Chapter 80 Vegetarian Goose, Sticky Rice Duck, Braised Fish Roe Tofu...
Vegetarian roast goose?
Xie Qingxi looked at the long pieces of goose meat on the plate in front of her, which looked like they had been cut open. The so-called "vegetarian goose" was covered in a dark brown sauce and had brown wrinkles on it, as if it had really been roasted in an oven.
Unlike Xie Qingxi, Yang Hong and her fellow card players didn't observe carefully. As soon as the dishes were served, they were the first to reach for their chopsticks.
Once you take a bite, the outer skin breaks open, and you can taste the filling inside.
"Hmm, this is a yam, isn't it?"
"It really is true, the outer layer is rotten skin."
"It doesn't look complicated, and it tastes quite delicious."
Yang Hong's mahjong partners ate vegetarian roast goose, commenting on their meal as they ate.
If this dish is anything special, it must be its sauce.
Cooked yams are wrapped in bean curd skin, deep-fried until golden brown, then stir-fried with sauce until they are colored and plated.
The method is not difficult, but the difficulty lies in making the sauce with a perfect balance of sweetness and saltiness, and a hint of sourness. The sauce is neither so thick that it becomes cloying, nor so bland that it makes one criticize that this is actually a vegetarian dish.
The bean curd skin soaks up the sauce, and its soft texture is filled with a rich variety of flavors. After being deep-fried, the bean curd skin has wrinkles that resemble goose skin, which is the origin of the name "vegetarian roast goose".
The yam is steamed first and then fried. Because it is wrapped in tofu skin, the inside remains soft and tender. When your teeth break through the tofu skin and finally land on the yam, it does indeed give you a feeling of the soft and chewy texture of goose meat.
Yang Hong brought three friends, and a plate of vegetarian roast goose was devoured in no time.
Xie Qingxi, on the other hand, took photos and researched before eating. After tasting it, she thought it was delicious, but she still hesitated to eat more.
For no other reason than that this store gives out such large portions!
Xie Qingxi was puzzled. It was said to be a banquet dish, but wasn't it the kind where you only had to take a few bites per serving?
Otherwise, how will we serve the following dishes?
Confused, Xie Qingxi reached for the next dish with her chopsticks.
This glutinous rice duck, like the previous one, also has a surprisingly large portion size.
The plate was piled up in three layers. From the top, it looked like roasted duck meat with golden-brown skin, all cut into neat strips. But looking at it from the side, you would discover that there was something else going on.
This dish doesn't have duck skin on top and duck meat underneath; instead, it has several distinct layers.
The first layer is crispy skin, the second layer is duck meat, and the bottom two layers are glutinous rice and rice crust.
Yang Hong and the others had already pulled Wen's mother aside to ask her about the method.
"How could it be arranged so neatly?"
Wen's mother offered a brief explanation.
The glutinous rice is first boiled and then seasoned. After the duck meat is deboned, it is pressed together with the glutinous rice. The duck meat and glutinous rice are squeezed into shape by external force, steamed for half an hour, and then taken out and fried in oil.
The fried glutinous rice forms a crispy layer underneath, adding to the richer texture.
The way Yang Hong and the others praised it so highly made Xie Qingxi mutter to herself again.
The first dish could be described as showcasing culinary skills, while the second dish, glutinous rice duck, was purely an expression of originality.
Who is the chef at this restaurant?
Xie Qingxi silently ate a piece of glutinous rice duck. The duck meat was very tender, and the crispy skin on top was oily and fragrant. There was even a surprise in the glutinous rice underneath, with a little bit of yam mixed in. The duck meat wrapped around the glutinous rice, and the glutinous rice was soaked in the sauce and the oily aroma of roast duck. The yam was soft and powdery, adding a touch of mildness to the taste.
The last layer of crispy rice crust was incredibly crispy. One bite of glutinous rice duck offered a variety of textures, from soft and tender to crispy and crunchy, which made Xie Qingxi immediately want a second piece after finishing one.
Before she knew it, she had already eaten a third of the food on her plate.
Oops!
Xie Qingxi quickly stopped eating. This was only the second dish, and there were still many more to come. If she kept eating like this, she might not even be able to taste the later dishes!
Yang Hong and the others on the other side didn't have this concern, and they quickly devoured the second dish.
"This sticky rice duck is delicious! I want to bring some back for my son."
"I also want to bring one for my mom. It's soft on top and has some crispy rice crust on the bottom. It's my mom's favorite."
"Yang Hong, could you ask the boss for me? I can pay for a few extra portions."
Yang Hong had just finished eating glutinous rice duck and was in a good mood, but she still shrugged off her friend's request.
"You can ask the landlady later, but I don't think it will work."
Wen's mother doesn't even want her daughter to cook her own meals, so how could she possibly let her daughter take on this kind of order?
Yang Hongguang could tell from looking at the things in the Wen family's shop that the couple must be making a lot of money now.
When people are short of money, they always feel that money is extremely important, and that having money can solve all problems.
But once you have some money, you often have more choices and won't value money too much.
Yang Hong felt that Wen's mother would not agree.
As expected, when Wen's mother brought the third dish, she heard the request and immediately refused.
"I'm just too busy, please forgive me."
What else can Yang Hong's friends say?
"I understand."
Who can force someone to do business? Just like Yang Hong said, if their business is doing well, they naturally don't want to work any more.
Wen's mother placed the third dish on the table.
Braised fish roe tofu.
A large earthenware pot, with a heater underneath, was bubbling away. Inside were chunks of orange-yellow fish roe, and the broth was boiling, filling the air with a fragrant aroma.
One of Yang Hong's mahjong partners is from the riverside, and he couldn't sit still when he saw fish roe.
