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Ever since Xiaoyu took out his Slaughter Heaven from the forbidden land of Shenxu Palace, Du Heng found something frustrating. That is, no matter where Xuan Yu went, he had to carry the Thousand Chance Umbrella.
Of course, Xiaoyu is handsome, and when she holds an umbrella, she looks gentle and refined, which makes Du Heng very fascinated. But this is not a solution. He can't hold an umbrella every time he goes out to meet someone. If you don't know, you might think there is something wrong with his Xiaoyu.
But if Xiaoyu didn't hold the umbrella, the problem would be even more serious. The Slaughter Heaven Sword was too domineering and powerful. When Ji Qingyan picked it up, he was hurt by it. Shenxu Palace had no choice but to seal the Slaughter Heaven Sword and throw it into the forbidden area. If the Thousand Machine Umbrella was not used to block the sword energy of the Slaughter Heaven Sword, the cultivators hundreds of feet away from Xuanyu would be injured by the sword energy.
Du Heng complained, "What should I do?" Xuan Yu comforted him, "It's okay. We will leave Shenxu Palace tomorrow. When we get to the village, I won't have to hold an umbrella anymore."
Xuan Yu was right. Among the people living in the village, Jing Nan and Feng Gui had already adapted to his spiritual energy. Xiao Xiao and Tai Shuhong were much more receptive than other people. As for Du Heng, he had become Xuan Yu's Taoist partner, and was no longer afraid of his sword energy.
But Du Heng didn't think of this: "Didn't we say we were going back to the Dragon Tribe? You can't go back to the Dragon Tribe with an umbrella, right?"
Xuan Yu was extremely calm: "The dragons are all thick-skinned. Look at the Zhou brothers. They are not afraid of my spiritual energy. Only human cultivators and delicate demon cultivators are afraid. You don't have to worry about this."
Du Heng finally felt relieved. He sighed and said, "It's better to deal with it as soon as possible and return to the village. Xiaoyu, you have had a hard time."
Xuan Yu smiled slightly: "Is it difficult? I think it's pretty good." Du Heng said depressedly: "What's good about it?"
Xuan Yu's smile deepened: "Because when I hold an umbrella, you look at me more." Xuan Yu was very careful. He had discovered that whenever he held an umbrella, Du Heng's gaze on him was obsessed. He was very satisfied!
Xuan Yu's answer made Du Heng laugh and cry: "What kind of reasons are these?" Xuan Yu smiled and said: "And I think my existence now has its benefits. At least when I am here, fewer people come to eat for free."
Before the Sword of Heaven Slaughter was retrieved, Wen Qiong and her disciples would come to eat for free. Xiaoyao Jian and his disciples would also come to take advantage of the situation. Now that Xuan Yu is here, they really can't withstand Xuan Yu's sword energy. Now, the dining hall is so lonely that only they are left.
Jing Nan got a recliner and lay down at the door. He ate the spiritual fruit and said, "These people are really ignorant. They still think Du Heng is the former cook. Du Heng doesn't care, so they have the nerve to ask. I think this is good and peaceful. By the way, Du Heng, can we have Eight Treasure Duck for lunch today?"
Du Heng covered his face and said, "If I remember correctly, weren't you and Xixi the ones who were most active in ordering dishes?"
Jing Nan was not convinced: "It's obviously Xiaoxiao! I'm such a cute little fox, how can I order food often? Besides, you haven't made new dishes for a long time, and you keep making the same dishes you made before. Did I say anything?"
Du Heng said with a smile: "Alright, alright, I understand what you mean."
Jing Nan rolled his eyes: "No, you don't understand. If you understood, you wouldn't continue to fiddle with your small fish. This thing is full of thorns. What's so delicious about it?"
In front of Du Heng was a wooden basin, which was filled with half a basin of miscellaneous fish. Among them were long and flat minnows, small and round minnows, small crucian carps that were less than the size of a palm, and anggong fish that made a faint sound... There were also many other fish that Jing Nan couldn't even name.
Jing Nan was very dissatisfied: "You can't even finish eating the big fish, and you're still messing with these small fish."
Du Heng was cleaning the fish's internal organs. He smiled and said, "Big fish have their own freshness, and small fish have their own beauty. Didn't you say you wanted to eat new dishes? I'm making new dishes for you."
