Chapter 112 Osmanthus Tea Cheese.
Now that Gu Qingqiu has finalized the Mid-Autumn Festival menu, she can finally look through the book "A Good Deed a Day in Autumn," where the various dishes divided according to the autumn seasons are all very appealing.
As she looked at the dishes, she weighed the options. Of course, a table of dishes couldn't only focus on the medicinal value of the ingredients; it also had to consider the deliciousness of the meat dishes and the balance of meat and vegetables.
She combined the dishes she recently wanted to make with some recipe tutorials she found online and decided on four dishes and a soup. She also started researching what dessert to add.
Finally, I stumbled upon a pastry blogger on Xiaohongshu whose tutorial videos had a very traditional Chinese style. After browsing through her profile, I decided on Osmanthus Tea Cheese.
Gu Qingqiu was quite confident about dishes like soup and meat dishes. Even if she had never cooked before, she could watch the tutorial videos, memorize the general steps, and make them on the day of business without the taste being too bad.
Because the ingredients are processed by her, all the impurities are removed, and the dish is imbued with tiny bits of spiritual energy the moment it is taken out of the pot and plated, elevating the overall flavor of the dish to several levels.
She could manage with sweet soup, but she didn't make desserts and pastries often, so she didn't dare to be too confident. Therefore, she decided to take advantage of her day off to try making some and see if she could succeed and how they would taste.
Of course, she couldn't wait to try this delicious dessert. The vlog she just saw was so beautiful and evocative that it made her appreciate the Osmanthus Tea Cheese even more.
On her days off, Gu Qingqiu rarely went to the market to buy groceries. She didn't always rush to buy them right after breakfast; most of the time, she would order takeout.
She'd try any takeout that was available nearby and that interested her. Besides, she usually cooked in the kitchen every day, and she didn't want to have to cook for herself even on her days off, so she figured she might as well free her hands and wait for food.
Of course, occasionally when she comes across something she wants to eat, she'll go to the market to buy ingredients and cook it simply. After all, life is nothing more than the mundane necessities of food, and one should always satisfy their rare appetite.
She remembered that classic quote she'd seen online a few days ago—"Do you know why parents aren't picky eaters? When they go grocery shopping, they never buy ingredients they don't like, so naturally, the dishes they cook will also include things they don't like." The kids are really at a disadvantage here (crying).
Gu Qingqiu felt that this statement revealed the truth to some extent. Just as a restaurant's daily menu is unlikely to include dishes she doesn't like, she would occasionally add dishes she wanted to eat on the menu under the guise of official business.
After a long day of hard work, being able to eat the dishes I love for lunch and dinner brings a strong sense of happiness that is enough to dispel the fatigue from being busy.
If she suddenly has a craving for something to eat while resting, and her appetite and anticipation for delicious food come unexpectedly, Gu Qingqiu is very willing to satisfy herself.
Life is about making money and enjoying it; otherwise, you'll toil half your life without knowing what it was all for.
Gu Qingqiu checked the time and decided to go to the market to shop at four o'clock in the afternoon. She would take a nap first.
The September sun wasn't so intense anymore; after four o'clock was the generally accepted time for ultraviolet rays to dissipate. Even though the earth was still radiating heat, Gu Qingqiu held up an umbrella and headed to the vegetable market.
She didn't need to buy much this time, so she didn't even bring a shopping cart and just left.
When she arrived at the market, Gu Qingqiu first bought a bunch of bok choy to cook for dinner, and then went straight to the grocery store.
She's been buying a lot of things from the grocery store lately, and the store owner acts like she's a big customer whenever she comes in.
Of course, the boss knew that if Mr. Gu appeared here at this time, it was most likely because he was off work today and wouldn't be buying much; he was just buying for his own use. So, the boss still treated him with great hospitality.
Gu Qingqiu bought three catties of cornstarch, five boxes of gelatin sheets, one catty of dried flowers, one catty of red bean paste, and five boxes of milk, asking the grocery store owner to deliver them to the restaurant later.
For items like dried flowers and red bean paste, which have a shorter shelf life, she buys only enough for today and will buy the rest on Mid-Autumn Festival.
There was nothing else to buy here, so Gu Qingqiu walked out of the market and back to Suli Street. She stopped at a fruit shop and bought two catties of Qiuyue pears.
This is the best time to eat Qiuyue pears. Of course, these pears are also expensive. They look good, are crisp and tender with no residue, are juicy and have a moderate sweetness, making them a great gift.
