It just so happened that there was fish in the inn, because the dishes Zhou Daqing had learned from her before were all related to fish.
To smoke fish, first remove the main bones in the middle of the fish body, then cut the two large pieces of fish meat diagonally into thicker large fillets. First, use ginger and scallion water and a little Huadiao wine to remove the fishy smell, and finally add appropriate amount of salt, a little bit of dark soy sauce and soybean paste to marinate.
Then start preparing the sauce, which includes Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cornelian cherry, onion, ginger, garlic and a few other spices. Pour a proper amount of rapeseed oil into the pot and fry a handful of onions first to produce onion oil. Then pour in the dry ingredients from before. Once the aroma comes out, add water, salt, rock sugar, dark soy sauce and balsamic vinegar to season. Finally, add the fried onions and a handful of coriander and cook for half an hour. Before serving, add some five-spice powder prepared by Xu Qinyu herself.
This is just the sauce for smoked fish. The previously marinated fish pieces are put into a pan and fried until they are golden brown. The fried fish pieces are crispy even with the big fish bones inside. Finally, the fried fish pieces are taken out and soaked in the previously cooked sauce for an hour. It tastes crispy with a sweet and sour taste, and is suitable for eating with wine or with porridge or rice.
While roasting the second batch of suckling pigs, Xu Qinyu had already fried the fish and marinated it in the cooked sauce. Now the time was just right to eat it.
In addition to a crispy suckling pig and a large pot of smoked fish, Zhou Daqing also fried an egg.
The crispy suckling pig was the most popular dish. While eating, Lianhua suddenly said to Xu Qinyu, "I wish I could follow my master forever."
She herself is also a member of the Black Armor Guards and a member of King Shu's staff.
A few days ago, the Fourth Prince selected twenty people and asked them to work as guards at Xu's Restaurant in Raozhou City. At first, only Huo Jiang was happy about it, while the others were not very happy.
Huo Jiang was a child picked up by Commander Huo Ye, who raised him. Commander Huo also taught him kung fu, and he eventually became a black-armored guard.
Among the black-armored guards, more than half are orphans who were adopted by the eldest prince. The eldest prince hired people to teach them martial arts and various other skills.
Originally, the eldest prince was framed, and they all planned to return to the capital. Later, when they learned that Prince Shu and others were exiled, Commander Huo told them not to act rashly. After finding Prince Shu, they followed him. They also knew that Prince Shu would definitely help the eldest prince to take revenge and restore the throne of the Great Sheng Dynasty to orthodoxy.
Therefore, they all hoped to follow King Shu to do something big, even if now they could only grow crops on the island and near the island, and run business and escort.
So when they first learned that they were to be guards for the princess's restaurant, they were not very happy about it, thinking that they were wasting their talents. The martial arts of these twenty people could be ranked in the top fifty among all the black-armored guards.
It was not until they arrived at the restaurant and tasted the food prepared by the princess that everyone was astounded and no longer felt that being a guard at the princess's restaurant was a waste of their talents.
Although the eldest prince adopted them, taught them martial arts, let them read and write, and taught them various skills, as for food, they just kept themselves full. The chefs among the black-armored guards had never learned cooking skills, so they just cooked the food. Although there was no shortage of meat, it didn't taste good.
Compared with the food prepared by the princess, it is no exaggeration to say that it is pig food.
Lianhua also understood why Huo Jiang was so happy when he knew he would be the princess's guard. It must be because he had eaten the food cooked by the princess before.
Of course, the princess didn't know their identities yet. Prince Shu didn't allow them to reveal their identities and asked them to protect the princess.
The food cooked by the princess was so delicious that she wanted to follow her for the rest of her life.
Xu Qinyu felt a little helpless when she heard Lianhua calling her master.
These guards are also strange. They like to call her "master" every time, and she has to correct them many times.
Now that she heard Lianhua calling her like that, she knew it was useless to correct her.
"Eat quickly. Everyone has worked hard today. Rest early after eating."
In the end, Lotus ate four bowls of glutinous rice, two pounds of crispy suckling pig, and two large bowls of smoked fish. She felt comfortable and satisfied.
