Chapter 331 Bandit Duck
Wen Zhenyi was delighted when she heard this. This method of making ice could not possibly stump her. She immediately went to ask Mr. Cheng for some saltpeter and made an ice cellar.
Now you don’t have to worry about the leftover meat going bad at home, you can just put it in the ice cellar.
The other dishes were prepared by chef Tong under the command of Wen Zhenyi.
Chef Tong was also happy to learn, because she knew that Wen Zhenyi's cooking skills were beyond her reach.
Wen Zhenyi calculated the time and picked out the seasonings from the mutton, preparing to make "Yang Fang Cang Yu".
Pour water into the pot, put in the mutton, and after the water boils, take it out and wash it clean.
Use a knife to score the side of the lamb and hide the fish inside.
Place the fish head and tail on a plate, add onion segments and ginger slices, steam in a steamer, and then take out and place on a plate.
Heat oil in a pan, pour in peppercorns, ginger slices, star anise and other seasonings and fry until fragrant, then add water and put in the "Yang Fang Zang Yu".
Add cooking wine and bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat until the lamb is tender.
Finally, add red yeast rice and other seasonings, place the mutton on the plate with the fish head and tail, remove the cinnamon, star anise, etc. from the pot, add starch and sesame oil, mix well, and pour it on the mutton hidden fish.
Cook Tong was stunned. This was the first time she had seen such a way of cooking, where one ingredient could be wrapped around another.
"Miss, what is the name of this dish?"
"The sheep hides the fish."
“It really fits.”
“These dishes just take more time, but they’re not that difficult when you actually cook them.”
"I've never even seen these dishes, let alone eaten them."
Wen Zhenyi instructed her to make pheasant and potatoes stew. This dish was not very difficult to make. As long as the steps and seasoning were right, there wouldn't be any big problems.
Ma Yinghe and Geng Ru also helped to make other side dishes.
When Wen Zhen started making bandit duck, he poured oil into the pot, added onion and ginger to stir-fry, added chopped duck pieces, stir-fried on low heat for a cup of tea, added broth, and boiled on high heat for half a cup of tea.
Add salt, chili, cooking wine, etc. and simmer over low heat until the duck meat is soft. Finally, add the chopped tofu and konjac and simmer until the flavors are absorbed.
Wen Zhenyi also prepared lantern eggplants, chopped the pork into puree, and marinated it with seasonings.
Wash the eggplant, cut it in half, and cut it into thin slices with chopsticks on both sides. Cut it into sections when cutting the eighth time.
Put the marinated pork into the gaps between the eggplants, coat them with layers of starch, and fry them in a pan until golden brown.
The rest of the plating and knife work was left to Axiang, who asked her to use shredded carrots and cucumbers to decorate the lanterns.
Dishes were released one after another.
Wen Zhenyi prepared ten dishes, including eggplant lanterns, fish hidden in sheep's squares, bandit duck, fortune-bringing pork elbow, pheasant stewed with potatoes, cross-bridge pork ribs, steamed spareribs with rice flour, pork skin jelly, winter melon meatball vermicelli soup and steamed sugar triangle buns.
Ten dishes also symbolize perfection.
Before eating, Ma Yushun and Wen Yongnan delivered the prepared food to Ma Can, who was on duty, and also brought them two jars of good wine.
They can't drink too much while on duty, but they can still have a drink or two to welcome the solar term.
After they bring the food back, they can start their New Year’s Eve dinner.
Ma Yushun looked at Wen Zhenyi and said, "When I brought food to my father, the yamen runners knew it was you who delivered it personally. They almost jumped for joy, their eyes shining."
“Is it that exaggerated?”
"If you don't believe me, ask your brother."
Wen Yongnan nodded: "When we left, no one paid any attention to us."
Wen Zhenyi smiled and shook his head: "Let's eat too."
Old Man Wen looked at the dishes on the table and said, "This is all meat."
Old Man Ma smiled and said, "Eating meat is not good!"
"Okay, I hope I can have a good meal in the future."
