Chapter 63 Century Egg and Lean Pork Congee

Tang Yiyi prepared the ingredients for dinner. Soon it would be peak dining time, and many people would pass by the school on their way home from get off work. Tang Yiyi's restaurant was located opposite the school, and it was small and inconspicuous.

But some patient passersby are willing to stop and take a look at the shops on this street.

Seeing the bustling scene in the restaurant, with its warm yellow lights shining inside, I felt inexplicably drawn in.

Upon entering, one sees the menu on a small blackboard, the characters beautifully written, and the dishes are reasonably priced.

When Tang Yiyi returned from the restroom, she saw that customers had come to the store, so she quickly went back to the kitchen.

The customer ordered a beef offal and radish stew, paid for it, served himself rice, and found a seat.

After stir-frying the beef offal with scallions and ginger, put it into a clay pot, add white radish chunks and stew together. Add salt, green and red peppers, etc. later.

The range hood starts operating, absorbing the heavy cooking fumes. An incredibly strong aroma then wafts out, drifting outside.

Passersby stopped in their tracks as they walked past the restaurant and took a deep sniff.

Hmm, I've never been to this restaurant before. If the rice bowl smells this good, it must taste pretty good. Let's go in and check it out.

Grandma Li brought Lili over and found the shop packed with customers, with hardly any room to move. The customers were all engrossed in their meals, their heads down, and only their dark hair could be seen.

“Wow, so many people, Grandma,” Lili stuck out her tongue and couldn’t help but say.

"The restaurant is doing incredibly well!" Grandma Li was dumbfounded. Normally, a restaurant shouldn't have such an overwhelming flow of customers, yet Tang Family Restaurant had achieved it!

"Grandma, what are you eating?" Song Man greeted the two as soon as she saw them. Grandma Li often came over, and Song Man remembered her.

"Give me a beef offal and radish stew and stir-fried lettuce leaves."

It's a bit cold here, so I'll eat something hot to warm myself up.

"Okay, please wait a moment."

"Grandma Li, your dishes are ready."

Soon, Tang Yiyi brought out the beef offal and radish stew and stir-fried lettuce leaves.

"Yiyi, thank you," Grandma Li said with a smile.

"Thank you, Sister Yi," Lili said sweetly.

Tang Yiyi served the beef offal and radish stew in a clay pot. It was still steaming hot when it was taken out of the pot, and the aroma was irresistible. The surface of the soup was glistening with an enticing sheen of oil.

Lili deftly picked up the chopsticks with her little hands, and only then did Tang Yiyi turn around, puff out her cheeks and blow a few breaths, pick up a piece of white radish, and put it in her mouth. "Ouch, it's so hot!"

Although it was hot, the white radish was really fragrant and didn't have that strange smell.

The radish is soft and tender, requiring no chewing; it almost melts in your mouth and is also a little spicy.

"Eat slowly, Lili, no one's going to take it from you," Grandma Li couldn't help but remind her when she saw her granddaughter like this.

Lili couldn't stop talking, feeling that the white radish was not bland at all, but full of savory sauce flavor, leaving a lingering aftertaste.

It's so delicious! Lili's eyes sparkled, and she screamed with excitement inside.

"Grandma, this is so delicious, you should eat it!" Lili said, pointing to the beef offal and radish stew.

"Uh-huh."

Grandma Li picked up a piece of beef offal with her chopsticks. It tasted very tender and chewy, but perhaps because it had been stewed for a while, it wasn't too difficult to chew. It was also cleaned thoroughly, with no trace of gamey or fishy smell.

The broth is a perfect complement to rice.

Seeing the guests' reactions, Song Man felt a surge of joy; everyone loved Sister Yi's rice bowl.

Seeing her granddaughter devour her rice in a flash and then go to get more, Grandma Li silently sped up her pace.

Just as they were about to pay, Tang Yiyi came out and said, "Consider this meal on my behalf!"

"How can this be!" Grandma Li exclaimed angrily. "You should pay whatever amount is due."

