The next morning, Xu Qinyu woke up.
She slept quite well last night. Fourth brother was a very quiet sleeper who didn't move at all. She was not very comfortable sleeping and liked to toss and turn. When she woke up, she found that one of her legs was across Fourth brother's body. She then quietly retracted her leg and got out of bed.
When she put on her clothes and went out, Pei Weixuan on the bed also opened his eyes, looking a little helpless.
She fell asleep quickly last night, but he barely managed to fall asleep until midnight.
After packing everything up, Xu Qinyu went to the Zhu Family Restaurant with her fourth brother and Master Zhu and her apprentice.
For breakfast in the morning, Xu Qinyu prepared crab roe soup dumplings.
After dinner yesterday, Xu Qinyu told Madam Zhu what ingredients were needed.
Now that autumn has just begun, the river crabs are starting to grow plump. Last night, Madam Zhu asked someone to go to the river to catch river crabs, and the other ingredients were also prepared early in the morning.
In addition to crab roe and crab meat, crab roe soup dumplings also require pork belly, pork skin and some other seasonings.
The main purpose of this crab roe soup dumpling is to highlight the freshness, so you don’t need to add too many ingredients, just simple crab and pork.
Because it is a soup dumpling, if you want the soup to come out, you have to use pork skin jelly to make the filling.
The skin is very difficult to cook.
Xu Qinyu prepared the pork skin last night and simmered it over a small stove in the kitchen.
She even had a good grasp of how long the charcoal fire would burn. After the pork skin jelly on the stove had been simmering for two and a half hours, the charcoal fire had burned out and there was almost nothing left. The pork skin in the stove was almost melted, and after blending with the soup and cooling naturally overnight, it had become pork skin jelly. Now Xu Qinyu ignored the pork skin jelly and started to steam the river crabs in the pot.
River crabs are easy to steam. Just put some ginger slices on them, sprinkle some Huadiao wine on them and steam them in a large pot.
But getting crab roe and crab meat is a difficult job.
Fortunately, there were many people, and Madam Zhu and other chefs also helped. In less than half an hour, all the crab meat and crab roe were taken out of the river crab.
While others were taking the crab meat and crab roe, Xu Qinyu poured the dough that had been fermented with a dough starter last night onto the chopping board, sprinkled some white flour on it, rolled it into strips and cut it into small balls, and waited for a quarter of an hour for the second fermentation. She would then start making soup dumplings.
After all the crab roe and crab meat were taken out, Xu Qinyu had already chopped the pork belly into meat paste and chopped the pork skin jelly into pieces. Then she began to prepare the stuffing according to a certain proportion of the crab roe.
When preparing the filling, I only added a little salt, then used soaked ginger and chopped green onions and another kind of warm water with spices. This water also needs to be cooled before adding, otherwise the pork skin jelly will easily melt and make it difficult to wrap the soup dumplings. The soaked water is added to the meat filling three times, stirring in one direction. After adding the water three times, the meat filling has just the right consistency.
Xu Qinyu also began to roll the dough into sheets.
They will definitely not be receiving other diners for the next few days, so Xu Qinyu also started to wrap the stuffing.
Madam Zhu and other cooks also knew how to roll out dough, but Xu Qinyu didn't ask them to help. The thinner the dough was, the better.
Soup dumplings are different from ordinary dumplings. The dough needs to be rolled out thinner and has to be tough and chewy. Otherwise, it will easily break after being steamed, allowing the soup inside to flow out.
Well-made soup dumplings are plump even when you pinch them, and you can see the soup swaying inside. The skin is thin but will not break when you pick it up.
Only the dough she rolls herself can reach this level.
In fact, it is just some small tricks. Xu Qinyu still told Zhu Niangzi and others how to roll out the dough. But even if they know how to roll it now, they can't roll it out as well as Xu Qinyu. It also requires practice makes perfect.
Zhu's Restaurant only uses large steamers and doesn't have small ones, so Xu Qinyu wraps the food and steams it in the large steamer.
In addition to the crab roe soup dumplings, Xu Qinyu also cooked some brown sugar millet porridge, fried some tofu, and made some egg pancakes.
To eat soup dumplings, you first need to insert a straw into the dumpling, drink the soup inside, and then eat the filling and skin.
