Chapter 148 - 124: I Get It! It’s a Business War
"Egg-beaten tofu brain" is made by cracking an egg into a bowl. Then, you ladle in scalding hot tofu pudding from the pot, stirring constantly with a spoon to cook the egg into delicate ribbons that mix evenly throughout the pudding.
Add a spoonful of chili oil, some chopped pickled mustard greens, and top it with a serving of steamed beef with rice flour cut into small pieces. That’s how you make a truly authentic Emei Tofu Brain.
Mrs. Zhao picked up her spoon and began to stir from the bottom up, thoroughly mixing the toppings with the egg-ribboned tofu pudding until everything was perfectly blended.
Instantly, the aroma of the steamed beef with rice flour wafted up with the steam.
"GULP." Zhou Momo swallowed hard beside them, the sound quite loud.
"Don’t you like sweet tofu brain? What are you drooling for?" Mrs. Zhao asked, looking at her with a smile.
"Hmph, I *only* like sweet tofu brain!" The little girl crossed her arms and looked away.
"SLURP." Mrs. Zhao scooped up a spoonful and ate it, a satisfied smile spreading across her face. She nodded and said, "Mm, this is the taste. It’s completely authentic, exactly like the place I used to eat at in town when I was a kid."
"Sister, you’re from Emei too?" The shopkeeper asked, looking at Zhao Tieying with pleasant surprise.
"That’s right. Born and raised in Heishui Village, Tianjing Commune," Zhao Tieying replied with a smiling nod. "You make great tofu brain here. This is my third time coming."
"We’re from Sui Mountain Town! So we’re from the same area." Beaming at the approval from a fellow local, the shopkeeper said with a laugh, "We use the authentic recipe, so of course it’s good! Here, let me add a serving of steamed pork intestines with rice flour for you to try."
"Oh, ma’am, no, no, this is more than enough," Zhao Tieying said, quickly waving her hands.
"What’s there to be so polite about? It’s on the house." The shopkeeper directly tipped the small steamer basket over Zhao Tieying’s bowl, adding a layer of the steamed intestines. She didn’t forget to tell the father-son duo, Zhou Miao and Zhou Yan, "You two should try our steamed pork intestines, too. The flavor is absolutely amazing."
The father and son quickly nodded.
Under the shopkeeper’s insistent gaze, Zhou Yan picked up a piece of the steamed pork intestine with his chopsticks. It was an alluring amber color, glistening with oil and coated in rice flour.
He put it in his mouth. The tender, chewy intestine and the soft rice flour intertwined, rich but not greasy, tender and refreshing, with a deep, mellow fragrance. It was truly perfect!
"Delicious. The Fire Control and seasoning are both just right. It’s excellent," Zhou Yan said with a nod of approval.
"I think so too," Zhou Miao agreed after trying a piece.
A proud smile appeared on the shopkeeper’s face. She then asked, "Would you all like to try a kabing? Our kabing are very fragrant. Customers love them stuffed with the steamed pork intestines and steamed beef."
Mrs. Zhao smiled and said, "We’ll have two then. One with pork intestine, and one with beef."
"You got it. I’ll make them for you," the shopkeeper replied, and happily went back to make the kabing.
Mrs. Zhao was from Emei, her old home right at the foot of Mount Emei.
Zhou Yan’s memories of his maternal grandmother’s home were vague. In young Zhou’s memory, he had only been there two or three times. He remembered vast tea plantations.
His grandmother was a short little old lady. His grandfather had passed away many years ago, and he had two maternal uncles.
They didn’t live far, but they didn’t visit often.
"Mama, let me help you taste it," Zhou Momo scooted closer, staring at her eagerly. Her big eyes were practically screaming ’I want some!’
"It’s a little spicy, you can only have a tiny bite." Mrs. Zhao used her spoon to scoop a bit from the side where there was less chili oil, picking up a piece of steamed beef and feeding it to Zhou Momo.
"AHH-OOMPH~" The little girl opened her mouth and took the bite, chewing happily. Then she started panting, "HISS... HAH... HISS... HAH... It’s yummy! But it’s a little spicy!"