The two jin she just bought seems like a lot, but she picked some of the better quality Qiuyue pears, each weighing a full jin, so two jin is just two pears.
When she passed by a tea shop, she went in and bought five catties of Osmanthus-scented black tea.
This type of tea is also seasonal, and tea shops only have a limited stock available around the Mid-Autumn Festival. Osmanthus-scented black tea is made by blending black tea with freshly dried osmanthus flowers, and it gets its name from the fragrance of osmanthus.
Using this tea to make Osmanthus Tea Jelly can better highlight the fragrance of osmanthus, add a touch of elegance, and further enhance the Mid-Autumn Festival atmosphere.
Back at the restaurant, Gu Qingqiu sat downstairs to rest for a while. The wooden door was open, and a breeze occasionally blew through, but with the fan on, it wasn't too hot.
After signing for and sorting all the items delivered by the grocery store, she took the bok choy, pears, some osmanthus black tea, cornstarch, gelatin sheets, five boxes of milk, dried flowers, and red bean paste upstairs to prepare this dessert in the kitchen.
Gu Qingqiu washed her hands and immediately took out the corresponding pots and kitchen utensils to prepare to cook.
The dried osmanthus flowers she bought from the grocery store were freshly picked and dried not long ago, so she didn't need to stir-fry them until they were dry and fragrant like the blogger taught in the tutorial vlog.
Place the small saucepan on the stove and heat it over low heat. Gu Qingqiu added an appropriate amount of dried osmanthus flowers to the saucepan and stir-fried them briefly, releasing a delicate fragrance.
She poured five boxes of milk into the pot and simmered it over low heat, stirring occasionally with a small spoon to prevent the milk from burning.
After the osmanthus fragrance had fully infused into the milk, she used a strainer to scoop out all the osmanthus flowers from the pot and set them aside. Then she poured in an appropriate amount of cornstarch and stirred it. Next, she added some edible food coloring to the pot of rich white milk with the aroma of osmanthus, adjusting the color of the milk to the pale yellow of osmanthus.
After boiling, Gu Qingqiu turned off the heat and used a large spoon to scoop the osmanthus milk from the small saucepan into a round mold that she had washed and dried before leaving home that afternoon.
Each of these silicone molds has six round holes to hold the osmanthus milk, and it took three silicone molds to fill them all.
Instead of putting it aside for now and letting it cool down a bit before refrigerating it, Gu Qingqiu decided to stir-fry some garlic bok choy first.
After finishing the bok choy, she first checked the osmanthus milk on the mold, which had cooled down, so she simply covered the three mold plates and put them in the freezer.
Gu Qingqiu sat on the sofa to rest for a while, scrolled through her phone for about half an hour, then went into the kitchen to wash the dishes and pots and continued working.
She first rinsed two autumn pears with water, then peeled and chopped them with a fruit knife. Next, she prepared dried osmanthus flowers and osmanthus-scented black tea in the correct proportions, and put them into a small saucepan to boil.
After boiling the tea until the broth was clear and the aroma of tea mixed with osmanthus and a faint pear fragrance wafted through the air, Gu Qingqiu turned off the heat. Just smelling it made her feel that the tea should taste quite mellow.
She used a strainer to scoop out the dried osmanthus flowers, tea leaves, and pear pieces, leaving the clear, pale yellow tea in a small saucepan. Then she took a large soup bowl and divided the tea in half, leaving one half in the saucepan.
She opened the gelatin sheets, carefully measured the amount, and added them to the tea in the large soup bowl, stirring with a spoon until dissolved.
Gu Qingqiu then opened the refrigerator and took out the three mold boxes that had been placed in the freezer. She placed them on the cutting board and opened the lid. She could see that the osmanthus milk in the round holes had solidified into a fixed shape, like jelly with a slight bouncy texture.
The shape was exactly as she wanted, with a round outer ring that was higher than the inner ring, which was slightly lower, just right for holding the tea. Gu Qingqiu used a spoon to scoop the tea soup with gelatin sheets into the inner ring of the osmanthus milk cheese, and stopped when the tea soup in the inner ring was level with the osmanthus milk cheese in the outer ring, forming a beautiful arc.
She poured them one by one according to this standard until all eighteen round tea cakes in the three mold boxes were made. Then she carefully closed the lids and gently carried them to the refrigerator to put them back in the freezer.
The tea in the small saucepan was left covered for the time being. Gu Qingqiu quickly tidied up the mess on the stove and cutting board, turned on the air conditioner in the room, and then took her pajamas to take a shower.
