Chapter 25: The fat aroma of white-cut chicken and goose has a hint of sweetness
Ever since Master Guan made the name of Mr. Chai famous, several chefs at Shidinglou started preparing the menu, and A Rong was counting the money.
A long way off.
"When Mr. Chai comes, no matter how much he eats, he will pay whatever you put in. Don't worry about saving money for him. The bigger the better, the more money the better."
Song Jin understood. It was similar to some periods in the 21st century. What mattered was the appearance, not the reality.
"What about drinks..."
"This wine must be of better quality. The Shaodaozi yellow wine that most people drink is not acceptable. Let's go buy some of the best daughter's red wine tomorrow..."
When it comes to the lavish banquets of the Ming Dynasty, the maids who have stayed in the Bai family's kitchen for a long time are much more experienced than Song Jin.
"And the goose. We have to buy a big one. We must also buy roast goose, and suckling pig..."
Everyone gathered together, talking at once, as if they were facing a great enemy.
"I think we are still short of manpower. If it doesn't work, we have to borrow some people."
Song Jin sighed. How many people would it take for one person to eat?
"Tomorrow the shopkeeper has to go back to Ma Ti Lane to withdraw money and buy wine and tea on the way. Also, the vegetables and meat have to be ordered in advance."
......
Song Jin listened to the arrangements they made for him, while he made another set of arrangements in his mind.
She knew in her heart that goose was a staple dish in the Ming Dynasty and the main dish at banquets, and its price was not in the same league as other poultry.
For example, this chicken is less than 100 wen each, and the duck is even cheaper, but the goose is at least 500 wen, so goose is a must.
The cooking methods usually include roast goose or crystal goose, but crystal goose is difficult to make in summer. But Song Jin didn't want to make roast goose either, she wanted to make Guangdong Lu Goose.
After all, this restaurant is a Guangdong restaurant, and she can't just serve all the Suzhou dishes. She has to come up with something different.
The second dish was chicken. She knew that there was a saying here that there were three soups and five cuts. Although it was not necessary to have five cuts, there had to be a few cuts.
White-cut chicken is just right here.
"Boss, let's just make it a deal and do it tomorrow."
Song Jin followed their instructions and on the second day followed A Rong and the two maids back to Ma Ti Lane to get the silver. They then went to the vegetable market to buy chickens, ducks and geese, all of which were fresh and were temporarily kept in the backyard.
I picked a medium-sized perch and a few crucian carps to keep together. I prepared Shaoxing Nuerhong and Jinhua wine, and after buying these, I went to buy tea.
Just these preparations cost several taels of silver, not to mention the vegetables, meat and snacks that needed to be purchased that morning.
After shopping, Song Jin did not come back immediately, but walked around the vegetable market with her mother-in-law to see what vegetables were available in the Ming Dynasty and what other tricks she could come up with.
As I walked around, I came up with several dishes in my mind, especially when I saw a stall selling peas. I went up to ask and ordered a pound of young peas on the spot.
The man was stunned and said, "My dear young official, the peas are eaten as beans, what do you want the pods for?"
Song Jin smiled and said, "I want tender bean pods that are still connected, with the beans not yet fully grown. The pods shouldn't be bulging, and the sides should be flat, so you can pinch them to feel the beans inside."
The man was even more confused: "Are you sure? If you pick these beans, you won't be able to return them."
"Don't worry. Send it to Shidinglou in Anju Lane two days in the morning. I need it. If you don't come, I will make trouble for you."
When it comes to delivery, the man is very happy: "Okay, I'll keep it and deliver it to you in two days."
On the way back, the old woman was also curious and asked her why she wanted bean pods instead of beans.
Song Jin smiled evilly: "When I do it, you will know."
The day before Mr. Chai was due to come, Song Jin ran back to the Bai family to find Changsheng and secretly cut several red peppers, so that he had everything ready.
On the morning of the upcoming day, everyone got up early and gathered in the yard when it was still light. Everyone looked at each other and laughed, and encouraged each other.
"If we entertain this great man well, our Shidinglou will become famous."
"The food has to be delicious."
"If you're here, there will be no problem."
......
Song Jin buried his face in the freshly drawn well water and woke up instantly.
The common Suzhou dishes were left to the two maids, while Song Jin concentrated on making his own Cantonese dishes.
The first dish is boiled chicken.
The chicken should not be too big or too old, otherwise the meat will be tough. Song Jin had already chosen this when he bought the chicken.
As soon as they got up, they lit the fire on the stove, boiled water, slaughtered chickens, ducks and geese, and the backyard was bustling with activity.
Song Jin left the task of killing and plucking the chicken to everyone else and went to prepare the soup himself.
She chose bitter melon, soybean and pork ribs soup.
Put the ribs into a pot with cold water, add onion, ginger and wine and cook together. After the water boils, skim off the foam and scoop it into a clay pot.
Remove the two ends of the bitter gourd, cut it in the middle, scrape the pulp with a spoon, and cut it into sections diagonally. Add water to the pot, add oil and salt, bring to a boil, then add the bitter gourd and blanch it.
The melon turned green as soon as it was put into the pot. Song Jin didn't wait any longer, and after boiling it for a few times, he took it out and put it aside.
The soybeans had been soaked last night and were poured into a clay pot. Boiling water was added and the pot was placed on the stove. Chunyun was told to simmer it slowly over low heat.
