Fried stinky tofu This is a unique local snack in Jiangnan in winter.

When I was young, I would run down the street as soon as school was over. Of course, this was when I had a few dollars in my pocket.

Walking through the alley and crossing the bridge, you can smell the aroma of fried stinky tofu.

The person who sells fried stinky tofu is a thin old man with completely white eyebrows and beard. He always carries a load. The load is actually a box made of wood. The box in front contains stinky tofu, soy sauce, chili sauce and a stack of small dishes.

Plate, and a can with several pairs of chopsticks inserted in it.

A box at the back holds a small coal stove and a pot.

The old man always stands on the corner of the street, frying stinky tofu with concentration.

I have never heard his shouting, but there are always many diners who come looking for the scent and stand in a circle in front of his little load.

His stinky tofu is very distinctive. At first glance, it looks black and no different from other stinky tofu. But once it is put into the pot and then taken out of the pot, it becomes golden and fragrant, and is coated with a layer of soy sauce or chili sauce (

His chili sauce is homemade, bright red, spicy and comforting), yellow and red, really beautiful.

I took a bite carefully (because it was very hot). It was yellow on the outside and white on the inside, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It was spicy and stimulating. At this time, I was no longer eating but curling my tongue to swallow it.

The old man always only fried a few pieces at a time, and fried several pieces and sold them for a few pieces, so everyone waiting would eat alone, and the other people would pay attention to each other and give gifts.

Most of the people who eat fried stinky tofu are women and children. It's really strange. Women in Jiangnan don't eat spicy food, but when they come to this place, they all become "hot girls" and are smeared thickly with chili sauce.

There was still one more layer to apply, and the woman no longer cared about being polite. She kept eating until her lips were red, tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she was sweating hotly.

The old man just kept saying: It's so spicy that you can't stick to it, so don't eat too much.

After all, he didn't stop him.

Therefore, the old man consumes one bottle of chili sauce every day.

At that time, my father gave me fifty cents a month, at least half of which was donated to Stinky Tofu.

A piece of stinky tofu costs a penny. After eating one piece, you can have a peaceful day.

Sometimes I overspend without planning, so I restrain myself from running there, for fear that hooks will grow in my eyes.

However, at that time, as long as I accidentally sneaked in front of the old man's burden, the old man would always see everything, as if he found out that I didn't have half a penny in my pocket, and would fry the crispest and tenderest piece for me with a smile.

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I'm sorry to eat for nothing. When my father sends the money next month, I will return it to him immediately. The old man will accept it, but he will definitely fry an extra piece of stinky tofu for me.

It has been more than 20 years since I left that Jiangnan town, and I have never eaten such delicious fried stinky tofu (although I have eaten fried stinky tofu in other Jiangnan cities, but the taste always seems to be a little worse).

It always appears in my dreams, along with that thin old man with a white beard and white eyebrows whose name I don’t even know.

Meat and Bone Porridge I have only eaten meat and bone porridge once.

It was a Sunday morning in the winter in Jiangnan. My always frugal aunt suddenly proposed to take me to eat meat and bone porridge.

I was flattered and followed her closely, fearing that she would suddenly change her mind.

Follow the bluestone road, pass through the bustling vegetable market, and turn into an alley.

I saw white mist coming from a small shop in the distance, and heard the sound of an iron spoon hitting the edge of a pot.

My aunt led me into this shop, which was already packed.

Everyone was drinking this thing called meat and bone porridge, as if it was really delicious.

The proprietress led us into the inner room by the stove and said apologetically: "Let's eat here." The proprietress was a woman in her 40s with ear-length hair, meticulously tucked behind her ears with a black hairpin.

I was afraid that my aunt would run away, so I quickly took matters into my own hands and said, "Okay, okay." As a result, my aunt rolled her eyes.

"Okay, let's have a bowl of meat and bone porridge." The proprietress picked up the big iron spoon with one hand and opened the lid of the large pot with the other hand. Suddenly, a heat wave swept over the meat and bones, and the aroma of the meat porridge hit the nostrils.

She stirred the pot with a large iron spoon, filled a large bowl of porridge and handed it to me.

This bowl of porridge is off-white, the rice has been cooked until it loses its original shape, and there are a few small pieces of meat and bones dotted on the surface of the porridge.

I tasted it carefully, and yes, it was fragrant, glutinous, and sticky.

There’s really no need to “eat”, just drink.

I just stood next to the big stove, holding a big bowl, and drank the meat and bone porridge for the first time in my life.

In the end, he gnawed those few meat bones clean like a puppy.

That bowl of porridge cost my aunt 5 cents.

Later, my aunt told me that cooking meat bones is very troublesome.

First, cook the meat bones (bones with some meat attached) for a few hours, then wash out the new rice and put it in before cooking.

Don't burn it, the key is to control the heat and simmer it slowly.

Finally add salt and MSG.

Therefore, most families do not make meat and bone porridge, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive and does not require drinking.

She also warned me not to eat too much meat and bone porridge on the street, because some bosses put the bones that customers have eaten into the pot again to save money.

I don’t know if what she said is true or false.

Anyway, I have never eaten meat and bone porridge since then, not because I was afraid of being unhygienic, but because I didn’t have enough money in my pocket to distribute it.

However, I still often go to that meat and bone porridge shop, mainly because I want to see how they deal with the finished bones.

But the lady boss seemed to understand my intention, and always greeted me with a smile: "Little girl, come and have a bowl."