Shopkeeper Qian nodded to him and walked over.
After looking Pei Yao and Yun Niang up and down for a while, he asked in a low voice, "I heard from Niuwazi that your maternal grandfather was once the royal chef?"
Pei Yao straightened her back and nodded calmly, and Yun Niang nodded in agreement.
Pei Yao followed the movements she had learned from Yunniang at home the night before, placing her hands on her left hip with a dignified and respectful demeanor, performing the etiquette typically reserved for young ladies from wealthy families in the capital.
The moment he opens his eyes, he starts making things up...
This was the lie she had Yunniang and Niu Qingshan tell, using the gimmick of being a royal chef to promote her family's spicy snails.
After all, no one would really investigate whether her ancestors were actually imperial chefs.
After a long conversation, whether it was because Pei Yao was too confident or because Uncle Qian simply didn't want to listen to her rambling on, he continued to introduce her maternal grandfather's great achievements and how amazing his cooking skills were.
After all, no matter how powerful her maternal grandfather was, he had passed away and was no longer here.
Moreover, over the years of running his restaurant, Manager Qian has seen many people come to him pretending to be imperial chefs and then trying to sell him their recipes.
But Pei Yao is the biggest braggart...
From the very beginning, it was as if she had been wound up like a clockwork toy; her little mouth never stopped.
Uncle Qian sighed and interrupted her: "Alright, I'll believe you for now, but have you received the true teachings?"
Pei Yao shook her head: "No."
Uncle Qian immediately stood up from his chair in anger: "If you haven't received the true teachings, what use are you here?"
Pei Yao calmly glanced at Uncle Qian.
The atmosphere is right, and so are the emotions!
She followed the typical path of female protagonists in farming novels, selling secret recipes in restaurants step by step.
The bag is fine!
Pei Yao smiled and said, "Manager Qian, although I didn't receive the true teachings, my mother learned excellent cooking skills from my maternal grandfather since she was a child."
After saying that, he tugged at Yunniang's sleeve, indicating that it was her turn to perform.
Yunniang: "......"
Yunniang steadied herself, adopted the air of a former wealthy family, straightened her back, and began to speak eloquently.
"Manager Qian, no matter how eloquently you speak, it's not as good as doing things well. So no matter how flowery our words are, they're not as good as the fact that this stuff is really delicious. Why don't we borrow the kitchen and try making it ourselves?"
Perhaps it was Yunniang's calm and unhurried manner as she spoke, her natural air of not being a country bumpkin, or perhaps it was Pei Yao's composed demeanor at such a young age.
Surprisingly, Manager Qian actually agreed to let them give it a try.
They were taken directly to the back kitchen of the restaurant.
The kitchen of Deyun Restaurant was just as deserted as the front, with only two honest-looking chefs inside.
Since it's lunchtime soon, we're preparing the side dishes in advance.
Although rural people eat two meals a day, wealthy families and restaurants still maintain the habit of eating three meals a day.
Pei Yao smiled at Manager Qian and said, "Uncle Qian, my mother injured her wrist a while ago and it hasn't fully healed yet. May I do it for her?"
Manager Qian hesitated after hearing this. He had only mentioned that the older lady was the descendant of an imperial chef, but he hadn't said that this little girl was too.
"But can a little girl like you do that?"
Pei Yao said confidently, "Don't worry, Uncle Qian, I learned from my mother since I was a child. I can do it just as well as she can."
Upon hearing this, Manager Qian stopped trying to stop her and let Pei Yao do as she pleased.
The two chefs who were preparing the side dishes also came over and stood aside watching silently.
The two cooks looked at the two ragged, seemingly defenseless women before them and immediately felt a sense of disdain.
This little girl hasn't even grown her hair yet, I wonder if she can even lift a kitchen knife. Judging from her poor appearance, she probably hasn't eaten much meat in her life.
The woman next to her also looked delicate and frail. Although she was dressed in coarse linen clothes, she didn't seem like someone who could do manual labor.
What fancy dishes could those two possibly come up with?
The two chefs expressed their doubts.
