Seeing the confusion and bewilderment in Gan Lin's eyes because of her words, Gan Li scoffed, too lazy to pay him any more attention, and turned to go to the kitchen with the basket and meat.
This was her second time visiting the Gan family's old house, but because she had inherited the original owner's memories, she was not unfamiliar with the place and found the kitchen with precision.
Grandma Gan is a clean person, and the kitchen is kept spotless and tidy. Looking at the kitchen makes cooking a better experience.
"Mommy, let me help you start the fire!" the little tagalong said sweetly and crisply, and then squatted down under the stove to start the fire.
Ganli then prepared some water and first washed the pork clean, then used a knife to shave off all the hair. After that, she cut the pork shoulder into thin slices and the pork belly into two-finger square pieces.
Zhao was sent to the kitchen by her mother-in-law to help, but her sister-in-law worked so efficiently that she couldn't get a hand in the task. The spot for tending the fire was also taken, leaving her standing there feeling lost and helpless.
Seeing her standing there blankly, Gan Li casually asked, "Sister-in-law, do you grow any leafy greens at home? If you do, could you please pick some for me?"
"Oh, yes, I'll go pick some for you right away!" Zhao replied and immediately stepped out the door.
Once she was outside the door, she realized what her sister-in-law had just said to her.
please?
My sister-in-law, who is usually so bossy, actually said 'please' to her so politely?
Zhao was puzzled, shook off the goosebumps on her body, and quickly turned and went to the backyard.
In the kitchen, Ganli arranged the spices she had taken from the supermarket in a row.
Maria had already changed the packaging of all these things for her, but Gan Tian was still very curious when she looked at these bottles and jars: "Mother, what are all these?"
"Good stuff." Gan Li smiled mysteriously, without saying more.
Gan Tian didn't ask any more questions, but just watched her mother's actions with curiosity.
She picked up bottles and jars one by one and poured their contents into a container of thinly sliced pork. The contents were all unfamiliar to her, except for the last one, which she recognized as kudzu root powder.
Can kudzu root powder be used in cooking?
Gan Tian was a little confused, but Gan Li was very excited by the aroma emanating from the bowl.
This is the taste!
Some people say that cooking also requires talent. Even with the same cooking process and the same seasonings, some people can still make the food taste better.
Gan Li thought that if that were the case, then she should be considered talented. For example, just by smelling the cured meat, she knew that the finished product would definitely be good.
She set the marinated pork shoulder aside and began processing the pork belly.
Pour water into a pot, add the cubed pork belly, and toss in a few slices of ginger.
When doing this step, Ganli usually likes to cover the pot so that the water boils sooner and saves gas.
However, she left the pot open, not because she didn't care about the firewood, but because the pork here had a strong odor. Cooking it with the lid off like this would allow the steam to carry away much of the pork's odor.
Once the water boils, the blood foam from the pork belly is also cooked out. After skimming off the foam floating on the surface, it is cooked for a little while longer until no more foam is produced. Only then does Ganli scoop out the cooked pork belly with a bowl.
Pour out the water from the pot, add a little oil to coat the pot, then put the pork belly back in and stir-fry. After stir-frying out some of the fat, remove the pork belly from the pot.
At this point, all the preparations had been completed, and Ganli began to caramelize the sugar using the oil from frying the meat in the pan.
She first asked Gan Tian to remove some of the firewood from the stove, leaving only a small fire. Once the oil was slightly hot, she grabbed a handful of rock sugar and threw it in, and a wisp of smoke rose from the pot.
Zhao had just returned from picking vegetables when she saw this scene and immediately exclaimed in surprise:
"My God, why did you put so much sugar in this? Are you cooking a dish or caramelizing sugar?!"
She knew it! This sister-in-law always enjoys a life of luxury at home; how could she possibly cook? Look what happened, all that rock sugar wasted.
This is a very valuable item!
She looked distressed, but Ganli didn't have time to speak to her, as it was the most crucial time to caramelize the sugar!
The rock sugar melted quickly when heated, and she stirred it constantly with a spatula. Once the sugar had melted and the syrup turned a light caramel color, she quickly poured in the pork belly.
With her quick stir-frying, the meat chunks were soon coated with syrup, and as the temperature in the pan rose, the meat chunks immediately turned a bright reddish-brown.
Ganli looked at the color of the meat chunks and beamed with joy—the caramelized sugar was absolutely perfect!
However, when Zhao saw that she not only fried sugar in oil but also poured meat in and added water to cook it, she frowned in disgust.
She's been a kitchen helper at Baifulai for so many years, and she uses sugar to cook pork? That's unheard of!
Zhao had always disliked her sister-in-law, and seeing how she was doing things now only made her more furious. She said with disdain:
"Hey sister-in-law, if you don't want to cook, we won't force you, but don't mess it up! How are we supposed to eat it if it's cooked like this?"
I think I should cook this meal. Let's quickly take the meat out; there's still time.
As he spoke, he reached for the meat.
When Ganli saw that she was about to throw away the caramel she had made so perfectly, she quickly stopped her: "Sister-in-law, you mustn't!"
"Why can't we do that? If we keep doing it like this, you'll be eating it later."
Seeing Zhao's disgusted look, Gan Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but she didn't blame her.
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