Li Nian'an chewed carefully and said seriously, "The taste is indeed a bit bland, but I think it's probably because we're used to Aunt Pei's cooking and our palates have become picky."
Everyone then realized what was going on.
Liu Yuanyuan slapped her thigh: "That's right, Nian'an, you're so smart. We eat so well every day, so naturally we feel that other foods are just so-so."
“That makes sense. I haven’t had Yuezhi’s cooking in a long time, so I think this is quite delicious.”
Grandma Liu agreed with this statement, and then added, "After careful consideration and comparison, this roast chicken does indeed taste slightly inferior."
Pei Yuezhi handed a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) to Granny Liu: "Auntie, try this roujiamo."
Grandma Liu took the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) and took a big bite: "It's delicious! Not only is the meat so fragrant, but the bread is too. It's crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I love noodles, and I really love this. No wonder you all thought the roast chicken was so-so. Now I understand."
Everyone ate their roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) bite by bite, enjoying it immensely. Fan Mu ate one, the other two children each ate two, and Pei Yuezhi, Liu Yuanyuan, and Grandma Liu each ate three.
Pei Yuezhi suddenly remembered something: "Look at my memory, I forgot to make a soup, but the meat is stewed until it's very tender, and the broth inside isn't too dry."
"It's already so delicious. If there were soup, it might be overlooked. It's so fragrant, so fragrant." Liu Yuanyuan ate with a satisfied look on her face.
After they finished eating, Pei Yuezhi took some plum juice. After the three children finished drinking it, Fan Chao and Li Nian'an went to study, and Fan Mu followed along to watch.
The three adults sat together chatting.
"Yuezhi, your business is really doing well. I've even moved to live in town because of your business," Grandma Liu said with some emotion.
Pei Yuezhi said a little embarrassedly, "Yuanyuan has worked very hard. It's all thanks to her that I'm where I am today. Now that she's saved up a little money, she's thinking of bringing you to live in town."
Grandma Liu looked at Liu Yuanyuan with loving eyes: "Yuanyuan is a good child, kind and filial. It's my blessing to have such a child!"
"Mom, I'm embarrassed by your praise."
Liu Yuanyuan was a little shy.
The three chatted for a while, and then Grandma Liu got a little sleepy. After all, she had been packing and moving all day, so she was bound to be tired.
Grandma Liu went home first, leaving Pei Yuezhi and Liu Yuanyuan still chatting.
“Yuanyuan, you’ve tried the restaurant’s signature dishes today, and I have an idea.”
Ever since Pei Yuezhi ate that roast chicken today, she's had this one thought in her mind.
"What are your thoughts? Tell me about them." Liu Yuanyuan was also a little curious.
"Do you think we could sell our recipes to these restaurants?"
Liu Yuanyuan was a little surprised when she heard this: "Will it work? Will they buy it? And after they buy it, can we still do it?"
Pei Yuezhi answered each question in turn: "I think it's okay. Their dishes can be considered signature dishes this way. I think if I sell them the recipes, they should buy them. As for whether we can continue to make them, we can just sell them some dishes that we don't usually make."
"Yeah, their cooking is nowhere near as good as yours. But what kinds of dishes do we not usually cook?"
"Let me think about it." Pei Yuezhi pondered for a moment, then said, "It's not just dishes we don't usually make, but also the kind that can be considered our signature dishes, that way they might sell better."
The two sat facing each other for a while, when Pei Yuezhi suddenly thought of something: "Yuanyuan, how about braised chicken? It's crispy and fragrant, and looks good too. We can make it in advance, just like their roasted chicken."
"Braised chicken? Do we need any modern seasonings?" Liu Yuanyuan asked curiously.
Pei Yuezhi recalled for a moment and said, "You need light soy sauce and dark soy sauce, but you can use dark soy sauce instead, which will enhance the flavor and color."
"Oh right, I remember when we were kids, we didn't have light soy sauce or dark soy sauce, we only had soy sauce, and we only used soy sauce when cooking. Now we have both light and dark soy sauce."
"Yeah, and the old-fashioned soy sauce is really delicious. When I was a kid, it was so fragrant to mix a little bit of it into rice." Pei Yuezhi also reminisced.
Liu Yuanyuan looked a little hungry: "Then let's have soy sauce fried rice for breakfast tomorrow. Do you have any aged soy sauce?"
“Yes, it’s all in the seasoning gift pack. It’s just that I usually use light and dark soy sauce when cooking,” Pei Yuezhi nodded and said. “By the way, I’ll try making braised chicken with dark soy sauce. Let’s see how it goes. If it’s good, I’ll go to Qingquanlou to try it.”
"Okay, okay!"
"Then I'll marinate the chicken a little first, and I'll cook it tomorrow."
Pei Yuezhi picked out three chickens, keeping two for her own family and taking the other to Qingquanlou.
After cleaning the chicken, rub it evenly with Sichuan peppercorn salt, making sure to rub it all over inside and out, and then marinate it overnight.
The next day, Grandma Liu insisted on going to the shop to help out, and Pei Yuezhi agreed, since there were already many people in the shop, so it wouldn't be too tiring.
I happened to want to try making braised chicken, so after preparing all the dishes for the boxed lunches this noon, I handed over the task of serving the food to Liu Yuanyuan while I went home to make braised chicken.
Trim the nails of the marinated chicken, tuck the claws into its belly, and stick the chicken wings out of its mouth so that its shape is more regular.
Blanch it in water, but don't boil the water; just rinse it with hot water.
After draining off the excess water, spread a layer of honey evenly.
Then you can fry them.
However, this braised chicken cannot be directly put into the oil for frying. It should be placed in a strainer and then drizzled with hot oil before frying.
Just keep rinsing it with water until the chicken starts to brown and the skin turns bright red. Then the chicken is fried.
Pei Yuezhi chopped scallions and ginger, and lightly fried them in oil.
Make a caramel color with water and sugar until it turns a dark reddish-brown color, then add water and the fried scallions and ginger.
Then prepare a spice packet.
Prepare cinnamon, white cardamom, angelica root, star anise, bay leaves, sand ginger, licorice root, black cardamom, Sichuan peppercorns, cloves, dried hawthorn, fennel seeds, and dried chili peppers.
Pei Yuezhi looked at the pile of spices in front of her and almost laughed.
"This is like getting medicine dispensed. It doesn't taste good."
With no oil or water in the pot, stir-fry the spices until fragrant, then wrap them in a gauze bag.
Then you can put the spice packet into the pot, add some soy sauce, and then put the chicken in. Make sure there's plenty of water because it will be simmering for two hours.
The heat should be kept a little low, otherwise the pot will dry out.
"I never imagined that watching fire was such a skilled job."
The room was filled with fragrance, a testament to Pei Yuezhi's agonizing wait.
However, she didn't sit idle; she kneaded some more dough and prepared to make oil-splashed noodles.
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