Chapter 165 Fried Skewers and Kiln-Roasted Chicken [First Update]...
Although the Children's Day activities at Fuxing Welfare Home were simple, they were still quite lively.
After giving instructions to Wen Fan in the kitchen, Dean Bai hurriedly arranged for the children to play in the front.
It's a beautiful day today. There are a dozen or so children of varying ages, the youngest being just over a year old, and the oldest being seventeen or eighteen.
With so many children of different ages, it would be a lie to say that this holiday was celebrated in a very formal way. Dean Bai and the other staff members could only come up with a few simple game tasks.
What about games like "Eagle Catches Chicks" and "Pictionary"...
Adults and children team up, keep score, and each team receives a gift at the end.
Perhaps there were no parents applauding and cheering in the audience, but after spending so much time together, the staff had also developed feelings for the children, and they were all having a great time.
Even the youngest little one was sitting in the stroller, grinning and clapping his hands.
Amidst the laughter and cheers of the crowd, Zhang Yue took photos everywhere with her camera.
She was also a child from Fuxing Welfare Home, and only graduated from university last year. After finding a job, she left Fuxing Welfare Home. But for her, Fuxing is her home, so she returns to Fuxing every holiday. And because she works for a media company, she has also developed the habit of taking photos everywhere.
Today was no exception; Zhang Yue searched for the best angle amidst the children's joyful laughter.
A large jump rope was swung around, and a group of people lined up to jump in unison. People kept failing to jump over it and were booed as they left the stage.
Dean Bai, who had just stepped off the stage, wiped the sweat from his brow and called for Zhang Yue to go up and dance as well, jokingly saying, "If you don't dance, you won't get any food."
Seeing that Zhang Yue still had a camera in her hand, she said, "Let me hold it for you."
Holding up her camera, Zhang Yue said smugly, "It's okay, I can still jump with a camera in my hand!"
As he spoke, he bent down and slipped inside like an eel.
With the sound of the jump rope cutting through the air, Zhang Yue jumped several times.
But for some reason, as she was jumping around, she suddenly smelled a fragrance.
The fragrance wafted through the air, penetrating right into one's nostrils.
Zhang Yue thought it was because she had been jumping around for too long and was hungry. She was wondering if she shouldn't have brought such a heavy camera in when she heard the child in front of her muttering that he was hungry.
"It smells so good... I guess it'll just go bad."
Zhang Yue: "..."
Before he could even say goodbye, the rope was tripped and stopped.
The two people standing at the beginning and end, waving the ropes, pointed at the group and said, "Little Gourd, Little Moon! You two come out!"
Zhang Yue was dejected. What bad luck! She was planning to jump around properly, but she was tripped up by the little gourd in front of her.
Little Gourd is a seven or eight-year-old girl. Because she has two conspicuous red birthmarks on her hands that look like gourds, everyone calls her Little Gourd.
Little Gourd deliberately tripped the rope and stopped, but he wasn't unhappy about being eliminated. He even took Zhang Yue's hand.
"Sister Yue, it smells so good! What are you making in the kitchen?"
Zhang Yue said irritably, "Who knows? They said Dean Bai hired someone to do it... Hey, where are you going?"
The little gourd sniffed: "I'm going to see what delicious food is available!"
She ran away in a flash, but Zhang Yue was worried that the kitchen was full of knives and fire. What if the people she had invited today were to run into this little girl again if she wasn't careful?
So Zhang Yue closed the camera and followed Xiao Hulu to the kitchen.
The kitchen at the orphanage wasn't big, but Wen Fan had brought quite a lot of his own things with him, filling the already small kitchen to the brim.
At that moment, Zhang Yue and Xiao Hulu peeked through the crack in the door and saw something being fried inside.
The oil sizzled and smoked as Wen Fan and his father each used a pair of long chopsticks to quickly add ingredients, frying them until they were done and then taking them out.
Fried shrimp balls, stuffed king oyster mushrooms, stuffed tofu, pork tenderloin strips, crispy fried pork...
Although there weren't many people today, Wen Fan still made a lot of different kinds of dishes. Not only did the fried shrimp balls make a comeback, but he also made a large plate of various stuffed meat dishes.
The aroma of the fried food was incredibly enticing, and it quickly drew people in.
The little gourd swallowed hard, gazing longingly inside.
Zhang Yue was a bit older, but the aroma made her eager to try it.
Two pairs of eyes were fixed on the plates of golden, crispy fried food on the table, unaware that someone was approaching.
It wasn't until the door creaked open and Du Min was about to go out that she noticed the two people peeping at the door.
"you……"
Zhang Yue was a little embarrassed. The little gourd, who usually seemed sly, was actually more shy than Zhang Yue at this moment and quietly hid behind her.
Zhang Yue could only explain softly, "It's nothing, we just came to see if the dishes are ready."
Du Min's eyes crinkled into a smile: "Almost done. Once the fried food is ready, we can cook a few simple dishes and start eating."
Upon seeing the little girl who was hiding and not coming out at all, with only her small hands clinging to Zhang Yue's legs, Du Min turned around, grabbed a plate, picked out a few fried snacks that didn't need any further processing, and handed them to Zhang Yue.
"It smells best when it's fresh out of the pot, have a taste."
Perhaps because he was here, in addition to regular meals, Wen Fan also made some street food.
Skewered potato slices, bean curd knots, handmade bang bang chicken, fish tofu...
Use as many varieties as possible, deep-fry them until cooked, and then dip them in the sauce.
The broth is spicy and fragrant, sprinkled with crushed sesame seeds and peanuts. The rich broth coats the fried skewers, which are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The potato slices are both crispy and chewy, the bangbang chicken is hot and fragrant inside, and the fish tofu is particularly satisfying to bite into.