"Yes, Sister Yi, I'm so full," Lili said smugly, patting her round little belly.

"I'm glad you like it. Grandma, you and Lili are welcome to come again."

Grandma Li suddenly said, "Actually, the old man was going to come too, but a friend invited him to dinner, so he ate at his friend's house instead. He didn't get to eat such delicious beef offal and radish stew. He'll definitely regret it later!"

"Grandma, should we pack one up and take it home?" Tang Yiyi suggested.

"No, no," Grandma Li quickly waved her hand, "He can't eat that well."

After the guests left, Tang Yiyi cleaned up the dirty dishes and put them in the kitchen.

Looking at the high layer of dirty dishes and utensils, the idea of ​​buying a dishwasher has come back to me.

But surely no one can clean a dishwasher that thoroughly? I'll have to wait and see.

Xiaoyu was wiping the table with a towel, very seriously.

They had hot pot for dinner that night, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

Amidst the steaming heat, they chatted, discussing everyday matters and exchanging smiles.

Xiaoyu listened quietly, sometimes laughing along and picking up his chopsticks to eat.

After finishing dinner, Tang Yiyi glanced at the time, 7:20, quickly arranged the table and chairs, and went to the kitchen.

Teacher Wang jogged over and, just before Tang Yiyi was about to close the shop, asked, "Sister Xiaoyu, are you about to close the shop and go home?"

"I was too busy today and missed lunch. I wonder if Sister Xiaoyu has cooked anything, anything will do," Teacher Wang said in one breath, feeling a little embarrassed, since she hadn't managed the time well.

"Would you like some winter melon meatball soup?" That's all we have; all the other dishes sold out long ago.

"Sure," Teacher Wang said quickly, nodding.

The meatballs are handmade and shaped, then added to a soup pot with slices of winter melon. Season with pepper and salt. Cook over medium heat for about ten minutes, then add chopped green onions before serving.

When the food was served, Teacher Wang was so hungry that her stomach was sticking to her back and her eyes were blurry.

The winter melon was thin, bright green and fresh, while the meatballs were round and full of meaty flavor, and the soup was clear and bright.

Teacher Wang couldn't wait to scoop up a spoonful of soup and drink it. The soup looked so tempting, and it tasted delicious. It also had a wonderful aroma that left a lingering aftertaste.

Winter melon is crisp and tender, very smooth, and has a unique vegetable fragrance.

The best part is these meatballs. They're incredibly chewy and become more fragrant the more you chew them, filling your mouth with the aroma of meat. You can tell they're not the kind of pre-made meatballs you'd find.

You can taste the chewy texture of the meatballs on your tongue, and they are also very delicious.

Teacher Wang quickly ate a few mouthfuls of rice, which was quite appetizing.

Before closing time, Ms. Wang finished her dinner.

He said to Tang Yiyi, "Sister Xiaoyu, thank you for cooking for me so late!"

"It's okay, Xiaoyu and I are going home."

"See you tomorrow."

I got home at 8:30.

Tang Yiyi sat on the sofa and started calculating today's accounts.

Almost all of the four dishes we prepared were sold out, and all the tea eggs for breakfast were sold out.

After counting the cash and QR code payments, the aroma of the beef offal and radish stew was simply irresistible to passersby! No customer could resist!

After deducting the cost of ingredients, she made a little over two thousand yuan. Several customers in the ordering group were dissatisfied with the food or felt that the delivery was slow and wanted a refund. Tang Yiyi refunded them a total of one hundred and forty yuan.

Tang Yiyi wrote out tomorrow's menu before taking a shower and then going to bed.

Xingguang Elementary School is holding a sports meet these days, and many families have come to watch and participate.

Therefore, business is booming on the street opposite the school gate.

His wife urged He Dong to take a few boxes of dumplings to sell at the school gate across the street.

He Dong refused without even thinking, "What if the security guards see this? There's a food stall across the street."

