Chapter 172 Claypot Rice with Scallions and Eel [Second Update]...
Compared to regular scallions, sand onions have an added layer of crisp spiciness and aroma. The tender sand onions are quickly stir-fried in a pan, retaining their original flavor while becoming even more refreshing. Wen Fan carefully spread a layer of sand onions on top of rice, placed the eel on top of the onions, and after simmering for a certain period of time, the rice was cooked, and a golden-brown crust formed at the bottom.
A large spoon is dipped in to mix all the ingredients evenly. The rice grains are mixed with eel and sand onions. The eel meat is tender and smooth, the sand onions are refreshing, and the rice is savory and oily. The crispy rice crust is even more delicious.
Master Da Jin didn't say anything while eating, but two days later, Xiao Ge quietly told Wen Fan that Master Da Jin had started eating eels at home.
"...Master bought a large basket of eels and started cooking them every morning..."
Xiao Ge couldn't help but complain, "I've been eating eels so much lately that I have a headache!"
As a cook, Xiao Ge is quite accepting of eel, an ingredient that might seem a bit off-putting, but even if he accepts it well, he can't eat it every day like this!
But Master Jin was bewitched. Although he had long recognized that Wen Fan's skills were superior to his own, eel was one of Wen Fan's signature dishes!
He had followed his master in making braised eel for many years, but after making eel a few times, Wen Fan lost confidence.
Wen Fan: "Tell your master not to make it at home, but to bring it to the restaurant. I'm planning to add this dish to the new menu."
Xiao Ge couldn't stand his master's persistence, while Wen Fan felt it was too wasteful.
She originally didn't want to serve eels in the shop. They taste best when freshly made, but who has the time to clean them one by one?
But since Master Jin wanted to learn but was too embarrassed to ask, she simply put the products in the shop for sale.
The availability of claypot rice with sand onion and eel has brought back fond memories for many regular customers of the early days when Wen Kee first started selling claypot rice. While some people couldn't get used to sand onion, most others enjoyed it.
Wen Fan handed over the recipe to Chef Da Jin, and the restaurant's claypot rice with sand onion and eel can sell at least dozens of servings every day.
Especially at night, a few friends would find a seat outside Wen Ji, order a few bottles of beer, some snacks, and a pot of claypot rice with scallions. They would eat and drink to their heart's content.
The zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) in the shop were taken off the shelves after the Dragon Boat Festival, but the five-poison cakes and the shredded salted duck eggs were still frequently asked about.
Many people found the layers of silk-wrapped duck eggs unusual, and after finding out that they were a local specialty, they all went to buy them.
When Feng Huijuan delivered goods to Wen's mother, she also mentioned the changes in her relatives' homes.
“She retired a long time ago and kept complaining that she had nothing to do. Now that there are a lot of people buying duck eggs, she has become a personal shopper.”
The reason why duck eggs are wrapped in silk is because there are many wild crucian carp in the area. Ducks that eat wild crucian carp will lay eggs with this pattern. When people from other places buy them, they often ask for some crucian carp as well. It's also thanks to the improved packaging nowadays, with inflatable foam bags filled with water and oxygen, that the eggs arrive at their destination still lively and jumping around.
Feng Huijuan's relative recently made several thousand yuan just by doing personal shopping services. She was overjoyed and gave Feng Huijuan a discount on the crucian carp she wanted.
Wenji's crucian carp is always on the menu, and their braised crucian carp with minced meat sells well. Whenever we bring elderly people or children out to eat, we always order a serving.
The business at the store is booming, but Wen Fan plans to focus on her studies this summer. With her studies demanding, she will maintain the frequency of three tables a week and will not increase the number.
This disappointed the guests who had been hoping to cook a lot of dishes during the summer vacation.
Fortunately, with school out for the holidays, students no longer have to compete, and there's no need to queue for the cold rice noodle rolls outside the school gate anymore, which is some consolation.
Everything was going smoothly, but then the yolk started acting up.
