Chapter 122: Pre-cooking the braising liquid.
Quite a few new comments have popped up, making it quite lively.
Those who supported option A were overjoyed at the victory and the prospect of finally getting to eat the braised pig's feet, braised beef shank, braised chicken, and braised duck that they had been craving. Those who chose options B or C were disappointed for a while, but then comforted themselves by thinking that it wouldn't hurt to try something as popular as braised pig's feet.
In the end, try to make it sound like everyone is happy.
As I said before, most netizens, even those who joined later, have absolute confidence in the dishes produced by Gu's Private Kitchen. Even those who have never eaten them before believe that the taste will be very good.
However, they each had their own preferences, and they voted for the dish option they liked better.
The outcome was already decided, and the disappointed fans quickly adjusted their mindset. They thought that braised pig's feet was, after all, the signature dish of Gu's Private Kitchen. If the ordinary dishes were so delicious, the aroma of this signature dish must have soared to the heavens, tempting even the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother of the West to be tempted to taste it.
Everyone immediately expressed their anticipation in the comments section. Anyway, Gu's Private Kitchen will be closed tomorrow; they're just waiting for National Day to come over.
In fact, the restaurant's preparations are more extensive than customers imagine.
After dinner, Sister Zhou and Sister Tang went about their own business, while Gu Qingqiu picked up her phone to make a call.
Tomorrow we need to braise a lot of pig's feet, but the amount of pig's feet at Boss Zhu's stall definitely can't keep up. When we ordered pig's feet around May Day, Boss Zhu had to team up with his brother, who sells pork at Hengtai Market, to gather enough for 20 jin of pig's feet to be delivered.
This will allow them to call ahead to order, giving Mr. Zhu more time to prepare the ingredients.
Gu Qingqiu opened the recent call log, found Boss Zhu's number, and dialed it. The call was answered very quickly after only a short while.
Boss Zhu's cheerful voice came through: "Good evening, Boss Gu. Why are you calling so early to order ingredients today?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Zhu, for calling you so late." Gu Qingqiu said apologetically, then got down to business.
"Here's the thing, the day after tomorrow is National Day, and I'm planning to braise pig's trotters that day. I'll start preparing tomorrow. This time I'd like to buy forty catties of pig's trotters from you. Can you deliver them tomorrow morning?"
Boss Zhu laughed and said, "Young Master Gu, you're too kind. It's no bother at all. I'm more than happy that you've brought me business."
"If you call me again tomorrow morning to tell me about forty catties of pig's feet, I might not be able to come up with the money. If I know in advance tonight, it will be fine. When I go to pick up the meat at midnight, I can just take an extra forty catties of pig's feet. This time, I won't have to ask my brother for help."
He could make a lot of money from 40 jin of pig's feet, and his words revealed his delight.
Gu Qingqiu was also delighted: "That's wonderful! I knew you were the most reliable, Mr. Zhu. Doing business with you is always a pleasure. Also, could you please send me another ten catties of pigskin tomorrow?"
Boss Zhu replied, "Okay, no problem. You can rest assured that I'll handle things well. I'll still deliver it to the restaurant at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."
Gu Qingqiu: "Yes, thank you, Boss Zhu."
Boss Zhu: "Oh, you're welcome. That's all for now."
"Okay, goodbye."
After hanging up the phone, Gu Qingqiu thought that the most important thing, the pig's feet, was taken care of, so she called the beef seller and asked him to send over twenty pounds of beautiful beef shank tomorrow.
Preparing the braising liquid also requires fresh hen, scallions, ginger, garlic, and many other spices, which Gu Qingqiu plans to buy tomorrow morning.
After thinking about how long it would take to prepare the braising liquid, and that there would still be time to process the pig's feet and beef shank in the afternoon, Gu Qingqiu simply opened WeChat and sent a message to Wang Meiyu.
Gu Qingqiu instructed Wang Meiyu to come to the restaurant at 3 pm tomorrow. She could handle the purchasing and braising liquid preparation in the morning herself. She was to come over in the afternoon to process the pig's feet and beef shank, so that she could rest for an extra morning.
Wang Meiyu knew that her boss wanted her to rest more so that she could stay in good condition to prepare food for the restaurant during the seven-day National Day holiday. So she sent a message to agree and told her boss to call her anytime if he needed anything.
Gu Qingqiu smiled after reading it and opened other apps to play with for a while.