"You're so stubborn! Don't you know how to be flexible? When the security guard comes, you should leave right away!" His wife became more and more angry. Didn't he think about how there were so many people these days? He could sell dumplings and earn some extra money.

Tang Yiyi was unaware that the couple next door were arguing. She lifted the pot lid to check if the tea eggs inside were cooked.

"Boss, there are so many people at the school gate across the street!" Song Man exclaimed dramatically as she walked in.

"The school is having a sports meet these days," Tang Yiyi said subconsciously, something Xiaoyu had told her last night.

"Oh, I see. Then we should prepare more. After the sports meet, a lot of parents will definitely come to our street to eat."

"Uh-huh."

Tang Yiyi raised an eyebrow; she had prepared extra tea eggs today.

"We're preparing to cook some porridge to sell today."

"What kind of porridge?" Hearing this, Song Man put her bag down and asked.

"Century egg and lean pork congee".

Tang Yiyi bought preserved eggs and pork in the morning.

Rinse the rice thoroughly, dice the preserved egg, and cut the pork into small pieces.

After adding enough water to the rice cooker, add rice, preserved eggs, and diced pork, then press the start button to cook.

Liu Xiaobao didn't want to go to school today, and he cried and made a fuss, attracting the attention of many parents on the way.

Wang Juan blushed, feeling utterly humiliated.

"I'll take you to eat tea eggs, okay?" Wang Juan coaxed helplessly.

"No!" Liu Xiaobao refused for the first time.

Wang Juan was immediately exasperated. This woman was truly a troublemaker, so infuriating!

However, she still insisted on dragging Xiaobao to the restaurant.

She didn't believe that Xiao Bao would react this way upon smelling the delicious aroma of tea eggs.

As soon as Wang Juan came over, Tang Yiyi brought a pot of congee with preserved egg and lean pork to the front desk.

"Buying tea eggs?"

Wang Juan nodded. "Boss, what kind of porridge is that in your hand?"

She asked this question because she noticed that Xiao Bao was staring intently at the pot of porridge in the boss's hand.

"Freshly cooked congee with preserved egg and lean pork."

The rice in the pot had a sticky texture, the preserved egg looked soft and glutinous, and the diced lean meat was a pale pink color, making it very tempting.

"It looks pretty good," Wang Juan said directly, "I'd like six tea eggs and two bowls of congee with preserved egg and lean pork."

"OK."

Tang Yiyi took out the tea eggs from the pot, put them in a bag for the guests, and then brought two bowls. She scooped up some thick porridge with a strong rice aroma, poured it into a stainless steel bowl, and served it to the guests.

The fragrant and sticky congee with preserved egg and lean pork smelled wonderful. Liu Xiaobao opened his big eyes, leaned closer to smell it, and exclaimed, "It smells so good!"

The porridge was hot enough, but Wang Juan left it there to cool down.

After being simmered for a long time, the porridge has fine, smooth rice grains with a silky texture. The preserved egg doesn't have a fishy smell; instead, it has a faint aroma of rice.

After eating the tea egg, Wang Juan noticed that the porridge wasn't steaming, so she quickly took a spoon and drank the porridge.

The initial taste is thick and smooth, with slightly salty lean meat pieces and a bouncy, tender preserved egg, making for a perfect pairing. As you chew, a fragrant aroma fills your mouth.

In the past, eating too much preserved egg and lean pork congee could easily make one feel fishy and nauseous.

But this bowl of preserved egg and lean pork congee didn't have that feeling. It had a smooth and tender taste with a very rich texture.

Across from her, Xiao Bao had tears clinging to his eyelashes, his eyes were focused, and he was eating so heartily. Wang Juan finally showed a slight smile.

It's really not easy to coax a child.

Tang Yiyi herself tasted a small bowl of preserved egg and lean pork congee, partly because she hadn't eaten enough in the morning, and partly to try it out.

It turned out that it was cooked well and didn't turn out badly.

Snow-white rice grains, dark blue preserved egg bits, and light pink minced meat... all combined together create a visual feast.