After she washed and showered, dried her hair, played on her phone for a while, and then went back into the kitchen to get busy.
Gu Qingqiu bought two kinds of red bean paste, one orange-yellow and the other milky-yellow. With her skillful hands and a small knife, she pinched the small balls of red bean paste into the shape of osmanthus flowers, making them look delicate and beautiful.
After finishing, she turned the stove on again, heated the tea until it was slightly warm, and then turned it off. She then took out a box of molds from the refrigerator.
Upon opening the lid, Gu Qingqiu saw that the tea yogurt inside had already solidified. She used a mold-taking technique to take out two tea yogurts and placed them in small white porcelain plates. She then covered the rest and put them back in the freezer.
Gu Qingqiu wasn't in a hurry. She took her phone and leaned against the kitchen counter for a while, waiting for the tea cheese to thaw slightly and become chewy.
After all this trouble, she doesn't know how the Osmanthus Tea Cheese tastes yet, but it seems pretty good so far. However, she now knows how complicated the production process is.
If she makes it a day in advance, she's afraid that refrigerating it for too long will affect the taste. Besides, she has to be open for business the day before Mid-Autumn Festival, unless she uses her evening rest time or closes the business for an afternoon to make it.
Gu Qingqiu quickly calculated the time and decided that she should make the osmanthus milk, pour it into molds, and let it cool after getting up on the morning of the Mid-Autumn Festival. After eating, she could put it in the refrigerator to chill.
Once the purchases are complete, first brew the tea, then melt the gelatin sheets and pour it into the osmanthus-flavored milk cheese. Freeze it again, and then make a red bean paste osmanthus dessert – it's quite simple.
After confirming that the plan was feasible, she opened the shopping app on her phone, searched and compared prices, and bought eight boxes of high-quality Akizuki pears, each weighing nearly a pound.
If the Osmanthus Tea Cheese is popular and we need to prepare more, then we'll stop making Akizuki Pears once they're sold out; if business is so-so, it's fine to keep the Akizuki Pears for ourselves.
Compared to the price she paid at the fruit store that afternoon, the price on the shopping app was slightly cheaper due to the Mid-Autumn Festival promotion. Buying eight boxes at once allowed her to stack multiple discounts and official coupons, making each fruit about 40% cheaper.
These Akizuki pears are all pre-sale items. They will be picked and then mailed. According to the estimated delivery time and logistics speed, they will arrive just before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Then Gu Qingqiu went through the order history, found the original mold link, and reordered five more molds. This way, she could make forty-eight Osmanthus Tea Cakes for lunch and dinner. She decided to sell them all at once as they were sold out.
Speaking of which, she bought this mold when she was in college and had nothing to do at home during summer vacation. She wanted to learn how to make some frozen desserts. When she made them, she gave them to her parents. They exclaimed that they did not expect their daughter to have such a talent for making these things. They were icy cold and sweet, which was very refreshing to eat and swept away the fatigue of a busy day at the restaurant.
The familiar voice and smile seemed to be right before her eyes, and Gu Qingqiu couldn't help but smile slightly as she thought about it.
After finishing her shopping, she put down her phone and looked again at the tea pudding served on two small white porcelain plates. It had softened by now, and its chewy and smooth texture was clearly visible.
Gu Qingqiu sprinkled a few petals of the red bean paste and osmanthus flowers she had previously picked onto the two tea puddings, then scooped a spoonful of golden osmanthus tea soup and poured it over the tea puddings on the plate. Thus, the dessert, Golden Osmanthus Tea Pudding, was finally made.
In the center of the white porcelain plate was a pale yellow, round tea jelly, sprinkled with some pretty osmanthus petals. Underneath the osmanthus petals, you could see the clear, pale yellow tea jelly. Underneath the tea jelly, there was a small portion of clear, pale yellow tea jelly surrounding the plate, with three mint leaves casually draped over it, creating a refreshing and beautiful scene. The atmosphere of autumn was immediately apparent.
Gu Qingqiu couldn't help but take out her phone to take a picture. She was very satisfied with the fragrant and elegant Osmanthus Tea Cheese in the photo, which was particularly suitable for this Mid-Autumn Festival.
She took a spoon and placed it on a small white porcelain plate, then carried a plate in each hand to her side of the dining table and sat down.
Gu Qingqiu picked up a spoon and scooped up a spoonful of tea soup from the bottom of the plate to drink.
