Chapter 154: Stir-fried Chicken, Sweet and Sour Chicken Pancakes [Second Update]...
The villagers of Liyu Village have been raising goldfish for ten years. Various kinds of goldfish are swimming in the fish ponds throughout the village.
There are red and black dragon eyes with bulging eyes, there are crane crests with red markings on their heads, and there are phoenix tails with big tails...
Han Lulu clicked her tongue and said, "Things are different now than when I was a child."
Back then, Carp Village had a lot of fish farming, so it was always wet and muddy. When tourists from the city came, the villagers were reluctant to serve them. If they wanted to buy a few fish, they would often be given some of poor quality fish to cheat them.
There are far fewer fish ponds now, and the remaining ponds are not stocked with fish fry at high density. Under the sunlight, the colorful koi carp reflect the shimmering water, which is actually more beautiful than when they were stocked too densely.
Qin He, standing next to her, pushed up her glasses and said, "Of course! A relative of mine used to do this, but he moved to another city a long time ago."
Local aquaculture has not expanded, and business in Liyu Village has gradually declined. It can be said that if the city hadn't planned to transform Liyu Village, it would have been just another village that lost its pillar industry.
The students from all five classes walked along the edge, and after completing the tour, they went to the newly built cultural center to learn about the development history of Carp Village. By then, it was already noon.
Teacher Wang told the students to follow: "There's a place to eat up ahead."
After passing through the village's houses, the view suddenly opens up, with a series of steps leading up to dozens of antique-style pavilions.
Someone ran fast and exclaimed "Wow!" when they reached the pavilion.
"There's a grill here!"
"Frog Fun, it's a hollow table!"
"So cool!"
Under the pavilion, there was a large stone table. Removing the wooden plank on top revealed a stove, with a grill next to it. It seemed not to be used often, as there wasn't much ash in the stove, and various spices were scattered on the stone benches nearby.
Teacher Wang was also surprised. After asking around among the other teachers, she learned that this was also a new project in Liyu Village.
"They say this place has a good view, you can see the whole picture of Carp Village, and it looks really nice when the lights come on at night. This stove and grill are also for rent. Look, there are villagers over there selling skewers of meat and various vegetables. If all else fails, you can bring your own from home, that's allowed here."
Teacher Wang: "It's quite novel, but I wonder if they'll lose money doing this?"
"What loss? In recent years, there have been very few fish farmers in Carp Village. Almost everyone who could leave has left. What's left are mostly the elderly and weak, just guarding the place. As long as they don't let anyone steal anything, what's a little bit of vegetables? They're sure to make a profit."
A group of students had originally planned to eat cold food today, but when they suddenly saw the stove, they became extremely excited.
"Wen Fan! Let's go buy some ingredients, how about you cook something?"
This perfect table reminds me of the braised chicken that Wen Fan made before. I don't know if it was because the hike took too long or because the chicken was naturally grown, but it was so delicious that I can't forget it.
Wen Fan: "...I'll go too."
The problem is that these people don't know how to choose, and end up buying a bunch of stale food.
Behind the old man tending the stall was a simple house, with more than a dozen kinds of vegetables laid out on the ground, but no meat skewers were visible.
One boy said, "These vegetables are obviously homegrown. How wonderful, so natural!"
Just as Wen Fan was about to complain, the old man tending the stall spoke up loudly with an accent: "No, these are all vegetables that the village asked us to buy! This kid obviously doesn't know how to farm. Right now, it's the lean season. We can only harvest a few bok choy from our own garden. Where would we get so many?"
Hahahaha!
"Hilarious, you country bumpkin!"
"You're not one of them, are you? Can you tell the difference between wheat seedlings and grass? We're both city bumpkins, the eldest brother doesn't laugh at the second brother."
The group kept calling each other "city bumpkins," while only Wen Fan was seriously picking out his food. After selecting a few items, someone else shouted for meat skewers.
"Grandpa, there's no refrigerator here. Where are the meat skewers?"
The old man selling skewers said, "Just tell me how many you want, and I'll have someone deliver them."
After counting the heads, everyone announced how many they wanted. Wen Fan said he wanted a chicken. The old man made a phone call, and soon a young man on an electric bike arrived at the foot of the mountain, carrying meat skewers up: "Who wants meat skewers and chicken!"
"Mine! My!"
After paying the bill, the young man was still carrying a case of drinks. He tore open the box and wrote something on it with a black pen.
[Selling water - 3 yuan]
With a typo mixed in, the young man said, unfazed, "Grandpa, I'm leaving!"
The old man shoved the drink toward himself: "Let's go, let's go."
The students were impressed by the excellent service.
Everything else was prepared except for water and firewood, which was a nice little experience for the city dwellers.
Going down another set of steps from the platform, you'll find the river and the place to store firewood. Wen Fan had someone fetch firewood and water while he cleaned the chicken. It must be said, with money comes service; the chicken was clearly slaughtered that morning, and it was cleaned very well, requiring only a quick soak in water.
Han Lulu held the cookies she had brought, eating them herself while feeding Wen Fan.
Do you want me to make braised chicken in a clay pot?
Wen Fan: "If the parts are incomplete, we won't do it."
"What should we eat?"
Wen Fan picked up a cleaver and chopped chicken pieces: "Stir-fry chicken pieces."
Fresh chicken, heat oil in a pan, add ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, and dried chili peppers, stir-fry the chicken until it changes color. Wen Fan opened his bag, only glad that he had prepared in advance and brought a bottle of sauce, otherwise where would he have found so many ingredients? He poured a few spoonfuls of his homemade sauce into the pan, added water, and started to simmer.