Pei Yao confidently and gracefully rolled up her sleeves and then looked around the kitchen.
Cooking is a simple matter for Pei Yao; she has no worries about her skills at all. But now she needs to see what ingredients are available here.
Only she can decide what to do.
Pei Yao was delighted after walking around the restaurant. Although Deyun Restaurant was about to close down, it still had a lot of ingredients.
Looking at these fresh ingredients, several recipes immediately came to mind.
While she had Yunniang start a fire on the barbecue grill they had brought, she began preparing the ingredients herself.
The others had never seen the barbecue grill that Pei Yao had been researching before, and when Yunniang took it out, they all curiously crowded around to take a look.
Pei Yao grabbed a lively sea bass from the basin next to her, then skillfully sliced it into pieces. She then took two raw eggs, added some water, and had Niu Qingshan use chopsticks to beat the egg mixture.
Marinate the sliced sea bass with scallions, ginger, and cornstarch for a while.
I also took a small handful of thin rice noodles and soaked them in hot water.
She then caught a few more prawns, cleaned them, removed their heads, shells, and veins, and chopped them into shrimp paste.
Then take half a carrot and chop it into small pieces.
Then add three tablespoons of soy sauce, one tablespoon of cornstarch, a small bowl of water, and an egg white to the shrimp paste and chopped carrots, and mix well.
It's a pity there's no oyster sauce here; otherwise, adding a spoonful would make it taste even better.
The clams in the kitchen were soaked in water beforehand to remove the sand. Pei Yao added a few slices of ginger to the pot of cold water and boiled them until the shells opened, then immediately took them out.
Soaking them in cold water for a short while will make the clams more crisp and refreshing.
Then, use chopsticks to stuff the freshly mixed shrimp paste into the opening of the clam.
It's not done until each clam is stuffed up like a little fat man.
Arrange them one by one in the bowl with the opening facing upwards, and set them aside for now.
Filter the eggs that Niu Qingshan just beat through cheesecloth, then put them in a separate bowl and steam them for a short while.
Taking advantage of the break, Pei Yao went and brought over the sea bass that had been marinated in advance.
Steam the eggs for about ten minutes.
Lift the lid of the pot, place the marinated sea bass fillets on top, and put the stuffed clams with shrimp meat that were just placed aside next to them.
Continue steaming for another five or six minutes.
(Sisters, don't worry about the female lead. How can she keep track of five minutes without knowing how to tell the time? People who cook regularly can usually figure it out by doing it. If not, just lift the lid and take a look.)
While waiting for those five or six minutes, Pei Yao glanced at Yun Niang. Yun Niang was grilling prepared sea urchins on the grill, which were sizzling and dripping with oil. Yun Niang was sprinkling minced garlic and chopped green onions on top.
However, the scallops that had been prepared on the side had not yet been grilled.
Pei Yao took out the previously soaked thin vermicelli, cut it into small sections, rolled them up, and placed them on the scallops. She then poured on chopped green onions, chili flakes, and minced garlic seasoned with soy sauce and continued grilling.
Five or six minutes passed quickly. After finishing with the scallops, Pei Yao hurriedly lifted the pot lid.
In that instant, the aroma filled the entire kitchen.
The people who were originally surrounding Yunniang immediately surrounded Pei Yao.
Even the two chefs who initially looked down on Pei Yao came over to take a look.
Pei Yao wrapped the bowl on top of the steamer with a cloth and took it out, then poured a little soy sauce into the bowl of steamed sea bass and egg.
The voice was crisp and clear as it said, "Steamed sea bass with egg and clams stuffed with shrimp paste are ready."
Shopkeeper Qian inhaled the sweet, fresh scent in the air: "It smells so good."
Pei Yao glanced at Niu Qingshan beside her and said with a faint smile, "Brother Qingshan, could you please go and get a bowl of our spicy snails?"
"Hey." After hearing this, Niu Qingshan quickly picked up a bowl and went to the backyard to fill a bowl with spicy snails from their bucket.
Pei Yao placed the bowl of spicy snails at the front.
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