Wen Zhenyi smiled and shook his head: "Eating a lot of meat and fish every day is not good for your health."
"You see, we can only eat it once in a while." Old Man Wen joked.
Old Lady Wen gave him some pork elbows and said, "Even food can't stop you from talking."
Mr. Shen laughed heartily: "Drink, drink."
After dinner, when it was completely dark, fireworks were set off in the county town.
They all sat in the yard, looking up at the fireworks blooming above their heads.
Wen Yongman sat next to Wen Zhenyi: "Sister, these fireworks are so beautiful."
"yes."
Today is the day to stay up all night to celebrate the New Year. Wen Zhenyi prepared four-happiness steamed dumplings and gold ingot dumplings for everyone, which looked very festive.
Old Ma was a little full after eating: "The food made by Yiyi is so delicious. I ate so much without realizing it."
"Haha, look, there's still quite a bit of food left."
"This is a good thing, there will be surplus every year." Ma Yinghe interjected.
Old Lady Ma turned to look at her: "Where did you learn that?"
"As you said, it's better not to eat all of this. There should be some left over so that there will be surplus next year."
"No wonder this girl made such large portions of food today. She usually calculates the portions very accurately." Old Mrs. Wen said with a smile.
"A good omen, a good omen, may there be abundance every year."
Everyone drank some wine tonight, except Wen Yongman and Ma Ruier.
The two little guys could only drink special juice and were a little unhappy.
As the hour of midnight arrived, firecrackers were heard in the county town.
Wen Chengwen also lit firecrackers at their doorstep, heralding the arrival of the new year.
The sound of firecrackers drove away everyone's sleepiness, and everyone became quite energetic.
If I didn’t have to get up early tomorrow morning to pay New Year’s greetings, I’m afraid no one would want to go to bed so early.
Wen Zhenyi got up early in the morning because he had to go and pay New Year's greetings to all the elders. He couldn't sleep in, or he would be scolded.
When she arrived at the hall, the elders including Mrs. Wen had already arrived.
Wen Yongnan and the sleepy Wen Yongman also arrived at this time.
Ma Can and his team finished their mission early in the morning and are now in the hall.
First, parents greet the elders in the family, and finally it is the turn of the younger generation.
According to the order, Ma Yuruo and Ma Yushun were the oldest, so they took the lead and wanted to wish the old lady Ma and her husband a happy new year.
Then came Mrs. Wen and Mr. and Mr. Shen.
Wen Zhenyi and Wen Yongnan both knelt on the cushions in an orderly manner, wishing their elders a happy new year and saying auspicious words.
They also received a lot of New Year's money, which made them very happy.
Butler Tong and his family also came to pay New Year's greetings early in the morning, and the family also gave each of them a red envelope.
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Little knowledge: Among Chinese classical dishes, "Yang Fang Cang Yu" is known as China's number one dish. It has a history of 4,300 years and this dish is still popular in some restaurants in Xuzhou.
The inventor of this dish is unknown, but it is related to the legendary figure "Peng Zu". One day, Peng Zu's son caught a fish and took it home to his mother for cooking. However, his mother was stewing mutton, so she cut up the mutton and put the fish in the pot.
Peng Zu went home and ate the mutton, finding it exceptionally delicious. After learning how his wife had prepared it, he followed her recipe and found it to be incredibly delicious. This is how the legend of "Fish Hidden in the Lamb's Recipe" came about.
Xiangxi Bandit Duck: According to legend, a skilled cook named Zhang opened a restaurant near her village. She raised many ducks, which were aggressive and overbearing, and even destroyed crops.
She often scolded the ducks as bandits, and finally, in a fit of rage, she decided to kill the ducks and cook them. After all the ducks were killed, she would close the restaurant and start other business.
Perhaps it was the delicate and smooth duck meat that attracted diners who came for the dish. When they asked her the name of the dish, she casually said "Bandit Duck". That's why Bandit Duck became famous.
The above tips come from "A Bite of China - A Guide to Cooking Traditional Delicacies"
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