Chapter 177 So Many Dishes
Four dishes were served: spicy and fragrant sliced beef and tripe in chili oil; delicate and exquisite braised whelks; refreshing and simple stir-fried dried shrimp with bean curd; and the last dish, cherry tomatoes, which resembled candied hawthorns with a layer of sugar coating on the surface.
After Du Min finished serving the dishes, everyone at the table stared at her, which made her a little nervous.
"...Enjoy your meal at your leisure."
Although she really wanted to take a group photo with someone, the food was already on the table and there were so many people, so she could only wait until the end to see if she would have a chance.
Everyone: ...
Having grown accustomed to restaurants that give lengthy introductions after serving each dish, no one seemed unhappy about being treated so simply.
"Eat up, eat up," the most senior actor said first, while he himself precisely picked up a piece of sliced beef and tripe with his chopsticks.
The spicy and savory sauce soaked half a bowl of beef, tripe, and beef tongue slices, which were extremely thin. The beef, in particular, was almost transparent in some places. The beef shank was full of collagen. Plenty of white sesame seeds were sprinkled on top, and the cilantro and fried peanuts served as garnishes were also very prominent. The red oil looked intimidating, but when you tasted it, the aroma was more than the numbing sensation. As a cold dish to start the meal, it instantly whetted the appetite.
The veteran actor sighed with satisfaction, "It's even better than what I make back home."
He's from Sichuan Province, and when he's busy, he always misses this food. Who would have thought that in an inland city, he could find a taste that's just as good as his hometown?
He said this, paused for a moment and realized no one responded. Looking closer, he saw that everyone was engrossed in eating.
The director stared at the plate of whelks and ate them with gusto. The whelks were well-seasoned and the braising liquid was rich and flavorful. There were toothpicks on the table, but he insisted on using his hands, and even slurped the braising liquid off his hands, showing a remarkable lack of manners.
However, he wasn't the only one who didn't care about etiquette. The assistant director next to him had already found a bowl of rice and was eating it with cold dishes.
He ate half a plate of stir-fried dried shrimp with silver teeth.
The freshness of dried shrimp and the crispness of bean sprouts combine to create a delicious and refreshing flavor with a hint of sweetness. This sweetness comes not from the amount of sugar added, but from the natural flavors of the dried shrimp and bean sprouts themselves.
The advantage of stir-frying is that it greatly helps maintain the appearance of the dish. A little sesame oil helps retain the moisture and freshness of the ingredients, bringing out their original flavor.
This dish, stir-fried dried shrimp with silver teeth, also has another name: "Golden Hook Hanging Silver Strips".
The dish, which sounded luxurious, was treated as a side dish by the assistant director, and was completely devoured before the main course was even served.
Then look at Su Tiantian, she has been completely bewitched by Little Tomato and doesn't know what's going on anymore.
When the glistening cherry tomatoes were served, she initially mistook them for candied hawthorns, but after picking one up, she realized they were something special.
Your teeth break through the hard, sugary shell, revealing the tomato pulp inside, replaced by a mouthful of nutty flavor and rich sauce.
Su Tiantian's eyes widened: "There's something in this tomato!"
A single sentence piqued the interest of others.
"What what?"
Su Tiantian carefully picked up another cherry tomato, and at the bottom, one could vaguely see walnut kernels and white sauce.
Wow, it really is!
Biting into a cross-section reveals walnuts coated in syrup, likely amber-colored walnut kernels, along with a few pine nuts. The sauce, somewhere between custard and salad dressing, is rich in flavor. The cherry tomatoes themselves are sweet and tangy and juicy, while the nutty and oily sauce is thick and flavorful. The sweet and tangy cherry tomatoes, in particular, help to cut through the richness of the sauce.
As her name suggests, Su Tiantian has almost no resistance to sweets. She ate a small tomato one after another, completely ignoring the words her manager had told her an hour earlier not to eat too many.
Du Min silently turned around...
She knew that no one could resist her master's skills.
...
The four plates were emptied in the blink of an eye, so fast that Director Hao didn't even have time to react.
He still had the intention of saying a few polite words, knowing that the cultural and tourism industry was booming everywhere, and he invited the program team this time under some pressure from above.
