Chapter 114 Cooking
The kitchen in the yard is a separate single room with a gray tile roof and a chimney on the ridge of one side of the kitchen. After Cheng Wei Yao entered the kitchen, she placed the ingredients she bought in the afternoon on the table and began to look at the structure of the kitchen.
"Although the sparrow is small, it has all the organs..."
Cheng Weiyao simply cleaned the countertop and walked around the stove. The more she looked at it, the more satisfied she became. The courtyard kitchen was semi-open, with irregular vertical lattices in the windows, which not only facilitated ventilation and lighting, but also ensured that the smoke could be quickly dispersed.
The chimney above her head not only increases the fire in the stove but also removes the smoke released when the fire is lit on the stove. Cheng Weiyao really likes this.
After all, there were no range hoods in ancient times. Although she didn't care so much about skin care, she didn't want to cook in the smoke and fire.
Since it was the first time to set up a stall, he had to make a name for himself. Soon Cheng Weiyao set his sights on tea eggs and roujiamo. Roujiamo is a specialty snack from the north, which he used to test the local people's acceptance of new things. Tea eggs are a common food, which he used as a backup.
There were two pots of water in the kitchen, one for boiling eggs and the other for making roujiamo.
After boiling the eggs, she carefully selected the spareribs she had bought in the afternoon, cut the meaty parts, especially the crispy bones, into small pieces, put them into cold water, and after the water boiled for a while, she deftly fished them out.
When she was in modern times, she often thought about food from different places. She once ate a roujiamo with crispy bones. It was very crunchy when chewed and it was very unique.
I washed the meat with clean water to remove the foam, wiped it dry, and stir-fried it for a few minutes, adding hot water and other ingredients. Just as I was about to put it into the pot and simmer it on low heat, Wen Chengming came in with his sleeves rolled up: "Sister-in-law, I'm here to help!"
It takes about an hour to stew. Cheng Weiyao originally planned to take advantage of the time to work on the tea eggs. Wen Chengming happened to send them to help, so she naturally used the little labor with a smile.
"Chengming, wash your hands and help peel the eggs. Be careful not to burn your hands."
After taking the eggs out of the pot and handing them to Wen Chengming, Cheng Weiyao began to prepare the auxiliary ingredients. Since they were tea eggs, tea leaves were definitely needed. There was a bag of tea leaves in the warehouse of QQ Farm. As for bay leaves, cinnamon and so on, she bought some when she came back and added them to boiling water to boil for later use.
"Sister-in-law, is this our dinner? Isn't it a bit too much?"
Although Wen Chengming is young, he is very clever.
Knock the egg against the corner of the table with the center of the egg, press it on the table and roll it gently. After the eggshell breaks, peel a small hole first, then break the eggshell in half easily. The egg is intact and the eggshell is quite complete.
Cheng Weiyao raised an eyebrow slightly at Wen Chengming's actions. The little guy was quite self-taught. She took some rapeseed leaves and celery leaves and sat down next to Wen Chengming. "Make some more. We can sell them at the market tomorrow..."
Although she was planning to make tea eggs, if she wanted to compete with local snack vendors, she had to be different. Therefore, Cheng Weiyao actually planned to make printed tea eggs.
They are all braised eggs, and as long as the taste is good, the ones with patterns will naturally be more popular.
"Hmm...cutting patterns? I'm not good at it, but my mother and sister are experts! I'll ask them for help!"
Wen Chengming looked at the vegetable leaves he had cut, and his face frowned slightly, but he soon relaxed his brows and went outside the house with the vegetable leaves and scissors to learn from others.
Seeing the way it came and went like a little Hot Wheels, Cheng Weiyao smiled and shook her head, continuing to devote her energy to making roujiamo.
Because it was cooked directly in a wok, the meat didn't look very good after it came out of the oven. Cheng Weiyao tried a piece herself first. Hmm, it looked ugly, but it tasted quite good...
As for the steamed buns used for Roujiamo, let’s wait until tomorrow morning to bake them when we open the stall…
In the small courtyard outside, under the hands-on teaching of Wen Liyu and the Imperial Noble Consort, Wen Chengming was barely able to trim some nice patterns.
As for Wen Liyu and the Imperial Noble Consort, they were women themselves and were good at these kinds of handicrafts. By the time Cheng Weiyao brought out the eggs, there was already a pile of various vegetable leaves and patterns on the stone table.
The hollowed-out patterns are lifelike, with everything from flowers to birds and fish. Cheng Weiyao blinked her eyes. This is really impressive. If this pattern were really printed on an egg, wouldn't the price double?
"Sister-in-law, come and take a look at my haircut. I've been learning this for a long time!"
Seeing Cheng Weiyao coming out, Wen Chengming hurriedly took the freshly cut vegetable leaves to take credit, and his proud little look was like a proud little peacock.
Cheng Weiyao carefully examined Wen Chengming's work, nodded affirmatively, and praised seriously, "This free-range chicken is well-cut, very lifelike..."
After such a compliment, Wen Cheng's bright and sparkling eyes dimmed a lot. Instead, the Imperial Concubine and Wen Liyu raised their hands to cover their sleeves and smiled. Cheng Weiyao noticed something was wrong, but this was clearly a picture of chickens pecking at rice!
"Sister-in-law, is it possible that what I cut was actually a phoenix..."
"Both the leaves and the gauze need to be wet before use. Especially the gauze must be wrapped tightly, and finally tied with a thin string..."
Wen Chengming's resentful look made Cheng Weiyao blush. She quickly laughed it off and changed the subject. She organized the three of them to stick the cut vegetable leaves on the surface of the peeled eggs, and then wrapped them tightly with gauze.
After all the tea eggs were wrapped, Cheng Weiyao brought them back to the kitchen and simmered them in the cooking water for a few minutes. After picking out some for dinner, she decided to braise the remaining tea eggs in the cooking water overnight to make them absorb the color better.
Before dinner, Wen Chengyun came back. When he entered the courtyard, he heard Wen Chengming muttering, "Sister-in-law, why hasn't my brother come back yet? Dinner is almost ready..."
The dishes were already on the table, and Cheng Weiyao was stumped by Wen Chengming's question. How could she know what Wen Chengming was actually doing? After all, it was a fake marriage, not a real couple, so there was no need to report everything.
But when this question came out, Wen Liyu and the Imperial Noble Consort both cast doubtful glances. After all, Wen Chengming hadn't been seen all afternoon, and he was unfamiliar with the place. What if something went wrong again...
Six pairs of eyes were waiting for a reply, and Cheng Weiyao felt under great pressure. At this moment, a male voice as gentle as jade sounded from behind her, and a white shadow appeared beside her.
"Madam, I'm sorry for all your hard work. I made Ah Yu, mother, and my younger brother worry. It's my fault..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
