Chapter 12 Peking Duck
Mei Ruoguo stood quietly at the back of the crowd, wearing a fisherman's hat that concealed most of her face in the shadow of the brim. However, her eyes shone with an astonishing brightness, like twinkling stars in the night sky, fixed intently on the center of the commotion, as if anticipating something.
Meanwhile, Su Yingxue was engrossed in preparing food in the small kitchen. Unexpectedly, reporters swarmed in like sharks smelling blood, their numbers far exceeding expectations. Left with no other option, she had to arrange for them to conduct interviews and filming in shifts.
A group of reporters went straight to Director Ye, holding recorders and cameras, asking him all sorts of questions about the upcoming filming schedule. They were also eager to hear his detailed analysis of the original story's development, as if Director Ye were a walking treasure trove of stories.
Another group of reporters surrounded the lead actress, Shen Yu, curiously inquiring about her thoughts on the costumes and makeup for the Chang'an banquet, and also wanting to share some of her daily anecdotes from the drama. The flashbulbs kept going off, recording every exciting moment.
A group of reporters, carrying equipment, were excitedly filming He Qianyu's recently practiced martial arts scenes. They kept directing He Qianyu to demonstrate more moves, hoping to capture the most exciting footage as valuable filming material.
Quite a few people remained with Su Yingxue, but the small kitchen was far too cramped, like a crowded beehive, making it difficult to turn around. Su Yingxue maintained a smile throughout, politely asking the reporters to leave, but a few seemed unwilling to give up, lingering around. Xu Guoqing, his face dark, like a stern guardian, held a broom, trying to shoo the group away; his actions were full of intimidation.
In the end, Su Yingxue decided to invite Fang Xiang in first, since Fang Xiang was an acquaintance of CCTV, and she had to give her face. Fang Xiang had short, ear-length hair, and as soon as she entered the small kitchen, she looked around like a curious little bird. At this time, Su Yingxue had already started working.
Su Yingxue opened the freezer and carefully took out a large basin of plump ducks. Each duck was round and plump, like a treasure trove. "Sister Su, what delicious food are you making today?" Fang Xiang asked curiously, his eyes wide. Su Yingxue smiled and replied, "Peking duck, youth version!" Then she asked Xu Qingqing and Xu Guoqing to take the ducks aside to wash them.
After cleaning, Su Yingxue picked up a fresh duck and began to skillfully process the duck carcass. She quickly removed the duck feet and wings, and then put the processed duck into the braising pot that had been prepared in advance, as if she were putting a precious treasure into a magical box, thus beginning the first step of braising.
She added cooking wine, ginger slices, onions, salt, five-spice powder, and pepper to the large bucket. These seasonings were like a group of magical little elves, bringing a unique flavor to the duck. Next, she poured in light soy sauce and used a brush to spread it evenly on the duck's skin. The originally white and clean duck instantly turned a bright brown, as if it were wearing a gorgeous coat.
Su Yingxue had the duck marinate quickly. After about half an hour, she magically produced bottle after bottle, carefully stuffing the pre-treated duck into the beer bottles. These beer bottles were remnants from a recent crew dinner, and now, after cleaning, they had a new purpose.
Su Yingxue turned on the crew's large heater, which blew a warm breeze, making the duck's skin incredibly dry.
Next, she began to prepare the source of the duck's sweetness—the crispy skin glaze. She carefully prepared honey and rice vinegar, and in no time, the delicious crispy skin glaze was ready. The three of them worked together to evenly brush the crispy skin glaze onto the duck, letting it air dry slowly in the wind as they did so, as if they were meticulously sculpting a work of art.
Then, the duck was placed in a large oven to roast. The surrounding media reporters, watching Su Yingxue's actions, began to murmur amongst themselves.
A little girl wearing the coolest hat in the Qianyu collection blinked her eyes and asked curiously, "What's going on? Does your brother usually eat this well?"
An uncle holding a support sign for Shen Yu curled his lip and said, "Roast duck? I've eaten it countless times in Beijing, it's boring."
But despite saying that, their noses were honest. Smelling the delicious aroma of duck in the air, they secretly nodded in approval, thinking: It smells alright.
Fang Xiang stood to the side and, seeing everyone watching, felt a little embarrassed. She said, "How about I help you move some things?"
Su Yingxue smiled and shook her head, saying, "No need, just a moment, it will be ready soon."
In fact, Su Yingxue got up at five o'clock in the morning to make spring pancakes for roast duck. To cater to everyone's taste, she made the spring pancakes into the shape of dumpling wrappers.
She started rolling out the wrappers, and someone asked curiously, "What are you doing? Don't you need ready-made spring pancakes?"
Some people asked in disbelief, "Can dumpling wrappers be used to make spring pancake wrappers?" Others speculated, "What will it taste like? It tastes weird?"
Su Yingxue also thought that it would be great to use ready-made spring pancakes, but the taste of ready-made ones is not very good, and it is not easy to buy ready-made spring pancakes in large quantities in the morning.
She suddenly remembered the simple method her grandmother had taught her when she was a child, so she decided to give it a try. She first pressed the dumpling wrappers with a rolling pin, then added a little oil to prevent them from sticking together. With one press, large, transparent pieces of wrapper immediately appeared. She rolled out a whole stack of dumpling wrappers.
Next, Su Yingxue started preparing the vegetables. When she went to buy groceries today, she happened to see that water spinach was on sale, and the water spinach looked quite fresh and tender, so she simply bought a lot of it wholesale.
She had just asked Xu Qingqing to pick the water spinach ahead of time. Watching Xu Qingqing's busy figure, Su Yingxue said, "You two have been working together better and better during this period of practice." Xu Qingqing replied, "Sister Su, have you separated the leaves from the stems?"
While constantly stir-frying the vegetables, Su Yingxue explained, "It's because the cooking time varies depending on how quickly they're cooked." She continued to use high heat and quick stir-frying to perfectly preserve the tender texture of the water spinach.
Vegetable dishes are relatively simple to cook, but Su Yingxue did not stop what she was doing. She continued to wipe the stove and got busy again.
The reporters and fans outside the small kitchen were still chattering away.
"This stove is even cleaner than my mom cleaned it!"
"The leaves and stems were added at different times. I've learned something new. No wonder my own cooking didn't feel right."
"Look, only two dishes? That's not enough!" The group of people were all talking at once, while Su Yingxue and the others were busy in the kitchen.
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