Chapter 33 (Roast Duck)



The four of them went back home and asked someone to tell the kitchen staff. Within half an hour, a cooked duck was delivered.

To make roast duck, you must first marinate it.

In order to make the duck more flavorful and to be eaten smoothly in the evening, Yan Qiushu specially asked someone to poke a few more holes in the duck, put in the prepared marinade, smeared it all over the duck, and massaged it for a while to let it absorb the flavor.

As it gets dark, the time is up, take out the duck, rinse it with hot water, wipe off the moisture on the skin, and then you can brush it with crispy water.

This is mainly filled with honey, rice wine and other things. After brushing it several times, put chestnuts and other things into the duck's stomach. Finally, seal it with a wooden stick and put it in the oven with a lid.

However, the oven is not a rotating electric oven, so the duck needs to be taken out and turned over every quarter of an hour.

Let Nanny Xu help with this. Yan Qiushu needs to start making pancakes.

Boil the flour with a little hot water, stir with chopsticks until it becomes floc-like. At this point the temperature is about right and you can knead it into a smooth dough. Then let it rest for a quarter of an hour. After it is rested, you can start rolling out the dough.

The initial steps are similar to those for making dumpling skins. When there are enough dumpling skins, apply oil to them layer by layer and stack them up. Roll three or four pieces together into a thin dough. Repeat this step and finally steam them in a pan for five minutes. You will get thin, translucent but not sticky pancakes!

As Yan Qiushu was slowly performing this step, the oven began to emit the aroma of roast duck.

The taste is somewhat similar to honey roast chicken, but not the same. It smells so good that Shen Pingyu, who was reading, put down the book in his hand, with a helpless look on his face. He was supported by his younger brother and sister to squat beside the stove.

"It smells so good!" Dongdong could hardly hold back his saliva.

Wan'er handed him a glass of water with a sly smile: "Dongdong, drink some to fill your stomach first."

"No!" Dong Dong shook his head decisively, "I want to save my stomach for the roast duck!"

Shen Pingyu stared at his increasingly round face for a long while and said, "Let's do the horse stance first. If you want to eat well, you must do the horse stance for an hour and run around the mansion for half an hour today."

Dongdong's face suddenly fell and he was reluctant.

Although he would rather be a general, so much exercise is too tiring!

Shen Pingyu had been trained by his elders to have extraordinary perseverance since he was young. Seeing this, he said coldly: "You say you want to be a general, but you don't even have this much perseverance!"

Dong Dong said indignantly: "Of course there is none, I just do horse stance!"

He snorted, found a sheltered place, and stood in a horse stance. However, his eyes were still a little vague and he kept looking at the oven.

So delicious!

Yan Qiushu also smelled it and wanted to take it out and eat it directly, but the other side dishes were not finished yet, except for the thin pancake skin and sweet noodle sauce.

This is even easier. Pour flour into a large iron pot, stir-fry over low heat until it is almost cooked, then pour in enough water to stir until it becomes a milky white color, then add sugar, salt, soy sauce and other seasonings, finally put it back into the pot and simmer over low heat until the color gradually deepens from light brown to black, and the originally thin liquid like starch becomes thick, then it can be served.

On the other side, Shui Xuan helped cut the cucumber and other ingredients.

When everything is done, the roast duck is just cooked and can be taken out of the pot!

Taking the food out of the pot is not the end.

Yan Qiushu changed to a sharper knife, and held a clean towel in her other hand to keep it warm. She pressed the roast duck, cut a cut in the middle, and started slicing it one piece at a time starting from the duck's breast.

Each piece of roast duck must have thin and crispy duck skin and lean duck meat. The best shape is like a willow leaf. This looks simple, but it is also somewhat difficult. When Yan Qiushu first learned this, she failed countless times and once got tired of eating roast duck.

But this thing is still delicious, so much so that after a while, she missed it very much.

At this time, slices of roast duck appeared under her hands and fell on the plate. As she placed them, they gradually formed a beautiful peony flower from the inside out.

When the last piece of duck meat was put down, Yan Qiushu shook her sour hands and asked Shui Yu to take out all the slices of roast duck and the ingredients, giving a small portion to Mrs. Xiao and leaving the rest for the children.

