Ruyi decided to cut off a small piece of this part to make a simple version of braised pork and cabbage soup, so that her family could also try this dish that Lin Daiyu from Dream of the Red Chamber made.
Although there was no chicken to make broth, she could use Runmaidan water as a soup base, which was sweeter and more delicious, as well as refreshing and not greasy. After the soup boiled, she would cut the ham into small pieces and put them into the soup, along with scallions and ginger, then cover the pot and simmer over low heat.
I picked some fresh cabbage from the backyard, washed it, cut it into sections, and then put the ginger and scallions out of the pot and added the cabbage. Originally, I was supposed to add ingredients such as bamboo shoots, seaweed, and dried shrimp, but due to the special circumstances, we didn't have any in stock at home this morning. But that doesn't matter, since the essence of this dish is the cabbage simmered in ham broth.
The method for making honey-glazed ham is much more complicated. It requires ingredients that are basically not available at home, and it uses the top part, which is the essence of the whole ham. Ruyi plans to cut off a part of the top part and give it to her best friend Yang Liuer. She should return the favor after Yang Liuer helped her in her time of need.
Therefore, as a second choice, we used the Chinese ingredient, which is second only to the one mentioned above, as the main ingredient for this dish.
Cut out two palm-sized, square pieces of ham. This takes up one-third of the entire piece. While feeling the pain in her flesh, Ruyi forcefully made three horizontal and three vertical cuts on the meat. The ham then spread out in a grid pattern, with only a small portion of the meat still connected. Next, she placed the meat on a plate, added rock sugar and water to submerge it, and steamed it for an hour the first time.
The rock sugar of this era is somewhat different from that of the previous life. It is not as crystal clear, but rather pitted and uneven with many impurities. It is generally reddish-orange in color. Ruyi thinks it is somewhere between rock sugar and brown sugar. As for white sugar, she has never seen it before.
An hour later, the soup in the plate was poured out. This time, in addition to rock sugar and water, lotus seeds and honey were also needed, but none of these were available. Ruyi had no choice but to use red dates and osmanthus flowers instead. Then, the lid was put on and the pot was steamed for another half hour.
This steaming and boiling process is necessary to remove most of the saltiness from the ham, leaving only its fresh and fragrant flavor.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Ruyi took out the ham and red dates from the pot and arranged them beautifully on a plate. She added rock sugar to the remaining broth and stir-fried it over high heat until the sugar melted. After the sugar melted, she added cornstarch slurry to thicken it, then poured the thickened sauce over the ham and red dates. Finally, she sprinkled osmanthus flowers on top for garnish.
Although it's a simplified version, the ingredients are of high quality, and the steaming and boiling steps, which are already too complicated for ordinary people, along with the fancy plating at the end, are enough to impress the Cheng family.
The savory and fragrant ham is perfectly marbled with fat and lean meat, and the red dates, soaked in the golden broth, are plump and tempting, arranged in a pleasing manner around the ham. In the clear and sweet broth, there are also scattered osmanthus blossoms, adding a touch of elegance to the dish.
The honey-glazed ham is placed in the center of the table, surrounded by a dish of ham and cabbage soup, steamed egg custard, stir-fried bean sprouts with chives, and a full bowl of white rice.
The Cheng family members were sitting around the octagonal table in their main room, but they felt as if they were in a restaurant.
"This...this is so beautiful! It's just as good as any fancy restaurant!" Cheng Yan was the most knowledgeable person present. He had been to many famous restaurants, but this dish still amazed him.
"That's right! My goodness! Ruyi, you're amazing! You can actually cook such complicated dishes! I was just watching you in the kitchen and I felt dizzy. It takes several hours to cook one dish. It's terrifying if people find out!"
Xu Cui wasn't exaggerating; she really did stare blankly at what she saw in the kitchen just now.
It's not that there aren't complicated dishes in this era, it's just that they're all in the hands of chefs in restaurants. Ordinary people don't know about them in their homes. After all, this isn't the era of information explosion, and professional knowledge isn't passed on. Anyone who has so many recipes and skills can already sit in a big restaurant and take on apprentices.
Ruyi smiled and said, "This is already a simplified version. The original version requires much more complicated ingredients and steps, which I can't do. But no matter how complicated it is, it's still just a dish, something to be eaten. So everyone, don't just watch, start eating!"
Despite Ruyi's words, no one actually made a move.
After a long silence, it was Cheng Yan, the patriarch, who broke the silence, "Everyone, please eat. Don't waste Ruyi's efforts. Let's celebrate properly. Our family has finally solved a major problem for the time being!"
After he finished speaking, Cheng Yan was the first to take action. He carefully picked up a piece of honey-glazed ham and put it in his mouth. His eyes lit up immediately. It was fresh, sweet, salty and fragrant, leaving a lingering aroma in his mouth. He had never tasted such a rich and complex delicacy before. He couldn't find the words to describe it and could only say "good" several times.
With top-quality ham, so many ingredients, and a complicated process, how could the taste be bad? Everyone in the Cheng family praised the dish. Even Cheng Yunping, who doesn't like sweets, couldn't help but eat several pieces, while Yun'an and Yunle, who have a sweet tooth, almost licked the plate clean.
The older Cheng Yan, Xu Cui, and Xiao Man, who prefers milder flavors, especially enjoyed the perfectly balanced braised pork and cabbage soup. They praised it as the best cabbage soup they had ever eaten, never imagining that ordinary cabbage could be made so delicious.
In short, the people eating are happy, and the people cooking are also happy to watch them eat.
There are so many ways to cook this ham, such as braised ham hock and old duck soup, golden and silver double trotters, and so on. The more Ruyi thought about it, the more she felt that there was finally something to look forward to in life.
With food at home, there's no need to panic. After having enough food, the Cheng family shook off the previous gloomy atmosphere, and everyone became more enthusiastic about their morning exercise!
After more than a month of continuous training, coupled with the benefits of elixirs, the physical condition of the Cheng family members has improved significantly.
Ruyi herself deeply understands that the original owner's physical condition was originally very good, but after giving birth to three children, she inevitably suffered a lot. In addition, the medical conditions in ancient times were poor and basic knowledge was lacking. Moreover, most doctors were men, which meant that many women's diseases could only be treated by folk remedies passed down orally among women or by enduring the pain on their own.
I had all sorts of problems, such as deficiency of both qi and blood, irregular menstruation, and cold hands and feet, but recently these symptoms have improved significantly, and my body feels much lighter. At first, I could only run two or three laps around the house, but now I can barely run continuously for half an hour.
Several days later, news of Wang Liu finally arrived.
Wang Liu suffered a head injury and his hands and feet were bound. He was left to freeze on the ground in the backyard of the grain shop all night. When the officials found him the next day, he was on the verge of death. However, the officials did not deal with him immediately after finding him. They only notified his family to come after the search was completed that night.
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