She didn't play much that night. After washing up, she relaxed and rested. The next morning, she got up as usual, washed up, had breakfast, and went to the market to buy fresh hen, dried flounder, scallions, ginger, garlic, etc.
After leaving the market, just like before May Day last time, Gu Qingqiu bought all the spices from three different pharmacies before returning to the restaurant satisfied.
She rested for a while, and only after signing for the 40 jin of pig's feet and 20 jin of beef shank delivered did she go into the kitchen to busy herself with preparing the braising liquid.
There's quite a lot of meat to braise, so I've prepared a lot of braising liquid this time. However, Gu Qingqiu only plans to make braised meat for one day, unlike during the May Day holiday when she sold braised meat for two consecutive days.
She could keep the remaining brine for a few days, and then use her morning and evening breaks to braise some meat for the restaurant to eat, so as not to waste the brine.
After thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting all the large round iron pots used for brine, Gu Qingqiu began processing two hens and pig skin.
She casually ordered a bowl of beef rice noodles for lunch to tide her over. After adjusting the heat of the broth again, she went upstairs to rest for a while.
Around 2 PM, he went down to the first floor again to sit in the dining area, drank some water to clear his head, and waited for Wang Meiyu to arrive before the two of them went into the kitchen to get busy.
Wang Meiyu was in charge of blanching the pig's trotters after soaking them to remove the blood foam, while Gu Qingqiu was in charge of processing the beef shank.
After 5 p.m., the pig's feet and beef shank were put into the pot to braise. Gu Qingqiu and Wang Meiyu kept an eye on the heat and occasionally lifted the lid of the large iron pot to turn the pig's feet and beef shank over. Finally, they could sit down and rest for a while.
The kitchen was out of ingredients and too lazy to cook, so Gu Qingqiu decided to order takeout. The two of them ordered a large portion of sauerkraut fish and a box of rice. They shared the rice and ate it in half when it arrived. They enjoyed it very much.
It was obviously easier not having to wash dishes after the meal. Wang Meiyu would occasionally go to the kitchen to check the cooking temperature, while Gu Qingqiu would sit idly in the dining area, interacting with fans on Xiaohongshu and Weibo using her phone.
This can be described as a sea of red across the motherland. Highways near many popular cities in China are all red, with working people leaving the city to go home and tourists coming from afar to visit the city.
Traffic jams on highways can stretch a three-hour journey to more than ten hours. This is a common sight during short holidays when highway tolls are waived. It happens every year and always trends on social media, sparking widespread discussion.
Actually, for relatively punctual travel during holidays, taking the high-speed rail is still the best option. The high-speed rail journey is fixed, and as long as you get through the particularly congested times when entering and exiting the station, everything will be fine once you get on the train and sit down.
Unfortunately, getting train tickets has always been a pain point for many netizens, who have no choice but to take a bus or drive themselves after failing to secure a high-speed rail ticket.
At this time, many netizens have started commenting on the official account of their restaurant on Xiaohongshu and Weibo. Some are saying they are looking forward to Gu's Private Kitchen's braised pig's feet, braised beef shank, braised chicken and braised duck tomorrow. Others are showing off that they are already on the plane to Jiang City and are determined to arrive at the restaurant early to queue up. Some are lamenting that they have other things to do during the National Day holiday and cannot go to Jiang City. They will only be able to see the pig's feet online and miss them.
In short, I'm really looking forward to National Day and to Gu's Private Kitchen's braised pork.
Gu Qingqiu smiled after reading it, feeling quite pleased, and the aroma of braised dishes wafting from the kitchen made her feel even more at ease. She briefly replied to some of the more interesting comments.
The first thing to be braised was the beef shank. She went into the kitchen to take a look and then turned off the two stoves.
Twenty pounds of beef shank were divided into two pots and braised in advance. They will be soaked in the braising liquid and refrigerated tonight to enhance the flavor. They can be taken out and heated separately at noon and evening tomorrow.
After turning off the stove, we need to wait for the whole pot of braising liquid to cool down before we can put it in a container and put it in the refrigerator. We'll just leave it there with the lid off. The three pots of braised pig's feet will probably take another hour to cook. After all, we'll be braising them again with the stove on the stove tomorrow morning. It doesn't matter if the heat is a little off right now, because it would be even worse if the pig's feet were cooked for too long and became too soft and fell apart.
