Chapter 19 Perilla Drink, Mint Fried Pork Ribs, Steamed Sea Bass...
Gu Qingqiu carefully recalled the state she was in when she first returned from her transmigration and discovered a tiny bit of spiritual energy in her dantian; it seemed that it had indeed become more solid.
Ever since she realized that the spiritual energy in this world was so scarce that it was impossible to cultivate, she simply regarded the tiny bit of spiritual energy in her dantian as a gift from her transmigration into the cultivation world.
It was as if it confirmed that everything she had experienced in the cultivation world was real, and not just a pipe dream.
Gu Qingqiu was already very satisfied with being able to enhance her five senses with this tiny bit of spiritual power, which gave her a buff when selecting ingredients, allowed her to remove impurities when processing ingredients, and even imbued the meat and vegetables she cooked with a tiny bit of spiritual power.
Just like the current success of Gu's Private Kitchen, besides the fact that the chef is quite skilled, the spiritual energy used to remove impurities from the ingredients also plays a role.
Except for the first few days when the restaurant business picked up, she was so busy cooking and serving customers, and also taking the time to relax and indulge in mobile entertainment that she rarely paid attention to the state of her dantian spiritual energy.
Gu Qingqiu thought about it carefully. She had never practiced any cultivation techniques before, and with her talent and the scarce spiritual energy of this world, it was even more impossible for her to achieve a state where she could cultivate even while breathing.
The only place where spiritual power can be used is probably in cooking meat dishes that contain a tiny bit of spiritual power.
During the cooking process, she still subconsciously used some of the cooking techniques she used when she was a spiritual chef in a restaurant in the cultivation world. Could this also enhance her cultivation?
That's really strange.
Gu Qingqiu was somewhat hopeful that cooking meat and vegetables at restaurants every day would actually improve her cultivation level, since the spiritual energy in her dantian becoming more condensed indicated that her cultivation had made some progress.
Although this is nothing in the cultivation world, it is extremely precious in this modern world where spiritual energy is scarce.
Perhaps one may never achieve the first or second level of Qi Refining in the cultivation world in one's lifetime, but having more spiritual power is also good for the body. When the five senses are enhanced to a certain extent, the strength of the body will also increase, at least the ability to protect oneself will be enhanced.
Gu Qingqiu decided to pay more attention to the changes in the spiritual energy in her dantian to see if it was really related to her cooking meat dishes; this was just a side effect.
After figuring it out, she stopped worrying about it and started playing on her phone.
As night passed and a new day dawned, Gu Qingqiu got up, opened the window to breathe in the fresh air, went downstairs to have breakfast, and then began her busy day.
With Sister Zhou's help, her life became much easier. She only needed to buy ingredients and stay in the kitchen to prepare and cook the dishes. Sister Zhou took care of most of the rest.
Soon it was the weekend again, and Gu Qingqiu thought that with the large flow of people, it might be even better than the previous weekend, so she decided to stock up on more meat and vegetables when she went shopping.
After washing up in the morning, the first thing she did was call Boss Zhu and ask him to send over twelve catties of spare ribs and eight catties of pork bones. Then she called the duck meat stall owner and asked for twelve cleaned mud ducks.
Following the pork and chicken stall owners, the duck stall owner also offered to deliver the meat to her door if she left her phone number, to which Gu Qingqiu naturally agreed with a smile.
It's really much easier now. I don't have to go to the market and bring back a bunch of pork and chicken anymore. The space saved in the shopping cart can be used to buy more meat and vegetables.
Otherwise, given the current purchasing volume, Gu Qingqiu would have to make two trips.
After having breakfast and receiving the delivered pork and duck, she pulled her shopping cart out to the market.
The farmers' market is even more bustling on weekends, as people who usually work come out to buy groceries during their break.
The first thing Gu Qingqiu saw was the seafood stalls near the entrance of the market. After walking past a few stalls, she quickly spotted fresh sea bass. Remembering a sea bass recipe she had just seen online yesterday, she simply walked over, squatted down, and picked up the sea bass.