The investment in Carp Village is too large. If we can't establish a reputation as the first village to open, who knows what will happen in the future?
At this juncture, he couldn't wait to ask these celebrities for their opinions.
As it turned out, this group of people actually kept eating?
After all four plates were finished, Du Min wanted to remove them, but the assistant director wouldn't allow it, arguing that he was still eating.
How to eat it?
He simply mixed some rice with the chili oil from the sliced beef and tripe, eating it without caring what others thought.
...What's the point of saying anything more!
Director Hao simply gave up. Since he meant eating, eating well would be considered achieving his goal.
Hot dishes were served quickly.
Du Min placed the plate on the table and announced the names of the dishes.
"Honey-glazed ham, red wine-braised oxtail, crab roe braised fish maw, plum duck..."
As dishes were served one after another, the aroma of cold dishes quickly filled the room, replacing it with the steaming fragrance of stir-fries.
These dishes were so delicious that they not only made the guests' mouths water, but even Du Min found them hard to resist.
Looking at the guests, they had been in the mood to comment a few words just now, but now they didn't say a word.
Strictly speaking, the honey-glazed hamburger is called lotus-scented honey-glazed hamburger. This time of year is just the end of the lotus blooming season, and the lotus seedpod season is only just beginning. Wen Fan, however, absolutely loves the lotus seedpods at this time of year. They are even crisper and more tender than when they are fully ripe, and the white lotus seeds, though not plump, are sweet enough.
Peeled lotus seeds are steamed with ham. The ham undergoes a "three-steaming" process. The first steaming involves adding Shaoxing wine and rock sugar, allowing the wine flavor to infuse the meat and giving it a rich and complex taste. The second steaming adds lotus seeds, whose fresh fragrance lightens the ham. The final steaming uses honey to finish the dish, elevating its sweetness to another level.
The three steaming steps are not fixed. Each time the lid is opened, Wen Fan adds rock sugar and rice wine as needed. The honey-glazed ham, which is steamed multiple times, is sweet, fragrant and mellow. The flowing honey glaze attracts many people at the table.
Su Tiantian saw that it was a sweet dish that she liked, and she ate it with great relish.
The sweet aroma permeates the ham, and the sliced ham is like a work of art, its amber color irresistible. Even the lotus seeds inside are sweet and juicy.
"So delicious!"
Those nearby looked on with a toothache and scoffed, "That ox tail is truly amazing."
After stewing, the oxtail is almost completely separated from the bone; the meat can be easily torn off with a gentle bite. The red wine gives the whole dish an enticing deep red color, and the tender oxtail is filled even between the bones with a rich, wine-scented sauce. Without much embellishment, Wen Fan simply served the dish in a large earthenware pot.
Chewing on the beef, my eyes were filled with immense satisfaction. Sauce smeared on my lips, sweat beading on my forehead, the braised oxtail, with its slightly sweet flavor, only made me feel even hungrier after eating just one piece.
"A bowl of rice, please!"
Du Min served this person and then that person, kindly reminding everyone not to eat too much.
"There will be staple food later."
Su Tiantian hesitated, caught in a dilemma, while the angel and devil figures argued.
One person said she'd already exceeded her limit today, and if she ate rice... wouldn't that be too much for her? She's about to start filming, are you planning to go to the studio with a swollen face?
The other was to tempt her: "You've already eaten, what's one more meal? You've already consumed so much sugar and oil, why are you afraid to eat the healthiest rice now? Eat up, eat up, you can diet tomorrow."
Su Tiantian: "...I'll have a bowl of rice too!"
Never mind!
Eat your fill first, then start dieting!
The presence of rice made the dishes on the table disappear even faster.
Especially crab roe braised fish maw, it's simply a natural dish that goes perfectly with rice.
After soaking the fish maw to remove the fishy smell, simmer it in broth, thicken it with cornstarch, and then add a spoonful of clear oil. The fish maw will become crystal clear and white. At this point, put the crab roe into the pot, stir-fry it briefly, thicken it with cornstarch, and pour the crab roe over the fish maw. The whole dish is half soup and half vegetable.
The savory and salty dishes, especially those with crab roe, are perfect for mixing with rice.