Jing Nan thought for a while: "Should we coat these fish with batter and fry them? That tastes good, but I've eaten it several times and don't want to eat it anymore." Ye Wenqiu likes to eat crispy fish, and Du Heng has made it for him several times.
Du Heng smiled and said, "Don't worry, I've never made the dishes I'm cooking today before. Oh, Xiaoyu, give me two spoonfuls of flour."
Jing Nan muttered, "They said it wasn't fried, but Xiaoyu was asked to scoop out the flour and mix the batter..."
Du Heng smiled and looked at Jing Nan. He raised his hand slightly and pulled the thin blanket that had slipped down Jing Nan's chest a little higher. Jing Nan narrowed her eyes and said, "I'm not that delicate."
Du Heng said slowly, "You didn't get enough rest when your tail grew, and the formation in the ruins drained some of your spiritual energy. After you woke up, you repaired Xiaoxiao's spiritual roots without caring about your health. I heard from Xixi that it will take three to five months for your body to recover. Just lie down and I'll make you Eight Treasure Duck later."
Jing Nan smiled happily and picked up a spiritual fruit and put it into his mouth: "Don't be so delicate..." However, his tone was full of happiness, which could not be hidden.
After cleaning the internal organs of small fish, there is no need to remove the scales. Just put the fish in a bamboo basket and put it in clean water, toss it up and down, and the scales will fall off the fish like snowflakes.
The small fish that had been cleaned up were of different colors and sizes. Jing Nan noticed that there were several large shrimps among them. He asked in confusion, "Yunyanlou even packed these small fish for you? Aren't they too much?"
Du Heng smiled and said, "They weren't packed by Yunyan Tower. These small fish were given to me by the servants at the Spiritual Medicine Farm."
Jing Nan was even more confused: "The servant knew your identity, but he dared to be so negligent with you? He actually used this kind of small fish to trick you!" Du Heng said quickly: "No, no, I specially asked for these small fish. You must use small fish to make fish potstickers, so that they taste delicious."
Jing Nan paused: "...Huh?"
The dish Du Heng wants to make is called mixed fish pot stickers, which is a delicacy that he can only eat during the Chinese New Year. There are many rivers and ponds in his hometown, and every Chinese New Year, the owners of the rivers and ponds will clean the ponds.
The big fish would be sold by the owner, and the worthless small fish would be distributed to the villagers. When he lived in the village, every New Year's Day, Dad Du would receive small fish from relatives.
Small fish usually don't eat in winter, so their stomachs are very clean. Even if they don't clean the internal organs, they can be directly used for cooking. However, for the sake of cleanliness, Dad and Mom Du will spend an hour or two to clean the fish intestines and gills. For some very small fish, they will directly pinch off the fish head and leave the fish body.
After cleaning the fish, Daddy Du will divide the fish into two halves, one half is used to make fish pot stickers, and the other half is fried with pickled vegetables. The fish pot stickers are eaten hot, the pancakes are fragrant and the fish is fresh. The fish and pickled vegetables are eaten cold, and when drinking porridge, you can eat a few bites of the fish jelly, which is so delicious!
Du Heng also prepared to follow his father's method. He picked out the slightly larger fish and placed them in a colander, and placed the remaining small fish by the pond to be used to make pickles later.
After draining the water from the miscellaneous fish in the colander, you can fry them in a pan. Fresh fish do not need to be marinated too much, just use a little oil to fry until both sides are slightly yellow and you can start cooking.
Du Heng poured a proper amount of cold oil into the hot pot, and then he poured the small fish in the basket along the edge of the pot. The fish bodies shrank after being heated, and some of the fish fins curled up, making it look like the fish came back to life in the pot.
Don't be impatient when frying fish. You need to fry it slowly and carefully, and wait until the fish body on the side that is attached to the bottom of the pan is set before turning it over. After half a cup of tea, the fish fragrance wafts out of the pan.
This aroma was completely different from the smell of his fried crispy fish. In the past, when he fried fish, the smell of fish was just a garnish. But now, the fishy smell turned into a rich fishy aroma, so fragrant that Jing Nan could no longer lie down.
When Du Heng turned over all the fish in the pot, he found Jing Nan standing beside him with his hands in his pockets. Jing Daxianer looked at the fish in the pot and said, "Is it okay to eat after it's fried?"
Du Heng chuckled: "What are you talking about? It's not that fast! We still have to make pancakes!"