After picking out fourteen sea bass, the owner's eyes almost squinted with laughter. While weighing them, he said, "Young lady, I guarantee the fish here are fresh. These sea bass are only twelve yuan a pound, which is definitely not expensive. This is an old stall that has been around for over ten years, and many of my regular customers come here to buy from me."
Gu Qingqiu smiled and agreed. The sea bass she had picked out were indeed fresh, each one was about the same size, and had few impurities.
After paying by scanning the code, wait for the owner to cut open the sea bass from the back to remove the internal organs, then divide it into three bags and hang them on both sides of the shopping cart to prevent fishy water droplets from falling into the cart basket.
She continued to the next stall to buy things.
Gu Qingqiu bought six catties of live shrimp, six catties of beef, twenty bunches of kale, and two jars of fermented black bean sauce from the grocery store, as well as some good ingredients for making soup.
Kidney beans, white beans, red beans, black-eyed peas, barley, and jujubes—today's soup ingredients were so plentiful that Gu Qingqiu almost couldn't list them all. She ordered one and a half pounds of each.
Before leaving the market, she bought three catties of perilla leaves, some scallions, ginger, garlic, celery, and basil. She then went to the pharmacy and bought five-finger peach, Smilax glabra, dried tangerine peel, and licorice. When she passed by the flower shop, she bought two pots of very thriving mint.
Since the mint plant wasn't very big, it was still manageable to carry in a bag. When Gu Qingqiu returned to the restaurant, she put it aside first, took the ingredients into the kitchen, put half of them in the freezer, and left the other half on the stove to be processed later.
Back in the dining room, Gu Qingqiu took out two pots of mint and unceremoniously picked a lot of mint leaves to put in the kitchen. Then she moved them to the sideboard next to the dining table on the second floor and arranged them there.
The sun shines in here in the morning, allowing the mint to bask in the sunlight and grow quickly.
She rested on the second floor for a while and looked at her phone before going downstairs to write down today's menu.
Today's menu:
Mint-flavored fried pork ribs, 58 yuan;
Braised duck with perilla leaves: 58 yuan;
Steamed sea bass with egg, 58 yuan;
Beef and seafood congee, 58 yuan;
Stir-fried kale: 28 yuan;
Five-finger peach and poria pork bone soup, 58 yuan.
Nodding in satisfaction at the menu on the wall, Gu Qingqiu went into the kitchen to get busy.
The duck meat needed to be sliced in half first, and the boss plucked the feathers cleanly, saving Gu Qingqiu a lot of trouble.
She carefully removed and discarded the duck's internal organs, rinsed them clean, especially the duck's tail area, and then chopped them into pieces with a cleaver for later use.
The pork ribs that were bought were chopped into pieces by Boss Zhu, the size that Gu Qingqiu wanted. They were put in a bowl with starch and water to soak, so that the fishy smell of the pork ribs could be washed away when they were rinsed later.
The fishmonger has already cleaned the back of the sea bass and removed all the bones. The whole fish is laid out on a plate, which will make it look like a very big fish.
After cleaning it, she placed it on a plate and used scissors to make a few cuts in the thicker parts of the fish meat. This would make it look nicer and easier for it to absorb the flavors when steamed.
The surface of the sea bass still has a lot of mucus, which is the main source of the fishy smell. You can soak it in water with scallions and ginger and a few slices of lemon, or pour boiling water over it. The hot water will cause the fish meat to shrink slightly and lock in the moisture inside the fish meat.
Gu Qingqiu planned to wait until the restaurant opened before pouring hot water over the sea bass; for now, she would make braised duck with perilla leaves.
She first washed the perilla leaves, separating them from the stems, and then washed the mint leaves and set them aside for later use.
Perilla leaves and stems need to be soaked in a basin of salt and water for five minutes to get them cleaner.
It's almost 10 o'clock now, and Sister Zhou has also come to work, bringing two stacks of eggs with her.
Gu Qingqiu had wanted to buy eggs at the market, but she couldn't carry them all. So she sent a message to Sister Zhou after returning to the restaurant, asking her to buy them on her way over, saving her the trouble of making another trip.
