It imitates the banquet process of Zhiweiguan, starting with appetizers and drinks, followed by the main courses and main dishes.
There were eight main dishes in total. The first dish was medicinal rabbit soup, followed by stir-fried eggs with chives and bean sprouts, braised pork, eight-treasure tofu, roasted mutton, steamed fish, and stewed pork with cabbage. Then came the main dish: deep-fried tender chicken.
The main dish was noodles with crab roe sauce, a small, very delicate bowl for each person. Actually, the reason was that Ruyi didn't have time to make it herself, so she had to buy the crab roe sauce from Zhiwei Restaurant...
Finally, let's have a very simple yet beautiful dessert: red bean double-skin milk pudding.
To prepare these hundreds of dishes, Ruyi worked tirelessly for several days. Fortunately, some of the female workers who had been in charge of cooking had not yet left, so she continued to employ them for several more days, and they were given the responsibility of preparing several simple dishes.
Medicinal rabbit soup and braised pork with cabbage are dishes that frequently appear in the Cheng family. Xu Cui can basically do them perfectly. Moreover, all you need to do is find a few large clay pots to stew a large pot at once, and then plate them separately.
So the only things Ruyi really needed to do from start to finish were fried chicken and double-skin milk.
The fried chicken she chose was quite different from the fried chicken of later generations, such as those from K-pop or Korean cuisine. It was inspired by traditional Shaanxi cuisine from Xi'an, which is said to have originated in the Tang Dynasty. It only requires three simple steps: steaming, boiling, and frying. With careful handling, it can achieve a crispy skin, tender meat, and a lingering fragrance.
First, choose a tender chicken, remove the chicken feet and wing tips. The skin and meat of the tender chicken will separate from the bone when touched after stewing, so tie it with rope to keep it in shape. Then put it in a pot of cold water to submerge it, bring it to a boil over high heat, skim off the foam, and then simmer it over low heat to make a rich and flavorful broth.
Next, the chicken needs to be braised to infuse flavor. Pour braising liquid into the golden chicken broth, then add scallion and ginger slices and Shaoxing wine to remove any fishy smell and enhance the aroma. Pour in soy sauce to flavor and color the chicken, then sprinkle with salt and rock sugar to enhance the freshness. After that, start steaming for about an hour.
After steaming, take out the whole braised chicken. The steam will fill the air with the aroma of the braising liquid. Carefully untie the ropes, coat the chicken evenly with a thin layer of batter, and then completely submerge the whole chicken in oil that is 80% hot. First, color and shape the chicken, then deep-fry it again at high temperature. Once the surface is golden brown and crispy, it can be taken out of the pot immediately.
Take out the plump chicken leg, take a bite, and you'll find the outer shell fluffy and crispy, the chicken meat tender and flavorful, and the savory juices overflowing without being greasy.
During this dynasty, the nobles mainly preferred to eat wild large animals. They looked down on and disliked eating "lowly" things like poultry, so pork and chicken were not the main dishes at banquets.
However, the fried chicken that Ruyi made today was an eye-opener for the guests, especially Manager Huang. He tried hard to open his small eyes, as if he wanted to see the whole fried chicken inside and out. He also stared at Cheng Ruyi with a slightly resentful look from time to time, which made Ruyi's skin crawl.
After nine dishes, most of the guests were so full they could barely stand up, but then, unexpectedly, a series of exquisite little bowls were brought out, each containing one serving.
Speaking of red bean double-skin milk, it is one of the few desserts that could be made in ancient times. Actually, she originally wanted to make caramel pudding, but later found that there was no white sugar at all.
In her memory, making granulated sugar required filtering and decolorizing with yellow mud water, but she wasn't sure of the specific steps. So, without granulated sugar, you can't make caramel, and without caramel, it's just ordinary steamed eggs...
Fortunately, Ruyi remembered that she had eaten that dessert at Zhiwei Restaurant last time, so she went to find Chef Zhao and learned that milk was sold in the county town, but it was almost all bought up by the major restaurants and rich people.
With milk available, she thought of making her former favorite: red bean double-skin milk.
Making double-skin milk pudding isn't too difficult; there are tons of tutorials online. I've made it a few times back in modern times, and the milk sold here is perfect for buffalo milk, which makes the milk skin thicker and more fragrant. Finally, it's topped with stewed, soft, and sweet red beans, satisfying both the eyes and the taste buds.
Red bean double-skin milk has a delicate, smooth, soft, sweet and glutinous texture that adults and children alike can't stop eating. A small bowl is just the right amount, neither too filling nor too greasy.
After the meal, the guests praised the dishes highly. Many of the women surrounded Cheng Ruyi, wanting to know where she had booked the banquet. When they learned that she had cooked it herself, they were almost speechless with astonishment.
"Little Ruru! When did your cooking become so good? You didn't even tell me! That's too much! When did we become so distant? Am I not your best friend anymore?" Yang Liuer grabbed Cheng Ruyi's hands as they parted, her almond-shaped eyes wide with dissatisfaction.
Cheng Ruyi couldn't help but smile bitterly after hearing this. "How dare you say that? Who was it before who was so focused on our daughter? Even when I came to your door, you complained that I was disturbing your family time and chased me away. How could I have time to chat with you?"
"That's not what they meant. You know, the house was a mess back then, and I just didn't want to involve you..."
Yang Liuer was also helpless. She thought her sister-in-law was difficult enough, but she didn't expect that this mistress was the real troublemaker. She had never experienced so much malice since she was a child.
"I understand. I'll go meet your husband after I've finished dealing with my family matters, so I can broaden my horizons as well."
"You? Forget it. What's the point of talking to someone like that? How about we meet up outside and go for a spring outing?"
"Okay, okay, I'll definitely prepare lots of delicious food then!"
After finally seeing her best friend off, Ruyi turned around and was greeted by Huang Youcai. Seeing his unusually expressive face, she couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.
"Madam Cheng, I should really be glad you didn't open a restaurant, otherwise, facing a formidable rival like you, Zhiwei Restaurant's business would be in serious jeopardy~~" Huang Youcai was filled with complicated feelings. For a moment, he didn't know whether Cheng Ruyi really wanted to invite him to dinner or wanted to show off and take the opportunity to raise the conditions for future cooperation.
"Manager Huang, you're joking. Zhiwei Restaurant is a renowned and top-notch restaurant in Huaishan County. My skills are only good enough for my own home and can't be served in the main hall."
Cheng Ruyi knew that Manager Huang must be a little nervous, so she stopped teasing him. "Manager Huang, I have prepared a gift for your boss to thank him for his care during this time. Please wait a moment!"
Oh? Huang Youcai was a little surprised. Although he couldn't figure out Cheng Ruyi's true thoughts, it seemed that she still wanted to maintain good relations with them, right?
So on his way back, Huang Youcai had an extra food box in his hand. The aroma of fried chicken kept wafting out of the box. He remembered that Ruyi had just said that it tasted best when it was hot, so he rushed back to the Zhou family in the county town, hoping that his employer would not blame him for the fried chicken being cold and not tasting good.
Actually, besides the fried chicken, there was also a fried chicken recipe in the food box. To be precise, the fried chicken recipe was the real gift that Cheng Ruyi prepared.
If she wants to climb up the Zhou family's coattails and enjoy their benefits, she needs to constantly demonstrate her value. Currently, all she can offer them are various recipes. As for things like cement, seawater salt, and even the white sugar she just mentioned, none of those are things she can actually say.
Those were not her values, but her death warrant.
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