The tea soup is sweet as soon as it enters your mouth. It is a sweetness that is just right, with the unique mellowness of black tea. Soon after, you can feel the faint fragrance of osmanthus slowly spreading between your teeth.
The aroma of tea and osmanthus intertwine to create a delicate and refined taste that is neither too strong nor too weak.
After swallowing a mouthful of tea, a lingering fragrance remained in the mouth, making one want to savor it again and again.
This was the first time Gu Qingqiu had bought this seasonal Osmanthus Black Tea to brew and drink. Not to mention, she added dried osmanthus flowers and boiled it again, making the osmanthus fragrance even stronger. Drinking it felt like being under an osmanthus tree, with a refreshing fragrance wafting by in the wind.
After taking a few sips of the tea, one can gradually appreciate the lingering pear flavor, which is also the source of the tea's sweetness.
Gu Qingqiu's craving for tea was satisfied before she began to eat the tea cheese.
She scooped a spoonful of tea jelly from the top down, filling it with osmanthus petals, tea jelly, and osmanthus-flavored milk cheese, and then brought it to her mouth to eat.
The tea cheese melts in your mouth with a light touch, tasting exceptionally delicate and smooth, with a rich flavor.
It has the richness of black tea, the delicate fragrance of osmanthus, the sweetness of autumn pear, and the richness of milk. All kinds of aromas linger in your mouth, light and elegant, as if you are eating the whole autumn.
The osmanthus petals made with red bean paste are quite noticeable mixed into the silky and delicate tea custard, giving it a rich and lingering sweetness. This sweetness is higher than that of the tea custard, but it is not overly sweet.
Gu Qingqiu barely had to chew; the tea cheese, along with the red bean paste and osmanthus petals, melted on her tongue and she swallowed it. She immediately scooped up another spoonful to eat.
Just like the first sip, the tea cheese melts in your mouth with a light touch, allowing you to fully appreciate its delicate smoothness and savor its elegant and subtle fragrance.
Gu Qingqiu felt her happiness rise sharply as she ate, experiencing a slightly peaceful joy.
Gu Qingqiu quickly finished one Osmanthus Tea Pudding and drank all the Osmanthus Tea at the bottom of the plate. She didn't find it greasy at all; on the contrary, she was still craving it and started eating a second Osmanthus Tea Pudding.
She was glad she made the right decision tonight, simply stir-frying a plate of bok choy to fill her stomach first. Now, she was happy and satisfied after eating two cups of Osmanthus Tea Jelly.
Gu Qingqiu was very satisfied with the Jintang Tea Cheese she made today, both in terms of appearance and taste.
With this hands-on trial, I believe the Osmanthus Tea Jelly I make on Mid-Autumn Festival will taste and look even better.
Gu Qingqiu had a premonition that this Osmanthus Tea Jelly would be very popular with customers during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and would then spark a lot of discussion on Xiaohongshu and Weibo.
After finishing the tea cake, she drank all the tea soup at the bottom of the plate before picking up the two small white porcelain plates to wash and put them away in the vegetable washing basin.
There was still a lot of Osmanthus Black Tea left in the small saucepan, brewed with Autumn Moon Pear, dried Osmanthus flowers, and tea leaves. You could still faintly smell the fragrance wafting from it. Gu Qingqiu had just tasted the tea and liked it quite a bit, so she simply took a water cup and poured the tea from the saucepan into it, intending to drink it slowly later.
There was still a lot of frozen tea pudding left in the freezer. Gu Qingqiu planned to brew some more Osmanthus Black Tea the next morning to make the Osmanthus Tea Pudding, so that Sister Zhou and the other two could try it first, and then send some to Grandpa and Grandma Lin.
After tidying up the kitchen, Gu Qingqiu took the cup of Osmanthus Black Tea back to her room, sat at her desk, looked at her phone and drank the tea. After she had had her fill of playing, she started thinking about and planning tomorrow's dishes.
And so, Gu Qingqiu spent a fulfilling and leisurely day off during the week, and when a new day arrived, she began to get busy again.
After tasting the Osmanthus Tea Cheese, Sister Zhou and her two companions were full of praise for it, saying they really liked the dessert and that customers would definitely love it on Mid-Autumn Festival.
Mid-Autumn Festival arrived in the blink of an eye. Gu Qingqiu got up early and called various bosses to order ingredients. Then she went downstairs to the kitchen to cook the osmanthus milk for the Osmanthus Tea Pudding, poured it into molds and let it cool before having breakfast.
