Because the steps for making "Squirrel Fish" are more complicated than previous recipes and require more attention to details, Su Qingluan was very cautious and careful when writing each step to ensure that no step was missed.
Because of this, Su Qingluan not only ruined several sheets of paper, but also because there were so many words, by the time Su Qingluan finished writing down all the steps and marking the key points, she had already finished the plate of snacks.
What's even more embarrassing is that Su Qingluan felt hungry again.
Fortunately, there was no one else in this room at the moment, so the embarrassing situation in the kitchen just now could be avoided.
As I was thinking this, I heard someone knocking on the door.
Su Qingluan quickly took a sip of tea to calm her rumbling stomach, then she said loudly, "Come in!"
The door was pushed open, and the first person to come in was the cheerful shopkeeper Liang, followed by the waiter holding a tray.
Seeing this, Su Qingluan quickly pointed to the coffee table between the two mahogany chairs next to the dining table and said to the waiter: "Put the tray there first. I just finished writing here and the ink is not dry yet." As she said that, she went to pick up the scraps of paper that had been wasted halfway through.
Seeing this, Shopkeeper Liang waved his hand and said to Sui Qingluan, "You don't have to worry about these chores. Just let them do it."
The waiter was also very smart. He quickly stepped forward and gave Su Qingluan a very pleasant smile: "Our shopkeeper is right. If Madam Su does everything for us, then we will have to pack up and leave!"
"You naughty monkey, you're just saying that I saved you!" Shopkeeper Liang scolded with a smile, then turned to Su Qingluan, "So Qingluan, just rest for a while and wait for dinner."
Su Qingluan looked at Manager Liang and knew that he was just joking with the waiter, so she raised the last menu she had written down with confidence and blew on it gently a few times to make the ink solidify faster.
When the ink no longer shimmered in the light, Su Qingluan handed the three recipes to Manager Liang in order.
After Manager Liang confirmed with Su Qingluan that the order was correct, he put it away.
During this time, the waiter had already quickly put away the used pens, inkstones, and discarded papers, and handed over a slightly steaming towel.
"Madam Su, would you please use this towel to clean your hands?"
Su Qingluan took the towel. The temperature of the towel was slightly higher than her body temperature. In this autumn when the air was already chilly, her cold fingertips felt very comfortable after being fumigated by this warmth.
She carefully wiped off the ink stains she had just made when she was writing, and the waiter next to her immediately and cleverly handed her some lard ointment.
Su Qingluan knew that this was used to moisturize hands, but she always thought it was too greasy and had never used it before.
However, because it rains a lot in the summer and the air is humid, but it rains less in the autumn and the climate is dry, in order to prevent her hands from frostbite and cracking, Su Qingluan scooped a little lard ointment with the tip of her little finger and applied it carefully on her hands.
...Although she still disliked the sticky taste.
At this moment, Su Qingluan was attracted by a strong aroma. Following the scent, she saw the reddish-brown tendon in the center.
The moment the waiter placed the small porcelain bowl on the table, the meat around the bones and tendons trembled slightly as the bottom of the container collided with the table, showing how crispy and soft it was!
Su Qingluan's eyes lit up: "Is this the dish that's been particularly popular in the restaurant recently?"
Shopkeeper Liang smiled and nodded, "That's right. Although it's not as eye-catching as your 'Squirrel Fish', Qingluan, it does attract many diners. Even I, if the doctor at 'Huichuntang' hadn't repeatedly warned me not to eat too much, would have loved to have a few more meals of this bone and tendon."
The so-called "pit bone tendons" refer to the pit bone tendons of cattle.
Su Qingluan had also noticed that compared to pork and mutton, beef, although not completely absent, accounted for the minority.
Because cattle are large agricultural livestock, they are more often used to help with plowing the land. For most people, cattle are used more for "farming" than "eating", and their tool attributes far outweigh their edible attributes.
Therefore, most of the edible tendons must come from cows that died accidentally or from old age.
This is why, as a staple dish, the amount of wogujin is only in a small porcelain bowl - and this bowl is also accompanied by half a bowl of white radish as a side dish.
Su Qingluan smiled and joked, "Uncle Liang, this dish must have been in short supply for a long time, right?"
Shopkeeper Liang smiled wryly and said, "That's right. Beef shank tendons are delicious, but even if we were to pay a high price to buy them from the old, dead working oxen around here, it still wouldn't be enough. We can only reduce the portion and raise the price. Honestly, in all the years Hong Fu Lou has been open, I've never sold such a small bowl of food!"
Even the bowl used to serve the "Frost Fish Soup" that Su Qingluan had when she first came here was much larger than this small porcelain bowl.
Shopkeeper Liang was worried that Su Qingluan would feel uncomfortable eating here, so he said with a smile: "Qingluan, take your time eating here. It should be busy downstairs at this time. I'll go see if there is anything going on. We can talk after you finish eating."
After saying this, he turned around and told the waiter who was serving the dishes to wait outside: "Although he hasn't been here long, he is quite smart. Qingluan, if you have any questions, just tell him." He turned around and said, "Be smart and alert."
The waiter nodded hurriedly in agreement.
When the room was empty again, Su Qingluan thought to herself: This is a classic example of unintentional "hunger marketing." Beef is rarer than mutton, pork, and fish, and oxtail bones are even more precious. Su Qingluan didn't even need to ask to know that this dish must be expensive.
In this case, there is no way she would waste it!
Su Qingluan picked up a piece of crystal clear beef tendon and put it in her mouth to chew. She squinted her eyes happily for a moment - ah, how long had it been since she tasted the unique aroma of beef?
In this life alone, she has been here for nearly half a year. Add to that the last period of her previous life when she vomited everything she ate and had no taste for food. Su Qingluan felt that eating beef was a thing of her previous life!
...So it really was something from a previous life.
Thinking of this, Su Qingluan felt that her fate was really a joke.
Su Qingluan gathered her thoughts and shifted her focus from her memories to the food. In fact, Xu Yuanwei's beef tendon dish, both in terms of cooking method and taste, was the same "braised beef tendon" that Su Qingluan was very familiar with—except that the chili peppers were replaced with dogwood.
But Su Qingluan was familiar with it because she had memories from two lifetimes. In this era, the cooking method of "braised" was at least the first time Su Qingluan had eaten it, and it was here.
This also proves that as a chef, Xu Yuanwei is able to innovate new cooking techniques, which is really not easy.
And that subtle, unique aroma… is it tangerine peel? Tasting it carefully, it's not just tangerine peel, but also hawthorn fruit.
Su Qingluan paused chewing: "Yes, how could she forget?" It seems that this trip really brought an unexpected gain.
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