"Here you go, sweetie. Your sweet tofu brain." The owner brought Zhou Momo’s tofu brain over and placed it in front of her.
It was pearly-white tofu brain, with less than a third of the bowl filled with the starchy base.
It was the first time Zhou Yan had ever seen sweet tofu brain like this in Jiazhou.
It seemed Zhou Momo was getting a special edition. Being cute really did have its perks.
"Thank you, mister!" Zhou Momo called out. She picked up her spoon and started eating, SLURP SLURP, one bite after another. She even remembered to look up and praise it, "It’s so sweet! It’s so yummy!"
The owner rubbed his hands together, his smile growing even brighter.
’It’s fine. I’ll only sell sweet tofu brain to her!’
Zhou Yan’s and Comrade Zhou’s tofu brain arrived as well.
Zhou Yan’s serving was covered with steamed pork intestines. But the portion size... seemed a bit large?
It almost completely covered the surface of the bowl, which wasn’t at all what he remembered.
He glanced up at the shopkeeper from the stall next door, who was standing with her arms crossed and a defiant look on her face.
’I get it!’
’This is a business war!’
Zhou Yan also picked up his chopsticks and began to stir his tofu brain from the bottom up. The defining characteristics of Niu Hua Tofu Brain are its sweet potato starch noodle base and a spoonful of beef broth. As he stirred, the noodles came up, instantly coated in the chili oil-stained starchy gravy and tofu curds, dotted with whole soybeans and pieces of steamed pork intestine.
’Rather than tofu brain,’ Zhou Yan thought, ’it’s more like... tofu brain noodles?’
He started by slurping up some noodles.
The sweet potato starch noodles, coated in the gravy and tofu curds, were both slippery and springy. The texture was complex, and the flavor was incredible!
Numbing, spicy, savory, and fragrant, with a hint of vinegar and a touch of sweetness—it was a truly complex flavor profile, reminiscent of the seasoning for a cold-dressed chicken.
Zhou Yan had ordered his extra spicy, so the heat was more pronounced. But it wasn’t a dry heat; it was a fragrant spiciness. The savory beef broth elevated the entire bowl.
’The taste is spot on!’
It was even better than the Niu Hua Tofu Brain he remembered.
He tried a piece of the steamed pork intestine. It was tender, fragrant, and spicy, especially aromatic when chewed. The rice flour granules were a bit coarser than those of the Emei Sect, giving it a slightly different texture. Both were delicious!
’No wonder they dare to go head-to-head with the Emei Sect. Turns out, this is the work of an elder from the Niu Hua Sect!’
Zhou Yan’s slurping was so tempting that even Zhou Momo, who was engrossed in her own tofu brain, couldn’t help but look up at him.
"Don’t even think about it. Your Brother’s is extra spicy. One taste and you’ll be crying," Mrs. Zhao said, mercilessly shattering her fantasy.
Zhou Momo turned to look at Comrade Zhou instead.
Comrade Zhou hadn’t mixed his tofu brain yet. Seeing her look over, he smiled and used his chopsticks to place two fried dough twists in her spoon.
"CRUNCH CRUNCH!"
The little girl’s teeth made a satisfyingly crisp sound as she chewed, and she contentedly went back to eating.
Comrade Zhou also began to dig into his tofu brain.
The Jiajiang Sect style was a return to basics: the classic starchy gravy and tofu curds with toppings. Once mixed, a single bite offered an interplay of crispy, chewy, and smooth textures in the mouth, as the sour, sweet, numbing, and spicy flavors made their grand entrance. Every mouthful was full of ingredients, and it was also extremely good.
The kabing also arrived quickly.
The owner had thoughtfully cut them in half, so each person could have a piece.
The kabing was a bit like a *roujiamo*. A small flatbread was pan-fried again until its surface turned a light golden brown, then split open and stuffed full of either steamed beef or steamed pork intestines. It was plump and round, and the cut down the middle revealed the generous filling of beef and intestines.
"Eat them while they’re hot. If it’s not enough, just ask for more," the shopkeeper said with a smile.
