"What? There really is a misunderstanding... Someone actually ordered that 10,000 yuan set meal?"
In the kitchen, Old Liu stared at the large abalone in Xu Milu's hand for a full half minute, his face filled with disbelief.
"Doesn't this taste just like snails? Why would anyone actually order it?"
Back when they were tasting the dishes, Xu Milu had already prepared a large abalone for her family. Because it was so big, the whole family had to eat it in two meals.
Xu Milu was afraid of scaring the customer, so she replaced the head-sized abalone with a smaller one. But judging from the female customer's expression, the size was still a bit exaggerated.
"Grandpa, let me help you. How do you cook this abalone?"
Xu Milu rolled up her sleeves and easily pulled the abalone out of its shell. The plump abalone meat wriggled, revealing its fragile internal organs.
"I've never made this before, but I've seen people eat it. It should taste pretty good when stewed with braised pork. Hey, don't cut it yet, wait until it's stewed before cutting it."
Old Liu waved his hand, directing his two kitchen helpers to get busy.
The purple algae is taken out of the water, rinsed to remove toxins, and then seasoned with salt, minced garlic, green and red peppers, cilantro, sesame oil, and sugar.
Cut the preserved eggs into wedges and the cooked tofu into cubes, then blanch them three times in boiling water to remove the beany smell. After arranging them on a plate, sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds and chili oil. The aroma will come out when the oil is poured on.
Braised pork with abalone in Shaoxing wine is the most complicated dish. You need to select the best quality pork, cut it into chunks, tie it with clean straw rope, put it into an earthenware pot, add star anise, scallions, soy sauce, two rock sugar pieces, and pour in a pot of Shaoxing wine to simmer slowly.
Hollow out a small bowl shape from the center of the egg and milk pumpkin, fill it with millet oil, steam it until cooked, and it becomes a natural dessert.
Sweet and sour spare ribs also take time. First, cut the ribs into small pieces, dip them in egg liquid, roll them in starch, and then fry them in oil until golden brown. Then, prepare the sauce, stir-fry them over high heat, and once each piece of spare rib is evenly coated with the thick sauce, the dish is ready.
The remaining stir-fried chives and small river shrimp, and steamed millet with egg, milk, pumpkin, and millet were prepared by the two kitchen helpers. Old Liu glanced at them and waved his hand dismissively.
"It's just average, only good because of the good ingredients, otherwise you two would have definitely ruined it."
The two kitchen helpers were both young men in their late twenties, one named Da Liu and the other Xiao Mo. They didn't get angry when their master scolded them; they just chuckled foolishly.
"Done! Serve the food! Tell them the braised abalone and pork with Shaoxing wine will have to wait."
The waiter took the dishes away, while Old Liu smugly shook his head, squinting as he tested Da Liu and Xiao Mo:
Do you know why sweet and sour pork ribs are fried twice?
After thinking for a moment, they both shook their heads.
Xu Milu vaguely understood one thing:
"The first frying is to set the shape, and the second frying is to fry it thoroughly and brown it, so that it looks good and tastes good."
Old Liu was even happier when he heard this: "You didn't learn from your mother for nothing! Come on, you can help with the cold dishes at the next table, I'll watch over them."
...
...
While Xu Milu was learning to cook, Grandpa Jiang's family's dishes were gradually served.
The cold-dressed purple seaweed is vibrant in color, the preserved egg and tofu are black and white, the stir-fried small river shrimp with chives is a mix of red and yellow, the sweet and sour spare ribs are golden and bright, with a layer of bright sweet and sour sauce on the outside, and the egg and milk pumpkin stew with millet is a passionate red, making it indescribably wonderful and moving.
Its color and aroma alone are enough to make one's mouth water.
Cui Mingyue's throat bobbed, and she picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs with her chopsticks. The simpler the dish, the more it tests the chef's skills.
The moment she tasted the pork ribs, she couldn't help but look amazed.
"Click".
The chef's control of the heat was superb. The ribs were coated with a perfectly crispy crust, which allowed the sweet and sour sauce to coat them evenly. The meat hidden inside the crust was neither dry nor tough, and the ratio of fat to lean meat was so perfect that it was breathtaking.
"Click".
"Click".
"Click".
The table was full of people eating sweet and sour pork ribs. The collision of teeth and batter brought pleasure to their tongues, and everyone couldn't help but eat with a smile on their face.
When the chopsticks of the group clinked together, they looked up and couldn't help but burst out laughing.
The whole dish was gone in no time.
Cui Mingyue put down her chopsticks somewhat embarrassedly and turned to the next dish: stir-fried river shrimp with chives and leeks.
Interestingly, this is also a common home-style dish.
She picked up a mouthful of river shrimp and examined it closely. Each shrimp was about the length of a thumb, and under the high temperature of stir-frying, it was arched. Each one was full of meat, with no empty shells. The plump shrimp meat was almost squeezing out through the thin shrimp shell.
"Crackling sound".
This is a different feeling altogether.
The shells of the small river shrimp become exceptionally crispy under high temperatures, possessing a crunch similar to potato chips. With one bite, the plump shrimp meat eagerly bursts out of the shell, the passion of the chili peppers combined with the slight spiciness of the chives, making every bite an excellent taste experience, making you want to keep eating and never stop.
"Separated—"
Eating too fast, Cui Mingyue gave a rather unladylike burp. She immediately blushed with embarrassment, but when she turned her head, she saw that no one at the table was paying attention to her.
Jiang Liu and Grandpa Jiang have a special fondness for steamed fish, and they eat almost a third of a fish at a time.
Grandma Zhou, her daughter-in-law, and grandson held onto the dessert—steamed millet with egg and milk, and wouldn't let go, eating it bite after bite without stopping.
Her husband, Jiang He, on the other hand, seemed to have a particular fondness for cold purple seaweed salad. He ate half a plate of it with a single chopstick.
"It's so delicious! I never thought steamed fish was so good before. Mom, you guys should try it too!"
Jiang Liu picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and put it in his son's bowl, then couldn't help but ask Cui Mingyue:
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