While the fish was frying slowly in the pan, Du Heng added the right amount of salt and water to the wooden basin that had been filled with flour. He also beat an egg into the flour. After kneading it for a while, the loose flour became a sticky dough in his hands.
By the time he had finished kneading the dough, the small fish had already been fried. Jing Nan had already secretly reached out his hand to pinch a fish and started to nibble on it. He groaned, "It has no taste. It smells so good."
Du Heng laughed: "I didn't add any seasoning, how can it taste good?"
Jing Nan put the half-bitten fish into Xiao Yu's hand beside him: "Ah...wasting my feelings."
Xuan Yu looked at the half fish in his hand and then looked at Jing Nan. Jing Nan pretended to know nothing: "Why are you looking at me?" Xuan Yu said slowly: "Since you are a patient, I won't bother with you."
Jing Nan said fearlessly: "What? What else can you argue with me about?" He looked like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water.
Xuan Yu really couldn't do anything with Jing Nan. He couldn't hit him, and he couldn't scold him. Xuan Yu threw half of the fish to Ciba, who had been guarding the stove for a long time: "I don't want to bother with you."
Jing Nan chuckled and urged Du Heng: "Hurry up and make it. I'm looking forward to eating the fish pot stickers you made. By the way, didn't you say that pot stickers are a kind of snack? Are you going to use fish as the filling?"
Du Heng always felt that something was missing. When Jing Nan interrupted him, he subconsciously responded, "The dim sum pot stickers I mentioned do have stuffing, but the mixed fish pot stickers have no stuffing. They just stick the pancakes to the edge of the pot."
Jing Nan thought for a while and said, "Oh, so pot stickers refer to pot-side stickers. I understand." But his eyes were full of suspicion. The combination of miscellaneous fish and pot-side stickers seemed weird to him. Never mind. He would understand what was going on when Du Heng made it.
At this time, the fish in the pot was already fried. Du Heng pushed the fish on the edge of the pot to the middle of the pot. The full pot of fish was now shallowly piled at the bottom of the pot, with the golden fish bodies overlapping, which looked particularly appetizing. Next, Du Heng began to pour seasoning on the fish. After three spoonfuls of soy sauce, Jing Nan sighed: "What a good pot of fish..."
Jing Nan's words revealed a deep regret. To be honest, Du Heng also felt that the soy sauce ruined the whole pot of fish when he poured it on. The soy sauce in the cultivation world is dark in color. After a spoonful of it, the color of the dish turned black.
At this time, he especially missed the new condiments in his hometown. There were dozens of kinds of soy sauce alone! Although many of them were blended, at least the color was good when used. Du Heng thought that when he had time, he would go to the small world where the chef Du Heng was, not only to buy condiments, but more importantly to visit Du's parents.
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After the soy sauce was put into the pot, Du Heng poured in the white wine. White smoke came out of the pot, and when the smoke was not too strong, he added enough boiling water to cover all the fish. The boiling water diluted the color of the soy sauce, and the golden fish began to simmer in the soy sauce.
After sprinkling on shredded ginger, garlic slices and a few rings of dried chili peppers, Du Heng began to make pancakes! Jing Nan stretched his neck and stood by to watch. Du Heng looked at Jing Nan strangely while holding the wooden basin.
At this moment, he finally understood why he felt like something was missing. It was not that he did not put enough seasoning, but that there was no cute little chirping thing on his stove!
Since Xiaoxiao transformed, Du Heng has even seen Xiaoxiao less and less, not to mention squatting on Du Heng's stove. Xiaoxiao has become very busy. He has to learn a lot under the guidance of Yun Zheng Lao Dao and others. Xiaoxiao's theory is very solid, but because of the limitation of his spiritual roots, his understanding of many techniques only remained in theory. When he really put them into practice, he had many shortcomings.
Xiaoxiao was not that anxious at first, but there happened to be a little feather beside him. Little Feather was very smart and he learned everything quickly. Some of the skills that Su Zhan had taught him before were not suitable for him, so Little Feather abandoned them and started over.
However, even if Xiao Yufeng started over, his cultivation level would still be higher than Xiao Xiaoxiao's. With Xiao Yufeng as a comparison, Xiao Xiaoxiao felt a lot of pressure. During this period, Xiao Xiaoxiao went to his room to study without his uncle urging him. He wanted to catch up with Xiao Yufeng as soon as possible, and he didn't want to be seen by others.
