First bite, please taste it
As soon as Gu Chengjue came out of the kitchen, he met Song Tiaotiao.
After nodding at each other, Gu Chengjue looked at the crowd of people behind him, led Song Tiaotiao to a slightly open area, and asked, "Do you need anything?"
Song Tiaotiao smiled and shook her head: "Zhenjiao said that each family should contribute a dish so that we can have fun together, so I came in." After speaking, Song Tiaotiao nodded and walked inside.
Gu Chengjue's eyes flickered, but he didn't move his feet until he saw several brothers follow his wife into the venue. His eyes flickered, and he quickly chased after Song Tiaotiao's back, "Song Tiaotiao." Seeing Song Tiaotiao turn around, he said softly, "Can I go with you? I want to help you."
Song Tiaotiao's eyes flickered as she looked at the sincerity that was clearly visible in Gu Chengjue's eyes. She smiled faintly and turned around: "Then let's go, little disciple."
This kitchen was comparable in size to a Beijing restaurant. Dozens of people poured in, yet not only did it not feel crowded, but each person could find their own separate cooking area.
In the middle, there is a long and wide table, on which there are all kinds of pork, duck, fish, and goose. Fruits and vegetables are available for you to choose. The seasonings are comparable to those in a spice shop, and they all have a first-class aroma.
Song Tiaotiao tied up her sleeves, picked up the vegetable basket, walked to the table, looked up and asked, "Gu Chengjue? Do you want to make sweet and sour pork? I'm really hot today."
Gu Chengjue took the vegetable basket from Song Tiaotiao and said "OK" with a chuckle.
Song Tiaotiao first picked out a lean pork tenderloin and tender pork chops and put them into the vegetable basket. She also took a few eggs and some fine flour to prepare for making bean curd. She then took a few small spoonfuls of seasoning for seasoning. Finally, she selected fresh onions, ginger, and garlic, poured a small cup of Tusu wine, and finally returned to their little world.
Song Tiaotiao crossed his arms and smiled at Gu Chengjue, "Let's get started, Gu Chengjue."
Gu Chengjue chuckled and nodded. He then expertly removed the pork tenderloin and rinsed it in the basin's spring water. Drawing on his battlefield skills, his knife swiftly slashed. In a matter of moments, evenly thick strips of meat were neatly arranged on a plate. He sprinkled them with seasonings and Tusu wine, then set them aside.
Filter out the egg white from the egg shells, sprinkle in fine flour in batches and mix evenly. When you add rapeseed oil into the pan, fine bubbles will gradually appear on the edge.
He methodically coated the marinated meat strips with batter, and after one was set and slightly crispy and golden, he put the rest of the pork tenderloins into the pot one after another.
While waiting for everything to be set, he first mixed the sweet and sour sauce, and then quickly cut the spices for sautéing and set them aside.
Until the crispy, fragrant tenderloins began to float up in the rapeseed oil. Gu Chengjue scooped out the tenderloins with one hand and lifted the wok with the other to remove excess oil. After sautéing the spices in the base oil, he swirled the sauce bowl over the wok, allowing the fragrant sweet and sour sauce to spread layer by layer throughout the pot.
The previous process is almost the same, and the sweet and sour spare ribs in Song Tiaotiao's hand are also in the stage of collecting the juice.
She was chopping green onions in her hands, smelling the sweet and sour aroma in the small compartment, and couldn't help but smile brightly and look to her side.
In Gu Chengjue's pot, the sweet and sour sauce was also being boiled until it was thick and shiny. Song Tiaotiao's almond-shaped eyes were filled with a smile: "Gu Chengjue, you are doing a great job."
Gu Chengjue put the pork tenderloin back into the pot, lowered his eyes and smiled, "It's all because of the good teaching of the young master. By the way, I would like to invite you to taste the first bite later." After speaking, he held the iron pot and shook it upwards, and all the pork tenderloins were evenly coated with the thick and crystal clear sweet and sour sauce.
Song Tiaotiao's eyes sparkled as she served the sweet and sour spareribs with the juice collected. She chuckled and said, "Then I can look forward to it."
Gu Chengjue smiled and nodded, pouring the tenderloin out onto a plate. His gaze lingered for a long time at the top before he picked out the one he liked best. He lifted it up with his hand and handed it to Song Tiaotiao.
