The autumn wind carries the fragrance of osmanthus, which is rich and sweet. People who smell the fragrance of the flowers will also feel their mood become beautiful.
As the name suggests, Lakeside City has a lake, and their Lakeside University, of course, also has a lake.
The school's lake is a small artificial lake with a path beside it, lined with sweet osmanthus trees.
Ye Tian smelled the sweet fragrance of osmanthus flowers all over the yard and wanted to pick some to dry. She could use them for tea or cooking. Zhao Yu was too busy with work at the Student Union and Lu Xinyi had a date with a guy, so Ye Tian asked Li Yue to go with her to pick some osmanthus flowers.
Fortunately, it was a rare sunny day, and petals were falling from the osmanthus trees on the roadside from time to time.
The sunshine, osmanthus and the girl paint a beautiful picture.
If only they hadn't been holding plastic bags. They didn't have pretty little baskets to embellish the flower-picking experience.
"Tiantian, let's just pick some osmanthus flowers that we can get below. Don't break the branches and don't damage the tree." Li Yue is very concerned about public morality and thinks that picking flowers is a bit bad.
"I understand. We shouldn't destroy public property. We should just pick a few of the flowers that are below. Otherwise, the wind will blow them down immediately." Ye Tian said.
They picked some and also collected some that had just fallen on the ground, filling up half a plastic bag.
They didn't notice that a boy on a bicycle passed by and stopped to take several photos before leaving.
After returning to the dormitory, Ye Tian picked and washed the osmanthus flowers and hung them on the windowsill to dry. She waited until the petals were completely dry the next day before putting them in a sealed bag.
She had previously bought a couple of ounces of oolong tea online, but because it was too expensive she couldn't afford to buy more. Now she opened it and brewed it with the dried osmanthus flowers. Since she didn't have a teapot, she used a large stainless steel cup.
Boiling water rushed in, and the tea leaves and golden osmanthus flowers floated and tumbled in the whirlpool, just like life.
The dormitory was filled with steam and a fragrant aroma.
The four girls each held a cup of homemade osmanthus oolong, chatting and gossiping, and were in great harmony.
Lu Xinyi knew the most gossip: "Did you hear the quarrel yesterday? There was almost a fight in the other dormitory upstairs. The counselor was informed that three people were bullying one other and that the girl wanted to move to another dormitory."
"Yes, our dormitory is harmonious. Xinyi is lively and fashionable, Xiaoyue is gentle and generous, and Tiantian is strong and capable. I am really happy to be assigned to the same dormitory with you!" Zhao Yu also said.
"That's because you, the boss, are leading the way!" Lu Xinyi teased Zhao Yu.
Ye Tian and Li Yue laughed beside them.
…
When cooking with osmanthus, just a sprinkle of it can create a finishing touch. The fragrant and sticky osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root, osmanthus glutinous rice balls, and osmanthus cakes are all very sweet. Even more delicious is the osmanthus drunken crab. Ye Tian is drooling just thinking about it.
Unfortunately, the season when female crabs are at their fattest has passed, but Ye Tian has not yet eaten this year's hairy crabs.
In fact, male crabs are also good, and now is the time when male crab roe is the fullest and fattest. If you don’t buy authentic Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, you can buy ordinary lake crabs from other production areas, which are not too expensive.
Ye Tian just took advantage of Singles' Day to buy a mobile phone and some daily necessities. She has to wait until her salary is paid on the 15th before she can afford to buy crabs, but she is still worried about not having a place to make them.
She later discussed with Master Yun whether she could purchase a small quantity of crabs and try to sell them in the cafeteria, as there might be students who might be in need. She could also take the opportunity to buy a few herself, which would be the best of both worlds.
Amidst the internal competition in the Third Canteen, caused by Ye Tian, Chef Yun occasionally tried his hand at cooking; Chef Sun began to meticulously prepare each dish, increasing his creativity; Chef Du also begged Chef Yun for instruction, striving to develop his own strengths in pasta-making; and Xiao Li also began diligently practicing his knife skills. Aunt Liu, observing this competitive scene, silently worked on rolling her steamed buns into rounder shapes.
Chef Yun was a little surprised by Ye Tian's idea of selling crabs, as the canteen generally didn't buy expensive ingredients, but he also felt that it wasn't completely impossible. Canteen One already had a stir-fry section, and it wouldn't be bad for Canteen Three to occasionally offer some special dishes.
Unbeknownst to Master Yun, the school's logistics department had previously considered merging Canteen 3 with another cafeteria due to low attendance, but the idea was still under consideration. Recently, Canteen 3 experienced a sudden change: its reputation among faculty and students improved, and attendance increased, so the logistics department temporarily abandoned the idea of a merger.
Master Yun thought about it for a day, and the next day he really purchased a small batch of crabs. Of course, they were cheap ordinary lake crabs, and the medium-sized ones only cost a dozen yuan each.
Ye Tian planned to make Osmanthus-flavored drunken crab, because she was afraid that students would not accept it raw, and if anything went wrong, it would cause trouble for the cafeteria.
This dish is not difficult to make. Put light soy sauce and twice the amount of water into a pot, add star anise, pepper, ginger, cinnamon, rock sugar and other seasonings and bring to a boil, then add fresh lemon slices and a large bottle of Huadiao wine to make the soup; steam the crabs for 15 minutes after the water boils.
Then place the crabs neatly in a large container, such as a jar or food box, pour the cooled soup into it until it covers the crabs, finally sprinkle a handful of dried osmanthus flowers, cover the container, and put it in the refrigerator.
After the crabs have been marinated for 4 hours, you can take them out and taste them.
Ye Tian made drunken crabs during her lunch break. Although she didn't have a class in the evening, she ran to the cafeteria early, used her meal card to buy four crabs, and prepared to share them with her roommates.
Chef Yun prices the crabs at 18 yuan each, based on cost, making them affordable for those who want to try something new. Of course, the quality of the crabs is definitely not comparable to those that cost hundreds of yuan each.
However, after Master Yun tasted it himself, he smiled, a rare achievement. He seemed to have found something in the faint fragrance of osmanthus and Huadiao, like a ray of sunlight suddenly shining in.
Ye Tian was holding the crabs when she suddenly thought of Chen Chi, so she sent him a message: There will be drunken crabs in the canteen at noon, go quickly!
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