After Wen Fan pinched Wen Fan's mouth and made him call for the seventh time that night, Wen Fan finally realized a problem.
She opened her phone and contacted Han Lulu: "When is the best time to spay/neuter a puppy?"
Han Lulu replied quickly: "Around one year old!"
Wen Fan:......
Seeing the restless egg yolk, Wen Fan began searching for a reliable pet hospital.
Upon returning home, Wen's mother exclaimed, "Oh dear, I've been so busy I'm completely out of it. Come to think of it, it's time to get Egg Yolk spayed!"
We brought them back last year, and it's been almost a year now.
Wen Fan selected a few companies online and plans to inquire about them tomorrow.
Wen's mother petted the dog a couple of times: "I'll stew something nice for you tomorrow."
Egg Yolk, completely unaware that it was about to be sent to the hospital, whimpered a few times.
Wen Fan thought of those stray cats again.
...I've gained so much weight lately that I don't move around much anymore!
The cats used to be quite clever; no matter who put food out for them, they would watch from a distance and then come back to take it after the person left. But as more people fed the fish, the cats became increasingly naive.
At first, it wouldn't let me touch it, then it wouldn't let me hold it, but now it lets me touch and hold it. Sometimes it even refuses to eat the cat food I leave out and will randomly try to bump into me on the street.
These gas cylinders, so fat they had no necks and round bellies, would just slam down in the middle of the road, their bellies exposed regardless of whether anyone paid them any attention.
Extremely unreserved.
Wen Fan plans to ask about the price of spaying/neutering cats when he goes to the store tomorrow, as he wants to have all the kittens spayed/neutered.
Just as I was thinking about these things, my phone beeped.
Clicking on it reveals Ji Baiyi.
Since meeting Ji Boyi during their last hike, Wen Fan hasn't seen Ji Boyi much in the past two months. Now, when Ji Boyi sends a message, it's always with a cute emoji.
Does your store still need summer workers?
Wen Fan:......
Wen Fan stuck his head out and asked his mother, "Mom, do we still need summer jobs?"
Mother Wen: "No."
We used to run a husband-and-wife business, but now that the store has expanded, we don't need summer workers anymore.
Wen Fan replied that he didn't need it, but Ji Boyi didn't press the matter and just told him to let him know if he wanted a summer job.
Wen Fan suddenly remembered something and sent him a message asking if he knew any veterinarians.
Ji Baiyi asked her what she was doing.
Egg Yolk needs to be spayed/neutered, and I also want to get the stray cats in the neighborhood spayed/neutered.
Ji Baiyi replied with "OK".
No problem. Our school has a club that does this, and we also partner with veterinary hospitals. They have a lot of experience, and the price is only one-third of the normal price. Of course, if you don't want to spend money, our veterinary students can do it for free.
Wen Fan hesitated for only three seconds on that one-third mark.
When can you come?
[Depending on your time.]
Wen Fan immediately decided to start tomorrow.
but……
She asked Ji Baiyi a question, a little shyly.
When you're catching the egg yolk, could you put on a little act with me?
...
Ji Baiyi was both amused and exasperated, and gave Wen Fan a brief explanation of the differences between cats and dogs.
Puppies generally don't hold grudges.
Wen Fan was relieved.
The next day, Wen Fan took the yolk to get it spayed. The place Ji Baiyi recommended was indeed very experienced. Wen Fan looked at the wall covered with thank-you notes: "Thank you doctor for saving my life," "Miraculous nail removal," and "Woof woof woof woof."
Fortunately, the egg yolk was served quickly, and Wen Fan patted the dog's head.
The neutered Egg Yolk lay under the table when we got home that night, but when Wen Fan brought out the special meal he had prepared for it, Egg Yolk returned to normal.
After the dog is spayed/neutered, it's time for the cat.
Ji Baiyi got some cat-catching cages, invited a few friends, and Wen Fan also invited Han Lulu. A group of young people caught cats on the street.
