This Captain Liang was called Liang Yi. He was not from Raozhou, but from the northwest. Ten years ago, all his family members died in a famine, leaving him alone. So he simply joined the army. With his skills, he killed many enemy soldiers on the battlefield and even took the heads of enemy generals. He became a captain in his thirties and settled down in Raozhou City. A few years ago, he married a widow and had a daughter. He lived a very contented life.
In the past two years, the State of Bi rarely attacked Raozhou, so his life was more leisurely. Apart from training soldiers, he liked to find delicious food in the city to satisfy his cravings.
Growing up in poverty, I have always cared a lot about food.
He has lived in Raozhou for more than ten years and is a thousand-householder. Almost half of the people in Raozhou City know him.
Hearing what Shopkeeper Zhou said, he became interested and asked, "Oh? What kind of food did this guest make? It smells delicious."
Shopkeeper Zhou happily brought his bowl of porridge to Captain Liang and said, "The young lady said this is raw fish porridge."
As you get closer, the fresh and fragrant smell becomes more intense. The fish meat is tender and white, and the rice porridge is thick. It looks quite appetizing.
But Liang Yi was still a little disappointed, "Just fish porridge?" Although it smelled really delicious, he really didn't want to eat porridge. He finally had a day off, so he wanted to come out and find some meat to satisfy his craving.
Seeing that Captain Liang was somewhat disappointed, Xu Qinyu immediately understood his thoughts and said quickly, "Sir, this raw fish porridge is made by me. Besides the porridge, there is also the fish head. The fish head can be stewed with tofu, and the fish maw, fish offal, and fish bones can be roasted. The taste is unique. Would you like to try it?"
Xu Qinyu knew that the position of Qianhu in this era did not seem to be hereditary, and everyone climbed up through their own military merits. Qianhu was a fifth-rank official position. To be able to become a Qianhu in his thirties, he must have made many outstanding achievements. In other words, the Qianhu Liang in front of him was a real capable person who had defeated many enemies on the battlefield and defended his country.
The official positions of this dynasty are different from those of the historical dynasties that Xu Qinyu is familiar with, which is a bit confusing.
Liang Yi's gaze then fell on Xu Qinyu.
This young lady has bright features, but she is too thin, like a refugee, and her clothes are quite ugly.
He asked, "Can the fish heads and fish offal you mentioned really be delicious?"
Except in times of famine, who would eat fish offal? The fishy smell is hard to cover and it doesn't taste delicious. And the fish head has very little meat on it, just bones.
He remembered that when there was a famine as a child, the fish his mother cooked was so fishy that it was hard to swallow. As a result, he didn't like eating fish in recent years. Of course, it was also because the fish in major restaurants and hotels were just average. In short, he had never eaten fish that tasted very good.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Sir, why don't you try it? I guarantee you'll want more after you've eaten it. If it tastes good, I hope you'll give me some money. If it doesn't, you can punish me."
Liang Yi hesitated, but the aroma of the fish porridge in front of him aroused his appetite, and he couldn't help but feel interested in the fish head stewed with tofu and the grilled fish that the young lady was talking about. "Okay, then go ahead and do it." He shook his fist, which was almost half the size of Xu Qinyu's head, and said, "Young lady, don't fool me."
Xu Qinyu was not afraid of the captain's show of power and turned back to the kitchen.
She could see that Manager Zhou was standing beside her with a smile on his face and was not panicking at all. It was obvious that this captain was a pretty good person.
Back in the kitchen, Xu Qinyu began to prepare cooking.
Chef Zhou had been helping out and only planned to leave when he saw Xu Qinyu preparing to cook.
Xu Qinyu said, "If Chef Zhou wants to learn, he can watch me make these two dishes."
The chubby Chef Zhou shouted in disbelief, "Young lady, are you willing to let me watch from the side?"
The voice has changed a little.
It's no wonder he was shocked. Every chef has his own secret recipe or cooking recipe, and he would never give it to others easily.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "What's the big deal? Chef Zhou, just watch. If there's anything you don't understand, I'll explain it to you in detail."
The cuisine has gone through so much inheritance over the past five thousand years, and she has also benefited from the inheritance, so how could she be stingy with her cooking skills?
Besides, Shopkeeper Zhou and Chef Zhou were very nice people. They didn’t charge them for hot water and were willing to let them use the kitchen.
If she really had bad intentions, she certainly wouldn't teach him anything.
Chef Zhou looked at the young lady in front of him with mixed feelings of admiration and respect, but in the end he couldn't bear to leave and stayed by her side to watch how the young lady cooked the two dishes.
Fish head stewed with tofu is simple. Clean the fish head early and marinate it with ginger, shallot and liquor to remove the fishy smell. Heat the oil and put the fish head in and fry until both sides are golden brown. Add a few slices of ginger and fry to remove the fishy smell. Then add appropriate amount of cold water, bring to a boil, add salt and tofu, transfer to the casserole, and simmer over low heat for half an hour.
Shallots are similar to scallions, but with larger heads.
People here call shallots "scallions".
This fish head weighs more than two kilograms, and with two and a half pieces of tofu, it fills up the entire casserole.
For a delicious dish, the ratio between ingredients is also very important.
There is another dish, braised fish offal, which is more difficult to make.
The fish offal must be washed several times to thoroughly remove the blood. Finally, it must be blanched in water. A few drops of ginger and shallot should be added to the blanching process to remove the fishy smell.