"Boss lady, a bowl of rice, please!"
It would be a sin not to eat this dish with rice!
Mother Wen came out carrying a large earthenware pot.
"Autumn rice...this rice can also be served with side dishes."
He then put down the large earthenware pot used for serving rice.
When you lift the lid of the casserole, you'll find chestnut, pumpkin, and taro rice inside.
In the clay pot, various evenly chopped autumn ingredients were mixed with rice, garnished with some Chinese sausage, shiitake mushrooms, and wood ear fungus. The rice was loose, and the ingredients were of different colors; together, it truly lived up to the name of an autumn meal.
Yang Hong's friend served herself a bowl first. The rice, made with soft, powdery chestnuts, pumpkin, and taro, was first boiled and then fried, so it didn't become sticky. The savory and oily rice was delicious even without any other ingredients.
After taking a few bites, I scooped up another spoonful of fish roe tofu and placed it on top.
The fish roe has a granular texture and a chewy feel. With a gentle bite, it makes a soft "pop" sound. The fresh and fragrant fish roe mixed with the rich sauce brings a primal ocean flavor that falls from a height and is finally caught firmly by the simple rice.
The tofu is firm tofu, and it has a unique flavor when placed on top of rice.
Yang Hong and the others were stuffed in no time.
Unfortunately, not much of the contents of the two large clay pots were swallowed.
Needless to say, the fish roe tofu was so delicious that we ate for quite a while and still hadn't even finished half of it, while the autumn meal was so good that we could never finish it.
Yang Hong said lazily, "Let's pack up the leftovers."
These two dishes, if we take them home and heat them up, will be enough for her to eat for tomorrow.
The others remained silent and continued eating.
Haha, Yang Hong took the leftovers home, so I might as well have eaten a few more bites!
Their belts came undone several times, but the group was still eating.
Xie Qingxi, on the other hand, was more unlucky.
She thought she was in control, but once the autumn meal was served, she completely lost control.
He kept asking for more rice, forgetting all about the inspection and taking photos; all he knew was to keep eating.
A bite of fish roe followed by a bite of rice, and the chestnuts, pumpkin, and taro in the rice—how could they taste so good?
Xie Qingxi thought to herself, "Autumn meal, that's so true, isn't this exactly what autumn meal is all about?"
Especially now that it's drizzling outside, the sound of the rain mingling with this bowl of rice—if this weren't a restaurant, Xie Qingxi would be thinking about how to turn on the stereo and play some music. On a day like this, a bowl of rice like this is just so satisfying!
Xie Qingxi let out a burp; feeling uncomfortably full, she had only one thought in mind.
No matter what her mother served next, she wouldn't eat it.
As long as you don't eat a single bite, you won't lose control.
She wants to pack it all up and take it home, then eat it slowly!
"Excuse me, can we take the remaining dishes to go?"
Xie Qingxi asked politely.
Wen's mother was somewhat surprised, but upon further reflection, it seemed that Xie Qingxi indeed did not know the quantity of dishes served in the restaurant.
"Excuse me, all the dishes are served. If you want to take them home, I'll get you some takeout containers."
The moment Xie Qingxi heard that the dishes were all served, her first thought wasn't that there were so few dishes, but rather, "Thank goodness, four dishes! Good, good!"
"Then please pack it up for me."
Compared to Yang Hong's table, where only the last two dishes were left, her table had most of the food left.
Wen's mother found four extra-large takeout boxes and put everything in them one by one.
"The fish roe must be thoroughly heated."
If the food isn't heated thoroughly, it will inevitably have a fishy smell.
Xie Qingxi is only thirty-six or thirty-seven years old this year. She has short, neat hair and usually maintains strict control over her figure.
When Ms. Wen handed over the takeout box, she almost froze.
Xie Qingxi's business attire was now stretched into a rounded shape by her pregnant belly.
Xie Qingxi: ...
Xie Qingxi, who rarely blushed, quickly handed over her business card.
"Actually, there's something else I want to discuss with you."
“Our company would very much like to have your head chef, who is also your husband, join our company.”
"Both you and your husband can join our kindergarten. You can rest assured about the benefits we offer; we are confident that you will be satisfied."
After watching tonight's dishes, Xie Qingxi knew without having to report back that the company would definitely be willing to spend a lot of money to poach her.
So she gave the conditions directly.
"Our kindergarten is a high-end kindergarten, and we can offer an annual salary of 30,000."
Wen's mother was stunned; she never expected Xie Qingxi to be so direct.
Xie Qingxi shifted her foot and changed her posture: "I know this is a sudden statement, but you can consider it. This business card has my phone number on it. You can contact me anytime if you are available."
After saying that, Xie Qingxi picked up the takeout box and took her leave.
Wen's mother didn't know what to say and was about to talk to her daughter when she caught a glimpse of Yang Hong and the others at another table who hadn't left yet.
Yang Hong's friends and Yang Hong herself were all looking at her.
Wen's mother: "...She won't leave. She doesn't know that Xiao Fan made the dishes tonight."
If they really knew, they wouldn't have said anything about digging into her relationship with Lao Wen.
Only thirty a year...
Wen's mother thought it was a very generous gesture.
Upon hearing what Wen's mother said, Yang Hong immediately beamed with joy: "That's right, what's the point of cooking for a kindergarten? Those little kids can't eat this or that, it's so restrictive. It's much more fun to be our own boss."
"That's right, that's right. Xiao Fan is studying across the street, so it's so convenient."
"You and Lao Wen are lucky. As for money, you can earn it slowly."
You absolutely mustn't leave!
If they really leave, where will they find such delicious food again!
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