After Wang Meiyu flipped the pig's trotters over with a spoon again, Gu Qingqiu said, "Meiyu, why don't you pack up and go home to rest? You've been busy at the shop for quite a while today. The pig's trotters will be ready in about an hour. Once they've cooled down, just put the lid on and you don't need to put them in the refrigerator. The air conditioner in the kitchen has been on all the time, so you don't have to worry about them getting too hot."
The kitchen has been running a cooling system, keeping the temperature consistently comfortable; they're just using the kitchen air conditioner as an excuse.
After Wang Meiyu left, she would use a magic spell to lower the temperature of the kitchen a little later before going upstairs, so there was no need to worry about the pig's feet getting sweltering because of the hot weather.
Wang Meiyu thought that there wasn't much work left, so she nodded and said, "Okay, boss. I'll pack up and head back now. I'll come back earlier tomorrow."
Gu Qingqiu nodded: "Go back and get some rest. Just come at the same time as usual tomorrow, and we'll go to the market together to buy groceries."
Wang Meiyu nodded in agreement, and the two of them walked out of the kitchen one after the other.
After Wang Meiyu left, Gu Qingqiu simply closed and locked the wooden door of the restaurant. The three pots of pig's feet in the kitchen had just been turned over and were cooked to the right temperature, so she didn't need to worry about them for the time being. She went upstairs to take a shower and wash her hair.
After drying her hair, she played on her phone in her room on the second floor for a while. Then she sat at her desk, holding a pen, and pondered the menu for National Day that she had already decided on in her notepad, listing the ingredients she needed to buy the next day.
After finishing writing, I took out my phone and took a picture of it so I could check for omissions when I went shopping tomorrow.
Actually, you can easily create a new note in your phone's notes app and list the ingredients you want to buy using a list option, but Gu Qingqiu doesn't really like this method. She always feels that writing it down with pen and paper feels more tangible when possible.
I've already written everything down on paper, so I'm too lazy to copy it all over again in my phone's notes app. It's such a waste of time.
Just then, the phone rang, reminding Gu Qingqiu that it was time to turn off the stove for the braised pig's feet in the kitchen downstairs. Gu Qingqiu got up, took the phone, went downstairs, and went into the kitchen. First, she turned off the stoves of the three large cylindrical iron pots. Then, she used tongs to pry open the lids of the three pots and placed them upside down by the stove. Instantly, the salty and tempting aroma of braised pig's feet filled the air and overflowed through the open window.
Letting the three iron pots cool down madly, Gu Qingqiu took a spoon she had just used to flip the beef shank and touched the other two pots of beef shank that had been cooling for a while. She then scooped up half a spoonful of braising liquid and poured it into the vegetable washing basin to test the temperature. It wasn't completely cooled down, but at least it was neither too hot nor too cold.
Gu Qingqiu simply took the basins she had prepared earlier, scooped up the beef shank along with the braising liquid, filled several basins, covered them all with plastic wrap, sealed them, and put them in the refrigerator.
Anyway, she wasn't going to bed that early. The kitchen light was still on. Gu Qingqiu used tongs to half-cover the pot lid that had been lifted, leaving half of it exposed to let it cool down. Then she went back to her room on the second floor to lie down and play on her phone for a while.
Unbeknownst to her, the residents of the old residential buildings on Suli Street surrounding her restaurant were suffering terribly.
Especially in the two residential buildings near Gu's Private Kitchen, the wind blows through the air, carrying the fragrant aroma of pig's feet into every household with its windows open.
Several families with children were clamoring for meat.
"Mmm, it smells so good! I'm so hungry, I really want to eat meat! Mommy, I want meat! I want meat!"
"Dad, which family is eating such delicious-smelling meat? I want meat too! Can you go and buy some for me? I want to eat it! I want to eat it!"
"Grandma, I smell such delicious meat! Please take me to eat it, okay? Please~ Waaah, I want to eat it!"
Adults are both frustrated and helpless; some try to coax them gently, while others are short-tempered and yell at them.
"Sweetie, didn't you just finish eating? Your tummy is still bloated, how can you eat any more meat? Let's take a bath first, and then Mommy will tell you a nice bedtime story, okay?"
"You asked me which restaurant's meat smells so good? I'd like to know that too! How am I supposed to buy it for you? I bet it's Gu's Private Kitchen preparing tomorrow's braised pig's feet tonight. Oh dear, it's so tempting! You want to eat it, and I want to eat it too. Go to sleep now, or I won't take you to eat it tomorrow!"
"Eat meat? I think you want braised pork with rattan cane! Stop messing around or I'll spank you. Be good and I'll take you to eat it tomorrow!"
