Yun Ningyan and Huo Junshan played with the two children in the yard for a while.
Then she went straight to the kitchen, where Wang Cuihong was tending the fire, Li Xiangyun was cooking, and Zhang Hongying was helping out.
Huo Changgen is helping to wash the vegetables.
Li Xiangyun was stir-frying vegetables in a small pot, and when she saw Ningning coming over, she said, "Ningning, it's very pungent here. I put in some chili peppers. You should go out quickly."
Yun Ningyan looked at the dishes prepared on the cutting board: braised pork, stir-fried pork with potato slices, pork stew with dried green beans, stewed tofu, and a fish.
Remembering what Huo Junshan had said about her mother-in-law not knowing how to cook fish, Yun Ningyan asked, "Mother, how do you want to cook this fish?"
Without a second thought, Li Xiangyun said, "Let's make fish soup. Everyone can have a bowl; it'll keep us warm."
Yun Ningyan blinked; it really was fish soup.
Yun Ningyan smiled and said, "Mother, why don't we make sweet and sour fish? It's similar to braised fish."
"Just add some sugar and vinegar, a little soy sauce, and a tiny bit of water, simmer it in a pot for a while, and it's delicious!"
Li Xiangyun nodded: "Okay, when we're cooking the fish later, I'll call you over, you can give me instructions, and I'll do the cooking."
Yun Ningyan smiled and went out.
Only Zhang Hongying and Wang Cuihong lowered their heads and pursed their lips.
My third sister-in-law doesn't have to do anything, she just waits to eat, and that's not enough, she has to come over and lecture me.
Seriously!
Mother is really biased. She does whatever my third sister-in-law says. She just said she wanted it braised, but Mother said no!
She even said she's in charge of cooking!
As soon as my third sister-in-law came over, she suggested sweet and sour fish, and my mother agreed without even thinking.
That's a real double standard.
Wang Cuihong was very dissatisfied, but she didn't dare to show it. It was the New Year, and she didn't want to cause any trouble.
However, she couldn't help but say, "Mom, I still want to eat braised fish! Can you make it braised?"
Li Xiangyun waved her hand: "Didn't Ningning say it's similar to braised fish? Why do we have to eat braised fish?"
Wang Cuihong held her breath, feeling suffocated every day.
How annoying!
Wang Cuihong didn't get any credit, so Zhang Hongying dared not say anything more.
When Li Xiangyun was cooking the fish, she called out to the outside, "Ningning, I'm going to cook fish!"
Upon hearing the sound, Yun Ningyan immediately went to the kitchen.
Li Xiangyun had already poured oil into the pot, but Yun Ningyan felt that there wasn't enough oil.
When cooking fish, you must use a lot of fish, more than usual.
She picked up the oil bottle and poured it into the pot, which terrified Li Xiangyun.
She repeatedly stopped her, saying, "Okay, okay, that's enough!"
Seeing that the oil in the pot was almost ready, Yun Ningyan said to Li Xiangyun, "Mother, use a spatula to grease the pot with oil, and then put the fish in when the pot is a little hot."
"oh oh!"
Li Xiangyun did as instructed.
But just as Li Xiangyun was about to release the fish, Yun Ningyan called out, "Mother, why haven't you cut the fish yet? Quickly cut it a couple of times."
Huo Junshan was listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen from outside. When he heard Yun Ningyan's shout, he immediately went inside, grabbed a knife, and slashed at her twice.
The fish has been scored.
Then the fish was put into the pot.
Yun Ningyan reminded her, "Mother, this fish needs to be fried in the pan for a while, otherwise the skin will fall apart. Flip it over and fry the other side later."
Li Xiangyun nodded repeatedly. Soon, both sides of the fish were fried until golden brown. Yun Ningyan put in the scallions, ginger, and garlic, then poured a ring of fragrant vinegar around the edge of the pan, and added a spoonful of white sugar.
Finally, add salt and seasonings.
After placing everything in the pot, scoop a bowl of hot water from another pot and pour it into the pot.
Start stewing.
After about ten minutes, the aroma of the fish began to waft out.
Yun Ningyan rummaged around in the kitchen and found a larger plate. Luckily, the fish wasn't big, otherwise it really wouldn't have fit.
Li Xiangyun called out from the courtyard, "Dinner's ready!"
Everyone inside rushed over in a flash.
The servants served the dishes, and for lunch they ate steamed buns made from a mixture of wheat flour and corn flour.
It's much better than the old two-ingredient pancakes.
So no one dared to delay anything, and everyone was looking forward to the New Year's meal.
Yun Ningyan took the first bite of fish and nodded, "Mother, this fish is delicious, you should try it!"
Li Xiangyun picked up a piece with her chopsticks and nodded repeatedly: "Not bad! It's delicious. Let's make it like this from now on."
The others also started eating the fish, and Huo Jianshe praised, "Mom, this is much tastier than fish soup. Fish soup is full of fish bones, and the fish meat isn't very tasty either. This is so much better."
Li Xiangyun said proudly, "Isn't it delicious? This is how your third sister-in-law made it, and she taught me how to use the seasonings."
Finally, everyone enjoyed the meal. This meal satisfied their craving for meat: braised pork, shredded pork with potato slices, and pork slices stewed with dried green beans.
Tofu stew with meat, fish, and a hot and sour cabbage dish!
The portions of these dishes, except for the fish, are all quite large.
The dishes that were served the fastest, besides braised pork, were fish. Everyone was too busy to talk and their chopsticks were flying across the table.
While they ate to their hearts' content, some people found the food tasteless.
Song Pandi thought that since it was New Year's Day, Aunt Ma would at least let her eat some meat.
But Aunt Ma's family doesn't have much meat to begin with. She did cook some today, but it wasn't enough for her son.
Song Pandi was still eating cornbread. She was so hungry that she had almost no flesh on her body, and her once plump chest had shrunk.
Seeing Ma Lao Er eating with his mouth full of grease, she wanted to get some meat broth, but Ma Da Niang snatched it away.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
