Chapter 33 Casserole Lamb Trotters
Once the gypsum had begun to dissolve in the water, Jiang Zhi patiently skimmed off any remaining foam that hadn't completely dissolved, and the brine was then ready.
While the soy milk was still warm, Jiang Zhi slowly poured the brine into it.
While gently scooping the brine into the soy milk with a spoon and waiting for the tofu to set, Jiang Zhi kept a close eye on it.
While soaking the soybeans, she had already taken precautions by tying her long, straight black hair high and into a small bun. Even when she bent over and looked down, her eyes were almost touching the water, yet not a single stray hair got into the soy milk.
At this moment, if an outsider were observing from the side, they would probably sense a strange sense of piety!
However, at this moment, Jiang Zhi didn't care much about her posture. She was intently bending over and staring at the bubbling soy milk in the pot.
When the first wispy strands began to form in the soy milk, Jiang Zhi decisively stopped.
The rest of the process of making tofu pudding is just a matter of time; it has little to do with the brine.
Jiang Zhi felt that she had nothing more to do. So she poured the brine from the side onto the ground outside, which was being baked by the scorching sun. Then she turned around and picked up the pot lid to cover the tofu that was about to solidify. Finally, she rinsed the small bowl of brine under running water and put it back in the cupboard.
This series of actions took only a blink of an eye, and Jiang Zhi, having finished, hummed an unknown tune and happily walked out, casually flicking away the water droplets that had gotten on her hands.
*
Over there, Yan Mo, as expected of the person Jiang Zhi had her eye on, had already bought the vegetables from the market and even prepared some sweet soup for the two children.
Yan Mo's sweet soup is quite different from Jiang Zhi's. She mostly makes traditional styles that are common in contemporary times. For example, this time she made mung bean ice, which is the most popular type of dessert of our time.
However, since the two children rarely get to taste sweetness, they were especially satisfied with their meal.
Little Mahua licked his lips contentedly, still savoring the sweet taste.
Zuo Tianyuan, on the other hand, had been squatting down with sparkling eyes ever since Yan Mo made mung bean ice.
He rarely ate sweets. Yan Mo was busy all day and had no time to study food. Only on very rare occasions could he get a couple of pieces of candy from his mother when he was playing with the neighborhood children.
Now that his mother had actually cooked something delicious, he had no choice but to stay and watch over it.
After finishing a bowl of sweet soup, he almost closed his eyes in enjoyment.
When Jiang Zhi came out of the kitchen, she saw this scene.
The two little ones had just finished their studies and were now gulping down their drinks with smiles on their faces.
Beside her, Yan Mo sat down, carefully braiding Xiao Mahua's hair while repeatedly nagging about the problems they had just encountered.
Jiang Zhi felt a slight warmth in her heart.
However, even though it's a heartwarming gesture, I can't leave this mung bean ice for her!
After the thought crossed her mind, she took two steps at a time, quickly walked to the table, casually pulled out a porcelain bowl from the side, and looked at Yan Mo with bright eyes.
Then I successfully got a bowl of mung bean ice with osmanthus flowers floating on top and ice cubes made with honey water!
Jiang Zhi gulped it down in one go, and then her eyes lit up instantly.
Sweet but not cloying, with a refreshing mung bean flavor, and a hint of osmanthus fragrance lingers on the tongue from time to time...
*
After Jiang Zhi finished drinking, she and Yan Mo took the opportunity to let the two children out to bask in the sun. She then sat down next to Yan Mo with a smile and asked her in detail about the method she had used.
Yan Mo didn't hold back either, keeping an eye on the two children's path as they ran wild, while teaching Jiang Zhi some of her commonly used methods.
Jiang Zhi, having learned cooking methods from modern times, was naturally very willing to listen to the ingenious cooking tips of an ancient woman.
While watching the children and chatting, time seemed to flow quietly for a long time, as if unwilling to be disturbed.
After a long while, Jiang Zhi, who had finally come to her senses, felt as if she had forgotten something. But because the atmosphere was so joyful, she simply put the vague emptiness in her heart out of her mind.
*
As the two chatted, Yan Mo didn't start eating as early as Jiang Zhi, so her sense of smell was a bit more acute than Jiang Zhi's, who was gulping down mung bean ice.
Therefore, although she didn't know what Jiang Zhi was doing in the kitchen, she always felt that there was a bean aroma in the air.
After hesitating for a long time, she mentioned it to Jiang Zhi in passing.
Now Jiang Zhi finally realized what she had forgotten. She slapped her thigh hard, almost jumping up from the pain.
But at this moment, she couldn't care less about that.
She ran to the kitchen.
Damn it, she only came out to sit for a while, and after chatting happily for a bit, she completely forgot about her pot of tofu pudding!
Yan Mo, who was still a little hesitant about whether her new boss would avoid pointing out her problems, finally felt relieved after seeing this scene.
However, some thoughts are hard to stop. For example, Yan Mo's mind was still replaying the actions of the new boss. She held back for a while, and only after watching the new boss walk away could she help but smile faintly.
*
Although Jiang Zhi heard the soft laughter behind her, she had no time to pay attention to it at the moment.
She made such a big pot mainly because she wanted to eat some tofu pudding, not because she wanted to live on tofu for the next few days!
Lost in thought, Jiang Zhi ran quickly to the kitchen, lifted the lid, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, this is still the same tofu pudding with the aroma of soybeans, tender and smooth!
Jiang Zhi gently sniffed the white steam rising from the edge of the pot, her nostrils instantly filled with the hot, fragrant aroma, and she smiled with satisfaction!
While the tofu was cooling, she pulled up a small bowl, put in some honey and brown sugar, and then slowly added water. Once it was dissolved, the sauce for mixing with the tofu was ready!
