Chapter 85 Case File 2: Witch Carnival (6)
In comparison, although the witches' malt sugar is not cheap, Jiangyou can buy it at a discount price as an honorary member. When cooking, add a little fried sugar color to enhance the flavor. The amount used is not large, but the taste will be significantly improved.
As for the cane sugar she found in the kitchen of the brewing workshop, Jiangyou had carefully stored it since he learned the value of sugar.
——How can Mi You and her mother have the channels to buy sugar and glutinous rice at high prices? Who are the mother and daughter of Mi You?
However, Mi Funa herself is a powerful potion master. A bottle of potion she brews is worth a fortune, and she is admired by countless people. She should never be short of money.
Before Jiangyou could figure it out, the sugar in the pot had already turned a bright red, bubbling with tiny bubbles—it was already at its peak. She dumped the drained pork belly, cut into palm-sized squares, into the pot and quickly stir-fried it, coating it evenly with the bright red sauce. Then she added sliced ginger, scallions, garlic, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, and a little chili pepper, continuing to stir-fry until the aroma came out.
Next, normally cooking wine should be added to enhance the flavor and remove the fishy smell, but Jiangyou did not have any cooking wine at hand, and the wine brewed from glutinous rice was too expensive. She was reluctant to use it here, so she asked Lolisa for a glass of dark beer and poured some into the pot.
The unique bitterness and burnt aroma of dark beer can also remove the fishy smell, and at the same time give the braised pork a hint of aroma that is in tune with the beer festival. It can be regarded as an improvement based on local conditions.
Then, it’s time to get to the climax, adding light soy sauce for flavor and dark soy sauce for color.
Normally, the basic brewing process of light soy sauce and dark soy sauce is the same. Light soy sauce is the "first draw" with a shorter fermentation time (6-12 months), while dark soy sauce is fermented for a longer time based on light soy sauce, and then further processed by adding ingredients such as caramel pigment.
Jiangyou brews three types of soy sauce, two of which can be considered light soy sauce, and the last one is a soy sauce that is aged for two years and is only different from dark soy sauce in that caramel coloring is added.
Of course, in terms of taste, there is not much difference. The soy sauce is full of the essence of the flavor, but it lacks a little bitterness. Jiangyou is already satisfied enough.
Two kinds of soy sauce were poured into the pot, and the rich aroma was immediately spread in all directions by the stove fire.
Jiang You once again evenly coated the pork belly with the sauce, then placed each piece neatly into the casserole on the stove next door. He also poured the sauce from the wok into the casserole, adding enough water to cover the pork belly. He brought the sauce to a boil over high heat, then reduced the heat and covered the casserole. In a word, braise!
Simmer for 40-60 minutes until the pork belly becomes tender, tender, rich, and flavorful. Then, simply simmer over high heat to reduce the sauce and adjust the seasoning.
While the pork belly was slowly stewing, Jiangyou cleaned the pot and started frying crayfish, preparing to welcome the next wave of customers.
At this time, Andrei came over with the head witch Mana.
"Oh, it smells good." Mana smiled. "How's business tonight?"
"It's great!" Jiang You said cheerfully, "I was almost too busy just now! This carnival is really fun! Come to think of it, the bonfire just now was beautiful too!"
Andrei coughed lightly, and Mana's expression stiffened instantly: "Yes, yes!"
"Would you like some crayfish?" Jiangyou said enthusiastically. "They're delicious! If you find it troublesome to peel the shells, you can add a nickel and enjoy the magic shelling service."
"...Well, let's get a pound of shelled crayfish." Mana's smile was still a little stiff. She took out three silver coins and a nickel and placed them on the counter. "That's perfect. I'm a little tired from walking. I'll go sit over there for a while."
She found a seat at an empty table, and Andrei whispered, "Someone tampered with the bonfire. Little Bone, thanks to you for spotting the offending individual, we were able to react quickly and discover that someone had sprinkled a mind-disrupting powder into the bonfire. If kerosene had been added to fuel the flames, the consequences would have been disastrous."
"Wow!" Jiang You took a breath and instantly understood why Mana's expression was so stiff and strange. "Then what was that bonfire show just now..."
"The witches in charge worked together to use a special magic to blow the powder into the air and instantly burn it," Andre said. "It was an emergency measure. It was just so fancy that the tourists, like you, thought it was a performance the witches had prepared long ago."
"So you are now..."
"Patrol, continue checking for suspicious individuals." Andrei shrugged, moved to the stove, lifted the lid of the casserole, and took a deep breath. "What a nice smell... The criminal we caught earlier was hired, solely responsible for spreading the kerosene. He has other accomplices, currently hiding among the tourists."
"The braised pork isn't cooked yet." Jiang You replaced the lid of the casserole in Andre's hand. "What are the characteristics of that accomplice? How do you plan to find him?"
"The prisoner said he was hired by a masked man in black and didn't know his other accomplices. I guess that accomplice was either hired by the man in black in the same way, or he was his companion or the man in black himself...
"Anyway, we haven't gotten any more clues from the criminal, but to have dumped such a large amount of powder into the bonfire and gotten away with it... that accomplice must be very knowledgeable about potions. We're worried that if his plan fails, he'll continue to target various stalls."
"Do you need my help to catch the criminal?" asked Jiang You.
Andre shook his head. "We don't need you following us around for now. In fact, I think you can be more effective here. This group of criminals clearly wants to cause trouble at this carnival. Not only are they targeting crowded places, they're also meticulously making it look like an accident caused by the witches' festival..."
"In that case, the easiest targets for them right now are the food vendors like yours and the beer sold by the witches. We are increasing patrols and issuing warnings to each vendor individually."
Andre glanced at the crowd gathering nearby and lowered his voice, "The more prosperous your business is, the more likely you'll be targeted by criminals. Little Bone, be careful. If anyone smells malicious intent, have Jericho take him down."
"Okay!" Jiangyou fried the crayfish, used the [shell peeling magic] to remove the shrimp meat, and when he handed it to Mana, he did a test as usual and left a video record.
Andre stood aside with his arms folded across his chest, very satisfied with her caution, and nodded slightly.
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