…
The breakfast at the inn the next day was still prepared by Xu Qinyu. She asked Manager Zhou to order the ingredients last night and had them delivered early in the morning.
For breakfast, Xu Qinyu made custard buns, crystal shrimp dumplings, steamed pork ribs, seafood porridge, and steamed spare ribs with black bean sauce. That was pretty much it.
When the original guests staying at the inn learned that there would be a new breakfast this morning, they all got up and went downstairs just by smelling the delicious food, without Manager Zhou having to introduce it to them, for they were afraid that they would miss out on the delicious food like last night.
After getting up, I asked Manager Zhou what fresh food the kitchen had prepared.
As soon as Manager Zhou said this, everyone ordered the food they wanted to try.
In fact, I basically ordered one of each. The portions of crystal shrimp dumplings, custard buns, steamed pork siu mai, and steamed pork ribs with black bean sauce were not large, only three or four pieces each. Adding a serving of seafood porridge, it was just the normal amount of food for an adult man.
There were also many people passing by asking what the food smelled so good.
Shopkeeper Zhou patiently told everyone, "This is breakfast prepared by our Daqing chef. Would you like to try it, everyone? There's not much left and it will be sold out soon. Our Daqing chef is the owner of Xu's Restaurant outside the city. The food he makes is absolutely delicious. You'll know once you try it. Was the crispy suckling pig yesterday delicious?"
Just then, the shopkeeper next to me said, "Delicious, Old Zhou. Did your chef Daqing make breakfast? Okay, I'll hurry in and grab a seat. I ordered some crispy suckling pig yesterday, but it wasn't enough. If I had known, I would have bought more. I had to wait for my wife to come back before I could eat. I know how it tasted when we started eating. Oh, and by the time I thought of it and wanted to buy it from you, Old Zhou, it was sold out. I told you yesterday that I'd just order half a crispy suckling pig today. I've already given you the money, so don't forget it, Old Zhou."
Shopkeeper Zhou smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely not forget it."
The shop owner next door immediately came into the inn and planned to order breakfast.
Seeing this and smelling the delicious breakfast, some of the others couldn't help but follow in.
Except for some breakfast left for their own people, the rest was sold out in less than an hour.
The price is also 20% off the price of Xu Ji breakfast.
In the evening, Xu Qinyu roasted ten crispy suckling pigs. She didn't plan to roast too many. It would be best if everyone was a little bit full, so that they would still think about it and want to eat it next time.
There were ten crispy suckling pigs. Liang Qianhu came over and bought another one, and also bought some crispy pork intestines.
The remaining seven or eight were basically reserved by people who bought them yesterday, and only two were sold to other people.
In this way, Xu Qinyu stayed at the Bafang Inn for four or five days, and the reputation of her breakfast and crispy suckling pig spread.
At least everyone in the area around West Street knows that the chef of Bafang Inn has a master, who is the owner of Xu Ji Restaurant outside the city, and the food he cooks is extremely delicious.
“Is it really that delicious?”
"Really, God, I also ordered a portion of that crispy suckling pig. It's delicious! How can there be such delicious food in the world? Not only that, she also made breakfast, and the crispy pig intestines. The braised pig intestines are also very fragrant. Braised pig intestines are the cheapest. Don't underestimate them, they are still very delicious. If you don't have much money, go buy some braised pig intestines."
These words even reached Zuixianlou, and many diners there heard them.
Those who can go to Zuixianlou for meals are all wealthy businessmen and large families in Raozhou City.
When people heard that the owner of Xu's Restaurant was setting up a restaurant in Bafang Inn, they knew that it was definitely to attract customers. However, the crispy suckling pig was quite famous and people kept talking about it. Therefore, many wealthy businessmen and the masters and wives of wealthy families asked their servants to go to Bafang Inn to order a crispy suckling pig to taste.
If the food doesn’t taste good, they will definitely tell their relatives and friends so that everyone won’t be fooled.
To put it bluntly, I still have the mentality of trying it out or joining in the fun.
When the servants and maids went to the Bafang Inn to ask, Xu Qinyu said, "There were too many people ordering crispy suckling pigs, so we only have two extra tonight. Each person can only buy two kilograms."