"Will do," Mrs. Zhao replied. She took half of the beef kabing for Zhou Momo, blew on it to cool it down, and then handed it to her to eat on her own.
The steamed beef was milder in flavor, with just a slight hint of spiciness, which Zhou Momo loved.
Zhou Yan took the other half of the beef kabing.
He finished half of it in one bite. The kabing’s skin was soft yet resilient. The bite was filled with the tender steamed beef, a perfect combination of texture and flavor. It became more fragrant the more he chewed. It was truly delicious.
Following it up with a mouthful of tofu brain—the combination was divine!
It was just a little small; he’d polished it off in two bites and still felt a bit hungry.
It was a rare meal in the city, so Zhou Yan didn’t want to fill up on just kabing. He glanced around and his eyes lit up when he saw a shumai shop with a sign that read ’Haihuiyuan’.
"You guys take your time eating, I’m going to go buy two steamers of shumai," Zhou Yan said, getting up and walking over.
Jiazhou’s shumai was another famous local snack, and it was quite different from the shumai most people imagined.
Haihuiyuan was a must-eat for Zhou Yan whenever he came to Jiazhou. Their shumai had thin wrappers and generous fillings. Paired with a bowl of kelp and chicken soup, it was an especially comforting meal in the morning after a night of drinking and staying up late.
He hadn’t expected it to have been open here on East Main Street for over forty years. It occupied two storefronts, with tall stacks of steaming bamboo baskets at the entrance. The shop and the small tables outside were already filled with customers.
It wasn’t even peak mealtime yet, which just went to show how good business was.
Zhou Yan glanced at the price list.
Fresh Pork Shumai: 0.35 yuan/steamer; Chicken Shumai: 0.35 yuan/steamer; Three-Delicacy Shumai: 0.35 yuan/steamer; Beef Shumai: 0.50 yuan/steamer.
Zhou Yan walked up, and an auntie immediately asked with a smile, "Young man, here for some shumai?"
"Auntie, I’ll have two steamers of fresh pork, please. We’re sitting over there at the Emei Tofu Brain stall," Zhou Yan said with a smile.
In the future Haihuiyuan, his favorite was always the fresh pork shumai. As a Chef, he simply couldn’t imagine what chicken shumai would taste like. As for beef, he had been eating far too much of it lately and didn’t want any more.
"You got it. Two steamers just came out. I’ll bring them over for you, and I can come get the baskets myself later," the auntie replied with a smile. She immediately took down two small steamer baskets, and with a few quick movements of her chopsticks, she transferred all sixteen shumai into one basket, filling it to the brim.
Zhou Yan took out a one-yuan bill and handed it over. He took the steamer basket, his 30 cents in change, and two small dishes of chili oil dip from the auntie, then carried it all back to the table and placed it in the middle.
"Wow, are those little bok choy?" Zhou Momo had already finished her sweet tofu brain. She looked up just as the shumai were set down, and her eyes instantly lit up.
Jiazhou’s shumai had wrappers as thin as paper, almost transparent, encasing a generous meat filling. The top wasn’t gathered conservatively like a bun, but fanned out into a frilly edge like a lotus leaf, making it look like a small bok choy.
"Everyone says the shumai from this place is delicious. I’ve been to East Main Street a few times but never tried it," Mrs. Zhao said with a smile. She picked one up for Zhou Momo first. "Here, you have one first."
Zhou Momo reached out and pinched the lotus-leaf edge, exclaiming with delight, "It’s so pretty!"
Then she opened her mouth wide and took a bite.
The paper-thin wrapper gave way instantly, and the juices burst out. Inside was a savory filling of pork and green onion, hand-chopped to include a bit of fat. Glistening, savory juice trickled down the corner of Zhou Momo’s mouth.
The little girl’s eyes lit up!
’The whole bite was full of meat!’
’So soft, so tender!’
’So yummy!’
(Jiazhou Shumai)
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PS: Extra Chapter for monthly tickets! This Chapter had a lot of images because the food is very regional, and I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to picture it without a visual aid.