There happened to be fish in the inn, because the dishes Zhou Daqing had learned from her before were all related to fish.
To make smoked fish, first remove the main bones in the middle of the fish body, then cut the two large pieces of fish meat diagonally into thicker large fish slices. First use ginger and green onion water with a little Huadiao wine to remove the fishy smell, and finally add an appropriate amount of salt, a little dark soy sauce and soybean paste to marinate.
Then start preparing the sauce, which includes peppercorns, star anise, cornel, scallion, ginger, garlic and several other spices. Pour a proper amount of rapeseed oil into the pot, fry a handful of scallions first to produce scallion oil, then pour in the dry ingredients prepared earlier. Once the aroma comes out, add water, then salt, rock sugar, dark soy sauce and balsamic vinegar to season. Finally, add the fried scallions and a handful of coriander, and cook for half a minute. Before serving, add a little bit of Qinyu's own five-spice powder.
This is just the sauce for the smoked fish. The marinated fish pieces are put into a pan and fried until they are golden brown. The fried fish pieces are crispy even with the big fish bones inside. Finally, the fried fish pieces are taken out and soaked in the previously cooked sauce for an hour. It tastes crispy with a sweet and sour taste, and is suitable for eating with wine or porridge or rice.
While roasting the second batch of suckling pigs, Xu Qinyu had already fried the fish and marinated it in the cooked sauce. Now it was just the right time to eat it.
In addition to a crispy suckling pig and a large pot of smoked fish, Zhou Daqing also fried an egg.
Crispy suckling pig is the most popular dish. When Lianhua was eating, she suddenly said to Xu Qinyu, "It would be great if I could follow the master for the rest of my life."
She herself is also a member of the Black Armor Guards, and is a member of the King's staff.
A few days ago, the Fourth Prince selected twenty people and asked them to work as guards at Xu's Restaurant in Raozhou City. At first, only Huo Jiang was happy about it, while the others were not very happy.
Huo Jiang was a child picked up by Commander Huo Ye, who raised him. Commander Huo also taught him kung fu, and he eventually became a black-armored guard.
Among the black-armored guards, more than half are orphans who were adopted by the eldest prince. The eldest prince hired people to teach them martial arts and various other skills.
Originally, the eldest prince was framed, and they were planning to kill him and bring him back to the capital. Later, when they learned that Prince Shu and his men were exiled, Commander Huo told them not to act rashly. After finding Prince Shu, they followed him, knowing that Prince Shu would definitely help the eldest prince to avenge himself and restore the throne of the Great Sheng Dynasty to its orthodox state.
So they all hoped to follow King Shu to do something big, even if now they could only grow food on the island and near the island, and do business and escort.
So when they first learned that they were to serve as guards for the princess's restaurant, they were not very happy about it, thinking it was a waste of their talents. The martial arts of these twenty people could rank among the top fifty among all the black-armored guards.
After arriving at the restaurant and eating the food prepared by the princess, everyone was astonished and no longer felt that being a guard at the princess's restaurant was a waste of their talents.
Although the eldest prince adopted them, taught them martial arts, let them read and write, and taught them various skills, as for food, they only made sure they were full. The chef among the black-armored guards had never learned cooking skills, so he just cooked the meals. Although there was no shortage of meat, it did not taste good.
Compared with the food prepared by the princess, it is no exaggeration to say that it is pig food.
Lianhua also understood why Huo Jiang was so happy when he knew he would be the guard of the princess. It must be because he had eaten the meals cooked by the princess before.
Of course, the princess didn't know their identities yet. Prince Shu didn't let them reveal their identities and asked them to protect the princess.
The food cooked by the princess was so delicious that she wanted to follow her for the rest of her life.
Xu Qinyu felt a little helpless when she heard Lianhua calling her master.
These guards were also strange. They liked to call her "master" every time, and she had to correct them many times.
Now hearing Lianhua calling her like that, she knew that it was useless to correct her.
"Eat quickly. Everyone has worked hard today. Rest early after eating."
In the end, Lianhua ate four bowls of glutinous rice, two pounds of crispy suckling pig, and two large bowls of smoked fish. She felt comfortable and satisfied.