The aroma of stir-fried chicken filled the air. Class 2 had three pavilions, while the other classes occupied the remaining dozen or so.
As soon as Wen Fan started cooking, everyone could smell it.
"It smells so good..."
"Which class are you from? Bringing scallions, ginger, and garlic when you go out to play?"
"Waaaah, if I had known this would happen, I would have brought some ingredients with me."
“I went to check, it was Class Two. They wouldn’t let us get close, they were afraid we’d eat it.”
"Wow, that's so stingy! Everyone can share!"
"You're going to trade your lousy toast for someone else's meat?"
"...Who said there was only broken toast? I clearly also brought braised beef!"
"I heard she's the daughter of the owner of Wen's restaurant... Why didn't I go to the second shift!"
"Never mind, I'm going to eat a few bites anyway, or I'll just buy some!"
...
After Wen Fan finished cooking for himself, the students from the nearby pavilion came over crying for help.
"We bought pork ribs...but we don't know how to cook them!"
Wen Fan then stir-fried another pot of pork ribs.
Those around Fu Chuan watched helplessly as Wen Fan busied himself with one thing and another, ignoring their group. They were at their wits' end.
"Brother Chuan, eat up, I brought some seaweed rice rolls."
People naturally crave hot food, especially when there's hot stir-fried chicken and stewed ribs nearby.
Fu Chuan suddenly lost his appetite.
Fang Weiyue kept glancing at Wen Fan, biting her lower lip.
Unfortunately, some people, oblivious to social cues, came over and asked if they were in Class 2 or Class 3.
"Hey you, is Wen Fan going to cook for you guys later? If he does, could I have a few bites? I'd like to trade with you!"
No one spoke. The boy who had asked for directions lost his enthusiasm and turned to shout at the others, "They're not from Class Two—I knew Wen Fan wasn't coming over, so Class Two must only have those two tables!"
"..."
The boy next to Fu Chuan took a bite of his seaweed rice roll and thought today was really unlucky. He should have just taken the day off.
...
Wen Fan's stir-fried chicken this time was made in the Linyi style, cooked over a wood-fired stove. The high temperature quickly tightened the chicken skin, turning the shrunken meat a golden brown. The addition of sauce made the chicken even firmer during the half-hour simmering. When the lid was lifted, the chicken was done cooking, and Wen Fan asked the person tending the fire to add more firewood.
"Fire!"
It was fortunate that He Yuzhen was the one tending the fire; anyone else probably wouldn't have been able to even keep it burning properly. The sauce was reduced over high heat, and Wen Fan added the chopped and washed green peppers. After stir-frying evenly, the chicken in the pot, rich in oil and dark sauce, was ready.
The chicken pieces were coated in a thick sauce, the wood-fired stove giving the chicken a glossy, golden-brown sheen. The green and red peppers were stir-fried until just cooked through, resulting in an appearance that rivaled any restaurant's. At this hungry moment, the aroma of the stir-fried chicken, centered on the hearth, spread intensely around the surrounding area. The chicken, stir-fried over high heat, carried the spicy and numbing flavors of the seasonings and the smoky aroma of the earthen stove, drawing everyone's attention in.
"...There's no staple food!"
The group of people then slapped their thighs in regret.
I should have brought some noodles with me!
There was no staple food and little chicken, so many people opened their bags and took out the things they had brought to eat with it.
Han Lulu bought several bagels this time, and now she insisted on breaking them open, stuffing chicken inside, and eating them as sandwiches. Others unwrapped their rice balls, found a small lunchbox, and mixed the rice with a couple of spoonfuls of broth. Even Wen Fan shared his large steamed buns with everyone; the buns with chicken were surprisingly delicious.
"Xiao Fan, why aren't you eating?"
Wen Fan glanced at the chicken nuggets that everyone was scrambling for and subtly indicated that he had no appetite.
"I brought food."
The fried tofu, stir-fried lotus root, and chicken wings she brought were already spread out on the table. At this point, no one cared about who had what; they were all laid out haphazardly, and whoever wanted to eat them could eat them. These side dishes were all delicious, and many people, after eating the chicken, started to eat them with the tofu and beef jerky they had brought.
Some mysterious person even contributed the chocolate they had brought; someone sandwiched chocolate between large steamed buns and baked them in the stove fire…
Wen Fan kept a little of everything for himself, and took out his biscuits from his schoolbag.
She had wrapped it in a plastic bag before, so everyone thought it was just an ordinary sesame seed cake. But now that Wen Fan had opened the bag, everyone discovered that the sesame seed cake was coated with a layer of shiny sesame syrup.
"What kind of sesame seed cake is this?"
As Wen Fan sliced open the sesame seed cake and stuffed it with filling, he answered, "Sweet and sour sesame seed cake. First, fry the prepared sesame seed cake. After frying, make a sweet and sour sauce, coat the sesame seed cake with it, and let it cool. It will be crispy and not sticky... Then make some shredded chicken."
Shred the chicken breast into small pieces, fry it, and then add seasonings. Make it spicy and not too sweet, similar to the preparation of shredded beef.
Wen Fan sandwiched shredded chicken in a sweet and sour sesame flatbread. The flatbread was fried until golden and crispy, with shredded chicken inside. The chicken was spicy and numbing, but the sweet and sour sauce neutralized the spiciness. Wen Fan had added plenty of sesame seeds while stir-frying the chicken, and the flatbread was also covered in sesame seeds. In an instant, the aroma of sesame oil, the spicy fragrance of the chicken, and the sweet and sour aroma of the flatbread filled the air. Wen Fan took a bite and felt very satisfied.
Others: ...
I really want to eat it!
How can people put together dishes that look so delicious!
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