Chapter 46
Although Su Miao can easily recite elementary school knowledge, he still has to do his winter vacation homework, otherwise it will have a bad influence if other students know about it. Besides, Wang Xin still has to copy it.
When she was taking a break from doing her homework, she started to think about the recipe for braised food.
The chef originally described the ingredients as he cooked, but he didn't tell her some details and the specific amounts of spices. She could only make it based on her memory and then slowly improve it.
She listed the ingredients needed, including star anise, cinnamon, pepper, fennel, nutmeg, amomum villosum, cloves, and cardamom, and also wrote down the production process.
A few days later, Su Miao had finished all his winter vacation homework. He got up early and went to the vegetable market with his father to buy groceries. He bought two more kilograms of offal, a piece of pork head and a big bone from the bearded boss.
There are two dry goods stores in the market, which are filled with various spices, as well as dried and cured foods such as ham and cured fish. You can smell the complex aroma from a long distance away.
Su Miao ordered some of each item according to the list he wrote yesterday. The proprietress packed them separately in small paper bags and then put them all into a big paper bag.
When collecting the money, he asked them: "Are you going to make cooked food? Braised meat?"
"Yes, Auntie, you have so many spices at home, can you make braised meat for yourself?"
The lady boss laughed and said, "I'd like to make it, but I don't have the skills. Every time I make it, it's even worse than just stewing it with some star anise."
Su Miao took the bag from her and said, "Auntie, my family wants to try making braised food. If it works, we can start this business."
Seeing that she was a child, the lady boss spoke without any reservations:
"I've run my shop for so many years, and every year people come to buy spices for their braised dumplings. But after all these years, I haven't seen any of them succeed. It's not that easy. One more spice or one less spice can make a world of difference in the taste, unless your family has inherited the craftsmanship from their ancestors."
"I don't have any skills from my ancestors, but I have a smart little brain, so maybe I can succeed." Su Miao pointed to his head.
The lady boss was amused by her childish words and kept saying, "Great! I'll definitely come and help your business when it's successful!"
After returning home, Su Miao first helped his father wash the pig offal. The water was especially cold when the weather got cold, so they would boil a large pot of hot water in the morning.
Scoop some out and mix it with cold water to make warm water, which can be used for washing or washing things. Fortunately, it doesn't snow here and the water doesn't freeze, so it's not a big deal.
Originally, Su Yuanzheng was reluctant to let his daughter do the work, but he couldn't persuade her and could only give her another pair of rubber gloves.
He asked his former coworkers to buy these gloves at the factory. Wearing them allows him to work without getting his hands wet and not feel so cold. However, his flexibility is definitely not as good as with bare hands.
The two of them worked together and quickly cleaned up the pig offal. Su Yuanzheng said he would not let his daughter help anymore.
Su Miao sat in the yard, preparing the braised food.
Braising is a cooking method that consumes a lot of materials and is time-consuming. It requires making the marinade according to the most balanced recipe and choosing the best seasoning method. The ingredients are then put into the marinade and boiled and soaked so that they can fully absorb the delicious flavor of the marinade.
There are many dishes that can be braised, including livestock meat, poultry meat, various eggs, wild delicacies, vegetables, and soy products. As long as you master the ratio of the marinade package and sufficient braising time, the preparation is not complicated.
Since his family was already making stir-fried pork offal and had ready-made supply channels, Su Miao decided to test the waters with pork offal first, and then gradually add to the variety after it became successful.
Moreover, braised food can be eaten hot or as a cold dish, can be eaten with staple food, or can be eaten with wine. It is not affected by the season and is suitable for people of all ages in all seasons.
The brine is basically divided into four parts: broth, seasoning packet, ingredients and seasoning.
After returning from shopping, Su Miao lit a small portable stove to make soup. He blanched the pork bones bought today, added water and brought them to a boil. He skimmed off the foam and simmered it over low heat. This is a simple broth.
Why is it simple? Because complex broth is made with more than just pork bones.
The spice bags contain spices such as star anise, bay leaves, and cardamom that can be cooked for a long time. Su Miao sewed a lot of small bags with gauze and filled one bag at a time according to the planned proportions.
The spices refer to spicy vegetable seasonings such as onions, ginger, garlic, celery, and dried chilies. These are not resistant to cooking, especially those with leaves. After being cooked, they can easily change the taste of the marinade and cause the old marinade to deteriorate.
Therefore, the ingredients cannot be boiled in the marinade for too long. You have to calculate the time accurately and remove them all from the pot after the flavor is released.
First, Su Miao prepared the main dish that needed to be braised. He blanched the cleaned offal and pork head, put them in a pot with cold water, and then added some white wine and ginger slices to remove the fishy smell.
As the water temperature gradually rises, the odor and blood stains in the ingredients are slowly discharged, forming a thick yellow-white foam on the water surface.
This is to pick up the ingredients, rinse them with clean water, and pour out the dirty water in the pot.
Add a proper amount of oil to a large pot. When the oil is hot, add the raw materials into the pot and stir-fry. The aroma will be instantly stimulated. After a while, add two large spoons of stewed bone soup.
After the soup has boiled for five minutes, the first ingredients will have a flavor. Use a large colander to scoop out all of it, then pour in the remaining filtered bone soup, add the seasoning bag and ingredients, and add appropriate amounts of salt and soy sauce for seasoning.
Start by boiling over high heat, then turn to medium heat after 5 minutes, then gradually turn to low heat and simmer until the marinade is slightly boiling.
This cooking method allows the ingredients to be marinated thoroughly inside and out without causing the outer layer to lose its elastic texture due to excessive heat or high temperature.
At this time, the advantages of the earthen stove pot are revealed. Not only can several stoves operate at the same time, but more ingredients can be accommodated.
Su Yuanzheng had already started stir-frying pork offal, but the strong flavor of the sour bamboo shoots could not overpower the aroma of the marinade packet.
"Miao Miao, this seasoning packet contains more than a dozen spices, which is really good. The aroma is very attractive."
Su Miao sniffed and found it quite tempting, but she was not blindly optimistic:
“Sometimes something smells good but doesn’t necessarily taste good. You have to cook it and taste it to know.”
"It's okay, take your time. If it doesn't work this time, try a few more times. It will work eventually."
During the marinating process, Su Miao would occasionally lift the lid of the pot and turn the ingredients over to ensure that they were heated evenly and that each ingredient could be fully absorbed by the marinade.
Half an hour later, Su Yuanzheng had packed up everything and was ready to set up his stall.
Su Miao stopped adding firewood to the stove, leaving only the last bit to maintain the temperature and let the braised food continue to soak in the flavor, then followed his father out to set up a stall.
The gate of the sugar factory is a windy place, and the cold wind blows, making people feel particularly cold. As expected, few people are willing to sit outside and drink porridge now.
Whether the customers came to eat the self-service porridge or to buy pork offal, they all chose to take the food away, so Su Yuanzheng didn't have to wash so many bowls in such a cold weather.
They have already made an agreement with Director Wang that if they continue to pay the rent, the factory will keep this space for them.
After all, both parties have become familiar with each other over this period of time, and I'm not sure if I could rent it out to anyone else. If something like what happened to the noodle stall were to happen, it would have a negative impact on the factory. So, after all considerations, it's best to continue to hand it over to the Su family father and daughter.
From today on, Su Miao will tell the customers that the self-service porridge stall is going to be temporarily closed.
This news is undoubtedly a pity for those customers who like to drink self-service porridge, but it is also for better preparation of future business plans.
Although there will be a short separation, everyone is looking forward to the day when we can meet again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
