Chapter 64: Lunch
When Su Ruojin came back, it was already late, and dishes that required time to stew or were complicated to prepare were not suitable: "Let's have some simple ones."
Cheng Yingzhen glared at her daughter. "One is Lord Fan's son, and the other is the youngest son of Prince Jin. Neither of them can be neglected."
"I know!"
Su Ruojin has her own ideas. There is a saying that goes, you may be just one bottle of sauce away from becoming a chef.
Since becoming the head of the family, Su Ruojin has had money in her pocket and has been buying all kinds of sauces, such as sweet noodle sauce, bean paste, sesame paste, meat sauce, etc. The barbecue sauce for the outing was made from these basic sauces.
What kind of flavors do the two little boys like?
Su Ruojin saw that Mrs. Dong bought pork ribs, so she ordered sweet and sour pork ribs. It was the first dish served on the table. It was sweet and sour, delicious, and fragrant, so it would whet their taste buds first.
What about the second one? She saw a pair of lamb legs: "This is..."
"The young prince brought this as a gift. I was afraid it would get damaged by the hot weather, so I brought it here." Cheng Yingzhen felt scared when she saw the big lamb leg. She could stir-fry or stew it, but she couldn't cook such a big lamb leg.
Su Ruojin's eyebrows twitched, and she said, "Then let's have three ways of cooking the lamb leg - braised, roasted, and stewed." She didn't believe that there were little boys who didn't like roasted meat. As she spoke, she asked Dong's mother to quickly divide the lamb leg into three parts, chop the top part into small pieces and braise it, and chop the bones at the bottom to make soup. If they could finish it in time, they could have a sip. If it wasn't cooked enough and couldn't be served on the table, they could just drink it at home in the evening, and the middle part could be roasted.
Under Su Ruojin's command, the small kitchen was busy with work, from helping hands to cooking and lighting fires. If there was an oven, they could just throw the marinated food directly into the oven, but now they had to take out the grill, and it was really busy with smoke and fire.
There was so much noise in the kitchen and yard that the men in the study came out one after another.
Without a high-temperature oven, relying on a grill is really a test of one's endurance. Su Ruojin stood beside the grill and directed Shu Tong to turn and apply seasoning at the same time. Maybe Shu Tong had no talent and always failed to do it right, which made Su Ruojin sweat profusely.
Su Yanli shook his head, came over and took the lamb leg, turning it with one hand and brushing the seasoning with the other, neither hurried nor slow. It was an obviously hot day, but he stood in front of the grill and created a feeling of being in the spring breeze.
Su Ruojin gave his father a thumbs up, "Then Dad, I'll leave this to you!"
Su Yanli smiled at his daughter, "Go!" gently and dotingly.
Su Ruojin was so happy that he bared his teeth at his father.
Dr. Su was gentle and refined in the Imperial College. He stood in front of the podium, pacing with a book in one hand. He wore a white robe with wide sleeves, like a hermit. His classmates said that he had the style of the Wei and Jin dynasties and was a scholar with a fairy-like demeanor.
Zhao Lan couldn't bear to look directly at it, and looked up at the sky. Is this still the Dr. Su that his classmates said was out of touch with the world? His eyes swept over the young lady who ran into the kitchen with a thud, and he sneered, it was this young lady who brought the master back to the world.
Alas! It must be said that there is a reason why Lord Fan admires Su Yanli. He has a romantic temperament that is rare in middle-aged men. He lacks the worldly atmosphere and can make people forget worldly affairs temporarily, making people feel poetic and picturesque.
Su Ruojin didn't know that Zhao Lan was sneering at her again. Food is the most important thing for people, so she was very busy. She went into the kitchen to cook other dishes. With the lamb leg as the main dish, she made vegetarian dishes, cold dishes, desserts, and a small stack of pancakes. Later, whether it was wrapped around the roasted lamb leg, or the vegetarian dishes or cold dishes, it would be a perfect match.
Bianjing City belongs to the north, and the staple food is noodles. At the end of the meal, everyone must want to eat something light, so they ordered some Suzhou-style Yangchun noodles.
