Chapter 156 It’s Too Expensive
"Yes, it's delicious. I heard Lanzi say that everything Jingjing cooks is delicious, and I didn't expect that even the drinks are different!" Wen Yulan's husband exclaimed, picking up a piece of pork elbow with his chopsticks. "Last time I went home, Lanzi heated up some leftover pork elbow for me. It was so delicious that I ate three bowls of rice with it!"
Wen Jin laughed heartily, his chopsticks reaching for the elbow. "Brother, you don't know. If my sister and I hadn't drunk two bowls of mango pudding that Jingjing brought us this afternoon, we would have eaten at least three bowls of the elbow! Even the small portion left for you was because Jingjing was so generous to us and didn't eat much of the leftovers! Otherwise, how could you have had your portion?"
"Yes, we invited someone to cook for us that day. We made six dishes for the three of us. In the end, Wen Jin and I only ate the pork elbow. We didn't touch the other six dishes much." The pork elbow was placed in the middle. Wen Yulan used the serving chopsticks to pick up a piece for Zhao Xiaojing and Su Yuchen respectively, and then picked up another piece for herself.
“Then I’ll try it too!
"Hmm!" There were six people at the table, five of whom had more or less tasted Zhao Xiaojing's cooking. The remaining one, Wen Jin's wife, who had never tasted it, seemed particularly inexperienced. Seeing others eating the pork elbow, she also took a piece. After tasting it, she couldn't help but open her eyes wide and exclaimed in amazement.
"Oh my god, this is so delicious! No wonder Wen Jin has been asking Jingjing to order food these days!
This taste is really not available anywhere else!"
"Try this." Wen Yulan smiled and picked up a piece of pepper and salt pork ribs for her noisy third sister-in-law.
"Aunt Wen has mastered the craft of making mirrors." Su Yuchen smiled when she saw this.
"Delicious!" Wen Jin's wife said vaguely, and continued to bury her head in the battle with the spareribs. She was getting more and more addicted to the food, and her chattering turned into appetite.
"As long as uncles and aunts like it, everyone can eat as much as they want!" Zhao Xiaojing couldn't help but feel sincerely happy when she saw that the dishes she cooked were recognized by everyone.
"This has to be eaten while it's hot. It won't be fresh if it gets cold. I specially prepared the soy sauce for steaming it. How about trying it?" Zhao Xiaojing distributed the steamed king crab legs to everyone's plates, and she also picked up one and tasted it with great interest.
When she practiced in the virtual space before, she used king crabs from Chef Gu’s kitchen. Before that, she had never seen king crabs, let alone eaten them.
Later, after coming to Jiangcheng, although she had seen it in supermarkets and seafood markets, she did not look closely. She only knew that the huge crab that looked ferocious but was actually sluggish was the king crab. She thought all king crabs looked the same.
As a result, when I went to the seafood market to buy it today, I found out that there are different varieties of king crabs.
The king crab in Chef Gu’s kitchen is called brown king crab, or brown crab for short. It is light brown in color and is the most common king crab. It is a standard variety and is a little more affordable.
Others include red king crab, blue king crab, and Huasaki (xiao) king crab (also called Sichuan pepper king crab).
Hanasaki king crab is the cheapest, the smallest in size, covered with thorns, has short legs, and has a low meat yield. It is said to have the worst taste among the four types.
Blue king crabs have a distinct bluish-purple hue on their legs and shells, with only four prominent spines located in the center of their backs. They are said to taste similar to red king crabs, but blue crabs are more likely to survive and have less meat than red crabs, making them slightly cheaper.
Red king crab is the largest and most expensive of the king crabs. Although it's called red crab, it's actually dark brown in color, not red. It has the highest meat yield, and seafood vendors say it also tastes the best.
What Zhao Xiaojing bought today was red crab.
Although the price is indeed expensive, 278 yuan per catty, this one weighs 6 and a half catties, and it cost Zhao Xiaojing more than 1,800 yuan.
But when she thought about how Wen Yulan had forced a set of skin care products and various snacks on her and Suozi, and Suozi came back and saw that each of the two sets of skin care products cost more than two thousand yuan, she realized that the price was the same.
Zhao Xiaojing made up her mind and directly chose the most lively red crab and paid for it decisively.
Although she cannot give the same price in return, Zhao Xiaojing still hopes that the Wen family can eat and drink well within her means.
"Jingjing, this crab of yours is not cheap. It's a red crab." Wen Jin said as he used chopsticks to pick up the crab leg meat and put it into his mouth, staring at the plate of king crab.
"Uncle Wen, you know what's good. Can you tell by looking at the appearance?" Zhao Xiaojing asked in surprise. She met someone who knew the ins and outs of things.
"You can tell from the appearance that the red crab legs are extra long. You can also taste it; the texture is different." After being praised by Zhao Xiaojing, Wen Jin raised his eyebrows and looked very proud.
"How is it different?" Zhao Xiaojing continued to ask. She had just tasted it carefully, and it did taste slightly different from the one made with Master Gu's brown crab in the virtual space, but it wasn't a big difference.
"Red crab has firmer meat and the sweetest taste. It also has more meat and a softer shell," Wen Jin explained as he sucked on a crab leg. "As for blue crab, it doesn't have as much meat, but it's a little more delicate. It's not as sweet, but has a softer, fresher texture in the middle, and its shell is harder. As for brown crab, that's the kind most restaurants usually use. It's just for flavor, and the texture is a little inferior to these two."
"It's good enough, why are you talking so much? You're the only one who can do that!" Wen Jin's wife finished chewing a crab leg, complained to Wen Jin, and took another bite of the crab body fried with scallions and ginger. "Jingjing, your cooking is really fresh. I think it tastes better than the ones at the hotel!"
"Indeed, if the crab is fresh and good enough, there's no need to add so many toppings. Garlic, cheese, or even spicy sauces are all a bit of a waste. They mask the crab's subtle sweetness and make it taste like street crayfish!" Wen Yulan's husband finished a piece of crab and offered her another. "Jingjing's way is the best. It brings out the crab's freshness without being bland."
"It's just too expensive." Wen Yulan also picked up a piece of crab for Zhao Xiaojing and Su Yuchen, watching them eat with a smile. "Eat it quickly, it won't be fresh if it gets cold."
"Auntie Wen, you should eat too. Don't just focus on us two." Su Yuchen smiled embarrassedly.
"Yes, it's too expensive, Jingjing and Susu, next time we come, we can just have home-cooked meals, don't prepare such expensive dishes. We are ordinary people who just eat casually and feel lively and happy when we get together, there is no need to prepare these hard dishes! We are all family, if you prepare these again, your Aunt Wen will be the first one not to come!" Wen Yulan and her husband followed her and said from behind.
"That's right. We came here mainly to see you and support you, and we asked you to spend money. How can we feel comfortable doing that?" Wen Yulan continued gently. Wen Jin and his wife nodded in agreement.
"Okay, just this once. We'll remember this and make pickles and steamed buns for uncle and aunt next time!" said Zhao Xiaojing.
"There are also steamed buns and corn porridge!" Su Yuchen continued.
Everyone laughed.
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