After blanching the fish offal, wash it with warm water and set aside.
Because the fish offal contains fish belly and fish bones, it is natural to fry the fish belly and fish bones first when heating the pan and adding oil. The fat in the fish belly sizzles in the pan and the aroma explodes instantly. After the fish belly and bones are fried fragrant, it is time to add seasonings. The most important seasoning for this braised fish offal is dried dogwood.
There are no chili peppers here either, only dogwood, which is considered an ancient chili pepper and has a spicy taste.
Once the dogwood is put in, the fragrance becomes even more overbearing.
After adding all the seasonings, stir-fry for a while, add warm water and bring to a boil, and finally pour in the blanched fish offal and cook until the sauce is absorbed.
Liang Yi in the living room in front couldn't wait any longer. The aroma was much more overpowering than the fish porridge just now. It was simply stimulating his taste buds. He was already swallowing his saliva non-stop.
Not only Captain Liang, but all the other guests in the inn were awakened by the delicious smell. They came out to the guest hall and asked the innkeeper what to eat today.
After Manager Zhou explained, the guests of the inn were reluctant to go back to their rooms. They all sat in the guest hall, waiting to see what kind of food could smell so delicious.
Soon, everyone saw Chef Zhou coming out with a large casserole on a cloth. The casserole was covered with a lid and was bubbling with steam.
There was a young lady following behind, holding a large white porcelain basin in her hand. It was filled with fish offal, sprinkled with shallot segments and dogwood pieces. It was shiny and looked very appetizing.
After placing the two dishes on Liang Qianhu's table, Xu Qinyu opened the lid of the casserole, revealing the fish head stewed with tofu inside.
The fish head stewed with tofu is milky white, and the fish head is not stewed apart but remains a whole piece. The tofu is also full of soup and looks plump.
Liang Yi quickly picked up his chopsticks and picked up the fish roe from the braised fish next to him.
Compared to the milky white fish head, he felt that the other dish was more to his liking.
As soon as he took a bite, his face changed, which scared the shopkeeper Zhou and chef Zhou next to him, and they thought it was not tasty.
Liang Yi never expected that this young lady's cooking skills were so superb. The fish roe had no fishy smell at all, and it tasted fragrant and spicy. The fish roe had a dense texture and was full of fresh fragrance. The more you chewed it, the more delicious it became!
No, this cooking skill is more than just superb. He has never eaten such delicious food in his life, let alone made of fish.
It turns out that it’s not that the fish is bad, but that no one knows how to cook it.
After the fish roe entered his stomach, Liang Yi picked up a piece of tofu from the fish head stewed with tofu. The tofu absorbed the soup and was thoroughly flavored. It had the tenderness of tofu and the freshness of fish.
The fish roe just now was spicy and fragrant, and this fish head stewed with tofu is so delicious, so delicious that you want to swallow your tongue.
"Is it tasty?"
Someone nearby couldn't help but ask.
Liang Yi didn't have time to answer, so he just shouted to Shopkeeper Zhou, "Shopkeeper Zhou, please help me get two food boxes."
He did not forget to bring this delicious food home for his wife and daughter to taste.
After the food boxes were packed, Liang Yi started to eat. He had just asked his subordinates to buy a dozen large steamed buns. Now he was eating the steamed buns with the two dishes until his mouth was full of oil.
His two subordinates sat opposite him and started eating. They were amazed at the taste and without saying a word, they followed their boss's example and ate diligently.
The meat on the fish head and lips was separated from the bones with a gentle bite.
And the fish brain, with a gentle sip, it goes into the mouth, full of fragrance. The fish bladder, fish belly, fish intestines in the braised fish offal, especially the fish belly inside, the oil bursts in the mouth when you bite it. Although they are all parts of the fish, the taste when you put them in your mouth is completely different.
Liang Yi never thought that fish could be so delicious!
The guests around were all envious. Some asked if it was delicious, and someone else shouted, "Didn't you see how this diner eats? It must be delicious!"
Liang Yi was eating and saw his two subordinates trying to snatch food from him. He couldn't help but glare at them.
But his subordinates knew his usual character and pretended not to notice it. It was really because the fish was so delicious.
Xu Qinyu also watched Captain Liang eat ten big steamed buns in one gulp!
Each of these steamed buns is bigger than four or five of her fists!
In the end, he even ate up all the remaining soup by soaking his steamed buns in the soup, leaving the casserole and porcelain basin spotless.
"Great!" Liang Yi wiped his mouth, laughed, and turned to Xu Qinyu and said, "Young lady's cooking skills are amazing. They are even better than the dishes at Zuixianlou."
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "As long as my lord enjoys his meal."
Liang Yi was also straightforward and directly gave Xu Qinyu one or two taels of silver. In fact, he felt a pang of pain, but the dishes he had eaten today were more delicious than anything he had ever tasted in his life. Even the most famous Zuixianlou in Raozhou City could not make them taste this good. Not only could the fish not taste this good, but the taste of the two fish dishes made by the young lady was not inferior to any of Zuixianlou's signature dishes, and even far surpassed those signature dishes.
Seeing this, the people around couldn't help themselves.
"Young lady, are you still going to make these two dishes? I'm willing to pay for them."
"Me too……"
"Young lady, please help me make these two dishes. I can pay you first."
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