Sister Zhou put down the two stacks of eggs: "Boss, a stack of 30 eggs costs 38 yuan, so two stacks would cost 76 yuan. The boss said they are free-range eggs, and I bought them because they looked good."
The boss told her to buy better quality eggs, so Sister Zhou bought some slightly more expensive free-range eggs.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work. I'll transfer the money to you later." Gu Qingqiu nodded in agreement. These two stacks of eggs were indeed quite good; the black market fumes on them were almost identical to those she had seen at the vegetable market.
Free-range eggs mean they are smaller, so you need more eggs to make steamed sea bass with eggs. Fortunately, two stacks of sixty eggs should be enough, and they taste better than regular eggs.
Gu Qingqiu then busied herself making braised duck with perilla leaves, while Sister Zhou went to clean the dining room.
Around 11 a.m., Professor Yuan from Jiangnan University drove over to Suli Street with his family, wanting to find Gu's Private Kitchen for lunch.
His wife, Chang Siyi, expressed her incomprehension: "What kind of restaurant tastes so good that you would travel all this way to eat here? It's really rare."
My husband is an academic who spends all his time researching subcultural phenomena. He's busy with school work, which involves attending meetings, teaching classes, doing research, and taking students to competitions.
She's always been easygoing when it comes to food, and when it comes to things like traveling, it's always just her and her daughter. He's the one who pays and wishes them a good time. It's hard to imagine that he'd be so enthusiastic about taking them out for a nice meal on the weekend.
Sitting in the back seat, her daughter Yuan Keying laughed, "Mom, why don't we go back and buy a scratch-off lottery ticket at the lottery shop near the entrance of the community, or maybe play a big bet? I think we're on a lucky streak today."
Hearing this while driving, Teacher Yuan chuckled and shook her head: "You two will find out when you go to that restaurant later. I'm teaching a Media and Operations course this semester, and one of the student accounts is quite outstanding. They introduced this restaurant twice and both times received high praise and many favorites. Some netizens who went to eat there also said that it was delicious and could easily beat four- or five-star restaurants. That's why I suggested that you two go and try it together."
Actually, he had this idea a while ago. He mentioned it to the students in class that day and thought about bringing his family over to eat. However, he happened to be in charge of an event in the department and it was only now that he finished.
Since it's a rare weekend off, I decided to go to Gu's Private Kitchen to try some local cuisine.
Chang Siyi was a little skeptical: "Could it be that your student-run account is popular, and that's why these two restaurant notes went viral?"
Teacher Yuan shook her head: "No, the most popular post on their account before only had a few hundred likes. The post recommending restaurants had more than five thousand likes as of yesterday, and the second post had twelve thousand likes. The food photos they took were already very tempting even though they weren't edited much."
Yuan Keying is a high school freshman and already has her own mobile phone. She often browses Weibo and Xiaohongshu. Upon hearing this, she asked with interest, "Dad, what's your student account called? I want to find it and take a look."
"Have you eaten today?" Teacher Yuan replied.
Yuan Keying: "Huh?"
Teacher Yuan turned the steering wheel and said, "Account."
"Oh, okay." Yuan Keying opened Xiaohongshu and searched for this account. The first two posts that popped up had very tempting food pictures. She clicked on them to take a look.
"Mom, look at these photos! This Gu Family Private Kitchen looks really delicious!" Yuan Keying quickly finished looking at them and, unable to resist her sudden surge of appetite, handed her phone to her mother.
Chang Siyi took the photos and began to look at them. Each dish had a clear sheen of oil on the meat and vegetables, and the colors were beautiful. It wasn't the kind of beauty that was artificially created by adjusting filters, but rather the natural color combination of the ingredients themselves.
Coupled with the blogger's vivid description, it adds even more appeal, arousing people's natural craving for delicious food. Just look at the comments section where everyone is clamoring to eat it.
Chang Siyi handed the phone back to her daughter and smiled: "It seems that the food at this restaurant is really good. I can understand why someone like you who isn't very interested in food would want to bring us here to eat."