…
The next day's breakfast in the inn was still prepared by Xu Qinyu. She asked Manager Zhou to order the ingredients last night and had them delivered early in the morning.
For breakfast, Xu Qinyu made custard buns, crystal shrimp dumplings, steamed meat, seafood porridge, and steamed spareribs with black bean sauce, which was pretty much it.
The original guests staying in the inn learned that there would be a new breakfast this morning. There was no need for the innkeeper Zhou to introduce it to them. They all got up and went downstairs just by smelling the delicious food, fearing that they would miss out on the delicious food like they did the night before.
After getting up, I asked Manager Zhou what fresh food the kitchen had prepared.
After Shopkeeper Zhou said this, everyone ordered the food they wanted to try.
In fact, I basically ordered one portion of everything. The crystal shrimp dumplings, custard buns, steamed shaomai, and steamed spareribs with black bean sauce were not large in size, only about three or four pieces each. Add a serving of seafood congee, and it was just the normal amount of rice for an adult man.
Many passers-by also asked what the food smelled so good.
Shopkeeper Zhou told everyone tirelessly, "This is the breakfast prepared by my master from Daqing. Would you like to come in and try it? There is not much left and it will be sold out soon. My master from Daqing is the owner of Xu's Restaurant outside the city. The food he prepares is absolutely delicious. You will know after you have tasted it. Was the crispy suckling pig delicious yesterday?"
The shopkeeper next to me said, "It's delicious, Lao Zhou. Did your master Daqing prepare breakfast? Well, I'll hurry in to reserve a seat. I ordered some crispy suckling pig yesterday, but it wasn't enough. I should have bought more. I had to wait for my wife to come back before I could eat. I knew how it tasted when I started eating. Alas, when I thought of buying it from you, Lao Zhou, it was all sold out. I told you yesterday that I would just order half a crispy suckling pig today. I've already given you the money. Lao Zhou, don't forget it."
Shopkeeper Zhou smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't forget it."
The shopkeeper next door then immediately came into the inn to order breakfast.
Seeing this and smelling the delicious breakfast, some of the others couldn't help but follow in.
Except for leaving some breakfast for their own people, the rest were sold out in less than an hour.
The price is also 20% off the price of Xu Ji breakfast.
In the evening, Xu Qinyu roasted ten crispy suckling pigs. She didn’t plan to roast too many. It would be best if everyone could eat a little bit, so that they would still think about it and want to eat it next time.
There were ten crispy suckling pigs. Liang Qianhu came over and bought another one, and also bought some crispy fatty intestines.
There were seven or eight left, most of which were reserved by people who bought yesterday. Only two were sold to other people.
In this way, Xu Qinyu stayed at the Bafang Inn for four or five days, and the reputation of her breakfast and crispy suckling pig spread out.
At least people in this area of West Street know that the chef of Bafang Inn has a master who is the owner of Xu's Restaurant outside the city and his food is extremely delicious.
“Is it really that delicious?”
"Really, God, I also ordered a portion of that crispy suckling pig, it was delicious, how could there be such delicious food in the world? Not only that, the breakfast she made, and the crispy pig intestines, and the halved pig intestines were especially delicious. The halved pig intestines are the cheapest, don't underestimate them, they are also very delicious. If you don't have much money, go buy some halved pig intestines to try."
These words even spread to Zuixianlou, and many diners there heard them.
Those who could go to Zuixianlou for meals were all wealthy businessmen and large families in Raozhou City.
When we heard that the owner of Xu's Restaurant was cooking at Bafang Inn, we knew that it was to attract customers. However, the reputation of this crispy suckling pig was quite big and people were always talking about it. Therefore, many wealthy businessmen and the wives of wealthy families asked their servants to go to Bafang Inn to order a crispy suckling pig to taste it.
If the food doesn’t taste good, they will definitely tell their relatives and friends so that everyone doesn’t get fooled.
To put it bluntly, I still have the mentality of trying it out or joining in the fun.
When the servants and maids went to ask at the Banfang Inn, Xu Qinyu said, "Too many people ordered crispy suckling pig, so we only have two extra tonight, and each person can only buy two kilograms."