Two pounds of crispy suckling pig is probably only one serving.
When the servants and maids heard that the amount was so small, they started to talk about who their masters were.
Xu Qinyu said helplessly, "There's really nothing we can do. We roasted a few more suckling pigs today than we did a few days ago. We've been busy almost since noon, but there are only two left. Many people still want to buy them, so we can only sell them by the portion. Why don't you go back and tell the owner that you can make a reservation for tomorrow, but you can only reserve one or half a pig. We can't roast more than that."
There was no other way, the servants and maids could only carry a portion of crispy suckling pig back and tell the masters of each family what Xu Qinyu said.
One of the families was surnamed Zhao. Their family had been doing business for decades and was quite wealthy.
After hearing what the servant said, Master Zhao didn't take it too seriously. He just said, "Just one portion, and try it. Besides, I heard it was made by an 18-year-old cook? That cook is the owner of Xu's Restaurant outside the city, and she's also a chef. How delicious can the food made by a cook in her teens be? The dishes at Zuixianlou are all made by chefs who have been cooking for more than ten, twenty, or thirty years. The roasted pork slices at Zuixianlou are delicious. The pork slices are thinly sliced, marinated with a secret seasoning, and then grilled on a charcoal iron plate. When the meat curls up, it's quickly turned over and grilled on the other side, then dipped in the secret seasoning and coated. Oh, my lady, why don't you go to Zuixianlou to eat tomorrow? I'm craving their roasted meat, and there are exotic dancers to watch..."
This kind of roasted meat is available in many large restaurants in state capitals, but because the marinating method and secret seasoning are different, the taste is also different.
Mrs. Zhou said nothing, but asked the servant to serve the crispy suckling pig.
The waiter took the crispy suckling pig out of the food box and took out a pile of finely ground sugar and a pile of red dry dipping saucers. "Master and Madam, the shopkeeper said that this crispy suckling pig can be eaten with two kinds of sauces, and they taste very good."
There is even some people using fine sugar as a dipping sauce.
Mr. Zhao said helplessly, "Pork itself is very greasy. Look at the fat under the crispy skin... Why is it dipped in sugar? What a weird taste."
It smells pretty good though.
As he said this, he couldn't help but pick up a piece. As soon as it entered his mouth, there was a crunch and Mr. Zhao's expression immediately changed.
Even Mrs. Zhao is similar.
The servant boy felt a pang in his heart, thinking that the female shopkeeper was exaggerating. In fact, the food only smelled good but tasted bad. The master and the mistress's faces changed. But after seeing the master and the mistress eat a piece, they immediately picked it up and ate several pieces in a row, then heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, he picked up a piece, dipped it in sugar, and ate it with a crunch. He closed his eyes in enjoyment. Soon, the stack of crispy suckling pig was finished, leaving only the last piece. The master and the mistress' chopsticks were both on the last piece of crispy suckling pig.
Mr. Zhao smiled and said, "Madam, this is the only piece left."
Mrs. Zhao sneered. "Why, what if there's only one piece left? Just now, you thought the roast pork at Zuixianlou was better, and the dancers were prettier. How could you think the food made by an eighteen-year-old cook could be that good? Why are you trying to snatch this last piece of crispy suckling pig from me now?"
Master Zhao gave an embarrassed smile and finally let go of his chopsticks. He watched his wife dip the last piece of crispy suckling pig in sugar and put it in her mouth. The crunching sound made Master Zhao swallow hard. Finally, something suddenly occurred to him. He left and called to the servant, "Hurry up, go to the Bafang Inn now and order a whole crispy suckling pig from the young cook. You can pay the money directly later to avoid missing out on the chance to grab it."
Mrs. Zhao slowly swallowed the food in her mouth and sneered, "Master, didn't you think that the food made by the young cook was definitely not as delicious as the roasted meat at Zuixianlou? How about you go to Zuixianlou tomorrow to eat and see the dancers, and I won't accompany you. I'll stay at home and eat the crispy suckling pig made by the young cook."