Teacher Yuan smiled as well, his middle-aged, refined face showing a hint of pride in being recognized by his wife and daughter: "Then let's have a good taste of this restaurant later."
When they arrived near Suli Street, the map navigation indicated that there were no parking spaces available at their destination. Following the directions, they parked their car nearby and then walked into Suli Street with Ms. Yuan and her family.
Gu's Private Kitchen is quite eye-catching. The peach trees in late April are in full bloom, and a gust of wind causes many white and pink petals to fall. The restaurant, with its natural wood-toned decor, is located under the peach trees, and there are already two or three tables of customers inside.
They quickly went inside and found a table to sit down.
Almost as soon as we sat down, a staff member came over to greet us. After confirming that there were only three of us, they brought us bowls, chopsticks, and washing utensils.
I had read the notes recommended on Xiaohongshu beforehand. They not only shared various dishes, but also said that Gu's Private Kitchen determines the dishes based on the ingredients the owner purchases every day, just like opening a blind box.
Unlike other customers who would ask if there's a menu, they would simply look at the wall.
Chang Siyi exclaimed, "The meat and vegetables today all seem pretty good."
Teacher Yuan nodded: "It's pretty good, but if we order everything, the three of us won't be able to finish it."
Although the couple both have a high income, they are not the type to be extravagant. They couldn't think of a way to pack up the leftovers and take them home. They just wanted to order enough to eat.
After looking at the menu, Yuan Keying ordered first: "Mom and Dad, I want to eat mint fried pork ribs. You can decide on the rest. I'm fine with anything else."
After discussing it with his wife, Mr. Yuan called the waiter over to order: "Hello, we would like to have mint fried pork ribs, steamed sea bass with egg, stir-fried kale, and five-finger peach and poria pork bone soup."
It's not that they weren't tempted by the braised duck with perilla leaves and the beef and seafood congee, it's just that three dishes and a soup are usually enough for the three of them.
Sister Zhou smiled and agreed: "We have Tieguanyin, Pu'er tea, chrysanthemum tea, and monk fruit water. Today we also have a limited-edition perilla drink, which is refreshing and helps to relieve summer heat. Drinking more of it can also help to remove dampness. What would you like to drink? This is included in the tea fee and will not be charged separately."
People are naturally curious. The teas mentioned earlier were quite common, and the perilla drink was a special offer for today. The three of them exchanged glances and all chose the perilla drink.
Sister Zhou smiled and agreed. She first went to the cashier to print out the order on the computer for the customers at this table, and then went to the kitchen to get a transparent teapot and filled it with perilla drink for the customers.
"Please wait a moment, we'll serve the food as soon as possible."
The water in the transparent kettle was a deep pinkish-red yet clear color, quite beautiful. The bowls, chopsticks, and teacups had already been rinsed, and Yuan Keying picked up the kettle and poured a cup for her parents and herself.
She picked up the teacup, brought it close to her nose, and smelled a sweet aroma. Because the perilla tea was still a little hot, she gently breathed on it for a while before taking a sip.
Well, perilla water has a very unique flavor, like the herbal taste of the plant itself, yet also very sweet. This sweetness doesn't just come from the perilla; it seems like some sugar has been added, with a hint of lemon and perhaps a touch of dried tangerine peel.
In short, it's very sweet, like drinking sugar water, but not as cloyingly sweet. It's a refreshing sweetness that you can drink without worrying about gaining weight.
Yuan Keying took several sips and shared the taste she had experienced with her parents.
Chang Siyi felt quite refreshed drinking this perilla beverage, with a sweet aftertaste.
She laughed and said, "There should also be some licorice added here, which neutralizes the original astringency of the perilla and suppresses the sourness of the lemon juice, leaving only a refreshing and sweet taste."
Even Teacher Yuan, who doesn't usually like sweet things, thought the perilla drink was quite good. Even though she had already swallowed the water, her mouth still felt a little sweet and cool, which was very refreshing.
He said, "This water is good. We can look up how to brew it later and buy some perilla leaves to cook at home."
