"It's alright, you go ahead and do your thing, everything's fine here," Teacher Feng replied without turning her head, looking very focused. Chen Bing nodded and turned to go back to the living room.
Just then, he suddenly noticed a small problem.
"Teacher, do you need to soak the chicken legs you bought beforehand to remove the blood?"
"Oh, we still need chicken legs? I was thinking it wouldn't be convenient to slice them for hot pot. Look, I bought beef slices and tripe, so we don't need chicken legs anymore, right?" Teacher Feng put down the cleaver and replied rather innocently.
"So, what kind of broth should we use for the hot pot?"
What is the broth for hot pot?
Chen Bing remained silent, and even Teacher Feng was somewhat confused, not knowing what Chen Bing meant.
"Teacher, you're not planning to just boil water and add hot pot broth, are you?"
No, that's not it.
Hearing this reply, Chen Bing breathed a slight sigh of relief, but the other party's next words made him hold his breath back.
"I first stir-fry the scallions, ginger, and garlic in oil until they are fragrant before adding water."
Chen Bing: ...
Thankfully, thankfully he came over on his own initiative, otherwise tonight's dinner would have been ruined.
Seeing that Teacher Feng looked like a complete novice in the kitchen, Chen Bing couldn't help but explain to him: "The broth for hot pot must be made from broth used to cook pork ribs, chicken, lamb, etc. If you only use the broth base, the food won't be fresh and the flavor won't be enough."
"But I saw that people at hot pot restaurants all add tap water."
"Teacher, you probably didn't recognize it, but when the staff added the soup base, they used one of those opaque pots, right? Actually, it's pre-cooked broth in there, not tap water."
After this explanation, Teacher Feng immediately understood. He nodded repeatedly, agreeing that making hot pot requires first simmering the broth. However, how exactly should he simmer it? He had no experience with that.
Seeing the bewildered look in Teacher Feng's eyes, Chen Bing knew it was his turn to step in. So he rolled up his sleeves and quietly joined the preparations for dinner.
Seeing this, Teacher Feng did not act arrogantly and allowed the other party to do as they pleased.
Making chicken soup isn't actually that difficult. The reason some people can't make it well is mainly because they haven't memorized the steps. Our classmate Chen Bing has been interested in cooking since his past life, and he basically cooks his own dinner during his working years after graduation, so making a simple chicken soup is a piece of cake for him.
The first step was to prepare the ingredients. Fresh chicken was the best choice, preferably free-range or old hen. However, since there were only a few chicken legs at home, and chicken bouillon could be added later for seasoning, Chen Bing didn't ask for too much. After cutting the large chicken legs into suitable sizes, Chen Bing asked Teacher Feng to find ginger slices, scallion segments, goji berries, red dates, and other seasonings.
The second step is crucial, and it's also a step where many kitchen novices easily make mistakes. Remember to blanch the chicken pieces in boiling water first to remove blood and impurities, then drain and set aside for the next step of stewing. Otherwise, the chicken soup will not only be dirty, but it will also have an indescribable strange taste.
Once all the ingredients are prepared, the next step is simple stewing. Place the blanched chicken pieces, ginger slices, and scallion segments into a stew pot, adding enough water to cover the chicken. If you're worried about a fishy smell, or if the chicken will be cooking for a longer time, you can add some cooking wine. After bringing it to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 1-2 hours until the chicken is tender. After this step, you should add seasonings such as salt and pepper, but since this is a hot pot, just add a hot pot base.
And so, under Chen Bing's skillful cooking, a fresh and spicy hot pot broth was quickly prepared.
Next, here's what you need to do at the hot pot restaurant: move the induction cooker and stove to the table, put on the chopped ingredients, add a few bowls of rice, pour a few drinks, and then you can start eating.
"Son! Dinner's ready. Come and try your brother Bing's cooking."
After everything was ready, Old Feng finally managed to snap Little Feng out of his TV show with a loud call. He glanced at the clock nervously, only to realize he had been watching TV for over an hour. Looking down, he saw that his older brother, who had come to visit, had somehow gone to the kitchen to help.
He immediately felt a pang of guilt and thought that after finishing his meal, he would seize the time to start studying.
"Come on, the chicken has been stewed for a while now, let me have a taste first." After calling her son to eat, Teacher Feng plopped down on the stool, picked up a piece of chicken leg with her chopsticks, and took a bite.
"Hmm! You really have to admit, it's even better than the hot pot I make. So this is how you make hot pot!" Teacher Feng gave Chen Bing a thumbs up and showered her with praise. "Alright, alright, thanks to you today, I made a good meal. I was originally planning to invite you over, but instead, you ended up cooking for me."
After expressing her apologies, Teacher Feng changed the subject and told everyone to start eating without waiting for Chen Bing's reply.
The conversation during the meal was rather uneventful. Chen Bing simply answered some questions about himself and talked about his learning experiences, which earned him repeated praise from the Feng father and son.
It was lively and nice. But for some reason, Chen Bing kept thinking about Shang Yunmiao during the meal, wondering what she was doing now, and how she could take her to the supermarket and cook a meal when she had some free time.
Amidst this conversation and daydreaming, the table full of side dishes and drinks was quickly finished.
After having a good meal at his teacher's house, Chen Bing realized it was getting dark. Thinking it was time for him to leave, he told Teacher Feng that he was going to go. As expected, Teacher Feng tried to persuade him to stay for a few minutes, but then stopped arguing and readily took Chen Bing back to Baishi.
Around 8 p.m., Mr. Feng returned home after dropping Chen Bing off. As soon as he entered the door, he saw his son doing his homework at the coffee table.
After a fleeting hint of satisfaction in his eyes, he called out to his son from afar, "Son! It's Friday, so it's good for you to rest a bit."
"It's okay, Dad. If I finish my homework early, I can learn something else sooner," Xiao Feng replied without looking up. This made Teacher Feng even more satisfied. He found a cup, made his son a cup of coffee, and then went back to his bedroom, not wanting to disturb his studies.
Less than half an hour after he left, Xiao Feng, who could no longer suppress his playful thoughts, closed his workbook and then watched TV with a guilty heart.
Before they knew it, it was nine o'clock in the evening. With the sound of a door opening, Xiao Feng hurriedly turned off the TV and looked up at the doorway.
At the same time, Lao Feng also heard the noise at the door and came out of the bedroom to check.
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