Chapter 243: Braised Lamb
While waiting for the mutton to be pressed, Lu Hongwen had already packed the washed and chopped garlic sprouts, coriander, various soy products, and various vegetables one by one. He packed more than a dozen large boxes and put them into a packing bag on the side.
These are the dishes for mutton hotpot, just put them directly into the pot.
Wen Jin and his friends' late-night dinner is prepared for ten people. Zhao Xiaojing makes a different hot pot every day, and the side dishes are also matched according to the type of hot pot that day, and try not to repeat them.
"Junior sister, why didn't you cook the mutton we are having for dinner together? Are you planning to make other dishes?" Wan Yuyue asked curiously after taking a look at the other half of the mutton still lying in the bowl.
Zhao Xiaojing brought back two chopped lamb chops and a lamb leg in the morning, saying that she would give half of them to Wen Jin and the others to cook in the evening, and eat the other half by herself. Everyone in the store was very happy and had been looking forward to the staff meal in the evening since early in the morning.
"How about trying a different method and stewing it?" Zhao Xiaojing turned her head and looked at the mutton in the basin with bright eyes.
"Okay! Junior sister, you are so nice to us!" Wan Yuyue was excited. If it were her, she would just stew it in a pot to save trouble. However, Zhao Xiaojing was so nice to them that she didn't even mind the trouble and even cooked it again to make different flavors for them.
Wan Yuyue suddenly thought to herself that her unwavering determination to work here was indeed the right thing to do! "Clear stew is better, it must be more original and more delicious!"
"No, I'm afraid that it's difficult to master the clear stew. If you remove too much fishy smell, it won't taste like lamb. If you remove too little, it will taste too smelly. I dare not make it for them, for fear of damaging my reputation." Zhao Xiaojing glanced at Wan Yuyue and said frankly.
Wan Yuyue was stunned on the spot.
Woman, you really shouldn't give your heart so easily!
o·()o·
Zhao Xiaojing chuckled at Wan Yuyue's reaction. Even so, she had actually practiced making clear-boiled lamb many times, even more often than she had with spicy hot pot lamb.
But she really didn't dare to sell the braised lamb as hot pot directly. She had to let her people try it first and then make adjustments. She was not sure that everyone would like it.
Jiangcheng is located in the Central Plains. Although the province's mutton production is not low, the quality of the mutton is average and cannot be compared with the sheep from the northern grasslands and snow-capped mountain plateaus.
The sheep in Jiangcheng not only have a strong fishy smell, but the meat is also not as tender and firm as the lamb from several famous northern provinces.
It is impossible to produce lamb here that does not need to be deodorized or even needs too many seasonings to be fresh and has little mutton smell. Therefore, people in Jiangcheng generally need to add a lot of spices to remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor when cooking lamb, and most of them are made into spicy dry pot, hot pot, lamb skewers, stir-fried lamb, etc.
As for clear-boiled mutton soup, apart from the specialty stores of ethnic minorities, you can tell how popular it is by looking at the number of mutton soup restaurants that have opened and closed in recent years.
Zhao Xiaojing handed the food preparation work directly to Yun Yongyuan and Wan Yuyue. She blanched the remaining mutton and put it into the casserole. After pouring boiling water, she added angelica, Sichuan pepper, white pepper, green onion, ginger, and angelica, covered the lid, and simmered it on low heat.
Anyway, we have plenty of time, and the clear stew cooked slowly in a casserole over low heat will taste more delicate than the one cooked in a pressure cooker that pursues speed in the virtual space.
It doesn’t take much effort to stew lamb. After blanching and adding seasoning, all you have to do is wait.
After stewing for an hour, Zhao Xiaojing added blanched white radish into the pot, then continued to cover the pot and stew for another hour. Zhao Xiaojing lifted the lid and poked it with chopsticks, then continued to cover it and stewed for another half hour before turning off the heat.
When it was time for dinner, Zhao Xiaojing handed the meals for the last batch of guests to Yun Yongyuan and Wan Yuyue, and began to concentrate on preparing dinner.
Although the braised lamb is a hot pot, she did not prepare any other hot pot dishes except radish, coriander, and some chopped garlic sprouts. This is to best preserve the flavor of the lamb soup itself and prevent it from being contaminated by the different flavors of the ingredients after adding various hot pot dishes.
In addition to mutton, Zhao Xiaojing also got the fried lotus root balls and radish balls that she asked the owner of the pork stall next door to buy yesterday. There is always a long queue for them.
Zhao Xiaojing had been coveting that dumpling shop for a long time, but the owner only opened the shop at five o'clock in the afternoon. When the dumpling season came, there was a long line at the door before it opened.
In Jiangcheng, any inconspicuous shop in a corner with a long queue must be an old shop that has gone through a long period of time and been tested by gourmets and has been recognized for its first-class taste.
When Zhao Xiaojing got the dumplings back in the morning, she heated up a few of them in the microwave, wanting to experience how delicious the dumplings, which were said to be ranked among the top five in Jiangcheng, were. But before she knew it, she and Su Yuchen began to repeat the process of taking the dumplings, heating them up, eating them all, taking the dumplings, heating them up, and eating them all. When they came to their senses and looked down, they found that the bag of ten kilograms of dumplings had visibly shrunk. In the end, they could only drink a bowl of porridge for breakfast.
Zhao Xiaojing poured half a bowl of meatballs out of the refrigerator, put it into the microwave and gave it a symbolic turn to return it to its fragrant state when it was just out of the pot. She then took a basket of washed cabbage from the vegetable rack to the side of the workbench.
Then heat the pot, scoop half a spoonful of lard to melt it, add the cabbage stalks and stir-fry until cooked, then add the cabbage leaves and stir-fry until soft, pour in soy sauce, stir-fry evenly, add the dumplings, then add half a spoonful of water, cover the pot and simmer for half a minute, then open the lid to collect the sauce.
Taking advantage of the break, Zhao Xiaojing heated the mutton soup and then added a slightly spicy dipping sauce.
Finally, stir-fry some spinach and a yam, turn off the boiled mutton soup, add appropriate amount of salt, sprinkle with coriander and wolfberry, put the chopped garlic sprouts in a small bowl and add them yourself, and the employee meal is ready.
Zhao Xiaojing looked up and was about to call someone to serve the meal when she discovered that a group of people had been waiting in the kitchen, smelling the food. When they saw that she had finished everything, they swarmed over with chopsticks in hand. In a moment, they were actively carrying the meal out of the kitchen.
Zhao Xiaojing laughed and followed him to the front hall, only to find that Dazhuang was still there. The computer at the front desk was still on and his people had already started actively helping to move stools and set the dishes.
"I'll serve the rice later. Drink the soup first!" Zhao Xiaojing stopped Wu Kaile as he was about to serve the rice. "The soup has been simmering for two and a half hours. Drink a bowl while it's hot first."
Dazhuang, don't be polite, drink the soup."
Da Zhuang nodded and stared blankly at the casserole of mutton soup in front of him.
I've seen how Zhao Xiaojing and her employees eat during previous filming. The soup bowls they use are almost as big as basins, but it's also common to use basins to eat.
But what is this casserole???
This is too big! What on earth are you selling that requires such a huge casserole?!
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