There were no thin tubes here, so Xu Qinyu asked Madam Zhu to prepare some wheat straw. The stalks of wheat straw are relatively hard and can be used as thin tubes.
She cut the wheat straw into palm lengths, blanched it in hot water and dried it.
The aroma of the crab roe buns is naturally not as strong as the roast suckling pig yesterday, but it smells very fresh and the aroma does not spread very far.
But merchants living nearby can still smell the delicious aroma.
"What's the food at Zhu's Restaurant today? It smells delicious."
"Is it really from the Zhu Family Restaurant? Then the old incense smell that came from yesterday's evening meal was also from the Zhu Family Restaurant? Did Madam Zhu hire a new chef?"
"When the Imperial Envoy came out of the Zhu Family Restaurant yesterday, he seemed very satisfied with his meal, his face slick with oil. This must be the new dish at the Zhu Family Restaurant."
"Where did they hire this chef from? His food is even better than Zuixianlou's chef's."
"Is Zhu's Restaurant open today? I also want to try what that old delicious food was yesterday."
"Who isn't? The aroma yesterday was so tempting."
Amid the discussions of the surrounding shop owners, a horse-drawn carriage slowly drove into Qingguhu and arrived in front of Zhu's Restaurant.
It was Fu Chenghong's carriage.
Today, Fu Chenghong once again invited Governor Zhu to come over.
He was thinking that if today's breakfast was not tasty, he would still beat Madam Zhu with a stick to embarrass the prefect.
When he came to Qingguhu today, he smelled a fresh and fragrant smell. It was not as fragrant as the roast suckling pig yesterday, but it was also very tempting. He couldn't tell what kind of food it was.
After entering the restaurant, the waiter led us to the private room upstairs as usual.
Then the guys brought out the brown sugar millet porridge, egg rolls and fried tofu.
The two officials who followed immediately turned cold, "You guys are using this kind of stuff to fool our master."
This kind of food that can be prepared at home is just fooling people.
The waiter said, "Please wait a moment, sir. There is still some food that has not been served."
The other waiters had already brought out plates of crab roe soup dumplings.
Xu Qinyu had already placed the steamed crab roe soup dumplings on small plates and brought them to the private room. Each dumpling was served with a piece of wheat straw.
Seeing the crab roe soup, the two officials still looked unhappy, "Isn't this just an ordinary big bun? You prepare this kind of ordinary food for our masters? Don't you take our masters seriously?" Although the skin of the big bun looked very thin, the stuffing inside could be seen clearly, and it was unknown what was wrapped in it, why did it look like there was still a lot of soup inside.
The soup dumplings made by Xu Qinyu are slightly bigger than Cheng Hong's heads, so they are more delicious to eat.
The waiter hurriedly said, "Your Excellency has misunderstood. This is different from ordinary dumplings. This is called crab roe soup dumpling. It is made by steaming river crabs, taking the crab roe and crab meat, and mixing them with pork and pork skin jelly to make the filling. In addition to the delicious filling, there is also soup. The straw next to it is for drinking the soup. Just insert it directly into the soup dumpling through the opening here, first suck up the soup inside, and then eat the filling and skin."
In order to make it easier to insert the straw, Xu Qinyu cut one side of the straw into an inclined cut like a modern straw, which was more convenient.
"River crabs? Pork skin jelly?" The two officials' expressions grew increasingly grim. "How dare you serve such earthy, fishy food made entirely of shells, and pork skin jelly made from pork skin, to our Lord?"
The guy is in a bit of a dilemma.
It was still the prefect Zhu who said, "Sir, why don't you try it first? This is the first time I've heard of such a novel method. I wonder how it tastes."
Fu Chenghong snorted, but didn't refuse. He twisted a straw tube into the soup dumpling and took a sip. The broth was so delicious that he was stunned. Moreover, it was added with pork skin jelly, but it was not greasy at all, not even the slightest bit greasy, just one word: fresh. He couldn't help but suck up the broth in one breath. Then he picked up the steamed bun, which was now free of broth, and took a bite. The filling was tender and fresh, without any fishy smell of pork skin jelly or river crab. Paired with the broth, it had a slight chewy texture, not soggy at all. After finishing one, not only did his stomach feel comfortable, but the freshness lingered in his mouth.