She took out the chestnuts and other things from the roast duck and put them aside.

The remaining duck racks are cut into pieces without the skin and meat, but coated with pepper, salt, cumin, pepper and other seasonings, and put back into the oven. After a quarter of an hour, it will be another delicious taste!

Yan Qiushu carefully looked at the position of the duck rack, and after confirming that it was correct, she closed the oven door, washed her hands, and went to the restaurant. When she entered, she asked with a smile: "How is it? Is it delicious?"

But when she completely entered the restaurant, the three children at the small table were sitting upright and looking at her.

The beautiful roast duck peony flower had not a single 'leaf' moved.

Seeing her coming, Dongdong couldn't wait to say, "Sister Shu, come and sit down! We are waiting for you."

Yan Qiushu curled her lips and smiled: "Okay, I'm here."

She sat down and saw that they hadn't started eating yet. She took a piece of pancake first and said, "Put this in your hand, and then put everything you want to eat on it. Of course, to avoid it having no taste, you need to dip it in this sweet noodle sauce."

The three children looked over curiously.

Just as she demonstrated, she first picked up a piece of roast duck, dipped it in a little of the sauce that was almost as thick as ink, and then placed it on the crust. She then picked up cucumber strips and other things. After placing them neatly, she folded the crust into a rectangle, and finally stuffed it directly into her mouth.

The thin crust is slightly floury. With a little force from your teeth, the crust breaks open and the sweet and salty sauce wrapped inside appears in your mouth. The taste is a bit strong, but soon the crispness of the cucumber, the crispness of the roast duck skin, and the fragrance of the roast duck meat all appear.

The various flavors influence and harmonize with each other, and finally converge into a surprisingly delicious taste in the mouth.

Although Shen Pingyu had just heard Shui Yu talk about the method of eating it once, he was still quite surprised when he saw it this time, but he had to admit that this food was ingenious enough.

He was still hesitating about how to eat it when he saw Dongdong beside him had already wrapped a big round cake and stuffed it into his mouth with his mouth wide open: "Hmm..."

Wan'er was very proud. She had just finished wrapping a cake like Yan Qiushu's. When she looked up and saw her brother like this, she laughed out loud: "Dongdong, go slowly, there are still many!"

Dong Dong rolled his eyes because of the food he was stuffed with. He didn't care about anything else and kept chewing. With the help of the sweet noodle sauce, he quickly swallowed most of it and said with satisfaction, "It's delicious! Hmm!"

Shen Pingyu laughed dumbly, but still asked the maid to wipe his hands before he took the dough and started to wrap it.

A piece of duck, two cucumber strips...

After everything was ready, he folded it neatly, took a small bite, the crust broke in the middle, and the meat went directly into his mouth. However, Shen Pingyu felt that it was not satisfying because the cucumber strips were missing, so he stuffed the rest into his mouth.

Hmm!

Sure enough, it makes you pout a little, but when you eat them together, it’s not salty, not bland, not greasy, and not painful.

So delicious!

He closed his eyes and heard the familiar sound of something being stuffed next to him. Shen Pingyu turned his head and saw Dongdong trying hard to stuff food into his mouth, his eyes narrowed and a happy aura emanating from his body.

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Eat slowly."

Dongdong nodded and continued to stuff it in.

Yan Qiushu laughed. Dongdong's behavior aroused her appetite, so she continued eating. She was satisfied only after eating one bite at a time!

As the four of them were eating meat, Shui Yu suddenly reminded them, "Miss, the Sixth Young Master is here."

Dongdong's ears perked up: "Huh? Uncle!"

Shen Pingyu: "Uncle!"

Wan'er: "Uncle!"

Before Yan Qiushu could say anything, the three children laughed first. They had almost finished eating, with a small half left, so the three of them looked directly towards the door.

Yan Qiushu nodded and asked Shui Yu to invite the person in.

Soon the doorway darkened, and a tall, slender figure appeared in front of everyone. He then looked towards the side hall, confirmed it, and strode over. As he got closer, Yan Qiushu discovered that this man still had his stubble, his clothes had some tears, and his hair was not as delicate as before.

Like a long and tiring journey.

But on second thought, it must not be an easy task to expose the affairs of the Qiao family in less than a month.