"Madam, you're joking. I'm short-sighted. Please don't share my opinion." Mr. Zhao admitted his mistake cheerfully. "I really didn't expect Xu Ji's crispy suckling pig to be so delicious. How about waiting for the young cook to return to Xu Ji someday, and then I'll take you to Xu Ji outside the city to eat? Maybe the other dishes there are delicious too. There's also clear bird's nest soup for two taels of silver a bowl, and Fu Shou Quan for fifty taels of silver a can. Now I think they're not just mispricing the prices, but that the food is worth it."
The couple really wanted to go to Xu Ji to eat, and it was a good opportunity for them to go there and spend a few days.
Not only the Zhao couple, but also some other masters, ladies and wives who bought crispy suckling pig from Xu Qinyu today had similar ideas. After eating the crispy suckling pig, they immediately asked the servants to order a whole suckling pig for tomorrow, intending to try it with their family members.
But unexpectedly, after they arrived, Xu Qinyu reluctantly told them, "There are a lot of diners who have ordered crispy suckling pig tomorrow, so I'm afraid it will be difficult for everyone to get a whole one, so we can only order half a pig."
Even Xu Qinyu didn't expect that the crispy suckling pig would be so popular. All the customers are repeat customers who want to eat more. If these rich masters really bought one each, how could she and Dong Qian roast so many? It's because the kitchen of the Bafang Inn is relatively small and they can only build one oven, so the roasting is slow. If it were at the restaurant, there would be several ovens and they could roast twenty at a time.
In this way, Xu Ji's crispy suckling pig became popular in Raozhou City.
Many diners in Raozhou City also planned to wait for Xu Qinyu to return to Xu Ji, and then they would stay in a restaurant outside the city for two days to see if Xu Ji’s other food was equally delicious.
…
In Zuixian Tower.
The owner of Zuixianlou is named Kong Kun, who is forty years old this year. He is both the owner and the chef of Zuixianlou.
Although the Kong family is not a century-old family like the Dong family, Zuixianlou has only gone through two generations to date, Kong Kun and his father.
When Kong Kun's father was eleven or twelve years old, his family suffered a natural disaster and he was the only one left after dying on the road to escape the famine. Finally, he met a cook who adopted him as his son and taught him cooking. His adoptive father was also a lonely man, and the master and apprentice depended on each other for survival. But unexpectedly, when Kong Kun was twenty years old, an accident happened at home. When he was sleeping with his master at night, it was too cold and they burned charcoal fire at night, but something happened.
Kong's adoptive father also ran a restaurant. The next morning, the waiter waited for a long time but the two did not come to the restaurant. He was a little worried, so he went to Kong's adoptive father's yard and knocked on the door for a long time but no one opened it. He had to break open the gate with the help of the neighbors. He found that the doors and windows were closed and no one answered the door. He broke open the door inside and saw the master and apprentice lying on the bed unconscious.
Everyone hurriedly sent the two to the clinic. The doctor said that charcoal fire is actually poisonous, and if the doors and windows in the house are closed too tightly, it is easy to get poisoned.
Because Kong's father was young and strong, he was just unconscious. Because Kong's adoptive father was a little old, he was also poisoned by the charcoal fire. Only Kong's father was rescued, but Kong's adoptive father died.
After that, Kong's father was very sad. After burying his adoptive father, he left there, saying that he could not bear the sight of his adoptive father's house and restaurant.
After selling his adoptive father's restaurant and yard, he came to Raozhou City with the money in a daze, then settled down in Raozhou City and opened Zuixianlou.
Of course, this is what Kong's father himself told the outside world about his life.
In the beginning, Zuixianlou was just a small restaurant. But more than ten years later, this small restaurant has become the largest restaurant in Raozhou City.
Kong Kun was born after his father got married when he was in his twenties. He was his only son.
Even though Kong Kun is the owner and chef of Zuixianlou now, Kong's father is still alive. He is just over sixty years old and has started to enjoy his retirement. He no longer worries about the affairs of Zuixianlou. Zuixianlou is managed by Kong Kun.
The Kong family's Zuixianlou has been open in Raozhou City for forty years. Even when the southwest was at its most chaotic in the early years, Zuixianlou was able to continue operating safely, which shows that the father and son are quite capable.