Xu Qinyu had already brought out these soup dumplings and cooled them down in advance, so they were now at just the right temperature.
Fu Chenghong finished a soup dumpling and said, "Not bad, bring a few more."
There were two in front of him, and he felt that he could still eat a lot.
The waiter's face lit up with joy, and he agreed, "I'll get it right away."
The two officials were a little surprised. "Sir, this, this, this can be delicious?"
Fu Chenghong's face turned cold, "Why, are you questioning my taste?"
"I dare not."
The two officials couldn't help but follow Fu Chenghong's example, first sucking the soup inside, and then their eyes widened.
It’s so fresh, and has a hint of sweetness. This is the sweetness of the crab meat itself, without any sugar added.
Then the two officials stopped talking and started eating the soup dumplings. When they got to the fillings, they were a little surprised because they didn't know river crabs could be so delicious. How come there was no earthy smell at all?
Fu Chenghong ate seven or eight soup dumplings in one breath.
After eating, Xu Qinyu prepared some vinegar and asked the waiter to teach them how to eat it.
Soup dumplings with a dozen drops of vinegar have a unique flavor.
After eating soup dumplings, Fu Chenghong tried egg rolls, fried tofu with green onions and millet porridge with brown sugar.
Not to mention, even these ordinary foods that every household can make taste very good and are very delicious. He ate two egg rolls, a bowl of brown sugar millet porridge, and a few pieces of fried tofu.
Zhu Taishou had a good appetite today, because last night, Wei Xuan sent a pigeon to his house to deliver a message, and also told the Taishou that it was Yu Niang who cooked for the imperial envoy at Zhu's Restaurant, and told him not to worry about Yu Niang's safety.
…
After breakfast, Fu Chenghong left and said that the chef was good.
In the evening, Xu Qinyu prepared a roast suckling pig and several home-cooked dishes.
Fu Chenghong ate roast suckling pig again in the evening and was still amazed. He asked for crab roe soup dumplings again the next morning and roast suckling pig for dinner.
He thought that after eating it for three days, he would get tired of it.
After returning to Madam Zhu's house that night, Xu Qinyu asked Madam Zhu for pen and ink, preparing to write down the recipes for ninety-nine dishes, as well as the heat to pay attention to, the proportions between ingredients, and some tips when making these dishes.
But her handwriting was easy to read, and she couldn't write in any other way, so Fourth Brother said, "Yuniang, you tell me the names of the dishes, and I'll write them down."
Xu Qinyu nodded, stood up and gave her seat to her fourth brother, letting him write.
Sure enough, Fourth Brother actually changed his left and right hands to write, and his handwriting was completely different from his usual style, and a little more beautiful.
There was a thick stack of ninety-nine recipes. Xu Qinyu put it away and felt a little relieved.
The next morning, she went to Zhu's Restaurant for breakfast. In addition to crab roe soup dumplings, she also prepared three-fresh bean curd.
Three-fresh bean curd skin is made of glutinous rice and seasoned skin, and the stuffing is made of pork belly, fresh mushrooms, fresh bamboo shoots, pickled mustard, etc. It is also simple to make. In a large iron pot, first prepare the dough. The dough is made of mung bean powder and rice paste. Spread the prepared paste into the dough. The spread dough is golden in color. Spread a layer of steamed glutinous rice on it, and then spread a layer of fried stuffing on it. Wrap the skin around it and arrange it into a square. Then flip the pot and turn the whole bean curd skin over. Continue to fry the stuffing side and sprinkle with chopped green onion.
The color is golden and the taste is fresh and fragrant. Paired with the soft glutinous rice, it tastes crispy, tender and fragrant.
This is also a classic breakfast in later generations.
Sure enough, Fu Chenghong was still very satisfied with his breakfast.
In the evening, they made roast suckling pig and had some home-cooked dishes, and Fu Chenghong enjoyed the meal very much.
This was already Fu Chenghong's third day eating at Zhu's Restaurant.
After eating for three days, he said to his waiter, "Send the cook who has been cooking for me these days to come over."
When the waiter heard this, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, thinking that the imperial envoy was looking for trouble with the cook because he had enjoyed his meal and was about to return to Beijing.
