Chapter 39, The 39th Inn: Sizzling Eel
Yunyin finally finished preparing the ingredients for making soft-shelled eel. Thinking that the eels she had prepared could also be used to make braised eel in hot oil, she prepared the remaining eels and began cooking these two famous Huaiyang dishes.
If we're talking about which cuisine is best at cooking river delicacies, then Huaiyang cuisine must be mentioned. Huaiyang cuisine is very particular about knife skills, and its carving techniques are renowned. Moreover, its flavors are fresh and mild, with a particular emphasis on freshness and tenderness, so it often uses river delicacies as its main ingredient.
Yunyin loves eating river delicacies. She once learned to cook Huaiyang cuisine from a chef and now has some experience. So when restaurants were asking what to feature as their main dish, river delicacies were the first thing that came to her mind.
However, Yunyin can cook many dishes, and she doesn't want to limit herself to just one style of cuisine. She mainly focuses on whether the ingredients are readily available and cooks whatever is available, so that customers won't get tired of the food too quickly.
Blanch the eel back meat, then lightly fry it in oil and remove it. Sauté scallions, ginger, and garlic until fragrant, then pour in the sauce for seasoning. Add sugar, then add the fried eel and stir-fry. Thicken with cornstarch, then add sesame oil and vinegar for added aroma.
A key feature of Huaiyang cuisine is the addition of sugar. Sugar enhances the freshness of the river fish, making the dish more flavorful and giving it a bright red color. It also balances the saltiness of the dish, resulting in a more harmonious and balanced flavor.
Therefore, sugar is indispensable in Huaiyang cuisine, and the soft-shelled eel actually needs to be seasoned with pepper to enhance the flavor. However, pepper is too expensive in Dazhao, and Yunyin simply cannot afford it, so she can only use scallions and ginger for seasoning.
Fortunately, the dish itself was delicious enough, so it was fine without pepper. After making the soft-shelled eel, she continued to make the braised eel with sizzling oil.
The preparation of eel for stir-fried eel is different from that of soft-shelled eel. It does not need to be deep-fried. Instead, the eel is blanched in a sauce made with scallions and ginger, then oil is poured in and the scallions and ginger are stir-fried until fragrant. The eel is then added and stir-fried, and finally water is added before seasoning.
Finally, add the blanched bamboo shoots, soy sauce for color, and the eel will have cooked to a slightly mushy consistency. Thicken with cornstarch, add vinegar for aroma, and it's ready to serve.
The dish isn't finished yet after it's cooked. Add chopped garlic to the plated eel, and finally drizzle with hot sesame oil. Only then is the dish complete.
After these two dishes are finished, the meat from the belly of the fried eel will have cooled and become crispy. Pour oil into the pan, add seasonings and stir-fry to make a sauce. Pour the crispy eel into the sauce and coat it with the sauce. The crispy eel is now ready.
These dishes all require a lot of oil and sugar, making them expensive. Therefore, Yunyin doesn't really want to sell these dishes. She prefers to cook them in a more home-style way, simply stir-frying the eel in a pan. This method also results in a very delicious eel.
This time, she specially prepared several dishes because Fu Wang had finally returned. After the dishes were served, she continued to process the remaining eel blood.
Eels are truly a treasure trove; aside from the intestines, nothing is wasted. Eel blood can be stir-fried with chives, and the remaining eel bones are also a valuable ingredient for making delicious soup.
Of course, making soup takes a long time, so we can't have it now. But today's dishes are plentiful. She also stir-fried other vegetables and various kinds of shrimp, enough for them to eat.
After Yunyin finished cooking all the dishes, she called Zhang Lin and Zheng Guilan, mother and daughter, and the group sat down to eat.
Eel tastes delicious, soft and tender, smooth and juicy. It's perfect for people with insufficient qi and blood. There's a folk saying that summer eel is better than ginseng, which shows that eel has a very high nutritional value.