In today's information age, the internet is full of recipes for all kinds of food. You can find them by searching as long as you know the name. Everyone can be a chef, of course, whether they taste good or not is another matter.
Obviously, this perilla drink doesn't require any cooking skills; you can definitely give it a try.
Chang Siyi smiled and agreed. Yuan Keying was quite excited: "Then let's buy some perilla leaves on our way home later, so I can make this perilla drink myself and take it back to school to drink."
"You're the most energetic when it comes to food and drink," Chang Siyi said with a smile, shaking her head.
While they were enjoying their perilla tea, the first dish was served: mint fried pork ribs.
A generous amount of spare ribs are arranged on a white porcelain plate. The skin looks golden and reddish, and from the slightly puffed-up shape, you can guess that it should be quite crispy when you bite into it. The slightly fried mint is mixed in, which is like adding a touch of coolness to the hot summer day. It is very pleasing to the eye.
The three of them, without thinking, picked up their chopsticks and each took a piece of pork rib to eat.
Teacher Yuan bit into the ribs, feeling the crispy texture as the outer shell broke through. The rib meat was tender and not tough, falling off the bone with a single bite. This crispness was undoubtedly delightful.
Upon closer tasting, he could taste the subtle fragrance of mint. He couldn't help but pick up another piece of rib to eat. This time, it was still crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, falling off the bone with a single bite. The rib meat didn't get stuck in his teeth while he was chewing, and he didn't feel the greasiness that fried food should have. Perhaps it was masked by the fragrance of mint.
Chang Siyi looked at the oil glistening on the ribs and thought they would be a bit greasy, but she was surprised to find that she only tasted the crispy and dry aroma of the ribs. The ribs inside were tender and juicy, retaining the original moisture of the ingredients, and there was also a faint minty fragrance.
Before I even had a chance to savor it properly, the meat fell off the bone with one bite, and after spitting out the bone, I chewed the meat a few times and swallowed it.
She commented: "This mint fried pork ribs tastes very good. It's refreshing and not greasy at all. The ribs have no fishy smell at all. The outside is fried until crispy and fragrant, while the inside is still tender. It's very well made."
“Of course, the dishes I ordered are of high quality,” Yuan Keying said without any politeness.
At her age, she loves fried food, but she has good taste. She won't eat anything that's fried until it's really fragrant. For example, she wouldn't buy the fried chicken wings sold at roadside stalls near the school because they look greasy.
This mint fried pork ribs is definitely the best fried pork ribs she has ever eaten in her seventeen years of life. Not only is it crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, but it also has a light minty fragrance, which makes it feel like a classy dish. She can eat two or three pieces in one bite!
Teacher Yuan and Chang Siyi had no interest in responding to their daughter's slightly arrogant remarks. They were busy eating fried pork ribs, and even picked up a piece of fried mint leaf to eat. It was quite delicious, and the mint fragrance was still there.
Eating one piece not only refreshes the mind, but also greatly reduces the greasiness from eating fried pork ribs one after another.
Soon the steamed sea bass with egg was served.
A large sea bass occupies most of the plate, surrounded by pale yellow and tender eggs. The flesh on both sides of the sea bass appears to have been sliced open, each curving into a beautiful arc. The sea bass is sprinkled with chopped green onions, millet peppers, and a dark brown sauce, with bubbling oil visible on top.
"This fish looks really good. The combination of fish and steamed eggs really doubles the nutrition. It could be considered the grand finale dish on the table," Chang Siyi said, looking at the steamed sea bass with eggs.
She picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks and tasted it. The fish was fresh, fragrant, tender, and had a slightly salty flavor from the sauce. If she wasn't mistaken, the sauce should contain fermented black bean sauce, and there was also a faint egg flavor, which must be because it was steamed with boiled eggs.
I couldn't resist picking up another piece of fish. Sea bass has few bones, and the meat is fresh, fragrant, and tender. The salty and savory flavor of the fermented black bean sauce enhances the aroma of the fish. If you eat it with scallions and chili peppers, the spiciness makes the fish even more tender, and there is absolutely no fishy smell.
