Chapter 92 Chapter 92 Egg Yolk Pastry. (First update)...
The next morning, Linzhi got up and went into the kitchen first. She took out the red beans that she had soaked the previous night, picked up one and pinched it with her fingers. After making sure that it was in good condition, she poured it into the casserole and then placed it on the small stove.
Add water and bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off any foam. Once the water is boiling, adjust the heat to keep the water just barely simmering, and simmer gently. Finally, add a small spoonful of salt.
This small spoonful of salt is not for adjusting the taste, but to speed up the softening of the red beans and make them taste better.
Linzhi estimated the time, turned around, made two kinds of dough, covered them with lids and set them aside to rise.
He turned around to brush his teeth and wash his face, and knocked on his parents' door next door to indicate that he was going to start preparing breakfast.
"I don't care if it's cold."
"Okay, okay, get up!" Song Jiaoniang's voice was raised in the room. It sounded like she was trying hard, but in fact, as soon as she finished speaking, she pulled the quilt over her head, intending to escape reality.
Lin Sen also lay there, unwilling to get up, while at the same time pondering the issue: "Have we been too decadent lately? Will we be able to get back on our feet in business later?"
Song Jiaoniang was buried in the warm quilt, not wanting to move. Hearing this, she raised her foot and kicked Lin Sen out of the quilt and off the bed: "Then go wash up first. When you're done, it will be my turn."
Lin Sen was kicked out without noticing, and immediately gasped. He quickly climbed onto the kang, determined to get under the quilt.
By the time Lin Zhi had prepared the ingredients, they were still arguing in the room. She listened carefully, and after confirming they were awake, she didn't bother to pay attention. She just raised her voice and said, "I'm starting—"
The noise from the inner room disappeared for a moment, and then there was a clanging sound.
Linzhi shook her head and returned to the stove.
Heat the pan with cold oil, pour in the egg liquid, stir it a few times with long chopsticks and set aside.
Then add a little lard, wait for it to melt, then pour in the chopped cabbage, add a little salt to season, wait until the cabbage is fried until the bones are gone, spread it evenly on the bottom of the pot, and then put the washed and drained rice cake on it, this can prevent the rice cake from sticking to the bottom.
Then Linzhi covered the pot and waited for a while. When the rice cake became soft, he poured the previously fried eggs into it.
Stir-fry evenly and serve.
When Lin Zhi put the rice cakes on the plate, Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang, who had come in after smelling the aroma, appeared at the door together. Their eyes lit up when they looked at the food on the plate.
The cabbage fried rice cake lying on the silver plate was still steaming, the tender leaves with green and yellow were stretched out, and clear soup could be seen on top. The golden eggs were sandwiched in the middle, making the rice cake slices even more translucent.
Rice cake slices?
Lin Sen came back to his senses and asked, "Yesterday we had rice cake wrapped in eggs, and today we have stir-fried rice cake with Chinese cabbage?"
"Well, we're having tofu soup and rice cakes tomorrow?"
"Okay." Lin Sen agreed immediately, but then he felt strange: "Why are they all rice cakes? Actually, soup noodles are also good..."
"Ahem." Song Jiaoniang interrupted Lin Sen and pointed to a place not far away, signaling him to take a look before speaking.
Lin Sen took one look at the rice cakes piled up like a small mountain and fell silent. "...Eating rice cakes isn't bad either."
Lin Zhi's hands kept moving as she casually prepared three bowls of lotus and egg soup. At the same time, she said, "I'll make some other food later to use it up. We won't eat it all every day. If we can't use it all up, how about we add a couple of rice cake dishes during the first few days of work?"
Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang were hesitant to speak. It wasn't just their family, they were probably in a state of all-you-can-eat rice cakes. Would they really order rice cakes from a shop?
The couple looked at each other and quickly became optimistic again. The fried rice cakes made by outsiders could never be as delicious as those made by their own daughter!
Lin Zhi had already walked to the door with her portion. She lifted the curtain and waited for a moment but didn't see the two of them. She turned around and looked at them in confusion: "Dad, Mom, you don't want to eat?"
"Eat, eat, eat, why not eat?"
"Here I come."
The family of three sat in the main room and first had a delicious sip of lotus and egg soup. The soup was simple to make, and tasted refreshing and warming. After drinking a hot bowl, the coldness from getting up early was instantly swept away, and the couple was looking forward to the next dish of stir-fried cabbage with rice cakes.
