The broth was thick, but it didn't coat the tofu.

In other words.

At this moment in the pot, the soup was soup, and the tofu was tofu.

Seeing Chen Mo lost in thought over the wok, Hou Yao knew he had also noticed the problem, and his fondness for this kid grew a little more.

It was a kind of appreciation for talent.

"The purpose of thickening the sauce the first two times is to make the broth thick, and the third time is to make the broth coat the tofu."

Hou Yao spoke eloquently, "If the first two thickenings are a combination of the starch and water, the third is a combination of starch and oil. You control the amount of oil and water well when cooking. For the third thickening, you don't need much sauce, just half a spoon is enough."

With the master's guidance, Chen Mo instantly felt a sense of enlightenment. No wonder he sometimes felt this dish tasted good when he made it at home, and sometimes it was ordinary.

Actually, it was because he didn't control the amount of oil well. Through these two thickenings, Chen Mo understood that too much water and too little oil would turn it into a paste, while too much oil and too little water wouldn't coat the ingredients. So, choosing the right timing and amount for thickening based on the real-time state of the dish is the truly profound aspect of this skill.

One cannot be rigidly dogmatic, but must think and practice more.

Scooping half a spoon of sauce, Chen Mo didn't rush to proceed, but kept waiting.

Seeing this, Hou Yao felt an impulse to take him as an apprentice. He hadn't seen a young person with such composure in many years!

When the broth in the pot thickened further, it seemed the dish was complete, but only Chen Mo and Hou Yao knew it was all surface appearances.

If you scoop out the tofu now, you'll find that the tofu and the broth are actually still separated.

And how delicious this dish will be once finished, only one person on-site knows—Mu Mu!

Holding a bowl, Mu Mu had already finished two bowls of rice and a serving of Mapo tofu, with her face turning into a steam locomotive from the spiciness, feeling like her ears were on fire.

But seeing Chen Mo make it again, Mu Mu couldn't resist wanting another serving.

Moreover, Mu Mu thought Brother Chen Mo, in her dad's kitchen, wasn't scared at all cooking among so many chefs, just like a cartoon she had watched.

So, Mu Mu took out her phone and prepared to play another tune.

The sound system was playing the end of the music.

"The funeral of roses, burying the one deeply loved

The remaining petals stop breathing, seep into the ground unnoticed~"

The sauce in Chen Mo's hand instantly poured into the pot, and unlike the previous two times, this time his movement was swift. After pouring, he grabbed a small amount of pre-cut garlic sprouts and evenly sprinkled them into the pot, adding a touch of green.

The ladle gently pushed and pulled, mixing all the ingredients and seasonings in the pot thoroughly.

It was this push-pull motion that began to integrate the third thickening of sauce with the oil. The broth, already thick, began to gently coat the surface of each piece of tofu.

As the last line of lyrics played from the sound system, Chen Mo turned off the heat and plated the dish.

He carefully served the steaming hot Mapo tofu into a shallow bowl, leaving one final step!

Sprinkling on pepper powder, then evenly spreading the remaining minced beef over the tofu's surface, finally, pouring the last bits of broth over it.

On the counter, a near-perfect serving of Mapo tofu was complete!

Sigh... Chen Mo let out a breath of relief and was about to hand the dish to the server when...

"Dun dun~ dun~ dun~ dun dun dun~"

The music ended, and a new track began.

The tune was familiar, but upon hearing it, Chen Mo was a bit stunned.

At the entrance, Fang Yuanyuan, who was peeking in, was suddenly surprised, "Ah? So he's the Little Chef of China?"

This scene was just right for twelve-year-old Fang Yuanyuan, who found it amusing and exciting.

But for twenty-something Chen Mo, it was rather awkward.

Awkward enough to make one embarrassingly scratch their foot.

Evidently, the other people in the kitchen were initially quite impressed, but when this music played, they all simultaneously felt the awkwardness.

"Serve... the dish." Chen Mo said with difficulty, looking at Mu Mu with an incredibly complex gaze.

This girl, does her mind really work?

It seems that in the end-of-year report, in the colleagues' opinions section, he'll have to write a few more words.

Unlike everyone else's awkwardness, Mu Xin now felt very envious, envious to the point of death!

Wasn't this scene before him the one he had imagined countless times while in the office?

But why was Chen Mo the one living it and not him?

Huh? In my territory, being ambiguous with my daughter, shocking my employees, feeding my customers, stealing my thunder.

Does he have any shame? Does this world still have any justice, any laws? Can't someone control this person?

Come on, come on, just give my restaurant to you, right?

Mu Xin angrily swung his arms and left the kitchen, thinking there's no way a mere Mapo tofu could make the little girl say...

Wait a minute.

Just as Mu Xin left, he saw Fang Yuanyuan holding the shallow bowl, "Hot, hot, hot, hot..."

Fang Zhizhong quickly rushed forward and took the bowl, "Hey, why are you carrying it yourself? Be careful."

"This dish mixed with my idol's song, of course, I have to carry it myself!" Fang Yuanyuan snatched the dish back from her dad, walking slowly back to the private room. As she stood at the door, she even turned her head and said, "I want a serving of hot rice."

Mu Xin had a sense of existential crisis, honestly questioning why all this was happening so nonsensically. Why did that little girl show up at the kitchen door so happily to take the dish away as soon as it was made? And asked for a serving of hot rice?

Fang Zhizhong was delighted this time, taking hot rice from the server and heading into the private room. Chen Mo also came out and, seeing this scene, knew that this, well, it worked!

However, after Fang Zhizhong entered and came out again, "Boss Xiao Chen, Yuanyuan really is willing to eat something!"

Chen Mo wiped his wet hands with a napkin, "As long as she's willing to eat. I don't think Yuanyuan is really angry. Kids, you know, sometimes they just like to fantasize."

Speaking of this, he remembered the piece of paper Yuanyuan dropped earlier, and he felt a whim to keep it to display on a big screen at her wedding one day.

Of course, this thought was not realistic given his casual acquaintance with Fang Zhizhong.

"Thanks to you, Boss Xiao Chen. How about this?" Fang Zhizhong clutched Chen Mo's arm, "There's a large table inside, join us, you and I are friends for sure now!"

With a sudden rush of rectitude!

Chen Mo's upper body tried hard to retreat, saying no, no, it's not suitable, while his lower body naturally walked with Fang Zhizhong into the private room.

"Hey, Boss Mu, Comrade Xiao Mu, care to join us?"

Mu Mu, of course, happily followed along, while Mu Xin thought about it and decided to go in too.

Can't keep getting hurt all the time, can he? It's good to take a few bites, too.

When they went in, they found Fang Yuanyuan already sipping hot steam, enjoying a bite of tofu and a bite of rice, thoroughly chowing down.

Still delightfully thinking, the funeral of roses is delicious!

Seeing the big table full of dishes, Chen Mo realized it had many Cantonese dishes he'd only seen on Douyin, raising his appetite significantly.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.