Two pounds of crispy suckling pig is probably just the size of one serving.
When the servants and maids heard that the number was so small, they started to tell who their masters were.
Xu Qinyu said helplessly, "There's really nothing we can do. We roasted a few more suckling pigs today than we did a few days ago. We've been busy since noon, but there are only two left. There are still many people coming to buy them, so we can only sell them in portions. How about you go back and tell the owner that you can make a reservation for tomorrow, but you can only reserve one and a half, and we can't roast more."
There was no other way, the servants and maids could only carry a portion of crispy suckling pig back and tell the masters of each family what Xu Qinyu had said.
One of the families was surnamed Zhao. Their family had been doing business for decades and was quite wealthy.
After listening to what the servant said, Mr. Zhao didn't care much and just said, "One portion is enough. Just taste it. Besides, I heard that it was made by an 18-year-old cook? That cook is the owner of Xu's Restaurant outside the city, and she is also a chef. How delicious can the food made by a cook in her teens be? The dishes of Zuixianlou are made by chefs who have been in charge for more than ten years and have 20 or 30 years of experience. Yes, the roasted pork slices at Zuixianlou taste very good. The pork slices are cut into thin slices, marinated with secret seasonings, and grilled on a charcoal iron plate. When the meat curls up, quickly turn it over, grill the other side, and then dip it in the secret seasoning. Oh, Madam, why don’t you go to Zuixianlou to eat tomorrow? I kind of want to eat the roasted meat at Zuixianlou, and there’s also the exotic dancers to watch…”
This kind of roasted meat can be found in many large restaurants in state capitals, but because the marinating method and secret seasoning are different, the taste is not quite the same.
Mrs. Zhou said nothing, but asked the servant to put the crispy suckling pig on the table.
The waiter took the crispy suckling pig out of the food box and took out a pile of finely ground sugar and a pile of red dry dipping saucers. "Master and Madam, the shopkeeper said that this crispy suckling pig can be eaten with two kinds of seasonings, and they both taste good."
There is even fine sugar used as a dipping sauce.
Mr. Zhao said helplessly: "Pork itself is very greasy. Look at the fat under the crispy skin... Why is it dipped in sugar? What a weird taste."
It smells nice though.
As he said this, he couldn't help but pick up a piece. As soon as it entered his mouth, there was a crunching sound and Mr. Zhao's face immediately changed.
Mrs. Lian Zhao is similar.
The servant boy was also shocked in his heart, thinking that the female shopkeeper was exaggerating. In fact, the food smelled good but tasted bad. The old master and the mistress' faces changed. But when they saw the old master and the mistress eat a piece and then immediately picked it up together and ate several pieces in a row, they let out a long sigh and finally picked up a piece and dipped it in sugar. It made a crunchy sound when it entered their mouths and they closed their eyes in enjoyment. Soon, the stack of crispy suckling pig was finished, leaving only the last piece. The old master and the mistress' chopsticks were on the last piece of crispy suckling pig.
Mr. Zhao smiled and said, "Madam, here, there is only one piece left."
Mrs. Zhao sneered, "Why? What if there's only one piece left? Just now you thought the roast pork from Zuixianlou was more delicious and the dancers were prettier. How could you think the food made by an 18-year-old cook be that delicious? Why are you trying to snatch the last piece of crispy suckling pig from me now?"
Mr. Zhao smiled awkwardly, and finally let go of his chopsticks. He watched his wife dip the last piece of crispy suckling pig in sugar and put it in her mouth. The sound of the crunch made Mr. Zhao swallow his saliva. Finally, he suddenly thought of something, left and called the servant, "Hurry up, go to Bafang Inn now and order a whole crispy suckling pig from the young cook. You can pay for it directly later to avoid losing it again."
Mrs. Zhao swallowed the food in her mouth slowly and sneered, "Master, didn't you think that the food made by the young cook was definitely not as delicious as the roasted meat in Zuixianlou? How about you go to Zuixianlou to eat tomorrow and see the dancers. I won't accompany you. I will stay at home and eat the crispy suckling pig made by the young cook."
