Chapter 95 Wife, You Are Awesome

"The most important thing about braised pork is frying the sugar color. The best sugar to use is yellow rock sugar, which tastes the best." Ye Muqi said as he put the yellow rock sugar he had prepared earlier into the pot. There was still a little oil in the pot.

The fire was not very high, and the rock sugar in the pot slowly melted and turned into caramel color. After being stirred and mixed with the oil, it became shiny and beautiful in color.

"When frying sugar, you must pay attention to the heat. If the heat is too low, the sugar color will not look good. If the heat is too high, it will easily become mushy. Once it becomes mushy, it will taste bitter and not tasty."

The blanched meat is put into the pot. As it is stir-fried, the sugar color gradually coats the meat, and the white meat turns into a beautiful caramel color with a glistening sheen of oil. It tastes delicious just by looking at it.

"For braised pork, you need to choose better pork belly. It's best to roast the skin on the back and then put it on the hot pot for a while before blanching it. This way the skin won't be greasy." Ye Muqi had already prepared this before, so he could only explain it to Yang Liwen.

Yang Liwen studied very seriously, her eyes fixed on the pot in front of Ye Muqi, and she even wrote down every word Ye Muqi said carefully.

There were six dishes to be prepared, and Ye Muqi worked quickly. He added water and seasoning to the braised pork and then stewed it. He then started preparing the next dish, the spareribs.

The two meat dishes were the most time-consuming, so they were stewed first. Ye Muqi then started to stir-fry the vegetarian dishes, which was much faster.

Ye Muqi was explaining to Yang Liwen while he was doing it. His hands and mouth almost never stopped. Even Cai Dongmei, who came out from the kitchen, couldn't help but come over to listen.

"Actually, the most important things are these seasonings. I mixed some of them myself according to the proportions, and I'll give you some to take back in the evening. Just put them in the rice when you cook, and the taste won't be much different." After Ye Muqi finished, he said to Yang Liwen.

There is no such thing as a crash course in cooking, and since this is done in a store, Ye Muqi can't let Yang Liwen cook it right away. The condiments he prepared himself should be enough to satisfy the political commissar.

Because yesterday's big bowl of rice was sold out before noon, Ye Muqi made almost twice the amount today. He first filled two large portions for Cai Dongmei, and then Ye Muqi brought the prepared dishes out.

Yesterday the workers were unwilling to sit in the store to eat, so Ye Muqi moved all the tables out today and placed the dishes outside the door, letting the workers serve the dishes on both sides. The speed of serving the dishes was much faster.

Because the dishes were all placed outside, they were more eye-catching than yesterday. Those who had eaten yesterday, those who had not eaten but were introduced, and those who were just passing by, all gathered around, and the number of customers almost never stopped.

The stools we bought yesterday were all put to use. We could add as much meat as we wanted and the food tasted good. The workers were very satisfied with the meal.

Yang Liwen knew that Ye Muqi's store had good business in the morning, but she didn't expect that the business at noon would be even better.

Batch after batch of people, bowls were given out one after another. The bowls that were piled high before were almost empty in the blink of an eye. And the money collected, although only RMB 1.5 per person, was too much to handle due to the large number of people.

Yang Liwen felt that the money collected this afternoon alone was equivalent to Yu Jianguo's monthly salary.

There was more admiration in Yang Liwen's eyes when she looked at Ye Muqi. Ye Muqi had just arrived in Beijing, but he was able to find a job and earn so much money. He was really capable.

Yang Liwen was even more enthusiastic about learning cooking from Ye Muqi. She had been staying in the family compound all the time, and she was a little envious of Ye Muqi for being able to work on his own and earn money to bring home. She also wanted to be like Ye Muqi.

As the number of used bowls increased, Yang Liwen took the dirty bowls to the back kitchen, washed them, and moved them out again.

The big bowls of rice were sold until after 2:00 p.m., when the workers who were taking their lunch break went back to the factory and the streets gradually became deserted before they were closed down.

Although Ye Muqi made twice as much as yesterday, it was almost all sold out.

"Xixi, I'll go back first." Cai Dongmei stuffed the divided money into Ye Muxi's pockets, picked up the packed dinner and left. She still had to go home to take care of her grandson.

Ye Muqi said she was going to the back kitchen to clean up, and then took out a week's worth of food at once. Now Yang Liwen was here. She came and left with Yang Liwen every day, and she had never seen the delivery person come. In order to avoid Yang Liwen getting suspicious, Ye Muqi simply put a little more food in.

The weather is getting cooler now, and it’s even a bit cold in Beijing in the morning and evening, so it’s okay to put in a little more.

"Let's go, we're going back too." Ye Muqi came out from the kitchen, closed the door and went home with Yang Liwen.

Arriving at the family compound, Ye Muqi went home first and took out the seasonings at home.

"Sister Yang, this is the seasoning I mentioned earlier. Take it back and try it. If you can't get it right, put a little less first, then taste it and add more as needed."

After all, this is an unused seasoning and there is no way to add it based on experience, so this method is the best.

"Okay." Yang Liwen took note of it and went home, thinking about what Ye Muqi had taught her today and preparing to give it a try.

After all, I have only been listening and have never actually tried it, so it is not easy to learn.

Yang Liwen cooked the pork belly that Ye Muqi gave her along with the seasonings according to Ye Muqi's instructions. She burned the skin of the pork belly and then fried the pork skin in a pan without oil for a while.

She had watched Ye Muqi make the following steps before, and now with the seasonings provided, Yang Liwen tried to cook according to what she had seen. After stewing the dishes, she also made two vegetarian dishes that Ye Muqi had taught her.

When Yu Jianguo came back from the army, he smelled a fragrance in the house as soon as he opened the door. It was much more fragrant than usual.

"It smells so good, my wife. Is this the result of what you learned today?" Yu Jianguo took a deep breath and hurried in. Looking at the bright red braised pork on the table, he felt like his saliva was about to flow down.

It is not only fragrant, but also looks beautiful. Just smelling it and looking at the appearance of it will increase your appetite.

"Well, I just learned it today. This is my first time trying to make the secret seasoning that Qiqi gave me." Yang Liwen came out of the kitchen and handed Yu Jianguo a pair of chopsticks. "Here, try it and see how it tastes."

Yang Liwen had tried it before and thought it tasted pretty good, much better than the dishes she usually cooked.

Yu Jianguo took the chopsticks and couldn't help but picked up a piece of braised pork and stuffed it into his mouth. The braised pork was stewed well, soft, tender and smooth, and his mouth was full of meaty aroma.

Yu Jianguo's face was full of satisfaction. Although his craftsmanship was still inferior to Ye Muqi's, it was only the first day that his wife started learning, and she had made such obvious progress. Yu Jianguo even felt that good days were beckoning to him!

"This tuition fee is really worth it, it's really worth it!" Yu Jianguo nodded and gave Yang Liwen great affirmation, "My wife, you are awesome, give me a kiss."

Yang Liwen: "What an old, indecent thing."

Yu Jianguo: “…”

Wife, you have changed!