The two of them picked up a piece with chopsticks and put it into their mouths. The rice cake was soft and glutinous with a hint of burnt aroma, and was covered with a layer of sweet sauce.
The Chinese cabbage is crisp, tender, and juicy, with a sweet bite that balances out the stickiness of the rice cake. The sauce, coating the ingredients, glides down my throat, offering just the right balance of saltiness and sweetness. The lingering aftertaste lingers on my tongue, tempting me to pick up another chopstick and bring it to my mouth.
Both of them ate with relish and enjoyed themselves very much.
After eating and drinking his fill, Lin Sen immediately surrendered, saying cautiously: "I won't get tired of eating rice cakes tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or even ten days or half a month!"
Linzhi didn't pay attention to Lin Sen's declaration. After she finished eating, she went into the kitchen, opened the lid of the casserole, and gently pressed the red beans with a spoon to check the cooking condition of the red beans.
With a slight pressure of the cooking spoon, the red beans were easily mashed into bean paste. Linzhi removed the casserole from the stove and crushed the red beans into a paste with a spoon.
In order to make the taste more delicate, she then took out a strainer, put spoonfuls of red bean paste on the strainer, and crushed it into fine fluff again. This is a delicate and lengthy job that requires only patience.
Soon, Lin Sen also came in to help.
The father and daughter took turns working on the red bean paste, and it took them a long time to finish it.
After finishing the work, Lin Zhi swung his hands and asked, "By the way, where is my mother?"
Lin Sen replied: "Go take out the trash... huh?"
The next moment, the father and daughter were horrified. They dropped their work and rushed out of the door. The main room was empty and there was no sign of Song Jiaoniang!
The father and daughter rushed out of the store, looking around. Just as they were about to search along the way, they heard Song Jiaoniang's voice: "That bunch of shameless bastards!!!"
The sound came from Madam Yu's house next door.
Lin Zhi and Lin Sen paused, looked at each other, and turned to enter Madam Yu's drink shop.
The shop was crowded with neighbors. Madam Yu and Madam Song were standing in the center, surrounding a figure wrapped in a thick blanket. The figure was huddled in a chair, shivering slightly.
Linzhi looked carefully and recognized that it was Hua Niangzi.
She didn't step forward to interrupt, but simply tugged on the sleeve of a nearby woman and whispered a few questions. She quickly figured out what was going on: The Hua family, realizing there was no hope of reconciliation, had disowned Ms. Hua shortly after returning home and kicked her out. They then proceeded to tell the neighbors that the two hundred-plus strings of silver were all embezzled by Ms. Hua herself and had nothing to do with the Hua family.
"Yesterday there was such a heavy snowstorm, and they just kicked us out," the neighbor said with an angry look on his face. "If Madam Yu hadn't gotten up early to empty the urine bucket, Madam Hua would have frozen to death at the intersection."
These neighbors have seen a lot of family gossip in their lives. At first, when they saw the Zheng and Hua families quarreling, they were willing to watch the show. But when they saw how heartless the Hua family was, they couldn't help but feel sorry for Madam Hua.
After all, Madam Hua had no children, so she went to her parents' house to get something. Wasn't it the Hua family who instigated her behind the scenes? Now that something had happened, they were putting all the blame on her.
Surrounded by everyone, Hua Niangzi sat in the middle of the chair with her head lowered, not saying a word.
In the past, she always liked to draw eyebrows and paint eyes, and spoke with a bit of flamboyance. Now her face is pale, her eyes are empty, her hair is messy, and she looks like she has aged by ten years.
Madam Yu squatted in front of her, patted her arm with her hand, and said in a tone of urgency and hatred: "Wake up! They have pushed you to this point, and you still want to treat them as family?"
Song Jiaoniang stamped her feet, turned around, and followed Lin Zhi and her daughter back home. As soon as she sat down, she couldn't help but sigh, "I thought the Hua family would send Madam Hua to a nunnery, or even give her some money to live alone. I never thought..." They'd actually kick her out in the middle of winter.
"I don't know what to do in the future." Song Jiaoniang recounted Hua Niangzi's desperate situation. She didn't even give her an extra piece of clothing, let alone money.
She grew angrier and slammed the table. "If it were me, they'd be shameless, right? I'd be shameless too, and I wouldn't even want to live! If they dare to treat me like this, I'll take their whole family to hell!"