"Madam, you are joking. I am short-sighted. Please don't share my view." Mr. Zhao admitted his mistake happily. "I really didn't expect that Xu's crispy suckling pig is so delicious. How about I take you to Xu's outside the city to eat after the cook returns to Xu's some other day? Maybe the other food is also delicious. There are also clear soup bird's nest for two taels of silver a bowl, and Fu Shouquan for fifty taels of silver a can. Now I think they are not marking the prices randomly, but these foods are worth the price."
The couple really wanted to go to Xu's to eat, and it was a good opportunity for them to go there and play for a few days.
Not only the Zhao couple, but some other old masters, ladies and other wives who bought the crispy suckling pig from Xu Qinyu today had similar ideas. After eating the crispy suckling pig, they immediately asked the servants to order tomorrow's, and they wanted a whole one, intending to try it together with their family members.
But they didn't expect that after they passed by, Xu Qinyu told them helplessly, "Tomorrow there will be many customers who ordered crispy suckling pig, I'm afraid it will be difficult for each person to order one, so we can only order half."
Even Xu Qinyu had not expected that the crispy suckling pig would be so popular that all the customers would come back and want more. If these wealthy old men really bought one each, she and Dongqian would not be able to roast so many. It was because the kitchen in the Bafang Inn was relatively small and they could only build one oven, so the roasting was slow. If it were in a restaurant, there would be several ovens and they could roast twenty at a time.
Just like that, Xu Ji’s crispy suckling pig became popular in Raozhou City.
Many diners in Raozhou City also planned to wait for Xu Qinyu to return to Xu's restaurant, and then stay in a restaurant outside the city for two days to see if Xu's other food was equally delicious.
…
In Zuixianlou.
The owner of Zuixianlou is named Kong Kun, who is forty years old this year. He is both the owner and the chef of Zuixianlou.
Although the Kong family is not a century-old family like the Dong family, Zuixianlou has only gone through two generations, Kong Kun and his father.
When Kong Kun's father was eleven or twelve years old, his family suffered a natural disaster and he was the only one left on the road to escape famine. Finally, he met a chef, who adopted him as his son and taught him cooking. His adoptive father was also a lonely man, and the master and apprentice depended on each other for survival. But unexpectedly, when Kong Kun was twenty years old, an accident happened at home. When he was sleeping with his master at night, it was too cold and they burned charcoal fire at night, but something happened.
Kong's adoptive father also ran a restaurant. The next morning, the waiter waited for a long time but saw the two men not coming to the restaurant. He was a little worried, so he went to Kong's adoptive father's yard and knocked on the door for a long time but no one opened it. He had to break open the gate with the help of the neighbors. He found that the doors and windows were closed, and no one answered when he knocked on the door. He broke open the door inside and saw the master and apprentice lying on the bed unconscious.
Everyone rushed the two to the clinic, where the doctor said that the charcoal fire was actually poisonous, and if the doors and windows of the house were closed too tightly, it would be easy to get poisoned.
Because Kong's father was young and strong, he was just unconscious. Because Kong's adoptive father was older, he was also poisoned by the charcoal fire. Only Kong's father was rescued, while Kong's adoptive father died.
Afterwards, Kong's father was very sad. After burying his adoptive father, he left that place, saying that he could not bear the sight of his adoptive father's house and restaurant.
After selling his adoptive father's restaurant and yard, he came to Raozhou City with a lot of money, settled down in Raozhou City, and opened Zuixianlou.
Of course, this is the story that Confucius' father told others about his life.
In the beginning, Zuixianlou was just a small restaurant. After more than ten years, this small restaurant has become the largest restaurant in Raozhou City.
Kong Kun was born after his father got married when he was in his twenties. He was the only son of his father.
Even though Kong Kun is the owner and chef of Zuixianlou now, Kong's father is still alive, albeit in his sixties and has begun to enjoy his retirement. He no longer worries about the affairs of Zuixianlou. Zuixianlou is still managed by Kong Kun.
The Kong family's Zuixianlou has been open in Raozhou City for forty years. Even when the southwest was at its most chaotic in the early years, Zuixianlou was able to operate safely, which shows that the father and son have some skills.