Although the sauce was ready, the tofu pudding continued to puff out steam, making Jiang Zhi frown.
She simply grabbed seven or eight more bowls, poured the tofu pudding into each one, then poured the sauce over them in circles, and finally, Jiang Zhi casually sprinkled some osmanthus flowers she had gotten from Yan Mo. At first glance, it looked absolutely beautiful.
Brown sugar syrup was poured evenly over the surface of the jade-white tofu pudding, and then a handful of osmanthus flowers that Jiang Zhi casually sprinkled down made the tofu pudding look exceptionally crystal clear and beautiful.
Jiang Zhi wasn't in the mood to appreciate it. She took advantage of the moment to fetch two buckets of bone-chilling well water from the well outside and placed the bowl containing the tofu pudding directly into the well water to cool it down.
*
She then started making tofu again.
Once you've mastered making tofu pudding, making tofu is naturally a piece of cake!
Not to mention that it was made by Jiang Zhi; even a slightly skilled person wouldn't find it too difficult.
She deftly took the large shovel she had used to scoop out the tofu pudding and carefully poured the remaining pudding into the mold she had borrowed earlier, one stroke at a time.
Of course, before pouring it in, she made sure to wrap the inside of the mold thoroughly with a cloth.
All she had to do was take the large blue stone slab she had chosen outside and press it for an hour. Once she had roughly estimated that all the moisture had been pressed out, the tofu would be almost ready.
As Jiang Zhi's mouth watered slightly at the gradually cooling tofu pudding, she kept this thought in mind while her hands worked even faster.
*
The tofu is now mostly done. Next, Jiang Zhi is thinking about what kind of banquet to have for lunch today!
The banquet that Jiang Zhi plans to host is a "warm-up banquet" commonly seen in ancient times!
Generally speaking, it means inviting relatives and friends, neighbors and fellow villagers, simply telling people around that we are opening a shop here and welcome them to come and support us.
After organizing her thoughts, Jiang Zhi made a rough estimate:
She planned to invite three people from the carpenter's family, four people including Pei Yougu and Xiao Mahua, two people including the new kitchen helper Yan Mo and her son, and at most Yan Mo's husband, the Zhao family couple, and finally herself, roughly ten to thirteen people.
Jiang Zhi was familiar with the eating abilities of Pei You and Gu, so she roughly estimated that about 13 dishes should be enough.
Based on the standards for a banquet, Jiang Zhi directly decided on four cold dishes, six hot dishes, two soups, and two staple foods, which should be about right.
After mentally reviewing the plan, while the tofu still needed to be pressed to remove excess water, Jiang Zhi went to her room to get a brush and paper, and wrote down the menu in a flourish.
While she didn't feel there were many things on her mind, writing them down made Jiang Zhi feel dizzy for a moment:
Why are there so many?
She ranked the approximate time required for each dish, planning to start with the dishes that took the longest to prepare.
Good heavens, when the stewed lamb trotters were cooked for three hours, they were far ahead!
Jiang Zhi naturally knew that in this dynasty, pork and chicken were not actually among the most popular meats, and beef was even more disregarded because of Confucianism.
If I had to pick my favorite meat, it would be lamb.
Didn't you see? Last time, Pei You and Gu ate that roasted lamb leg with such gusto!
*
Jiang Zhi first took the lamb trotters that Yan Mo had already slightly washed.
Yan Mo made a good choice. Even Jiang Zhi, who wasn't good at picking lamb trotters, couldn't tell that the meat was fresh and the size was slightly larger than an adult's fist, just right for stewing.
Jiang Zhi rinsed the ginger under running water again, then put it into the pot with long, chopped scallions, thick slices of ginger, and a spice that was quite unique to this dynasty, called "Gan Song".
When the fire started making the whole pot of water bubbling and boiling, Jiang Zhi used a spoon to skim off the grayish-white foam rolling around the edge of the pot while carefully smelling it.
After a few moments, her eyes lit up. She scooped out the lamb's hoof, rinsed it under running water, and shook it a couple of times to drain the surface water.
This step may seem simple, but it directly reduces the usual gamey smell of lamb.
Next, Jiang Zhi will start preparing to unleash her ultimate move.
She took out an unused clay pot from the cabinet next to her. This was a treasure left behind by the owner of the house, which Jiang Zhi found while cleaning the house just two days ago!
At this very moment, it comes in handy.
Jiang Zhi first greased the pan with mutton tail fat, then added a little bit of lard to make sure it wouldn't burn. Then she added the scallion and ginger slices she had chopped earlier, stir-fried them briefly, and finally added the main ingredient of the dish—mutton trotters.
The remaining step is to stir-fry over high heat.
As the lamb trotters, coated in lamb fat from the pot, released their rich, unique aroma under the scorching flames, Jiang Zhi watched intently, afraid that something might go wrong.
Jiang Zhi breathed a sigh of relief only when the surface of the lamb's trotters turned slightly yellow, locking in all the freshness and aroma of the lamb. She then gently blinked her already dry eyes.
Next comes the stewing process.
First, submerge the lamb trotters in warm water, then add the seasonings, including soy sauce, a few dried red dates, and goji berries for flavor and added health benefits.
With the remaining time, Jiang Zhi stretched slightly, knowing very well what was going on:
She simply adjusted the heat to ensure that the medium flame could continuously and gently scorch the bottom of the casserole; the rest was just a matter of time.
So Jiang Zhi simply went back to making her tofu.
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Author's Note: 100,000 words! [Cat emoji][Cat emoji][Cat emoji]
If nothing unexpected happens, the next update will be at 4 PM!
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