Song Tiaotiao looked at his movements and suddenly remembered how she coaxed Gu Chengjue to eat porridge that day.
Sure enough, the next moment Gu Chengjue opened his lips, his eyes filled with teasing, and silently made the "ah" sound.
Their eyes met, and Song Tiaotiao's gaze drifted unconsciously. She raised her hand to take the chopsticks: "I can do it myself."
Gu Chengjue smiled and shook his head. When Song Tiaotiao was about to reach him, he gently raised his chopsticks and said in a playful tone, "Could it be that Miss Song only allows the governor to set fires but not the people to light lamps?"
Song Tiaotiao stood on tiptoe and tried to excuse herself, "I was worried that you would be starving. Stop teasing me, or it won't taste good if it gets cold."
Gu Chengjue didn't want to go against his original intention and really make someone angry. So he put down his chopsticks and sighed with a smile: "Then I will have no choice but to obey Miss Song's wishes." After that, he picked up the tray, placed the chopsticks and pork tenderloin on it, and handed it to Song Tiaotiao.
Song Tiaotiao glanced at him lightly, picked up the tenderloin, and chuckled, "I didn't expect that a gentleman like you would have such bad intentions like a fool."
Gu Chengjue chuckled softly, "It depends on the person." Having said that, he saw Song Tiaotiao put the tenderloin into his mouth and asked expectantly, "How is it? Is it delicious?"
Song Tiaotiao's mouth was full of delicious food, and her heart was overflowing with happiness, but she deliberately concealed it on her face: "General Gu is a young talent, so naturally he excels in everything."
Gu Chengjue's eyes flickered: "Song Tiaotiao, don't say such empty words to me, you know I am serious."
Song Tiaotiao looked at him, her eyes flickering slightly. She hid the smile in her eyes and nodded seriously, "It's delicious, it's really delicious, but..."
Gu Chengjue frowned slightly, lowered his eyes and looked at Song Tiaotiao pleadingly: "What's wrong? Did I make a mistake somewhere?"
Seeing that he really took it seriously, Song Tiaotiao smiled, raised her chopsticks, and nodded her lips: "I just feel that without General Gu tasting it himself, it's always missing a little flavor." At this point, she saw Gu Chengjue stunned, turned around and said with a smile: "I won't give him a taste of his own medicine. But let's get out of here quickly, otherwise it will really get cold soon."
Gu Chengjue stared at her back, shook his head, and laughed silently.
Dishes were served one after another. The dishes were carefully prepared and filled the air with fragrance. The voices of people around the warm table were also bustling.
In front of Song Tiaotiao and the other two, tall and broad men walked forward steadily, carrying dumplings. "Come on, come on, the steaming hot dumplings are out of the pot."
The needlework shop's proprietress had a sharp eye. She looked at the two people behind them, covered her lips with a fan, and smiled, "This talented and beautiful couple, at first glance in the steaming heat, looks like a celestial couple."
Jin Zhenjiao chuckled and said, "That's not all. These two, one teaches cooking and the other loves to learn cooking, but they are like-minded people."
Zhao Huaian nodded and smiled, "Today one of them is the Little Cooking God descending to earth, and the other is the Little Cooking God's eldest disciple. We should all show our support."
Su Linlang smiled and said, "I've heard a lot about Miss Song's cooking skills, but I never thought that General Gu would be so well-educated by Miss Song's side. Not only would he be a good fighter on the battlefield, but he would also become a talented cook."
The big man holding the first plate of dumplings laughed innocently, "That's right. Otherwise, how could General Gu be recognized as our master? He gives us everything to learn."
Gu Chengjue lowered his eyes and smiled faintly. After humbly thanking them, he placed a plate of spare ribs and pork tenderloin in front of each family among the two large plates of hard dishes: "Without this young master beside me, I would naturally not be where I am today."
The man laughed again and said, "Doesn't that mean Miss Song has become a junior master? Oh, I'm not being frivolous anymore. The aroma of vinegar I inhaled while I was talking is really making me hungry."
Once the dishes were ready, everyone officially started eating. The two sweet and sour dishes were very well prepared and were highly praised throughout the meal, and were almost completely wiped out.
Gu Chengjue felt particularly happy when he saw Song Tiaotiao eating happily.
Everyone chatted and laughed for a while, and Jin Zhenjiao mentioned the legend of the pine and cypress trees in the courtyard.