Chunyun nodded, and then she went to do other things.
While a few people were busy at the back, the two waiters in the front were opening the door and cleaning. The door was not open for long when a little boy of seven or eight years old walked into the store.
"Whose little official are you? Why are you in our store? Who are you looking for?"
"The pods your family wants."
As the boy spoke, he pushed forward a small bamboo basket in his hand, which contained the bean pods that Song Jin had wanted that day.
When the two waiters saw it, they took it first and told the children to wait. He grabbed the basket and went to the backyard to ask Song Jin.
When Song Jin saw that it was just right, he asked the waiter to pay the money and took the bean pods.
The waiter poured the bean pods onto the table and went out with the empty basket.
"My dear, I want all the bean pods. How much money did your family ask for?"
"Eight copper coins, with the edges cut into them."
The waiter smiled and said, "You understand quite well."
The price was right. Ah Rong counted out eight and gave them to him: "Little official, count them and keep them safe. If you lose them, they will be gone."
The child smiled, took it, put it in his arms and ran out.
The people at the back didn't care what the bean pods were used for, they were all very busy.
After preparing the bitter melon soup, Song Jin also killed the chicken that he wanted to make boiled chicken.
Pour boiling water into a large earthenware pot, put in dried red dates, gardenias and ginger slices, and then grab a handful of Codonopsis pilosula. Throw in the chicken skeleton that was specially removed yesterday and simmer it slowly.
After cooking for nearly half an hour, oil began to float on the water surface. Song Jin added half a bowl of salt. This move startled the old woman next to him and she screamed.
"Oh, how can I eat this with so much salt?"
Song Jin smiled and said, "It's okay. We are eating chicken, not drinking soup."
"Oh, this soup could be used to cook noodles, but now it can't be used anymore."
Song Jin ignored it and waited until the water boiled again. Then he grabbed the chicken's head with his bare hands and immersed the whole body of the chicken in the soup. He counted to three times silently and lifted it up. He repeated this three or four times before putting the whole chicken into the soup pot and pouring a small bowl of rice wine into it.
He still reminded Chunyun to use a very low fire and make sure that small bubbles appear in the pot, but never let the water boil.
Chunyun nodded and looked in both directions, one at the stove and the other at the two stoves.
The chicken was almost done, and Song Jin began to prepare to roast her goose.
In order to keep the goose intact, Song Jin did not remove the head and feet, but cooked the whole goose. Fortunately, the pot in the stove was big enough.
The whole goose was evenly marinated with soy sauce, and oil was added to the pan. After the oil was hot, Song Jin grabbed the goose's feet with his hands and slowly fried the goose inside and out in the pan.
When the soy sauce met the hot oil, a rich aroma gushed out, and Chunyun sniffed it under the stove.
“It smells so good.”
Song Jin smiled. The chicken soup was probably too light, so the girl didn't think it was good. However, the soy sauce and meat smelled very good to her. She knew it was big meat as soon as she smelled it.
After the goose was fried until its surface was golden brown and its two wings were also colored, Song Jin took out the goose, cleaned it in the pan, and heated the oil in the pan again.
Sprinkle a handful of shallot pieces, a handful of garlic with skin, star anise, bay leaves and cinnamon and stir-fry until fragrant. Add soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar and a large bowl of water and bring to a boil before adding the goose.
The goose was too big, so Song Jin spent some effort to put the goose's belly against the bottom of the pot to make it easier to absorb the sauce, with the skin facing up so that it could be flavored when the sauce was poured on it at the end.
As it simmers over low heat, the brown sugar dissolves in the sauce soup, and the aroma of the fat, with a hint of sweetness, permeates the entire kitchen, instantly overshadowing the fresh fragrance of the chicken soup.
"What kind of soup is this? Why does it smell sweet?"
“I put a lot of sugar in it.”
"Sweet goose? I've been cooking for most of my life, and I've never seen such a sweet goose."
Song Jin smiled and said, "If you haven't seen it, I guess Mr. Chai has never eaten it either, so just treat it as a taste of something new."
The old woman laughed: "Comparing me with Mr. Chai, you are really good at talking. He is well-informed, unlike us, who have been hiding in the Bai family's kitchen for most of our lives. If you hadn't opened this Shi Ding Restaurant, we probably wouldn't have come out."
"That's right. After this busy period, let's go for a stroll on the street. We are usually busy in the yard, and we are still busy outside. Greeting a Mr. Chai is even more tiring than greeting guests all day."
Song Jin smiled faintly after hearing this. She guessed that there must have been quite a few "prepared dishes" in ancient times.
In the morning, the restaurant prepared everything. When customers came, they had to eat whatever was available. They could not order dishes casually. If they ordered soup, she would have to cook it for half an hour. If they ordered a roast goose, Daming, which had no refrigerator, would have to kill it on the spot. Which customer could wait?
Fortunately, she was obedient and didn't prepare a menu.
While Song Jin was daydreaming, it was time to cook the chicken. He had no ice, so he could only use well water instead.
Mix half well water and half chicken soup together, submerge the whole chicken in it. Whether the soup fat inside can be solidified into gel depends on luck.
When she has money, she will definitely build a big icehouse. She will use ice like crazy in the summer, like a rich person.
Song Jin thought with gritted teeth while plucking the chicken twice.
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