The recipe, written in bold, iron-hooked characters, reads "Crab Stuffed Orange," and details the method for making crab stuffed orange.
Take a ripe, large orange, cut off the top, scoop out the pulp, leaving a little juice, and make the orange into a hollow orange jar.
Remove the crab meat and roe, mix them together, and put them back into the orange jar. Add a little orange juice, fruit vinegar, and rice wine, then cover it with the orange top that was originally cut off, secure it with thin bamboo skewers, and steam it until cooked.
It is served seasoned with vinegar and salt.
The note at the end states: Each orange urn can generally hold the meat of two to three large hairy crabs.
Gu Yaoniang handed the recipe to Yu Erniang: "I've never seen crab-stuffed oranges before. But this looks quite suitable. What do you think?"
Yu Erniang had heard her read the prescription before, and now that she held it in her hands, she was delighted and very interested in this new prescription.
But he hesitated: "It sounds good, but we still need to try more to figure out how much 'appropriate amount' and 'a little bit' are, how long to steam it, and whether to take the crab meat raw or cooked."
It's not that I'm too lazy to try, it's just that I don't know how many crabs and money I'll have to spend in the process.
Gu Yaoniang didn't seem to care much: "It's alright! I'll go with you and try it out based on my intuition first."
Bi Shuang interjected, "My lady, I feel that this recipe needs to be revised again."
Bi Shuang doesn't usually care about what she eats; she eats almost anything given to her. Although she has many opportunities to go in and out of the kitchen with Gu Yaoniang, she has never offered any opinions on food.
Gu Yaoniang found it intriguing and gestured for her to explain: "How so?"
"I don't know how it tastes. But this recipe is really harmful to the body! Crab is cold in nature, and orange is warm in nature, which can regulate qi and resolve phlegm, but the amount of hairy crab in this recipe is so large that crab-stuffed orange is still too cold."
Normally, even when eating just one crab, a lot of ginger is added. This meticulous preparation of the meat for easy consumption inevitably leads to eating more crab meat. Furthermore, the recipe doesn't include any ginger, which is quite unhealthy.
Bi Shuang seemed to have some dislike for this prescription.
She was skilled with poisons, not only various legitimate poisons, but also the methods of harming people through the interplay of food and their gradual, insidious effects.
Gu Yaoniang hadn't expected this, and hurriedly asked, "What will happen if we use this prescription?"
Seeing her anxious expression, Bi Shuang quickly comforted her, saying, "It won't harm your life. However, you'll inevitably experience abdominal pain, diarrhea, and bloating. If you consume it for a long time, it can easily lead to spleen and stomach deficiency and intestinal disorders. In particular, women may experience menstrual irregularities, cold uterus, and physical weakness, which can affect their ability to conceive."
A cold sweat broke out on Gu Yaoniang's back.
This recipe was given to us by Wang Zhilan. She said that her mother liked it, so they often kept this recipe at home.
So... was Wang Zhilan aware of this?
Thinking back to Wang Zhilan, she was gentle, elegant, quiet, and polite; it was very comfortable to be around her. Besides, he had, in a way, saved Wang Zhilan's life by the river.
Logically speaking, Wang Zhilan should not have done this intentionally.
Gu Yaoniang also refused to believe that Wang Zhilan had done it intentionally.
So how did the Wang family obtain this prescription?
Yu Erniang, however, was unaware of the inside story. She was simply unwilling to abandon this recipe, which seemed destined to be a hit: "Miss Bishuang, what if we add ginger juice or ginger vinegar?"
Bi Shuang thought for a moment and then said carefully, "We can use ginger and vinegar."
Then he said to Gu Yaoniang, "But my lady, this dish must be served in limited quantities."
Gu Yaoniang snapped out of her thoughts and smiled upon hearing this: "Of course there will be limits! When has anything from our Jin Yu Lou ever been unlimited?"
But she asked again, "Will adding ginger and vinegar be okay?"
Bi Shuang nodded: "Adding ginger and vinegar, and limiting the amount so that the guests don't eat too much, should be fine. Madam can also prepare ginger and brown sugar soup for the guests, and that will be perfect."
Gu Yaoniang then said to Yu Erniang, "In that case, let's replace the vinegar with ginger vinegar and try it out to see how it tastes better."
Next month, we'll be featuring crab-stuffed orange juice.
The thought of removing all the crab meat presented a challenge: "Removing both the crab meat and the crab roe is quite time-consuming. The kitchen staff might not be able to do such delicate work."
Bizhu stepped forward: "Wife, I'm fast at dismantling hairy crabs, I can teach them!"
As she spoke, she reached out to dismantle the crab. With Gu Yaoniang's permission, Bizhu quickly removed the crab meat into her bowl. Even the crab meat in the legs was cleaned off by Bizhu with a simple folding and pushing motion of her hands.
Bizhu's skill stunned everyone present, and she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
"Okay, okay!"
Gu Yaoniang looked at her with a smile: "I didn't expect Bizhu to have such good skills."
"If you feel that the kitchen is too busy, perhaps you can ask Qiao Gu. Qiao Gu might be able to help you find someone."
Bizhu hesitated before speaking, but Yaoniang was somewhat surprised: "Qiaoniang has a lot of people under her command?"
She didn't know.
Bishuang secretly gave Bizhu a wink. Bizhu seemed to have thought of something and didn't respond to Yaoniang's words, only saying, "You can ask her."
Gu Yaoniang made a mental note of it and didn't ask any more questions.
"It's done!"
A few days later, a cheer came from the Gu family's kitchen.
The knife was used to carve a serrated shape at an angle, resulting in an appealing color and a rich aroma.
Gu Yaoniang was still holding a small silver spoon in her hand; the joyful cheer she had just given was from her.
She seemed very happy.
Crab-stuffed orange is a novel and imaginative combination. The refreshing aroma of orange peel, the rich and delicious flavor of crab meat, and the sweet and sour taste of orange blend perfectly in the mouth.
She had a strong feeling that this dish would be a huge hit if it were launched!
"My lady, should we serve the crab-stuffed oranges on the first or the fifteenth of the lunar month?"
"I asked, Yu Erniang."
This question stumped Gu Yaoniang.
Something containing oranges should be considered a snack and placed on the fifteenth; while something stuffed with crab meat is more suitable as a dish and should be placed on the first.
"Let's stick with the first year of junior high."
Gu Yaoniang thought for a moment and then said, "It's relatively easy to innovate desserts. But it's not easy to come up with something new for the first day of the Lunar New Year that will also be well-received by the guests."
"Go to the Wang family and deliver a letter for me. Come with me to see Ahan tomorrow."
Gu Yaoniang said to Bizhu.
He then said to Yu Erniang, "Sister Yu, please make four crab-stuffed oranges for me tomorrow at noon, and I will take them to the Wang family."
Yu Erniang nodded in agreement.
After arranging things, Gu Yaoniang's face broke into an irrepressible smile.
That's wonderful! Nobody has ever seen something like this before!
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