Because there was no ventilation and the volatility of the vinegar juice was further enhanced due to the high temperature, Su Qingluan was choked by the strong sour smell and couldn't help sneezing a few times.
Fortunately, she turned her head to the side in time to prevent the pot of sweet and sour pork, which had not yet been served, from being "sprayed".
There is a trick to this kind of dish that requires thickening with soup. Each piece of meat must be evenly coated with the soup, and the amount of soup must be neither too much nor too little. There should not be any excess "puddles" forming at the bottom of the dish, which would soak the crispy part of the fried meat shell at the bottom, making it soft and tough and losing its taste.
When Su Qingluan's plate of sweet and sour pork came out of the pot, it had just the right amount of sauce.
"If it were an ordinary dish, we could serve it like this." Su Qingluan placed the plate of sweet and sour pork on the food processing table and had the young chefs gather around to look at it. "But if we're serving it to customers in our restaurant, we still need to decorate it. Summer is the time when wildflowers are in full bloom. You can pick one or two from the roadside and put them on the plate. Of course, you still have to be careful to identify any toxic ones."
"Then...what if we can't tell it apart?" A kitchen helper muttered hesitantly in the back.
Xu Yuanwei turned his head sharply at the sound: "There are so many flowers that can be used in cooking, and you don't recognize any of them? Didn't I just teach you a few days ago?"
His glare frightened the young kitchen helper so much that he dared not speak.
Su Qingluan smiled and said, "Indeed, not everyone can recognize flowers that can be used in cooking. Moreover, flowers are very seasonal and are basically not seen in autumn, winter and early spring. At this time, other substitutes are needed."
After saying that, he took out a thin, sharp knife and cut the piece of carrot that he had just cut and had not used much into a few times.
Su Qingluan's technique was very fast, and the young kitchen helper behind her was stunned, but a master chef like Xu Yuanwei, who had been a chef for some years, could see something.
He narrowed his eyes and carefully observed Su Qingluan's gestures and directions as she raised and lowered the knife. He saw that the originally unremarkable carrot in her hand slowly changed shape and turned into an orange-red flower.
Finally, Su Qingluan cut the "flower" from the whole carrot, dipped it in starch sauce and fixed it on the plate. The orange-red carrot flower paired with the golden sweet and sour pork looked very bright and pleasing to the eye.
Although the petals of this flower are delicate and exquisitely crafted, Su Qingluan's movements are so smooth that the whole process is completed in just a moment.
Su Qingluan pushed the plate towards everyone and said, "Try it and see how this dish tastes."
Of course she knew that there was nothing wrong with her sweet and sour pork, but people in every era and even in every region have different tastes. Since Su Qingluan wanted to make more popular dishes in this era, she had to investigate the taste preferences of a large sample.
Sure enough, unlike the popular dish in modern times, most people think that this sweet and sour pork is a bit too sour, except for two chefs who particularly like sour food.
One of the kitchen helpers joked, "This dish is perfect for my wife. She's pregnant and always looking for sour plums to eat."
Su Qingluan also smiled and replied: "In that case, I will make another portion later, and you can take it back to your wife to eat?"
"Can I get it for free?" the kitchen helper asked stupidly.
"What a waste!" Xu Yuanwei cursed with a smile, "You can't even afford to buy your wife a plate of meat?"
Su Qingluan just smiled and didn't say anything - to put it bluntly, although she could use the ingredients and utensils of Hongfulou freely, it was only for the purpose of providing new recipes for everyone to use for demonstration.
Ultimately, only when she "fulfills the contract" will she be qualified to freely use the dance moves of Hongfulou - although Manager Liang probably won't mind, Su Qingluan herself will not be so self-righteous.
Su Qingluan thought about it and made the sweet and sour pork again. This time she improved the ratio of the sweet and sour sauce, retaining only a little bit of sourness. Sure enough, everyone said it tasted better than last time.
When Su Qingluan went to Shopkeeper Liang to include this dish in the contract, she looked at the shelf on the first floor where the "prizes" had been placed, which had not yet been removed, and asked curiously, "Uncle Liang, who won the first prize on Qixi Festival a few days ago?"
Shopkeeper Liang thought for a moment and said, "He was a young man, but he was wearing a veil, so I couldn't see his face clearly."
Su Qingluan was a little curious: "A grown man also wears a veil?" Isn't this a standard feature for creating a fairy-like look for a female protagonist?
Shopkeeper Liang looked over curiously and asked, "Why can't men wear it?"
"...No, nothing..." She had a preconceived stereotype.
Another recipe was finished, which relieved Su Qingluan's anxiety about not being able to set up the stall in the past few days.
Over the next few days, the sky was overcast, but no heavy rain fell. Su Guangfu made a quick decision and called in the helpers who had applied for the job earlier to at least repair the walls and roof of his house as soon as possible.
Suddenly, the Su family's home was bustling with activity. There were clanging sounds of hammers, clattering sounds of tiles flipping, and the sound of workers talking loudly...
For a time, the Su family's liveliness index increased exponentially.
The two little ones, Su Xuanhe and Su Xueyan, have been very happy these past two days - after all, with so many people around and it being so chaotic, they have no way of practicing calligraphy.
For children, what could be happier than not having to do homework?
In addition, so many villagers came at once to help repair the walls and roofs, bringing tools that seemed very novel to them - although the two children probably regarded these as toys - so the two of them have been very keen on watching the excitement in recent days.
Su Qingluan certainly had no interest in this kind of "liveliness", and her parents were at home, so there was no need for her to look after her younger siblings. So in recent days, she had a rare moment of free time. She would go for a walk around the "Gong Yu Pavilion" in the town to see if the shop was still available for rent.
Or he would take a few "leisure books" borrowed from Mu Xingzhi and find a quiet corner not far from home to read and pass the time.
That day, she went to "Gong Yu Pavilion" again, pretending to stroll around.
Although there was no heavy rain in the past few days, there was continuous drizzling rain, so the Su family did not stop working. However, the market was still somewhat affected by the weather and was much quieter.
On the street with a relatively wide view, Su Qingluan saw a somewhat unexpected person - the middle school boy who had found fault with her in Hongfu Building on the night of Chinese Valentine's Day and had made a lot of weird requests to her!
I think his name was Xie...something.
Behind this middle school boy was a group of people, looking very impressive.
Why is he here?
Just when he was wondering, Su Qingluan's expression cracked - because he saw that this guy stopped in front of the door of "Gong Yu Pavilion"!
Could it be that he also wants to rent this shop? !
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
