Tofu with Pepper Stamens (continued)

"Delicious!"

"Soy milk with sweet sauce smells so good; it tastes completely different from when it's mixed with water."

"By the Beast God, how could Bitter Bean taste like this?! I've truly learned something new."

Jian Mo took two satisfied sips of soy milk. "This soy milk tastes a bit like the soy milk we have back home. Although it's still a little bitter, it tastes very good."

Ye Luo said thoughtfully, "It smells very good, but soaking, grinding, and cooking the beans is a bit of a hassle. If you didn't add sweet juice, adding some berries would probably make it taste even better."

Jian Mo exclaimed in amazement at Ye Luo's ability to apply what she had learned to other situations, "Yes, there really is such a way of drinking it."

After finishing their soy milk, someone quickly took the bowl outside to put it away temporarily, and then came back to watch.

Qing Kuo: "What's next?"

Jian Mo: "Let's filter the cooked soy milk first, yes, using the cloth I prepared beforehand."

Jian Mo has already washed and disinfected the fabric; it's ready to use now.

He tied the cloth to the wooden stick. "Just pour the soy milk in and filter it."

Two strong sub-orcs immediately lifted the soy milk and carefully poured it onto a cloth to filter it, Jian Mo placed a large basin underneath to catch it.

After filtering, everyone lifted the fabric and squeezed it hard to squeeze out as much of the slurry as possible.

They ground a lot of soybeans today, and Jian Mo them in the pot to cook, resulting in a total of eight buckets of filtered soy milk.

Looking at the slightly cooled soy milk, Jian Mo directly pulled out the salt lake water. "Next, we need to add salt lake water to the soy milk. The secret to this step is to add it while observing. You can't add too much, or it will taste bitter and be bad for your health."

As she spoke, Jian Mo took a clean spoon, scooped up some salt lake water, and slowly poured it into the bucket while stirring it.

He poured it in, and the soy milk immediately started to coagulate.

It worked!

Jian Mo perked up; having reached this point, there were basically no problems.

Jian Mo slowly poured the salt lake water, stirring it with her hands. More and more flocculent matter appeared, separating from the pale yellow water.

He didn't know what this pale yellow liquid was; it looked a bit like whey protein, but at this stage, there shouldn't be any problems.

Jian Mo directs. "Bring in the washed baskets, it looks ready."

Qing Kuo and Ye Luo immediately brought in the basket and placed an empty basin underneath it.

Jian Mo checked to make sure the bottom of the basket was completely covered with cloth, then scooped in the solidified tofu. Once it was almost full, she wrapped the tofu in the cloth, placed a wooden board on top, and then put a large stone on top.

Qing Kuo: "Is this all you need?"

Jian Mo looked at it. "Alright, that should be about right. Let it hang outside to dry. Once a drop of water drips out and the tofu inside sets, the tofu is done."

Qing Kuo: "It doesn't seem too difficult."

Jian Mo: "Yes, the steps aren't difficult. As long as you understand the principle, you can basically do it."

Qing Kuo eagerly declared, "I'll make the next batch of soy milk!"

Ye Luo then said, "I'll be second."

Min Dang chimed in, "I'd like to try too."

The remaining people realized what was happening and raised their hands, saying they wanted to try making tofu.

Jian Mo made some arrangements: eight buckets of soy milk, just enough for eight people to try.

They made a basket of tofu from a bucket of soy milk, and the tofu was ready quickly and carried out.

Water dripped from the yard, and the whole yard smelled of beans.

After the last batch of tofu was made, everyone cleaned up the kitchen and washed the tools they had used. Jian Mo took them to see the first batch of tofu that had been made.

To Jian Mo's surprise, the basket of tofu was a great success. Although it was more like soft tofu than firm tofu, it looked quite good.

Jian Mo took a sniff and felt it was the tofu smell he often smelled, with at most a slightly bitter taste.

Jian Mo turned around and showed everyone the tofu. "This is the tofu I was talking about."

Everyone crowded around to watch, while the little ones squeezed out from under the adults' feet.

Jian Mo took out a clean dagger from her back and cut off a large piece for everyone to taste. "We can eat now, have a taste?"

Ye Luo: "Eat it raw?"

Jian Mo: "Soy milk is already cooked, and I've boiled salt lake water before, so tofu shouldn't be considered raw."

Jian Mo said, popping a piece into her mouth.

Raw tofu has a slightly sweet and bitter taste, as well as a warm aroma. It's soft and tender, with a very unique texture.

If you ignore the slight bitterness, it really is the tofu that Jian Mo is most familiar with.

Jian Mo remained relatively calm, but the others couldn't stand still.

"Wow, I've lived most of my life, and this is the first time I've ever eaten this kind of food."

"If I had known earlier that beans could be made into tofu, I would have picked more last year."

"You know what, I've been trying to pick more these past few days, but I've found that the vines are full of pods when I don't pick them, and once I start picking, there aren't actually that many mature pods."

"That's true. Whenever you try to find something, it just disappears."

Jian Mo listened to their conversation. "So, how about it? Making tofu from these beans is a good deal, isn't it?"

Qing Kuo: "It's worth it, it's just a bit tiring."

Jian Mo: "Yes, that's why we usually have people who specialize in making tofu, and they exchange the tofu for other supplies."

Min Dang couldn't help but say, "Tofu is so delicious, I'd trade it for meat if you asked."

Jian Mo: "That's exactly what I mean. It's nice to change things up once in a while to improve your palate."

Qing Kuo: "How should we eat tofu? Is it okay to eat it like this?"

Jian Mo waved her hand. "Eating like this is too wasteful. I'll teach you other ways to eat it. Does anyone have any good-tasting game meat? I'll exchange some with you."

Immediately, someone in the crowd shouted, "How about Arrow-Bone Beast- Arrow-Bone Beast? My partner caught one yesterday, but we haven't had a chance to eat it yet."

Jian Mo: "Sure. Take the meat out of the Arrow-Bone Beast, chop it into small pieces, and give it to me later. I'll go cut some scallion leaves and teach you how to make pepper-stuffed tofu."