Xiaoxiao is actually a very proud little phoenix. His transformation is a sign of growing up in Fenggui's eyes. However, Du Heng felt a little lonely. Without Xiaoxiao chirping and tasting food and blowing rainbow farts beside him, Du Heng felt that he had lost the motivation to cook.
But he couldn't disturb Xiaoxiao. There was nothing he could do to help her. He had to at least make sure he didn't hold Xiaoxiao back.
The fish soup was boiling, and bubbles were bubbling in the pot. Du Heng divided the dough in the basin into palm-sized balls. He held the dough in his hand and slapped it against the edge of the pot above the fish soup. With a snap, the dough stuck firmly to the iron pot.
The dough was a little wet, and under the action of gravity, it slid downwards. Du Heng not only did not stop the dough from sliding, but he also smeared the falling dough towards the fish soup. The round pancake turned into a long strip! The bottom was even dragged into the fish soup!
Du Heng looked at the long pancake with satisfaction: "Mm! Perfect!"
Then he slapped all the pancakes in the basin onto the edge of the pot. The white pancakes looked like flowers blooming on the black edge of the pot.
Du Heng covered the pot and said, "Keep it covered and cook until the fish is cooked and the noodles are done."
Jing Nan was amazed: "It can be like this! But... can it be delicious?" It looked weird...
Du Heng gave a thumbs up and said affirmatively: "It's delicious! You'll know when you eat it!"
Du Heng walked to the corner of the kitchen, where several clay jars were placed. These jars were covered with round lids that tightly covered the upturned openings of the jars. There was also an upturned edge next to the mouth of the jar. The lids were stuck between the edge and the opening.
Du Heng would put water in the groove between the edge and the opening to prevent insects from getting in and the vegetables inside from spoiling. He often used this kind of jar to make pickles and salted vegetables.
Previously, the mountain protection formation of Shenxu Palace was broken, and the mountain was covered with snow overnight, so Du Heng's vegetables were collected by Xuan Yu. Later, Xuan Yu replanted some vegetables. Du Heng saw that the mustard greens he was going to make pickles had grown almost full, so he kneaded the mustard greens into pickles.
This mustard has thick leaves, so Du Heng cut it into two halves, one half was made into sauerkraut and the other half was made into pickles. It has been pickled for more than a month and is now ready to eat.
After opening the lid, a salty smell wafted out, and Du Heng dug out two mustard greens from the jar. The mustard greens had changed from crisp and green to yellow and droopy. The two mustard greens were heavy, and Du Heng reached out and squeezed the salt water off the leaves to prevent the salt water from dripping all over the kitchen.
After washing the pickles in the sink, Du Heng placed them on the chopping board. The pickles were quite large, weighing two or three pounds each. Du Heng weighed them and confirmed one thing: "Oops, I took too much."
But it’s okay, pickles can also be used to cook tofu, so tonight we can make a dish of pickled vegetables and tofu! After figuring it out, he put a pickle aside and said, "Xiaoyu, help me get two pieces of tofu from the refrigerator."
Xiaoyu responded, and soon he put two pieces of tofu as white as jade in the basket.
Du Heng cut the pickle in half with a knife. The layers of leaves wrapped the tender heart. The innermost leaves were already yellow, but compared with the old leaves washed by salt water, the inner leaves could still maintain their stretched state.
Du Heng plucked a leaf from the center, divided it into three parts, and stuffed them into the mouths of three people in the kitchen.
The pickles taste cool and salty. Although they cannot be compared with other delicious dishes made by Du Heng, they have a natural and simple flavor.
The pickled vegetable stems were crisp and tender, and they made a crunchy sound when chewed. Jing Nan ate the pickled vegetable leaves in a few bites. He licked the corner of his mouth and said, "I thought it would be very sour and salty."
Du Heng laughed and said, "Too little salt will make it sour, too much salt will make it too salty. This is a technical job!"
Jing Nan agreed with this point. It was indeed a technical job. He was present when Du Heng was pickling pickles. Watching Du Heng sprinkle salt, he was wondering how to make pickles in such a fancy way. Later, he found out that Du Heng made two kinds of dishes.
Jing Nan reached out to tear off the tender leaves from the middle of the pickled vegetable and ate them: "This is delicious. I'll have another piece."