Some elderly people in the family were tempted by the aroma and thought to themselves that it must be the smell of braised pig's feet wafting from Gu's Private Kitchen.
They live on Surrey Street, so they naturally know how well the business has been since the girl returned to take over her parents' restaurant and reopened it. The dishes smell so good that you can't help but stop and linger when you pass by.
Many of them had eaten at Gu's Private Kitchen and lingered there, reluctant to leave.
For older folks, using WeChat and watching short videos is considered fashionable. Now, to find out what dishes are available at Gu's Private Kitchen that day, they've started using Xiaohongshu or Weibo. After registering an account, the first thing they do is follow Gu's Private Kitchen's official account, and they check it out every morning at 10 a.m.
Actually, they live on Surrey Street, so it wouldn't be difficult for them to just go to the restaurant and look at the menu on the wall. But once they're in the restaurant, it wouldn't be right to just turn around and leave after looking at the menu, would it?
They were too embarrassed to do it, but fortunately, Xiaohongshu or Weibo weren't as difficult to use as they had imagined. As long as they clicked on the person they followed and then clicked on the official account of Gu's Private Kitchen, they could see the newly posted menu notes.
These trendy older folks naturally knew that tomorrow, on National Day, Gu's Private Kitchen would be serving braised pig's feet, braised beef shank, and braised chicken and duck—signature dishes passed down from the owner's grandfather a long time ago.
Upon hearing this news, those who had tasted braised pig's feet during the May Day holiday raved about it at the senior citizens' activity center, making everyone's mouths water and their hearts pound.
Many people decided on the spot that they must go to Gu's Private Kitchen to eat these braised meats on National Day. They have a geographical advantage and are more flexible in terms of time. They have all the right time, place and people. They are not afraid of losing to the tourists. They must have this delicious food.
Several elderly people were particularly saddened because their children were determined to take them on a trip during the National Day holiday, and their words were full of regret.
"Sigh, we were just unlucky. We were supposed to go eat Gu's Private Kitchen's braised pork during the National Day holiday, which is a rare delicacy that only comes around once every six months. I didn't expect my child to be so filial and want to take me on a trip. He said that now that I'm retired, I shouldn't stay cooped up at home all day. It's a rare holiday, and he wanted to take me to see the beautiful landscapes of our country. I refused, but he kept trying to persuade me. I couldn't refuse, so I had to miss out on such delicious braised pig's feet with tears in my eyes. If any of you manage to eat it, don't forget to take a picture and send it to me so I can drool."
That's really... infuriating.
The elderly people present would chime in with a few words.
"Old Chen, since your child wants to take you on a trip, just go ahead and do it. What a great opportunity! When you were young, you were financially strapped and had a lot of work and life pressures. Now your children are grown up and you're retired with a pension. Take advantage of the National Day holiday and have a good time."
"Yes, it's a good thing that the kids are willing to think of you and take care of you. Unlike my family, they didn't even think about taking me out for a walk. They just called and said they would come back on National Day to have a meal with me at Gu's Private Kitchen and the whole family would get together. I think they didn't come back to see me at all; they were clearly here for the braised pig's feet."
“My child didn’t say he would take me on a trip, nor did he say he would treat me to braised pig’s feet at Gu’s Private Kitchen when he came back for National Day. He said he had to work during National Day, which is why he’s a junior manager during the holiday. This child transferred 1,000 yuan to me directly, saying it was a holiday bonus for me to eat something nice. I plan to eat at Gu’s Private Kitchen as my canteen for the next few days of National Day.”
"In the end, Old Chen, you're the lucky one. Your kids are taking you on a trip. We can't go anywhere else, so we'll just stay here on Suli Street and eat at Gu's Private Kitchen. Just thinking about the taste of that braised pig's trotter makes me wish time could fast forward to National Day."
"..."
Now, the elderly men and women are sitting in the living room or in their rooms after washing up, preparing to go to sleep. The aroma of braised pig's feet is so enticing that it instantly awakens their cravings.
"Where is this wonderful smell coming from?"
"The only place that can smell such delicious meat on Suli Street is Gu's Private Kitchen."
"It smells like braised pig's feet. I guess Gu's Private Kitchen is braising meat in advance. Oh my god, they're testing us so late at night!"
"Hey, Old Chen is probably still at home right now. He'll be kicking himself for smelling this. I wonder if he'd be more happy going on a trip with the kids or coming to Gu's Private Kitchen for braised pig's feet!"