Yan Qiushu told him about that. At this time, the Xiao family was attacked from all sides and there were not many people who could be used. This man was estimated to go there personally to escort people back and get rid of the people who were chasing him.

She sighed inwardly.

At this time, Xiao Huaiting also walked closer and looked directly at the woman in front of him. When he bowed, he noticed that the woman's makeup was different from what he remembered, especially the pair of upturned eyes that were outlined. His heart skipped a beat and he stammered, "A-Miss Shu."

Yan Qiushu smiled slightly: "Hello, General Xiao."

The young man nodded slightly, his eyes shifted from the woman in front of him to the three children, and he coughed softly: "Pingyu, Wan'er, Dongdong, have you been eating and drinking here all day long?"

Wan'er smiled obediently: "Yes!"

Shen Pingyu said shyly: "Uncle, yes."

"Sister Shu has made delicious food again, little uncle, come and have some." Dongdong smiled and helped to wrap a cake like a treasure and tiptoed to put it into his mouth.

The boy rubbed his nephew's head, lowered his head cooperatively, and ate the food his nephew gave him.

After such a long time, the cake and meat were cold, but he hadn't eaten such delicious food for a long time. Even though it was cold, it was still delicious. He nodded repeatedly while eating: "Wow! It's delicious. What is this?"

"I know, I know!" Dong Dong hurriedly raised his hand and replied, "Order roast duck!"

Shen Pingyu corrected: "It's roast duck with sliced ​​skin."

Dongdong pouted, feeling a little disappointed.

Wan'er looked at her brothers and sisters fighting with jealousy, and giggled with her hands covering her mouth.

Xiao Huai Ting suppressed his laughter: "Well, I understand." He looked at the girl who was smiling at him and softened his voice: "Miss Shu's cooking skills are getting better and better."

"General Xiao, you are too polite." Yan Qiushu said with a smile, "Pingyu and the others have eaten their fill. If you don't mind, General Xiao, would you like to sit down and eat with us? There are some things in the kitchen. They should be ready by now. I'll bring them over."

Xiao Huai Ting felt a little embarrassed, but still reluctant to leave: "Then thank you for troubling me, young lady."

Yan Qiushu shook her head and turned to go out.

The duck rack in the oven is just right, and the chestnuts are also just right after being stir-fried in the pot and slightly heated.

Soon, Yan Qiushu brought the food over: "This is the salt and pepper duck rack, and this is the chestnuts that were roasted inside the duck, you can try some too."

The young man who was being served by three children had no time to eat, as he smelled such delicious food at the tip of his nose. It was a little spicy, but more of a salty aroma from roasting. It was not just the taste of salt, but also a mixture of many other condiments. After the high temperature of the oven, it was full of meaty aroma.

But because there is no fat, it is not greasy, and the fragrance is so delicious that you can tell it is extremely delicious just by smelling it.

Xiao Huaiting had high expectations for Yan Qiushu's cooking skills except for the sour plum soup at the beginning. Naturally, he was no exception as he finally had something hot to eat again after such a long time.

He picked up a piece of duck breast.

There wasn't much meat on it, but it was all lean, with the skin covered in condiments. When he took a bite, it was tender but not greasy, crispy but not bitter, with a salty aroma with a hint of spiciness on the tip of his tongue, and the warm taste immediately soothed the coldness of the cold roast duck he had just eaten.

Xiao Waiting finished the meat on the duck rack in a few bites and almost bit the bones. But at least he had some sense. This was not the outside world where people were short of food and clothing. There were plenty of delicious food here, so he put the meat down and picked up a piece of duck neck instead.

The skin is already very crispy, and it falls out of your mouth with just a slight bite. It still has some toughness while chewing, and you can taste the texture of the crispy skin. It is a little sweeter than the previous duck rack, and less greasy than the roast duck that has just cooled down.

Xiao Waiting ate several mouthfuls in a row, then took a big bite of the soft chestnut, hmm... I choked a little.

Just at this moment, a pair of white hands brought over a cup of hot drink with a milky aroma.

He took it, took a big gulp, and seemed to come back to life. He exhaled a stream of hot air, and his whole body was warm.

Comfortable!


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