Don't think that Yangchun noodles are just plain noodles or clear soup noodles. The simpler they are, the more they test one's cooking skills. The Su family's breakfast, Xiaolongbao, etc. all need broth to enhance the flavor, so Su Ruojin took the broth, and then mixed it with boiled scallion oil and ground shrimps as MSG. The noodle soup is clear and fresh, light and refreshing. A bowl of it in the hot weather in early May is simply too good.
Fan Yanjia couldn't stand in the corridor. He couldn't help but walk across the corridor to the kitchen door. He saw Su Erniang standing on a small stool cooking. He was so shocked that he almost opened his mouth.
The Su family...
"Don't block the wind at the door." Su Ruojin was almost dying of heat from cooking, and now someone came to get in the way.
“That…that…”
"Yes, I can't afford a cook." She knew what this guy was thinking.
Fan Yanjia: …
Su Erniang, are you the worm in my stomach?
When he thought about eating soon, why did he think about such disgusting things? He quickly shook his head and moved towards the door, but he didn't leave. The Su family was poor, Fan Yanjia knew it. He saw Dr. Su borrow money from his father twice, so it seemed normal that they couldn't afford a cook. But Su Er Niang, such a small person, stood in front of the stove and held the spoon, it was really...
Fan Yanjia now looks at the Su family with sympathy...
Su Ruojin was so busy that she had no time to pay attention to the young boy's sorrow and sympathy. Even if she knew, she would just roll her eyes and say to him: Haven't you heard that when a man meets you after three days, you should look at him with new eyes?
Uh... this sentence doesn't seem appropriate here. Never mind, the dishes are ready and I'm making the sauce now.
Of course, there was no chili sauce in the Dayin Dynasty without chili peppers, but there were still soybean paste, soy sauce, and vinegar. As long as she had these, Su Ruojin could easily make sweet noodle sauce, bean paste, and meat sauce.
She mixed an all-purpose sauce, scooped it into small plates and placed it in a row on the table, one plate for each person.
The Su family joined forces and finally prepared a table for the feast.
The weather was fine, with a gentle breeze. Finally, at Su Ruojin's suggestion, we moved a table to have lunch in the shade under the corridor, facing the peach and plum trees in the courtyard, which was quite a sight.
It was the season when cherries were ripe, but they were relatively expensive, so Su Ruojin only bought some and made cherry juice. At noon today, except for Su Yanli who was an adult, Fan and Zhao were too young to drink, so they all took out the cherry juice and drank it.
The table was full, and Su Yanli invited the two young guests to start eating. "It's just a simple meal, please don't be disgusted."
Fan Yanjia was quite understanding and quickly said with a smile, "You're welcome, teacher."
Zhao Lan still had a listless look on his face, saying "Who are you? I don't want to bother with you." While everyone was waiting for him to pick up his chopsticks, he glanced around and didn't seem to see anything delicious. Shuangrui, the personal servant, reluctantly picked up a dish of cordyceps and lettuce for his master.
If he doesn't eat a bite, no one else can pick up their chopsticks! Su Ruojin lowered her eyes and sneered secretly, "Ancestor, you are really a living ancestor. You have been busy until now and are so hungry, and you finally pick up your chopsticks!"
As if hearing someone's impatient voice, Zhao Lan slowly took the chopsticks from the waiter and picked up a piece of cordyceps lettuce shreds. He paused for a moment and chewed it slowly and elegantly.
Shuangrui was secretly delighted. Hey, the young master didn't seem to dislike it. He quickly picked up another piece of food with chopsticks.
Zhao Lan answered again.
Everyone was relieved to see that he was eating well. Oh my god! He can finally eat.
Fan Yanjia had long been eyeing the roasted lamb leg, the skin was crispy but not burnt, and it was shiny but not greasy. He took the first piece of roasted lamb, dipped it in the sauce and put it in his mouth. As he had expected, it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and it was oily but not greasy. With the spicy and numbing sauce, it was so delicious.
My dears, I didn't have time to finish the update at noon. I'm at work during the day, so I'll update it in the evening!!!
(End of this chapter)
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