They all knew how delicious the food made by that young master was.
You should know that even they have a share of the daily breakfast and evening meals.
The waiter went to the kitchen and told Xu Qinyu.
Xu Qinyu was not panicked, she just glanced at her fourth brother.
Pei Weixuan nodded at her.
Xu Qinyu was just about to follow the waiter to the private room on the second floor when Madam Zhu stopped her and said solemnly, "Young master, there is no need to go over there. I will go over there." She also thought that it was the imperial envoy who wanted to cause trouble for Xu Qinyu.
Xu Qinyu already knew Fu Chenghong's plan from her fourth brother. She also knew that nothing would happen to her. Fu Chenghong probably didn't want to make things difficult for her, he just wanted to see her.
"Don't worry, Madam Zhu. I guess the imperial envoy just wants to see me."
Madam Zhu was also hesitant to speak. She could see that the young master was helping her out of a favor he had done her a few days ago, but the imperial envoy obviously had no good intentions. The young master was such a good cook, it would be wrong for the imperial envoy not to have some ideas. She was just worried that the imperial envoy wanted to take the young master to the capital.
Xu Qinyu said again: "Don't worry, Madam Zhu. I'll go over and take a look first."
After she finished speaking, Madam Zhu sighed.
Xu Qinyu followed the waiter to the private room on the second floor and saw the imperial envoy, Governor Zhu and two other officials inside.
Even though she didn't like this imperial envoy, Xu Qinyu suppressed her discomfort and stepped forward to pay her respects.
Fu Chenghong was surprised to see that the cook was so young, and couldn't help asking, "Did you cook all the food the Japanese officials ate these days?"
Xu Qinyu nodded. "That's exactly what I made. My father once told me that one of my ancestors used to cook imperial meals in the palace. I don't know if it's true or not, but over the years, my grandfather and father have created a lot of new recipes. But I heard that my ancestors committed a crime and were banished to the southwest. My ancestors were scared and didn't dare to open a restaurant. Plus, I have some culinary talent. My parents passed away when I was young, so I relied on the recipes left by my parents to hone my cooking skills. Combined with these newly created recipes, the taste is quite special and it feels fresh."
These words were naturally fabricated by Xu Qinyu.
When Governor Zhu saw the dark-skinned young man in front of him, he knew it was Yu Niang. However, he didn't know how she was disguised. She didn't look like a woman at all, and her voice had changed a lot.
He naturally knew that Yu Niang's words were all fabricated.
In fact, Prefect Zhu also saw through Fu Chenghong's plan. These dishes were delicious. He probably wanted to bring the chef who made these delicious dishes back to the capital to present them to the King of Handong or the Queen Mother in the palace, so he asked the chef to come out and see him. He probably didn't expect the chef to be so young.
Fu Chenghong nodded and was just about to talk to Xu Qinyu about going to the capital.
This was indeed his plan. Even though this young chef looked young, his cooking skills were really good. The desire for food is still a desire. Whether it was presented to the King of Handong or the Queen Mother, with the young chef's cooking skills, he would be credited with a contribution.
But before he could open his mouth, Xu Qinyu suddenly said, "I have something else I would like to report to you privately, Your Excellency. Please ask the other three adults to step aside."
Fu Chenghong looked at Xu Qinyu, a little puzzled as to what a small cook like him wanted to say to him. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Okay."
After saying this, he looked at Governor Zhu and said, "Please also step aside, Your Excellency."
The other two officials were a little worried, "Sir."
They were afraid that someone would assassinate the imperial envoy. If the imperial envoy was assassinated, the two of them would be held accountable when they returned to the capital.
Fu Chenghong waved his hand and said, "It's okay, you can go down."
He could see that this weak boy who couldn't even lift a finger was nothing like a skilled assassin.
After the three of them left, only Xu Qinyu and Fu Chenghong were left in the private room.
Xu Qinyu didn't feel any fear towards the imperial envoy. She just disliked him, so there was nothing to be afraid of. She took out the recipe for the meal her fourth brother had written for her from her bosom and handed it to Fu Chenghong, saying, "Sir, this is a recipe created by our fathers. However, I'm afraid it won't be kept if it's in my brother and I's hands. So I wanted to present it to you, Sir. I hope you won't dislike it. The dishes on this recipe are quite novel, and the cooking time and ingredient ratios are all noted. Any chef with even a little talent can cook delicious dishes."