Yunyin and the others ate with gusto, their mouths glistening with oil. Fu Wang's table was no less impressive; Wang Shitou and his brothers' chopsticks flashed like afterimages, and before anyone could even see clearly, half of the eels on the table were gone.
Seeing their ferocious appearance, Fu Wang had no choice but to put the food on another plate and eat it alone. Such delicious food deserves to be savored. He felt that he would be wasting the food by eating it like a cow chewing on a peony.
The smooth and tender eel melts in your mouth. With a gentle bite, you can feel the juices inside the meat. The tenderness of the meat is incredible. Before you can even savor it again, all that remains is a mouthful of sweet and soft flavor, and the eel meat has already disappeared into your mouth.
Compared to the soft-shelled eel, the braised eel in hot oil offers a different experience. The thick sauce coats the eel, and the meat is infused with the aroma of sesame oil and minced garlic, making the dish not only rich in flavor but also more fragrant.
If the soft-shelled eel is like a gentle, refined lady from the Jiangnan water towns, then the braised eel in hot oil is like a bold and unrestrained hero from the martial arts world—each has its own unique charm.
As for the crispy eel, it's sprinkled with salt and pepper, and the spiciness of Sichuan peppercorns adds a unique flavor to this dish. It's crunchy with every bite, and even though the flavor is so strong, it doesn't mask its freshness. The fried eel isn't greasy at all, and the salty, fresh, and numbing flavors blend perfectly, making it an excellent accompaniment to drinks.
Fu Wang savored the eel dishes and also tried various kinds of shrimp. The shrimp were very fresh, with firm and elastic flesh, making them perfect with rice.
When they finished eating, there wasn't a single dish left on the table. They even used the broth from the dishes to mix with their rice, and everyone ate until they were stuffed.
Fu Wang took a small sip of the tea. The bitter taste of the tea washed away the oil in his mouth, and there was a sweet aftertaste. He drank several more sips.
When Yunyin came over, she saw that Fu Wang really liked the tea and raised her eyebrows, saying, "It seems we have the same taste. You actually like this tea too. They didn't like this way of drinking it during the Song Dynasty."
Fu Wang gazed quietly at the tea leaves rising and falling in the teacup. "This tea is very bitter at first, but it has a sweet aftertaste and a rich, lingering flavor. All aspects of life are contained in this cup of tea."
Yunyin was surprised that he would think of such things. She smiled and said, "I'm glad you like them. I have some more here, I'll give you some."
This tea was made from fresh tea leaves bought during the Qingming Festival. It was roasted by myself. The current trend in Dazhao is to steam the tea leaves first, then roast them, then grind them into powder and boil them, adding scallions, ginger, salt, etc.
Yunyin never got used to the taste of this tea, so she simply asked someone to buy some fresh tea. The tea picked in the mountains wasn't a famous brand, and the price was very cheap, but after Yunyin processed it, she thought the taste was quite good, so she's been drinking this tea ever since.
After finishing his drink, Fu Wang poured himself another cup. "Thank you very much, Lady Yun."
Wang Shitou and the others couldn't get used to the bitter tea, so they drank plain water and said to Yunyin, "Thank you for your hospitality, Madam Yun. We'll be going now. You can continue your conversation."
Seeing that Fu Wang was still sitting and hadn't moved, Yun Yin nodded and said, "Take care."
She tidied the table, sat down opposite him, and asked, "How long will you be staying this time, Young Master Fu?"
"I will stay until after the Mid-Autumn Festival, and they will continue to travel the route through the Western Regions."
After Fu Wang finished speaking, he took out a bag from under the table and handed it to Yun Yin, saying, "This is something I brought for you. It's all ingredients. You can take a look."
Yunyin opened the package and found fresh asparagus and cured meat inside. Looking at the dew still clinging to the asparagus, and remembering the lychees he had brought her before, her throat felt dry. She bit her lip and said:
"Young Master Fu, was I too abrupt? I asked you to bring me seeds before."