"Who cares? We'll definitely be able to eat it tomorrow. If you ask me, why stay here on Suli Street and wait to eat braised pig's feet when we're out traveling? Braised pig's feet are only available on National Day, but we can eat them any day when we're traveling!"
"..."
The drowsiness that was rising in the elderly was instantly dispelled by the aroma of the braised pig's feet. Their brains became excited, and they started talking with their spouses, finally becoming even more determined to go to the restaurant early the next day to queue up.
Gu Qingqiu was naturally unaware that the fragrant aroma of braised pig's feet was keeping the surrounding residents awake at all.
She sat on the bed playing on her phone, scrolling through short videos, and even catching up on a short historical drama. When she saw that it was almost 10 p.m., she finally got up and went downstairs to the kitchen.
The brine in the three large cylindrical iron pots and the pig's feet soaking in it had cooled down considerably; they were at least lukewarm, if not completely cooled.
Gu Qingqiu used the iron clamps to completely seal the iron pot lid, since there was a vent hole on the lid anyway, so there was no need to worry.
She used the cooling spell again, and the temperature in the kitchen dropped rapidly. In terms of air conditioning efficiency, it was set to 16 degrees Celsius, but in reality, the air conditioner cannot actually lower the indoor temperature to 16 degrees Celsius, but her cooling spell could.
Moreover, it was effortless; the spiritual energy in his dantian remained abundant.
After cleaning and putting away the remaining kitchen utensils, Gu Qingqiu left the kitchen, closed the first-floor window, turned off the lights, and went back upstairs by the light of her phone's flashlight.
This time, she didn't check her phone much. To be on the safe side, she set an alarm for the next morning, then put down her phone, closed her eyes, and went to sleep. She wanted to be well-rested to welcome the first and largest wave of visitors during the National Day holiday.
The next morning, after getting up, Gu Qingqiu made a phone call to arrange for twenty chickens and twenty ducks to be delivered at nine o'clock. After washing up and having a quick breakfast, she took out half of the frozen beef shank from the night before and placed it next to the stove. Then, she and Wang Meiyu took the shopping cart to the market to buy groceries.
This time, they mainly purchased a variety of vegetarian dishes so they could process them and make braised vegetarian dishes.
Today, the restaurant's daily soup was quite simple. They didn't make any pork rib soup, chicken soup, or old duck soup. They just served the simplest seaweed and egg drop soup, the kind that comes with a free bowl of pork trotter rice at any random boxed lunch restaurant.
Of course, the seaweed and egg drop soup cooked at home will have more seaweed and eggs, and the taste will be much better. It won't be watery and bland. There should be a difference between soup that costs money and soup that is given away for free, right?
Gu Qingqiu was confident that the seaweed and egg drop soup produced by her restaurant would taste great and win the favor of customers, just as good as the soups that the restaurant used to cook.
The two shopped extensively at the market, filling four shopping carts to the brim, with even the handles of the carts overflowing with goods.
I'll ask the shopkeeper to deliver the seaweed, eggs, and dried shrimp I bought at the grocery store to the restaurant at 9 PM. I bought a lot, so I can't carry it back myself.
Gu Qingqiu and Wang Meiyu returned to the restaurant and immediately took the purchased ingredients into the kitchen to sort and process them. Half of the ingredients that would be used in the afternoon were temporarily placed in the spare area.
After tidying up briefly, the two sat down to rest in the dining area before going into the kitchen to process the ingredients. They washed and prepared the vegetables they had bought, such as lotus root, potatoes, shiitake mushrooms, kelp, and dried tofu, before putting them into the braising liquid to start braising.
The chicken and duck ordered at 9:30, along with the seaweed, eggs, and dried shrimp bought from the grocery store, were delivered one after another. After Gu Qingqiu signed for them, she put half of the chicken and duck in the freezer to freeze, and took the rest into the kitchen.
She and Wang Meiyu worked together to process the chickens and ducks, while the fire in the large cylindrical iron pot was reignited, and the pig's trotters continued to simmer. The braised beef shanks were almost done, and they would be ready to be reheated and cooked until fragrant at 10:30.
At ten o'clock, Sister Zhou and Sister Tang arrived at the store at the same time. Gu Qingqiu was very happy to see them when she came out. The two of them were full of energy and high spirits: "You're here! Let's get busy. We'll be welcoming customers at eleven o'clock soon!"
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