This is of course false. Who's cooking talent can compare to hers?
But these recipes can indeed produce very good taste for talented cooks.
Fu Chenghong was a little surprised, "You just gave me the recipe like that?"
Xu Qinyu said, "Because my family committed a crime and was banished to the southwest, it's just me and my brother left. I'm worried that others will bully me and my brother and try to steal this recipe. I just hope that you will remember this kindness and take care of me if I need anything in the future."
Fu Chenghong asked again, "What was your ancestor's surname?"
Xu Qinyu said, "My ancestor's surname was Zou and his name was Shiming."
This identity was not even a random fabrication. I don't know where the fourth brother got it from, but it seemed that there really was such a person whose ancestor was a cook in the imperial kitchen. Somehow he committed a crime and was demoted. Then the Zou family settled in the southwest. However, there were only a few people left in the Zou family over the years, and it seemed that only the two brothers were left.
Although Fu Chenghong didn't know whether what the young chef said was true or not, he could investigate after returning to Beijing, and he also believed that the young chef would not dare to deceive him.
He was very attracted by the recipe and originally planned to bring the young chef back to the capital to present him to the King of Handong or the palace, but his ancestors had committed crimes, so he certainly could not be brought back to the capital easily. However, he was willing to present the recipe to himself.
Fu Chenghong was well aware of the value of this recipe. The Jixianglou in the capital city made a fortune every day, and these dishes were much more delicious than those in the Jixianglou. If he really used these recipes to open a restaurant, it would surely be packed with guests, and its business would be even better than that of the Jixianglou.
With this recipe, he could let the women in his family open a restaurant and hire some famous chefs.
The annual income is easily hundreds of thousands of silver coins, and maybe as much as two or three hundred thousand.
It would take him many years to work as a subordinate of the King of Handong to earn so much silver.
Just like this military pay embezzlement case, only two thousand taels of silver fell into his hands.
Compared to this priceless recipe, it was easy for him to make the decision.
Fu Chenghong knew very well that he had to choose between bringing back the recipe or bringing the young chef to present to the King of Handong. Naturally, he would choose the recipe. No one could refuse an income of two or three hundred thousand taels of silver a year.
And he was the only one who knew the recipe. When he returned to the capital, he didn't have to present it to the King of Handong. He could just find a reason and say that a woman in his family got it.
Fu Chenghong suddenly didn't want to take the young chef back to Beijing anymore, so it would be fine for him to stay in Zhu's Restaurant.
Fu Chenghong accepted the recipe and said with a smile, "Zou Ge'er is thoughtful. Don't worry. After returning to the capital, if the case can be overturned, I will definitely help you with it. Even if it can't be overturned, if you have any difficulties in the future, you can write a letter and have it sent to the capital, and I can help you solve it."
Xu Qinyu pretended to be happy and said, "Thank you, sir."
Seeing him accept the recipe, Xu Qinyu breathed a sigh of relief.
Two days ago, her fourth brother told her that the imperial envoy might be impressed by her cooking skills and would want to take her to the capital to present her to the King of Handong or the Queen Mother.
Seeing that he wanted to see her today, he must be asking her to take her to the capital. If he really asked her, how could she refuse? Even if she refused, with the mind of this imperial envoy, he would have someone forcibly take her away. So her fourth brother told her that money can make the world go round. The profits that a recipe like this could bring would be irresistible to most people, let alone someone like Fu Chenghong.
So he easily gave up the idea of bringing Xu Qinyu back to Beijing.
Bringing Xu Qinyu back to Beijing was only to present her to his superiors, who would only think of her as a chef who made delicious food and would not remember Fu Chenghong's contribution at all.
Bringing back the recipe is a surefire way to make a fortune.
Moreover, her fourth brother also told her that Fu Chenghong could not bring this recipe back to the capital. Once he left the southwest, someone would take action, and the military pay embezzlement case in the capital would not end there.
Xu Qinyu thought that her fourth brother had received the governor's orders and would take action after the imperial envoy left the southwest.
She couldn't help but worry about her fourth brother's safety.
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