Lin Zhi nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, then shook her head: "In the end, it's up to Madam Hua to figure it out on her own and stand up for herself... just like we did back then."
Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang fell silent upon hearing this. They recalled how half a year ago, after their daughter's accident, they had risen from despair, left their original place, and traveled all the way to Bianjing, where they had finally opened this shop and established themselves.
"We've only been here for half a year."
"Yes, Madam Hua has to figure it out herself," Song Jiaoniang muttered after thinking about it. Most people who end up in this situation have been manipulated since childhood. To figure it out, to stand up, how difficult it is, how can outsiders understand?
Just like when they left the Xi family, they had to grit their teeth to break free. Only after they really got out did they realize that the obstacles they thought were insurmountable were actually not that scary.
Thinking of this, Song Jiaoniang could no longer sit still. She rubbed her hands on her legs and looked out the door.
Lin Zhi saw what she was thinking and waved her hand, saying, "If you can't sit still, go to Madam Yu's place."
"Oh, okay." Song Jiaoniang stood up immediately.
"Go back, and don't tell anyone about our past." Lin Sen saw her panic and hurriedly warned her, fearing that Song Jiaoniang would tell others about their past. "First, using your own troubles to comfort others might only make her feel worse. Second, although we have no relationship with the Xi family anymore, many shops in Bianjing like to use our 'wealthy family background' as an excuse. If people knew our past, they would probably make up stories and throw mud at us again."
Song Jiaoniang nodded repeatedly: "I know."
Seeing that Lin Sen still looked worried, Lin Zhi simply pushed his arm and said, "Dad, if you're worried, just go with Mom."
"Alright."
"Then let's go." The couple pushed the door open and went to Madam Yu's house.
Lin Zhi, who stayed in the shop, was lost in thought for a moment, then turned and went into the kitchen. She poured the filtered red bean paste into the pot, added a large amount of brown sugar and honey, and began to stir-fry.
The red bean paste is ready when the water content is completely absorbed, the surface is smooth and free of particles, and it can be hung on a cooking spoon and cannot be removed.
Linzhi removed the eggs from the pot and placed them in the yard to cool. Then she returned to the kitchen to prepare the egg yolks. She placed the salted duck eggs in cold water, cooked them, and then rinsed them with cold water. This made it easy to peel the eggshells and separate the salted egg whites from the salted egg yolks.
The salted egg yolks are used to make fruit, while the salted egg whites are piled in a small bowl and can be used when making soup or cooking later.
After peeling the salted egg yolks, Linzhi brought in the red bean paste that had been drying outside. The weather was cold, and the red bean paste had already become icy cold in just a short while.
The last step is the assembly. Linzhi takes out a suitable size of bean paste, places it on the palm of her hand and presses it into the shape of a small bowl. She puts a salted duck yolk in it and gently closes it with her tiger's mouth, allowing the bean paste to tightly wrap the salted egg yolk.
Then use the same method to wrap the dough and the water and oil dough together, then flatten, roll out, fold, and roll out again... Repeat several times and the dough will be done.
Still using the same method, flatten the dough and roll it out, wrap it with red bean paste and egg yolk filling, arrange it neatly, brush it with egg yolk, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Finally it is sent into the kiln.
Lin Zhi looked at the kiln and thought of another question. He wondered what the temperature of the kiln used at the competition would be. He would have to make a simple meal and test the temperature by baking it.
Just as she was thinking, an enticing aroma emerged from the kiln and gradually spread.
Soon, even the people in the neighboring drink shop could smell the alluring aroma. Song Jiaoniang's mouth was already dry from talking, but the aroma made her mouth water. She swallowed her saliva with every word she spoke, and in the end, she was laughing at herself.
"Jiao Niang, what is Sister Zhi doing now?"
"I'm trying to make some fruit for the competition." Song Jiaoniang swallowed again and said with a smile, "I'll send it over for you to try after the competition is over."
The neighbors around who were interested sighed with regret, but thinking that Linzhiji was attending a new year party for newlyweds, they couldn't help but nod in affirmation.
"That's right."
"My dear lady, you have to be careful!"
"The fried chicken strips you make during preheating have been copied by several other shops. It's really disgusting!" When a neighbor mentioned this, the people around him became alert and gave careful warnings.
Ever since Linzhiji's business has improved, I don't know how the big shop is doing, but the business of the small shops around it has also improved a lot.
Everyone hopes there will be more people coming!
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