The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 184 - 173: Tofu (14.5 thousand extra addition due to Yun Qi’s recommendation)

Chapter 184: Chapter 173: Tofu (14.5 thousand extra addition due to Yun Qi’s recommendation)

Bai Shanbao interjected, "Her family’s stewed yams are delicious, and so is the chicken."

Clearly, he had eaten at someone else’s home before.

After having a meal at the Bai family, Manbao even brought back a plate of silken tofu.

Junior Ms.Qian and the others were seeing such a thing for the first time and gathered around curiously, "What’s this?"

Old Zhou, who knew a bit more, chuckled, "This must be tofu, made from soybeans, I hear."

"Yes, yes, tofu indeed, it’s really tasty when boiled." Manbao recited the boiling method Ms.Liu had told her, leaving it to her sister-in-law to figure out.

Touching her little belly, Manbao said, "I ate a lot of tofu for dinner today, so I won’t have any more. Sister-in-law, once you learn how to make tofu, we can eat it every day."

Being made from beans, and in the rural homes, beans were cheaper than wheat; at least everyone consistently found wheat meals tastier than bean meals, not to mention the flour ground from wheat.

Therefore, after giving it some thought, Junior Ms.Qian agreed, but then asked, "We do have beans at home, but what is this brine?"

Having eaten her fill, Manbao grew sleepy and yawned, "I’ll ask Aunt Rong for some later. Sister-in-law, for dinner, you all should also try making tofu stewed with loaches."

The Bai family had kindly moved dinner earlier today to accommodate Manbao, and now it was the usual time for other families to cook dinner. The Zhou family’s rice was already steamed, yet they hadn’t started cooking the dishes.

Junior Ms.Qian nodded and instructed Datou to take Manbao out to play, forbidding her from falling asleep just yet.

Otherwise, if she slept now, not only would she suffer from indigestion, but it was also likely she’d wake in the night.

Junior Ms.Qian had a natural talent for cooking; although Manbao had only recited the method once, she grasped it quickly and learned how to cook tofu.

At dinner, even Ms.Qian couldn’t help but eat a bit more and remarked with a nod, "This tofu is indeed good."

Manbao, sitting next to her, wasn’t eating rice, but she was eating her vegetables and immediately responded, "Does it taste like meat?"

Ms.Qian laughed, "Everything you eat reminds you of meat."

"Not at all," Manbao retorted, shaking her head and reciting, "Grandma Liu said that tofu takes the essence of the bean, tasting like meat and as nutritious as meat." She paused, suddenly curious, "Hey, if that’s the case, when I want to eat meat but have no money to buy it, can’t I just make tofu instead?"

Zhou SiLang burst into laughter at this, "Why don’t you just say you’ll sell tofu as meat? It’s made of beans; how can it be the same as meat?"

Blinking, Manbao felt he made sense, but she didn’t like the way he was laughing at her; she huffed and turned her head away, ignoring him. Then she whispered to Keke in her mind, "Keke, who’s right, Grandma Liu or Fourth Brother?"

Keke: "Ms.Liu is right."

Manbao’s mouth fell open in shock.

Keke elaborated, "Soybeans are extremely rich in nutrients, and tofu is made from soybeans. Whether it’s yellow soybeans, black beans, or white beans, all can be made into tofu. Ms.Liu was correct in saying tofu’s nutrition is comparable to meat because it has a rich protein content similar to that of meat. One could say, legumes have played a very important role in human developmental history."

Manbao was stunned to hear this; could it be that the very beans she hated eating were actually so powerful?

Keke continued, "There are many ways to eat beans, and obviously, the host’s family, to save time and effort, has chosen the most rudimentary and simple way of consuming them. They actually can be processed into many things, some of which are no less tasty or nutritious than tofu."

Her spirits lifted, Manbao inquired, "What other delicious things can be made from them?"

Three books swiftly popped up in Manbao’s mind, and Keke’s voice was full of temptation, "These are the most comprehensive three books on the topic in the library at the moment. However, I just suggested to the host to purchase this one, because it contains a large amount of research on legume foods from ancient to old times. Clearly, with the current level of technological culture you have, even if you acquired modern books describing legume food processing, you wouldn’t be able to replicate it."

So it is better to buy the primitive ones.

Manbao felt disappointed, "I have to buy a book?"

"Of course, inside there’s not just the method for making tofu, but also how to make soy milk, tofu skin, fermented tofu, and even soy sauce and soybean oil."

Manbao admitted she hadn’t heard of any of them, so she wasn’t very excited.

Keke, probably aware she was more of a visual person, searched for many exquisite images to show her, "This is tofu, this is soy milk; add a little sugar and it’s sweet, extremely nutritious, particularly suitable for female humans. From your mother to yourself, it’s perfect to have a bowl of soy milk every morning."

Then it displayed other prepared foods, making Manbao swallow several times, her eyes sparkling, before finally revealing the last two images, "Host, these are soy sauce and soybean oil. Don’t judge by their ordinary looks; according to human descriptions, adding these to cooking significantly enhances the flavor of the dishes."

Keke added, "According to my scans, in the current era of the host, animal fats are primarily used in cooking, and vegetable oils haven’t been utilized for culinary purposes yet, so this technology will be very useful to you."

Manbao was tempted, so she flipped to the back of the book to check the price and her eyes widened a bit, "Why is it so expensive?"

The book was pricier than all the others she had bought, costing sixty-two points.

Keke assured, "It will be worth it."

Manbao hesitated for a moment, thinking of the tasty foods, then reluctantly agreed, "Alright then, let’s buy it."

Spendings a significant amount of points left Manbao feeling a bit down, which, in the eyes of the Zhou family, looked like she was still angry with Zhou SiLang.

Ms.Qian thought the child was rather stubborn and was considering smoothing out her edges when Old Zhou had already given Zhou SiLang a look and smacked him on the nape, "How old are you, still quarreling with your little sister? Go apologize now."

Old Zhou was extremely displeased, "You’re eighteen already, about to discuss marriage, and still loitering around all day. Just look outside, in our village, who else your age is still fooling around catching loaches in the fields? Aren’t you embarrassed?"

Zhou SiLang protested, "You didn’t complain when you were eating those loaches just now, did you?"

Old Zhou, finding him defiant, glared and rolled up his sleeves, ready to hit him again, when Manbao finally snapped out of her discussion with Keke and saw her father about to strike her fourth brother, she laughed heartily, "Fourth Brother, you’ve annoyed Dad again!"

Zhou SiLang was incensed, "He was clearly defending you!"

"Huh, Dad, why are you defending me?" Manbao asked, puzzled.

Old Zhou: "...Aren’t you mad at your fourth brother?"

"No, I was thinking about making tofu. Sister-in-law, when are we going to make tofu at our house? After making tofu, let’s also make some tofu skin, I think tofu skin might even be tastier than tofu."

Well, it seemed she was engrossed in the thought of eating. Everyone else went back to what they were doing, minding their own business.

Now it was Zhou SiLang’s turn to sulk. He squatted beside her and grumbled, "Do you really plan to eat tofu like it’s meat?"