Legend has it that this pine and cypress tree is called the Tongxin Tree and has a thousand-year-old spiritual charm. If you pray to it on the night of the New Year, it will appear and fulfill a wish of the sincere person.
Just as Song Tiaotiao was about to listen to Shen Hua's words, Qin Xing suddenly appeared from behind the door and said in a loud voice, "No matter how hard you try, you're still a step too late. I brought back some fruit and honey from the Northern Dynasty as an apology."
Upon hearing this, a man shouted, "Honey is not enough compensation. You will have to drink three cups of wine as punishment later." Everyone started to make a fuss.
Amidst the laughter, Qin Xing walked around with the bag. When he arrived in front of Song Tiaotiao's family, he waited for the Zhao family's grandparents and Gu Chengjue to take it one by one. He walked over to Song Tiaotiao, grabbed a handful from his bag, and handed it to her with a smile, "Miss Song, here, this is a special fruit candy made in the Northern Dynasty. It's made with peach and pear juice, and it's not greasy, but rather has a sweet and refreshing fruity aroma."
Song Tiaotiao took it with both hands, smiling: "Thank you, Brother Qin. When I came here, I was wondering why I hadn't seen you these days. It turns out you went to the Northern Dynasty."
Gu Chengjue looked at Song Tiaotiao's smiling face and suddenly realized that the sweet and sour pork in his mouth must have had too much vinegar. Otherwise, why would he feel sour between his lips and even a stuffy and astringent feeling in his chest?
Qin Xing glanced at the cold, dark look in Gu Chengjue's eyes, then chuckled to Song Tiaotiao, "I went to the Northern Dynasty to complete some paperwork for Brother Su's cloth shop, and also took care of some small errands. These two dishes in front of me have a strong vinegar aroma. Were they made by Miss Song?"
Song Tiaotiao chuckled and said, "I only made sweet and sour spare ribs. The dish next to it is sweet and sour pork tenderloin, which was made by Cheng Jue. When we were serving the dishes just now, we divided a few small plates for everyone. I invite you to try it later."
Qin Xing's eyes dimmed slightly, and he smiled and said, "General Gu has actually learned cooking?"
Gu Chengjue put down the bamboo chopsticks in his hand, raised his eyes and smiled faintly: "Those who are close to the water tower are all taught well by Tiaotiao."
Hearing this, Song Tiaotiao raised her eyebrows and turned her almond-shaped eyes to Gu Chengjue.
"Tiaotiao?" She must have heard correctly.
Qin Xing glanced at Gu Chengjue and said with a faint smile, "Then General Gu is really lucky. Miss Song is a superb culinary artist, and General Gu will naturally be able to make use of her strengths."
Gu Chengjue chuckled and said, "Brother Qin, you're absolutely right. Tiaotiao and I have a great rapport and both prefer sweet and sour dishes with a strong vinegar flavor. We're a perfect match. It's just that my sweet and sour pork tenderloin seems to have a bit too much vinegar in it today. I wonder if you, Brother Qin, can handle it?"
Qin Xing curved his cat eyes and said, "How could it be said that we all get along well? My hometown is Yingzhou, which is famous for its sweet and sour cuisine."
Hearing this, Gu Chengjue frowned slightly for a moment.
Song Tiaotiao was startled when she heard this: "Yingzhou? I grew up there when I was young. We really have a deep connection." At this point, she noticed that Qin Xing was still breathing cold air from his lips. She added: "I wanted to talk more, but I think you were in such a hurry to come back. Now go have some hot food and warm yourself up. I see you've been breathing cold air all the time."
Qin Xing saw Zhao Huaian and the others looking over here, and smiled with her cat eyes: "Thank you for your concern, Miss Song. I won't bother you anymore."
After seeing the other person leave, Gu Chengjue asked softly, "Song Tiaotiao, when you were young, did you grow up in Yingzhou?"
Song Tiaotiao tilted her head and smiled, answering the question irrelevantly: "Gu Chengjue, why don't you call me Tiaotiao this time?"
Gu Chengjue's eyelashes fluttered, hiding the momentary confusion in his eyes: "In their eyes, you and I are husband and wife after all."
Song Tiaotiao picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork with chopsticks and looked at Gu Chengjue: "Gu Chengjue, I only care about what kind of relationship we have in our eyes."
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