Kong Kun knew that Xu's Restaurant might become the biggest threat to Zuixianlou since it just opened, so he came up with the idea of inviting some exotic dancers to perform in Zuixianlou, and all food would be priced at 70% of the original price.
Sure enough, the number of diners did not decrease. No one went to Xu's Restaurant outside the city. Instead, there were more diners at Zuixianlou than before.
Kong's father and Kong Kun have run a restaurant in Raozhou City for forty years and have a very experienced eye.
In recent years, there have been many restaurants of similar size to Zuixianlou opening in Raozhou City, but none of them could beat Zuixianlou. Many of them closed down within half a year or a year. Only Zuixianlou has remained in the limelight, and now it has formed a monopoly. Other restaurants cannot be compared with Zuixianlou.
Kong Kun was very smart, even though he had never eaten the food cooked by Xu Qinyu, but when Xu's restaurant started construction outside the city, he knew that the owner of Xu's restaurant dared to open a restaurant outside the city, it must be because he had a background, either because of his different status and other people would go to support him, or because the food was particularly delicious.
He even went to Yuanbao Town to ask, and learned that the owner of Xu's was just an 18-year-old cook who seemed to have no other identity. Her husband's family was also very ordinary, nothing special, and they were not relatives of any noble family. It should be simply because she cooked delicious meals that she dared to open a restaurant outside the city.
So after Xu Ji opened, Kong Kun immediately thought of a way to suppress Xu Ji. As long as he could persist for a month or two, Xu Ji's reputation would be affected, and within half a year, Xu Ji would have to close down. But what he didn't expect was that the young boss of Xu Ji actually came to Bafang Inn in Raozhou City and came up with such a plan.
This method is simple and difficult at the same time.
The simple thing is that it is very rough, allowing diners to taste the flavor directly and keep thinking about it.
But this is also the most difficult part. What kind of food can make diners remember it after eating it for the first time?
Kong Kun knew that he would not be able to stop Xu Ji now, and many diners in Raozhou City would have to go outside the city to eat in the future.
These past two days, he was so anxious that his gums were a little swollen.
After returning home, Kong's father saw his son like this and couldn't help asking him about it. Kong Kun told his father the whole story.
Kong's father's hair and beard were already gray, and he looked very old. After hearing what his son said, he said, "She's just a young cook in her teens. Why are you panicking? She must have got some recipes from somewhere, so she made this crispy suckling pig to attract customers. A restaurant can't rely on just one dish to attract customers."
To put it bluntly, Kong's father also underestimated Xu Qinyu and thought how capable a teenage cook could be.
Kong Kun said, "Father, it doesn't seem to be the case. I heard that this Xu family also opened a restaurant in Yuanbao Town. It was a restaurant at first, but later Donglaiju was willing to merge with Xu's and even gave the sign to Xu's. I'm afraid this young lady Xu is really capable. I even sent someone to ask around, and they said that Xu's food tastes very good."
Father Kong snorted coldly, "It's just a Donglaiju, what are you afraid of? Several decades ago, when Dong's father was alive, he also wanted to move Donglaiju to Raozhou City, but it ended up in vain. The food recipes of Donglaiju are not as good as Zuixianlou, and this young cook has no master, so I guess only those few dishes are good. Even if other diners go to Xuji, they can't always eat these dishes. It's useless to keep diners without other things. Relax and see how Xuji is. If it doesn't work out, Dad will have other ways to deal with Xuji in the future."
Kong Kun had no other choice but to do so. He really couldn't think of any other way to stop diners from going to Xu Ji.
…
Xu Qinyu stayed at Bafang Inn for about ten days in total.
In ten days, she roasted hundreds of crispy suckling pigs.
After ten days, she asked the shopkeeper Zhou to tell the diners that she was planning to go back to Xu's Restaurant outside the city. If everyone still wanted to eat, they could go outside the city. Not only could they eat crispy suckling pig, but all the other dishes tasted just as good as the crispy suckling pig, and they were guaranteed to enjoy their meal.
In fact, these diners know very well that the young lady came to the city to cook for a few days just to attract customers.
But after they tasted the food made by others, they were willing to take the bait.