Fu Wang asked in surprise, "Why do you say that?"
Yunyin stood up and looked at him: "Ever since I asked you to bring me seeds, you not only brought me seeds, but also fruits and vegetables. I offered you money, but you refused, only accepting the money for the seeds."
"But how much are the seeds worth? That bag of lychees must have been very expensive. This time you also brought me meat and rare asparagus. I really feel unworthy of it."
Fu Wang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I thought I had done something wrong, but it turns out it's because of this. You don't need to feel guilty. The lychees were free. I have a friend in Jiaozhou who was sending lychees to Mianzhou, and I happened to run into him. He gave me some. As for the cured meat and asparagus, they were bought from a friend I know well at a good price. You don't need to feel indebted to me."
He raised his chin and said, "But you specially prepared so many complicated dishes to entertain me. I've observed that you probably don't intend to sell these dishes to passersby."
Yunyin was surprised that he had found out about this matter, and she was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say.
Fu Wang chuckled: "So you've done a lot too. What's the big deal that I just brought you some food? We didn't even pay for the food we ate today, so shouldn't I feel guilty too?"
Yunyin was taken aback by his words and for a moment found them quite reasonable. She took a while to say, "But the ones I prepared for you are all common in the countryside. Your friend gave you lychees, which must be quite rare. I've heard that ordinary people don't get to eat lychees."
Fu Wang shook his head and said, "It's not that exaggerated. Jiaozhou is a suitable place to grow lychees. My friend's family grows some, so it's not that expensive. Although lychees are expensive in Mianzhou, they are still much cheaper than lychees in Chang'an. After all, Mianzhou is not far from Jiaozhou. It's not as expensive as you think."
Seeing that Fu Wang looked relaxed, Yun Yin realized that it wasn't a difficult task for him, and she finally felt relieved. She said earnestly, "Young Master Fu, you don't need to specially search for seeds for me, nor do you need to specially send me ingredients. Long'an County has a good variety of produce, and there are many things to eat. There's no need to bring them back from outside, and it's inconvenient for you to be on your escort mission."
Fu Wang: "I'll only bring things that are convenient, I won't try to be anything special, don't worry. As for the seeds, I only bought some because I saw others selling them, and they're not widely planted in the Central Plains yet. How were the seeds I brought you before?"
Speaking of the seeds, Yunyin was very happy. She thanked them, saying, "It's all thanks to the seeds you gave me. I've planted both watermelons and cotton plants. The watermelons will be ready to eat in August and September. Maybe you'll even get to eat the watermelons I grew."
"As for the cotton seeds, I really thank you. Otherwise, I don't know how I would get through the winter. The cotton balls that grow from these seeds are very warm and are perfect for keeping warm."
Fu Wang nodded and said, "I'm glad you like it. I only learned that this stuff can be used to keep warm because I saw people in the Western Regions wearing clothes filled with cotton. I heard that there are seeds for this stuff in the Central Plains, but I haven't seen anyone growing it. I also didn't see anyone growing it in Long'an County, so I brought some for you."
Yunyin: "I've never seen it in Long'an County either. I heard from Sister Aman that they use charcoal for heating in winter. They have carriages and sheepskin coats when they go out, which is alright, but a sheepskin coat is really too expensive. It's not something I can afford now."
"Thank you so much for bringing me the cotton seeds. When the cotton grows, I'll give you a cotton coat so you can experience it."
Fu Wang's eyes lit up slightly: "If Lady Yun wants to make clothes for me, then I will thank you in advance."
Yunyin waved her hand: "I don't know how to make clothes. I can only ask someone to help me. I don't know who here can make cotton-padded clothes. Once they are made, you can wear them out in winter. That way, it will be convenient for you. It's not much different from a sheepskin coat."
Fu Wang: "It doesn't matter if you didn't do it. I'm already very happy that you gave me the clothes."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com