Making braised pork knuckle with tiger skin is not difficult, it just takes a bit of time.

The raw pork knuckle is roasted over an open flame until the skin and meat are charred. It is then soaked in warm water, and the charred skin is scraped off with a knife and washed clean, leaving the pork knuckle skin rough, uneven, and golden-brown like tiger skin.

Place the pork hock in a large pot, cover it with water, add Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, scallions, ginger, and star anise. Once the water boils, skim off the foam. Simmer over low heat until it is 70% cooked, then remove it and score both sides with a crisscross pattern to help it absorb the flavors.

Next, place the pork knuckle in a small bowl, add appropriate amounts of cooking wine, soy sauce, sugar, and salt for seasoning, and steam it in a steamer for about an hour.

Once the pork knuckle is cooked, plate it separately. Pour the broth from steaming the pork knuckle into a wok, add a suitable amount of white sugar and chicken essence, thicken it with cornstarch slurry, and pour it over the pork knuckle.

The resulting braised pork knuckle is as tender as tofu, melts in your mouth, and can be eaten with a spoon. It is fatty but not greasy, lean but not dry, with soft and chewy skin and a fresh and mellow flavor.

Xiao Yunying put the cooked pork knuckle into the steamer and began preparing the ingredients for the other dishes.

Mu Lianrong kneaded the dough beside her, and Xiao Yunying couldn't use the meat grinder from the supermarket in front of her mother, so she could only manually chop the remaining pork tenderloin with a piece of pork belly into minced meat.

"Honey, you've had a long day. You don't need to make anything fancy for dinner. Just make something simple."

"It's precisely because I've been busy all day that I need to cook something delicious to reward my parents, brother, and sister-in-law."

Aren't you tired?

"A little, but cooking for my mother makes me happy even though it's tiring."

Mu Lianrong took out the dough that had been resting for fifteen minutes and placed it on the work surface: "Your little mouth is getting better and better at talking every day, just like your little girl."

Luo Xin, who was squatting by the stove watching Luo Chen tend the fire, raised her head and asked, "Is Grandma talking about me?"

Xiao Yunying divided the chopped minced meat into two bowls, one large and one small: "Yes, Grandma said you have a sweet tongue and know how to coax people."

"Thank you, Grandma."

Mu Lianrong cut off a piece of dough, rolled it into a long strip, pinched it into small pieces, and flattened them into a disc shape with her palm: "There's nothing to thank me for."

The corners of her mouth, however, were gently upturned.

Luo Xin didn't care about Mu Lianrong's attitude. Over the past month, she had learned that although her grandmother complained about her, she actually liked her quite a bit.

Every time she asks for a hug, her grandma will hug her.

He gave his mother a bright smile and continued watching his older brother tend the fire.

Incidentally, it transforms into a hundred thousand whys: why is there fire, why fire burns people, and why fire can burn wood.

Luo Chen didn't know how to answer the question, so he coaxed the little girl to Luo Yang, who was peeling peanuts with all the Xiao family children.

Xiao Yunying picked up a clean cabbage, chopped it into small pieces using the hard back of the cabbage, and put it into the large wooden basin containing the minced meat.

Add appropriate amounts of minced ginger, chopped green onions, salt, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and peanut oil. Crack in two raw eggs and stir in one direction with chopsticks until the meat filling becomes firm.

She couldn't taste the raw minced meat, and she certainly couldn't bring herself to eat it: "Mom, can you smell it?"

"Hmm, it smells good. There shouldn't be any problem with the filling you made."

Mu Lianrong had never heard of potstickers before. Xiao Yunying taught her mother how to make them: "Just like dumplings, don't pinch the ends tightly, just pinch the middle tightly."

"Won't the filling leak out if you don't knead it before cooking?"

"Potstickers are pan-fried, not boiled, so the filling won't fall apart."

"Why don't you pinch it?"

"Once you pinch it, it becomes a pan-fried dumpling. Pan-fried dumplings are full of broth, while potstickers have a crispier outer skin."

Mu Lianrong was already used to her daughter's cooking skills, so she didn't ask any questions and quickly started wrapping the potstickers.

Xiao Yunying carried a full tray (a kitchen utensil made of sorghum stalks and used to hold noodles) to the frying pan, brushed a layer of peanut oil into the pan, and then placed the potstickers on it after the oil was hot.

Just then, Zhang came in: "Look at me, I fell asleep while sitting on the bed for a while. What are you doing, Mother? Let me help you."

Mu Lianrong didn't say anything: "You and your second son's wife have worked hard today, it's okay to take a nap."

Xiao Yunying poured flour and water into the pan until it was about a third full of potstickers, then put the lid on and said, "Sister-in-law, come and help me fry the potstickers. I'll cook the vegetables, and we'll be able to eat in a little while."

"They're here."

"Luo Yang, stop shelling the peanuts and boil a pot of water for me, not too much."

After washing her hands, Zhang took the spatula. Xiao Yunying told her that the potstickers were done when the water had evaporated and the bottoms turned golden brown.

Soaking shredded potatoes in water to prevent oxidation, then blanching them for 30 seconds after the water boils (the blanching time depends on the thickness of the shredded potatoes), and then rinsing them in cold water will make the shredded potatoes crisper.

Without green and red bell peppers, she only added appropriate amounts of salt, chicken bouillon, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, aged vinegar, and chopped cilantro.

Heat oil in a wok, add Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilies to sauté until fragrant, then pour the hot oil over the shredded potatoes and mix well.

She picked up a piece with her chopsticks and let her mother taste it. After plating it, Wang Shi arrived, and she asked her second sister-in-law to bring it to the table.

Zhang served the first batch of potstickers. Mu Lianrong had already finished wrapping the potstickers and tidied up the work surface. Xiao Yunying said, "Mother, eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, wake up Father and brother and get ready to eat."

She fried a second batch of potstickers herself, sliced ​​meat and stir-fried cabbage, had the children wash their hands, and then served the dishes and took bowls and chopsticks to the table to wait.

I put the leftover minced meat from making potstickers into the filling for making meatballs, seasoned it, and cooked a cabbage and meatball soup. I then put it in a porcelain bowl on the stove.

Wang served the dumplings to the table, while Zhang continued tending to the potstickers.

She started making sweet and sour pork herself.

Sweet and sour pork is not difficult to make either. Just slice the scallions and chop the cilantro.

If she didn't take out the carrots beforehand, then it's not necessary.

Cut the pork tenderloin into appropriately sized slices, marinate with salt and cooking wine for a while, and then coat with a batter made of equal parts starch and water.

Pour vegetable oil into a wok and heat it to 60% of its maximum temperature. Add the sliced ​​meat and remove it once it changes color. Fry it again after the oil temperature rises to make it crispier.

Leave a little hot oil in the pot, add an appropriate amount of aged vinegar, white sugar, salt, and chicken essence, and bring to a boil over high heat.

After the sauce is cooked, add the fried meat slices, shredded green onions and chopped cilantro, stir well, and remove from heat immediately.