The fish maw is soft, chewy, and bouncy, while the crab roe is fresh, delicious, and rich.
Later, Du Min simply brought out a pot of rice, and whoever ate it could get beaten up.
Mix crab roe with fish maw and rice, then add a few pieces of pickled plum duck, a piece of oxtail bone, and two slices of ham.
Su Tiantian took out her phone, snapped a few photos, and casually uploaded them to her account, considering them her rare "business photos" lately.
Plum duck is a Cantonese dish, with crispy skin, fragrant meat, and a perfect balance of sweet and sour flavors. What's rare is that it's not greasy even when eaten plain. When Wen Fan made this dish, she added a touch of vinegar, creating a fruity, tangy flavor that was both rich and unfamiliar.
The director muttered to himself, "It doesn't seem like apple cider vinegar either."
It doesn't seem like strawberry vinegar at all. Could it be apricot vinegar? Or pomegranate vinegar?
Finally unable to hold back any longer, he grabbed Du Min and asked.
Du Min went into the kitchen again to ask and quickly gave an answer.
"Persimmon vinegar."
The director suddenly realized.
Speaking of which, it's the persimmon vinegar that Wen Fan brewed last year. It was sealed in a jar for more than half a year, and now it's finally ready to drink. This stuff is good for beauty, health, and lowering blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. Wen Fan makes half a bottle for his parents to drink every day, and he drinks it himself too.
What I put in the dish today was her portion that she hadn't had time to drink this morning. Who knew that making plum duck would turn out so well?
Su Tiantian immediately took out her phone to search for the benefits of persimmon vinegar, and after searching, she was captivated by those few words.
"Beauty treatment", "skin brightening", "lowering blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol".
She eagerly asked if it was for sale, but Du Min didn't even need to ask Wen Fan to know that it definitely wouldn't be.
Wen Fan treasured this small jar of vinegar dearly. Whenever the weather changed, she would rearrange its location and frequently take it out to check for any problems under the light.
Not to mention the customers, even the shop's employees only tasted it once, on the day the vat was opened.
Wen Fan made a big pot of honey and osmanthus tea back then. After drinking it, Du Min felt like she had become a little fairer, though she didn't know if it was just psychological.
Fortunately, Su Tiantian was easygoing and didn't take the rejection to heart. She just thought that she could ask someone to help her buy some when she got back.
The dishes left everyone feeling dizzy and disoriented. As always, Wen Fan provided large portions, and even with everyone's best efforts, they couldn't finish them all.
There are also staple foods.
Sea cucumber rice.
Su Tiantian forced herself to sit up: "Give me... half a bowl."
I should have eaten one less duck leg earlier.
Sea cucumbers are delicious. Stir-fry them with minced meat and chives. No need for any other seasonings. Just mix them well and you'll have the same texture as yesterday's braised rice. Everyone gets a bowl of sea cucumber rice, and Su Tiantian's phone starts vibrating like crazy.
"...Aren't you going to answer?"
Su Tiantian snorted and opened her mouth to eat a large spoonful of sea cucumber rice: "I'm not taking it."
At this point, the only people who could make a phone call were those who wanted to stop her agent from doing anything else.
Su Tiantian touched her belly, feeling so full she felt dizzy, and had a blissful illusion of being an extra.
Back then, everyone was very particular about controlling their diet. She would be running between two film sets a day, and she could eat two boxed lunches in one day!
"You can start dieting after you finish eating."
Otherwise, she will definitely regret it!
After eating their fill, the group no longer looked as glamorous as they did in front of the camera. Their hair was disheveled, their mouths were greasy, and several of them had even loosened their belts.
So when Wen's mother came to take a group photo, some people expressed their regret, saying that she didn't look good in the picture.
"...Or should I post a status update?"
Feeling embarrassed to refuse, I simply took some pictures of the dishes and posted them on my account.
Wen's mother: ...That's fine too.
That evening, many fans noticed something strange.
Several celebrities suddenly posted on Weibo, and the content was all about food?
At first, Su Tiantian's account was filled with kisses, hugs, and piggyback rides, but soon people noticed the key point.
[This IP address... Did Sweetie go out to dinner with these teachers?]
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Author's Note: Still only one update...
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