Du Heng patted his paws and said, "Eat less. Eating this raw is not good for your health. Cook it before eating." Jing Nan muttered, "Oh..."
After Du Heng cut the pickled vegetables on the chopping board into thin strips, he heard Jing Nan crunching the leaves. He turned around in surprise and saw Jing Nan standing by the sink. The heart of the pickled vegetable in the basket that he was going to use to make tofu had already been eaten by Jing Nan.
Du Heng covered his face: "Nannan, you really haven't changed at all."
Jing Nan was like this when he was a child. When Du Heng asked him not to do something, he agreed verbally, but then he did everything without missing a single thing.
Du Heng started another pot and put a proper amount of oil in it. After the oil was hot, he added slices of ginger to sauté. Then he poured the small fish into the pot, added wine to season it, and then Du Heng added cold water to cover the small fish.
Du Heng's action made Jing Nan confused: "Hey? Don't we need to fry this fish?"
Du Heng explained: "Pickled fish is for the tenderness of the fish. After adding ginger and wine, the fishy smell can be removed. There is salt in the pickled vegetables. Add the pickled vegetables when the fish is almost cooked. This way the pickled vegetables will be crispy. After it cools down, poke the fish jelly and eat it. Picking a fish is like digging for treasure!"
Jing Nan nodded: "Okay..." Since he had never eaten it before, he just accepted whatever Du Heng said.
At this time, Xiaoxiao ran over from the backyard: "Du Hengheng, I smell fish! It's a smell I've never smelled before! Are you making something delicious?"
Xuan Yu smiled: "There is a formation in the backyard, can you smell the kitchen?"
Xiaoxiao smiled proudly, "Little Feather and I opened a hole in the formation! Come on, praise me, Dragon Lord!"
Xuan Yu praised: "It's amazing that you can open a hole in the formation I set up. When your uncle was your age, he was far from being able to do it."
Xiaoxiao was so happy that he circled around Du Heng a few times: "Delicious, delicious~"
Nothing can be hidden from Xiaoxiao's nose! Du Heng estimated the time, and the fish pot stickers were almost done. Du Heng cut a handful of garlic leaves, and after he opened the lid of the pot, he sprinkled the garlic leaves on the fish.
The rich smell of fish wafted into the air, mixed with the aroma of pancakes. Everyone looked into the pot and saw that the pancakes that had been put in had changed in appearance.
The pancake turned from milky white to yellowish white, and a layer of crust formed where it was attached to the pot. The crust was slightly raised, and the area where it was attached to the pot had turned golden yellow. The pancake swelled slightly, and the bottom was dragged into the fish soup. There was not much fish soup left at this time, and the thick soup dyed the bottom of the pancake a light brown.
At this time, Du Heng heard a solid thud. From the corner of his eye, he saw Xiao Xiao transformed into a demon and squatted beside the stove. Du Heng touched Xiao Xiao's fur in surprise and said, "Why did you transform into a demon? Did you run out of strength?"
Xiaoxiao drooled as she held the pancake in the pot: "No... I think it's easier to get food this way. Is there any better place in the world than this?"
Xiaoxiao's words made Du Heng and the others laugh so hard that they fell over. Xiaoxiao was indeed very smart.
Du Heng scooped off a piece of cake and handed it to Xiaoxiao: "Be careful with the soup, don't let it drip on you." Xiaoxiao opened her mouth: "Ah——"
He ate the pancake soaked in soup at the first bite. The fish soup was fresh and fragrant, and the pancake underneath was smooth and soft, and chewier than noodles. He chewed it up again, and found that the pancake that was not soaked in soup was thin and crispy at the bottom, and firm and chewy at the top.
Xiaoxiao exclaimed in amazement: "Du Hengheng, this pancake is so delicious! Half of it is soft and smooth, soaked in the flavor of the fish soup, and the other half is fragrant and crispy. I can eat five of them without food! But I think the pancakes above will taste even better when dipped in fish soup. Just think about it, it's crispy, fragrant and fresh, how can you resist not eating it? Give me another one!"
After Xiaoxiao said this, he realized that he was too anxious. He blinked his big eyes and acted cute at Du Heng: "Chirp chirp~"
Du Heng's heart softened immediately: "Here, here, here!" How could there be such a cute little phoenix like Xiaoxiao in the world? She is so much cuter than Xixi when she was a child!
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