Teacher Yuan first scooped up a piece of steamed egg with a spoon and ate it. The steamed egg was smooth and delicate, softer and more tender than tofu. It became salty and delicious because it was full of sauce. With its rich egg flavor, it was unforgettable.
"This boiled egg is good, very flavorful." Then he picked up a piece of fish and tasted it.
Yuan Keying doesn't particularly like fish. She would never eat fish if she could eat other meats, and she always felt that fish had a fishy smell, no matter how well it was cooked.
But her parents really love fish, so when they wanted to order this dish, she didn't say much, since she had already ordered her favorite mint fried pork ribs.
But looking at the outstanding and tempting appearance of the steamed sea bass with egg, I couldn't resist reaching out my chopsticks to pick up a piece of fish to try.
The fish was tender and smooth to the touch, with an irresistible freshness and aroma. The addition of fermented black bean sauce made it savory and delicious. Most importantly, she couldn't taste any fishy smell at all, only the pure freshness of the fish.
She was delighted to share this discovery with her parents.
Chang Siyi nodded in agreement: "I also think the fish is quite fresh and sweet. Besides the freshness of the fish itself, the chef's preparation is also excellent. Since there is no fishy smell, you should eat more."
Teacher Yuan smiled and said, "How about it? Aren't the meat dishes at this restaurant delicious? I don't know how my students found this great restaurant."
This time, Chang Siyi and Yuan Keying were completely convinced and nodded in agreement with smiles. They even praised him, saying that it was all thanks to him taking them out to eat, otherwise they really wouldn't have been able to eat such delicious meat dishes.
Teacher Yuan smiled happily, feeling particularly satisfied, and decided to praise Xu Yue's group again in class.
They continued to eat the fish, alternating between bites of fish and scrambled eggs. Yuan Keying even developed a new way of eating it: she put the fish and scrambled eggs in a spoon, added some fish sauce, and stuffed the whole spoon into her mouth, eating the fish and eggs together, doubling both the nutrition and the taste.
At the table not far from theirs, Zhang Hong also brought her family to eat.
She happened to bring her colleagues to eat there on the day Gu's Private Kitchen reopened, and was completely captivated by the meat dishes. She even kept reminiscing about them while sleeping at night.
Ever since I tried Gu's private kitchen, when I eat meat dishes at other restaurants, I always feel that they are not quite right. Of course, the ones she makes herself or her mother-in-law make are even less comparable.
These days, while working, she would often come here to have lunch with her colleagues.
A few people can order two or three dishes, which makes for a richer and happier meal. The price is also acceptable when split among the group. We can always save money elsewhere if necessary.
Since she finally had some free time this weekend, she and her husband brought their two children and mother-in-law to the restaurant for a meal.
At first, the husband and mother-in-law didn't think much of it, thinking that even if the meat and dishes at a restaurant were delicious, how good could they be? Only the two children were chattering and cheering, wanting to go out to eat.
Look, right now the husband and mother-in-law are busy eating the mint fried pork ribs. They've already praised the dish several times. The two children are also grabbing the ribs and gnawing on them. They bite the meat and gently pull the bone out, then put it on the table. They suck the meat into their mouths, chew it a few times to taste the salty flavor, and then swallow it.
Zhang Hong picked up another piece of pork rib and ate it, then said, "When this restaurant first opened, they had a garlic pork rib dish that was also very delicious. It was fried to a golden brown and crispy, and had a very nice garlic flavor. Today's dish has a minty aroma, which is also quite good."
Her mother-in-law murmured, "My goodness! They must be bringing out their best dishes to attract customers on opening day. If the mint fried ribs are this delicious, how good must the garlic ribs be?"
Her husband sighed, "According to what you said, the boss decides the dishes every day based on the ingredients. I don't know when we'll be able to eat garlic ribs again."
Although the two children were curious about the taste of garlic ribs, they also knew that only what they tasted was real, so they picked up a piece of mint fried ribs and ate it.
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