Chapter 2 Pickled Fish
Chen Huazheng was a little surprised. She didn't expect that this cheap elder brother had the same idea as her.
She swallowed the osmanthus cake in her mouth and took out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth.
"Brother, how about we have pickled fish for dinner?"
Pickled fish?
The name sounds strange. It should be a dish cooked with sauerkraut and fish.
It’s just sauerkraut and fish, which are obviously two ingredients that don’t go together at all. Can the dish made from them be delicious?
Looking at his sister's sparkling eyes, Shen Keting did not say what was in his mind. "Zheng'er wants to eat, I'll ask the kitchen to make it."
“No need,” Shen Huazheng stood up, “I’ll do it.”
The cooking methods of this dynasty were mainly steaming and boiling, and frying, stir-frying and deep-frying were almost non-existent.
The diet of people here tends to be light.
Shen Huazheng had been recuperating from illness for some time, so she ate even lighter meals.
Her saliva began to water at the thought of the sour and delicious pickled fish.
*
In the kitchen, everyone surrounded Shen Huazheng fearfully.
This little ancestor is the treasure of the mansion and everyone has to worship and pamper him on a daily basis.
I don’t know what happened today, but he suddenly ran to the kitchen and said he wanted to cook.
There are all kinds of things in here, including knives and stuff. If someone gets hurt accidentally, all their lives combined wouldn't be enough to pay for the compensation.
Shen Huazheng looked at the cooks who were surrounding her cautiously and fearfully. "Don't worry about me, just continue working."
After saying that, she rolled up her sleeves, opened the lid of the jar, and picked out the pickled cabbage inside with chopsticks.
It is not difficult to make pickled fish, but the difficult part is slicing the fish, which requires great knife skills.
After the cook who was helping at the side removed the scales and internal organs of the fish, Shen Huazheng took the fish and began to cut and slice it.
Everyone in the kitchen looked at Shen Huazheng's neat technique and couldn't help but be secretly surprised.
This precious treasure held in the palm of the Shen family's hand can actually cook.
*
The maids came in one after another and brought the dishes to the table one by one.
Arrange the dish and open the lid, all in one smooth movement.
Upon learning that their precious daughter was going to cook for them herself, Shen Zhaonian and Zhou were stunned at first, and then felt relieved.
My daughter has grown up and knows how to be filial to her parents.
As for whether Shen Huazheng could cook, how the food would taste, or whether she would blow up the kitchen, none of this mattered.
What is important is this filial piety.
Zhou specifically ordered the people in the kitchen to keep an eye on Shen Huazheng to prevent the little girl from getting hurt.
They didn't expect Chen Huazheng to cook anything delicious; as long as it was edible, it was fine.
Unlike most noble families, the Shen family had a simple population. Apart from Zhou, Shen Zhaonian had no other women.
The original owner's second brother, Shen Kesi, and third brother, Shen Keheng, were both studying in the Imperial College and would only come back during holidays.
Therefore, the only four people who had dinner together were Shen Zhaonian, Zhou, Shen Keting and Shen Huazheng.
The pickled fish was placed in the middle of the dining table, and the maid opened the lid. All the Shen family members except Shen Huazheng were stunned.
The golden soup, the tender and white fish meat, the rising hot steam and the overbearing rich and fresh aroma instantly spread, making people swallow their saliva subconsciously.
Chen Huazheng started to introduce: "This dish is pickled fish. Dad, Mom, and Big Brother, please try it and see if it suits your taste."
Shen Zhaonian nodded with satisfaction, "Okay, okay, Dad will try it."
No matter how the dish tastes today, Shen Zhaonian will taste it carefully and praise it from the bottom of his heart. Moreover, this pickled fish now makes people very appetizing at first glance.
Shen Zhaonian picked up a piece of fish with chopsticks. The smooth fish fillet was coated with soup. From the sense of smell to the sense of taste, the fresh fragrance of the fish slowly spread, and it was indescribably delicious when it entered the mouth.
He took several more slices and put them into his mouth. "Delicious, delicious."
With tears in her eyes, Zhou lowered her head and scooped up a spoonful of soup that the maid had served for them.
The sauerkraut fish soup base is clear and thick, and with the sauerkraut that helps to relieve the greasiness, it can be said to be sour, fragrant and refreshing. After the sourness wears off, the umami taste becomes more intense.
After drinking the soup, Zhou picked up a piece of fish with chopsticks and was surprised to find that each piece of fish was of moderate thickness and uniform thickness.
Her daughter has such exquisite knife skills? !
The sour aroma of sauerkraut and the freshness of the fish complement each other. The fish meat is smooth and tender, thin and chewy, soft yet tough.
After swallowing the fish fillet in his mouth, Zhou couldn't help but pick up another piece.
Shen Keting usually doesn't like eating fish because he thinks it's too fishy.
He actually liked the roasted lamb on the table better than the fish.
But in order to make his sister happy, Shen Ke Ting also picked up a piece of fish and lowered his head to eat.
The next second, he was stunned.
The fresh thin fish slices are smooth and chewy, and the soup is sour and spicy, without any fishy smell at all.
The white and tender fish fillet had no bones and was easily swallowed.
At this moment, Shen Keting finally understood his parents' abnormality. His eyes were full of amazement and he couldn't stop eating one bite after another.
The pickled fish was refreshing and appetizing. Even Zhou, who usually had a poor appetite, ate half a bowl of rice for the first time.
Seeing that they liked this dish, a smile appeared in Shen Huazheng's eyes.
[It seems that this dish is quite successful. Next, I can make roast duck, roast goose, fried chicken, fried shrimp, salt and pepper spare ribs, lamb skewers, braised lion head, hot pot...]
[Oh, by the way, desserts can also be arranged, such as milk tea, cakes, glutinous rice cakes, snow meringues... ahhh, I'm drooling, I can't think about it, I can't think about it! ]
The three members of the Shen family who were concentrating on eating: ...
Although they had never even heard of most of the names of the dishes that Shen Huazheng mentioned in her mind, after this pickled fish, they had begun to look forward to it.
Everyone ate heartily at the meal. After the meal, they all rubbed their bloated stomachs and went for a walk in the garden to digest the food.
Looking at the well-behaved and sensible Shen Huazheng, Shen Zhaonian and Zhou were overjoyed.
What Master Liaokong said was true; their daughter Zheng'er was indeed a woman of great fortune.
Although this time he drowned and his engagement was broken off, it can be considered a blessing in disguise.
I used to worry that after they were gone, no one would be able to protect my daughter as wholeheartedly as they did.
Although the three sons are very good to their daughter, people's hearts are fickle. Who knows if they will still remember their original intentions when they get married and have children?
Now, my daughter’s lost soul has returned.
As long as their daughter is well, and they leave more things and help for her in the future, no one will be able to bully her anymore.
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