The chubby stray cats had long since lost their guard, and more than half of them were caught in just one morning.
Fat cats of all colors meowed in their cages, and one by one they were spayed/neutered and put on Elizabethan collars.
The veterinarian in charge of sterilization wiped his hands and said, "Alright, I'll send them back after a few days of observation. If any are not healthy enough to be released back into the wild, I'll find them homes here."
Seeing that he had been busy until dark, Wen Fan felt bad and decided to treat Ji Baiyi to dinner.
Wen Fan picked out a large crucian carp from the store. After splitting it open, he found a large piece of roe. He found a baking tray, laid the halved crucian carp flat on the tray, and baked it in the oven for a while. The fish meat gradually shrank due to the high temperature, and even the roe formed clumps of yellow due to the high temperature.
The grilled crucian carp, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, was fragrant, spicy, and delicious. Wen Fan quickly stir-fried some shredded potatoes and placed them in front of Ji Baiyi.
"You eat first, I'll go do something else for a bit."
The store was too crowded, and there was obviously a backlog of orders.
Wen Fan entered the kitchen, and Ji Baiyi broke off his chopsticks. Before he could even touch them, he felt several gazes falling on him.
"Wenji sells grilled fish?"
"I didn't see a sign!"
"It was probably done by someone they know."
"...It looks delicious."
Ji Baiyi picked up a piece of fish. Although crucian carp has many bones, large crucian carp also have large bones. The whole piece of tender fish meat was spicy and delicious with rice. The fish roe was even more bouncy after being grilled.
"Waaaaah, I want to eat it too!"
Wen's mother was puzzled at the counter: "Why are the fish selling so fast tonight?"
Completely unaware that the others were tempted by the grilled fish, they opted for braised crucian carp with minced meat as a second choice.
"I'd like three servings of braised crucian carp with minced pork, two servings of claypot rice with sand onion and eel, and one steamed bun... to go."
Wen's mother: "I'm sorry, there's a purchase limit in the store. You can only choose one of each type."
"Then... I'll have one of each kind, plus a few rolls of liangpi (cold skin noodles), oh, and all the cold dishes and braised dishes from the shop..."
Seeing that he had ordered so much, Wen's mother kindly reminded him, "This stuff can't be kept for long; it's best to take it home and eat it as soon as possible."
The guest nodded.
...
"Knock knock knock"
Lucy knocked on the door, and after a long while, room 1401 finally opened it.
The handsome young man asked with a warm expression, "Lucy, what's up? Has there been a change in the program schedule?"
Lucy handed over the items: "The itinerary remains unchanged, Professor Zhou. This is something the project team bought from a very famous local shop called Wen Ji. Please try it."
Zhou Xuanli took the bag: "Thank you so much. It's so late, please go and get some rest."
After closing the door, Zhou Xuanli casually tossed the bag aside.
The assistant quickly went to pick it up: "My goodness, this is all soupy stuff in here, don't throw it away even if you don't want to eat it."
Zhou Xuanli was no longer the amiable person he had been just moments before. He rubbed his temples in frustration and said, "What's with all this 'Wenji' stuff? All you do all day is talk about this useless stuff."
One more look at the shabby packaging: "What did the production team buy? It looks so cheap."
The assistant opened the bag: "It contains vegetables and rice, a cold dish, braised dishes, and claypot rice."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuanli became even more disgusted.
"Take it away, take it away! What kind of street food is this? I don't want to eat it!"
The assistant was about to say that the stuff smelled quite nice, but Zhou Xuanli looked disgusted, so he didn't dare to say anything and could only pick up the stuff and leave.
As soon as they stepped outside, another assistant of Xiaohua came out carrying a bag.
The two gave an awkward smile and tacitly agreed to take the dinner that the artist didn't want to eat back home to eat.
I opened the bag and took a deep breath of its aroma.
"It smells so good, mmm, I'll eat it if you don't want it."
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