After she finished breakfast, she first brewed some osmanthus black tea, added gelatin sheets and stirred until dissolved. After letting it cool slightly, she took out all eight molds from the refrigerator, stacked them up and poured them in, then put the lids back on and put them back in the freezer.
After finishing these tasks, Wang Meiyu also came over, and Gu Qingqiu and she each pulled a shopping cart to the market to buy groceries.
Today we were lucky. Gu Qingqiu managed to buy fresh and high-quality ingredients for every dish on her menu. She even had the vendors deliver the ingredients she could to the restaurant. The rest filled the four shopping carts the two of them carried, so they returned home with a full load.
Because of the heavy workload today, Gu Qingqiu and Wang Meiyu didn't rest much. After catching their breath and drinking some water, they signed for all the meat and vegetables that were delivered and then went into the kitchen to get busy.
Later at 10 o'clock, Sister Zhou came over to clean the dining area, and Sister Tang also came over early to help.
Gu's Private Kitchen is fully operational, everything is ready, and it's just waiting to open its doors to welcome customers at the appointed time.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is the first day of the three-day holiday, and there is a noticeable increase in traffic on the roads, as well as many pedestrians on the sidewalks.
At the entrance of Gu's Private Kitchen Restaurant on Suli Street, customers were already queuing up earlier than usual.
Several groups of customers arrived one after another, and they all lined up in an orderly fashion to wait for the restaurant to open. They chatted or played on their phones, eagerly waiting for the restaurant to open so that they could be the first to enter the store and occupy a table in the dining area.
However, it is obvious that once you have joined the queue, you can count forward a little to find out if you can go directly into the restaurant to dine after it opens.
It was disappointing not to be among the first seven customers, but it was still nice to be able to dine in after a short wait. At least arriving early today gave us an advantage.
Jiang Chengyi and her friends Wei Fang and Yan Tinghe stood in line, peering ahead to count how many groups of customers were in front of them, and then thought to themselves.
They live in Henan Province and had been following Gu's Private Kitchen on Xiaohongshu for two or three months now. They had been craving it for a long time and had discussed it countless times in their group of girlfriends. They had been planning to come over for a meal to satisfy their cravings when they had time.
Unfortunately, the three of them have irregular rest times after work, so it's always difficult to get together. It wasn't until this Mid-Autumn Festival that everyone had time, so they hit it off and arranged to meet at the airport yesterday afternoon after work, and then flew directly to Jiang City.
Perhaps because I took a taxi to the hotel to wash up and went to bed too late last night, all three alarm clocks I set broke this morning. I got up, quickly washed up, and rushed over by taxi without even putting on makeup.
But we were still a little too late. When we arrived, the restaurant was still closed, but there were already several groups of customers lined up in long queues.
They quickly walked over and joined the group. After standing still and taking their positions, they looked ahead and, after distinguishing the number of people in several groups, came to the above conclusion. Their mindset was quite calm.
With Gu's Private Kitchen being so popular, queuing is to be expected, and it's good to be at the front of the line and have a shorter wait time.
Jiang Chengyi looked back and exclaimed, "In such a short time, so many more people have lined up behind us!"
Wei Fang: "That's normal. It seems we're not too late. We're at table number ten, so we'll be there in a little while."
Yan Tinghe was optimistic: "It's great, at least I don't have to worry about not getting a number. Just thinking that I can finally eat Gu's Private Kitchen today for the Mid-Autumn Festival, which I've been looking forward to for so long, and that the dishes look really good, makes all the waiting in line worthwhile!"
Jiang Chengyi and Wei Fang nodded repeatedly; they thought so too.
As soon as the restaurant opened its doors, the first seven groups of customers immediately went inside, sat down, ordered, and waited to eat.
The waiting time wasn't boring at all; the three chatted and occasionally checked their phones, enjoying the aroma of meat and dishes wafting from the restaurant as they waited.
Every time I see a table of customers come out to pay, I can't help but hope that the staff will call my number in the next second. Every time I look back and see the increasingly long queue behind me, I feel a secret joy and relief.
As another group of customers happily paid and left, the clerk came out to call out numbers. Jiang Chengyi and her two companions happily took their numbers and went into the store, where they sat down at a four-person table.
There was no hesitation in ordering. They had already seen today's menu posted on the official Gu's Private Kitchen account on the way here. At this moment, Jiang Chengyi said the same thing that countless customers had said: "Let's order one of everything on the menu!"
She then added, "Three servings of the Osmanthus Tea Cheese, please, after the meal. For tea, we'd like chrysanthemum tea, thank you."
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