Zhang Yue took the plate, and the small gourd hidden behind it came out.
"Thanks."
Zhang Yue first stuffed a string of small gourds into her mouth, and then picked up a string of potato slices for herself.
The two were too embarrassed to go outside, so they ate in the hallway outside the kitchen.
The potato slices were cut just right, not too thick or too thin. The crisp and chewy potatoes, along with the roasted and half-crushed sesame seeds and peanuts, were covered with a generous amount of braising sauce, and the aroma was concentrated in the mouth. Zhang Yue exclaimed that she enjoyed it very much.
After finishing one skewer, Xiao Hulu reached out for a second one without hesitation.
Neither of them told their companions, and they decided to finish their special meal first.
There was a small chicken, about the size of a child's palm, and Zhang Yue coughed the moment she picked it up from the gourd: "Give me half."
It's fried food, and the kids are so hungry they'll eat it all. Will they still want to eat dinner later?
Little Gourd reluctantly gave half a string of gourds to Zhang Yue.
Because Wen Fan makes his own Bangbang chicken, the chicken inside is tender and meaty, with a crispy breadcrumb coating, unlike the Bangbang chicken you find elsewhere where there's more starch than meat. After frying, the Bangbang chicken has a crispy, caramelized exterior and firm, juicy chicken breast inside.
The little gourd took a big bite, its eyes narrowing in satisfaction.
Then she heard someone angrily calling her name. She turned around in a panic, a bang-bang chicken still dangling from her mouth.
The two children of the same age who came to see her immediately objected.
"I want some too!"
Zhang Yue had no choice but to ask Du Min for more.
Du Min generously gave each person two skewers, and this time she also brought some fried mushrooms.
Before the children had finished eating, someone shouted again, "You ate all by yourself without telling me!"
...
So, even though it wasn't past midnight, Dean Bai felt that there were fewer and fewer people in the courtyard.
"Old Zhou, go check on them."
They all said they were going to the restroom, but why were they in the restroom for so long?
Old Zhou returned with a smile a short while later.
"You'll see when you go and take a look."
Dean Bai then walked into the building with a puzzled look on his face, and then everything went black.
A bunch of little kids, big and small, were already gathered around the kitchen, eating. Except for a few particularly well-behaved ones outside, almost everyone else was here. Their hands and mouths were greasy from eating, and some even kept stuffing food into their mouths after seeing her.
"you……"
A group of kids watched her. After all, Dean Bai always told them not to eat junk food like fried skewers outside, and this was the first time they had ever eaten fried skewers so happily!
Dean Bai was both amused and exasperated.
Well, at this point, what's the point of saying anything more?
Let's just have a feast.
The activity room of the welfare home was cleaned up and a large table was set up. A dozen people, along with staff, made up more than twenty people.
There were quite a few plates and dishes laid out.
Popular fried skewers were arranged around the table, while Wen Fan placed steamed, cartoon-shaped buns of various shapes in the center. The remaining spaces were filled with fried shrimp balls, stuffed king oyster mushrooms, stuffed tofu, sweet and sour pork, shrimp ball soup, and crispy fried pork in sour soup…
These are all children's dishes that kids love to eat, and in the very center are three roasted chickens wrapped in tin foil.
Peel back the foil, and inside is a lotus leaf, now soaked in the sauce and chicken oil. Carefully unfold the lotus leaf, and the steaming aroma instantly fills the air. The brownish-red skin is glossy and moist, the chicken skin is crispy and fragrant, and with a gentle press, the rich juices inside seem about to overflow.
Wow~
Children often have more imagination when it comes to visually appealing food. This chicken, just by its appearance, beat out the other dishes, and everyone cheered and jumped for joy, choosing which one they wanted to eat.
Zhang Yue took out her camera and started snapping photos of the delicious food on the table. After she finished, she found an extra chicken wing in her bowl.
Dean Bai chuckled and urged her to eat, saying, "I remember you love chicken wings the most."
Zhang Yue was inevitably moved, so she put her camera aside and began to eat heartily.
The aroma of the kiln-roasted chicken is intense. Compared to regular roasted chicken, it's probably because of the extra layer of tin foil; the juices aren't baked out but instead remain trapped in the crevices of the meat. After a long period of roasting and braising, the meat becomes exceptionally tender. When the crispy skin is broken open, the inside is filled with juicy chicken fibers.
The flavor was delicious, the spices Wen Fan used were just right, and the chicken was fresh. This kiln-roasted chicken was so good that everyone couldn't stop eating it.
Dean Bai originally only wanted to improve the children's meals a little, but after tasting the chicken, she sincerely exclaimed that Wenji truly lived up to its reputation.
While the children were going crazy over the kiln-roasted chicken and fried skewers, she picked up a bamboo shoot and pork bun.
The meat inside is diced braised pork. The stir-fried pork is firm and has a sweet flavor. The bamboo shoots are tender. The oily sweetness of the braised pork is neutralized by the bamboo shoots. Underneath the soft dough is a chewy filling of braised pork and bamboo shoots, which amazes the adults who prefer to eat meat buns rather than compete with the children for vegetables.
"Huh? I've never had such delicious meat buns before."
"Try this soup dumpling, it's delicious too."
Wen Fan didn't make many soup dumplings because she couldn't do anything fancy with the dough, so she simply steamed two baskets.
In the steaming bamboo steamer, the soup dumplings are almost bubbling with amber-yellow soup. Carefully pick one up and place it on your plate, open a small window in the soup before drinking it.
The delicious and fragrant broth is intoxicating.
Dean Bai squinted his eyes.
"It's so delicious!"
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