou also started to bury himself in eating tofu pudding.

Jiajiang style is about returning to simplicity. The classic thickened tofu pudding is mixed with toppings. After stirring, one bite reveals a delightful interplay of crispy, soft, and smooth textures in your mouth, along with a sweet, sour, spicy, and numbing flavor. Your mouth is full of toppings, making it an excellent dish.

The pizza arrived quickly.

The owner kindly cut it in half for them, so each person could eat half.

Kabing is somewhat similar to roujiamo (Chinese hamburger). The small pancake is pan-fried again, giving it a light golden-brown surface. It is then split in half and filled with steamed beef or pork intestines. It's quite plump, and when you cut it in half again, you can see the beef and pork intestines inside.

"Eat it while it's hot, and you can ask for more if you're still hungry," the proprietress said with a smile.

"Okay." Aunt Zhao replied, took half a steamed beef flatbread for Zhou Momo, blew on it, and handed it to her so she could eat it herself.

The steamed beef with rice flour has a milder flavor with a slight spiciness, which Zhou Momo likes.

Zhou Yan ordered the other half of the steamed beef flatbread.

I took a bite and found the crust of the flatbread to be soft yet chewy. Inside, it was filled with tender and glutinous steamed beef. The texture and flavor were superb, and it became more and more fragrant with each chew. It was truly delicious.

After finishing the meal, have a bite of tofu pudding – this combination is absolutely amazing!
It was a bit small, and it was all gone in two bites. I wasn't quite full.

Since it was a rare opportunity to eat in the city, Zhou Yan didn't want to just eat flatbread anymore. He glanced around and his eyes lit up when he saw the shumai shop with the "Haihuiyuan" sign.

"You guys take your time eating, I'll go buy two baskets of shumai." Zhou Yan got up and walked over there.

Jiaozhou's shumai is also a famous snack, and it should be quite different from the shumai that most people are familiar with.

Haihuiyuan is a must-eat for Zhou Yan every time he comes to Jiaozhou. The shumai has a thin skin and a large filling. Paired with a bowl of seaweed and chicken soup, it's especially comforting to eat a serving in the morning if you drank alcohol and stayed up late last night.

I never imagined that it had been open on this East Street for more than 40 years. It has two storefronts, with tall steamers stacked at the entrance, steaming hot. There are already quite a few customers sitting at the small tables inside the store and at the entrance.

This isn't even peak dining time yet, which shows how good the business is.

Zhou Yan glanced at the price list.

Fresh pork shumai: 0.35 yuan/basket; Chicken shumai: 0.35 yuan/basket; Three delicacies shumai: 0.35 yuan/basket; Beef shumai: 0.5 yuan/basket.

As Zhou Yan stepped forward, an older woman immediately greeted him with a smile and asked, "Young man, would you like some shumai?"

"Auntie, would you like two baskets of fresh meat? We'll sit over there and eat Emei tofu pudding," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

Later at Haihuiyuan, his favorite dish was fresh pork shumai. As a chef, he couldn't imagine what chicken shumai would taste like. As for beef, he had been eating too much of it lately and didn't want to eat it anymore.

"Okay, I just steamed two baskets. I'll bring them to you. I can come back and collect the baskets myself later." The auntie replied with a smile, and immediately brought down two small baskets for him. She picked them all into one basket with chopsticks, making sixteen in total, filling it to the brim.

Zhou Yan took out a dollar and handed it over. He then took the steamer, the three mao (0.3 yuan) change, and two red oil dipping dishes from the auntie's hand. He carried them back to the table and placed them in the middle.

"Wow, is this bok choy?" Zhou Momo had finished her sweet tofu pudding, and when she looked up, she saw the shumai that had been placed down, and her eyes lit up immediately.

Jiaozhou's shumai has a paper-thin, almost transparent skin, filled with plenty of meat filling. Unlike steamed buns, the shumai doesn't close up tightly; instead, it spreads out like a lotus leaf, resembling a small bok choy.

“Everyone says this place makes delicious shumai. I’ve been to Dongdajie several times, but I’ve never tried it,” Aunt Zhao said with a smile, picking one up for Zhou Momo first: “Here, have one first.”

Zhou Momo reached out and pinched the edge of the lotus leaf, exclaiming happily, "It's so pretty!"

Then he opened his mouth wide and took a bite.

The paper-thin skin burst open with a single bite, revealing a burst of juicy meat filling of tender pork and scallions. The filling, chopped into pieces, was slightly fatty, and glistening with oily juices that dripped from Zhou Momo's lips.

The little guy's eyes lit up!
One bite and it's all meat!
Soft and fluffy!
It's so delicious!

(Jiazhou Shaomai) —
PS: Extra chapter, please vote with monthly tickets! There are a lot of pictures in this chapter, mainly because they are so localized that you might not be able to imagine them, so here's a picture.

　Asking for a monthly ticket!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)