Kong Kun knew that Xuji Restaurant might become the biggest threat to Zuixianlou since it first opened, so he came up with the idea of inviting some exotic dancers to perform in Zuixianlou, and all food was priced at 70% of the original price.
Sure enough, the number of diners did not decrease. No one went to Xu Ji Restaurant outside the city. Instead, there were more diners at Zuixianlou than before.
Kong's father and Kong Kun have run a restaurant in Raozhou City for forty years and have a very experienced vision.
In recent years, there have been many restaurants of similar size opening in Raozhou City, but none of them could compete with Zuixianlou. Many of them closed down within half a year or a year. Only Zuixianlou has always stood out, and now it has formed a monopoly situation. Other restaurants are incomparable to Zuixianlou.
Kong Kun was very smart. Even though he had never tasted the food cooked by Xu Qinyu, when Xu Ji started construction outside the city, he knew that the owner of Xu Ji dared to open a restaurant outside the city. It must be because of someone else's status that others would go to support him, or the food was particularly delicious.
He even went to Yuanbao Town to ask and learned that the owner of Xu's restaurant was just an eighteen-year-old cook. She seemed to have no other identity. Her husband's family was also very ordinary, nothing special, and they were not relatives of any marquisate or noble family. It must be that she simply cooked delicious meals, so she dared to open a restaurant outside the city.
So after Xu Ji opened, Kong Kun immediately thought of a way to suppress Xu Ji. As long as he could persist for a month or two, Xu Ji's reputation would be affected, and within half a year, Xu Ji would have to close down. But what he didn't expect was that the young owner of Xu Ji actually came to the Bafang Inn in Raozhou City and came up with such a method.
This method is simple and difficult at the same time.
The simple thing is that it is very rough, allowing diners to taste the flavor directly and keep it in mind.
But this is also the most difficult part. What kind of food can make diners remember it as soon as they try it?
Kong Kun knew that he could not stop Xu Ji now, and many diners in Raozhou City would go outside the city to eat in the future.
He had been so anxious these past two days that his teeth were a little swollen.
After returning home, Kong's father saw his son like this and couldn't help asking him about it. Kong Kun told his father the reason.
Kong's father's hair and beard were already gray, and he looked very old. After hearing what his son said, he said, "She's just a ten-year-old cook. Why are you so nervous? She must have gotten some recipe from somewhere, so she made this damn crispy suckling pig to attract customers. A restaurant can't rely on just one dish to attract diners."
To put it bluntly, Kong's father also underestimated Xu Qinyu, wondering how capable a teenage cook could be.
Kong Kun said, "Father, that doesn't seem to be the case. I heard that this Xu family also opened a restaurant in Yuanbao Town. It started out as a restaurant, but later Donglaiju was willing to merge with Xu's and even gave the signboard to Xu's. I'm afraid this young lady Xu is quite capable. I even sent people to ask around, and they said Xu's food tastes very good."
Kong's father snorted coldly, "It's just Donglaiju, what are you afraid of? Decades ago, when Dong's father was still alive, he also wanted to move Donglaiju to Raozhou City, but it ended up in nothing. Donglaiju's food recipes can't even compare to Zuixianlou, and this young cook has no master to teach her. I guess only those few dishes are good. Even if other diners go to Xuji, they can't always eat these few dishes. It's useless to keep diners here without other things. Just relax and see how Xuji turns out. If it doesn't work out, Dad will have other ways to deal with Xuji in the future."
Kong Kun had no other choice but to do so. He really couldn't think of any other way to stop diners from going to Xu Ji.
…
Xu Qinyu stayed in the Bafang Inn for about ten days in total.
In ten days, she roasted hundreds of crispy suckling pigs.
Ten days later, she asked Manager Zhou to tell the diners that she planned to return to Xu's Restaurant outside the city. If everyone still wanted to eat, they could go outside the city. Not only could they eat crispy suckling pig, but every other dish was just as delicious as the crispy suckling pig, and they were guaranteed to enjoy their meal.
In fact, these diners knew very well that the young lady came to the city to cook for a few days just to attract customers.
But after they tasted the food made by others, they willingly took the bait.
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