Chapter 231 I envy Li Jianzhi even more!
After Qin Xiangxiang became pregnant, her taste became sensitive, and the factory's conditions improved—at least the pork supply was plentiful, and the island had plenty of seafood and algae, as well as some farm vegetables and fruits.
While it may not be considered delicacies, the food available in the canteen is quite varied and plentiful during the summer and autumn seasons.
Qin Xiangxiang: "I will do everything I can to eat well!"
Previously, the most popular dish in the factory was the braised meat recipe, which was improved using Master Huang's family's ancestral recipe. Now, thanks to the improvements made by the chef and Qin Xiangxiang's golden tongue, a new dish, "Braised Cuttlefish," has been added.
It's an upgraded version of the old braising liquid. The cuttlefish is scored, and then braised until it's flavorful, crisp, and tender, which is highly praised by the workers.
"This squid is so well-braised! Besides steaming or blanching, I never knew fish could be eaten this way!"
"Where would we get the money to make brine at home? We have to get it from the company cafeteria!"
"Can you braise something else?"
Besides the braised cuttlefish, there is also a dish of honey-glazed pumpkin. The factory grows its own pumpkins, which are produced in large quantities in late summer and early autumn. Even now, the factory has pumpkins every day. Everyone is tired of boiled pumpkin, so this honey-glazed pumpkin is steamed and then drizzled with osmanthus honey. It is sweet, soft and sticky.
There was also a chef whose ancestral home was in the north. He used the pig skin from the factory to make crystal pig skin jelly, and added some salted duck eggs and goji berries for seasoning. It was crystal clear, smooth and chewy.
The most prestigious dish in the cafeteria is "braised abalone with pig's trotters in red sauce". In many people's eyes, abalone is a precious ingredient, but that's not the case. The expensive abalone is dried abalone, and the larger the dried abalone, the more valuable it is. Fresh abalone is actually quite common in the seaside and is certainly not comparable to "pig's trotters".
In the 1970s, pork was more expensive than beef because most people disliked beef for being "tender".
After a large number of foreign white pigs were introduced, the meat of the white pigs did not taste as good as that of the local black pork. However, the white pigs grew faster and stronger. Feiyan Textile Factory raised both white pigs and local black pigs. When it comes to "tasting", the black pork is still the best.
White-skinned pigs are more than enough to make braised meat and braised pig's trotters; the lard from white-skinned pigs is still lard.
White-skinned pigs have particularly fatty pork back fat! These pigs are like growth bugs; although they don't taste good, they grow very fast and are suitable for making canned meat, soap, and braised pork trotters rice.
The large-scale supply of pork from Fei Yan Textile Factory's affiliated farm was due to Professor Shen's improved pig feed and Dr. Ye's disease prevention measures, but the most fundamental reason was the introduction of Yorkshire white pigs, which put them at the forefront of the pig farming industry.
In the 1960s and 70s, China continuously introduced white-skinned pigs, but in fact, most places still raised native pigs... By the 1980s, "white-skinned pigs" and "white-feathered chickens" were raised on a large scale throughout the country, and the supply of pork and chicken increased.
In a few decades, white-skinned pigs will be the cheap, ordinary pork in the market, while black pork will be more expensive. Black pork is better suited for stir-frying, as it has less of a fishy smell and tender, flavorful meat.
"These white pigs grow fast and strong, but the pork tastes really just average. Only by making it into heavy ingredients like braised pork can its shortcomings be covered up..." Qin Xiangxiang also noticed that the white pigs tasted rather average, and she noticed the difference even more after becoming pregnant. Therefore, she did not completely abandon black pig farming.
In order for everyone to be able to eat pork, it is only natural to raise more white-skinned pigs, but if you want better taste, you still need better local pigs.
Qin Xiangxiang said, "The only advantage of this white-skinned pig is its lard! You can't really taste the difference in lard, but when you render lard with water, you add some Sichuan peppercorns and spices, and the lard will be especially fragrant!"
"Making braised abalone and pig's trotters in red braising can better cover up the shortcomings of white-skinned pigs. It utilizes the core braising spice recipe from the previous braised pork, and also adds spices such as licorice and dried tangerine peel. It is simmered over low heat... The final product is a bouncy and juicy abalone, and the pig's trotters are so tender that they fall off the bone."
This signature dish, "Braised Abalone and Pig's Trotters in Red Sauce," was developed under Qin Xiangxiang's direction and eventually became a regular dish in the cafeteria, served once a week or every two weeks to enrich the cafeteria's menu.
"And this 'Crab Roe Tofu' is also an improvement I made. It's a special cafeteria version, made by stir-frying salted duck egg yolks from our factory to make 'crab roe', and then making crab roe tofu."
"Besides these, I've also improved some of our island's specialty dishes! For example, poached goose! We even raise geese in our factory now!"
"When it's crab season, we make mud crab stew with eggs. Mud crabs can't compare to blue crabs, but they have a unique flavor. Stewing grilled mud crabs with eggs...it's even more delicious!"
Swimming crabs have roe in May and June, and they taste exceptionally delicious. Currently, there is no fishing ban on the island because the marine resources are abundant and have not been depleted. However, in the future, May and June will be a closed season for fishing, and swimming crabs carrying eggs will generally not be allowed to be eaten.
In late summer and early autumn, the mud crabs gradually develop crab roe and crab fat. Besides steaming, the most classic way to cook these mud crabs on the island is to make mud crab sticky rice.
After cleaning and preparing female crabs with roe, they are soaked in glutinous rice and then mixed with a variety of dishes such as green beans, carrots, mushrooms, and shrimp to make crab glutinous rice.
It was also a dish supplied by Feiyan Textile Factory during the summer and autumn seasons.
"The crabs are getting fatter now, and the plump crab leg meat is like silver threads, delicious and sweet..."
As Qin Xiangxiang described the meal, she watched the man in front of her eat. Today, she had packed him a "braised abalone and pig's trotters" dish from the factory canteen, along with crab sticky rice.
Li Jianzhi took a bite of the braised abalone and listened to the woman's vivid description, which made him feel particularly uncomfortable.
Li Jianzhi: "The food in the factory is too good! You, the factory director, have become a food expert?"
Qin Xiangxiang said, "Our cafeteria also has braised pork belly with shredded pork, which I invented. I'll bring it back for you to try next time."
"And shrimp shumai, and fish ball and seaweed soup!"
Li Jianzhi: "Say that again and I'll break down!"
Qin Xiangxiang: "???? What's wrong with you? Aren't you supposed to be a pretty discerning man? Are you getting jealous too?"
Li Jianzhi: "My wife's creations are meant to be enjoyed by others first, while I'm left eating leftovers? Why am I not the one who gets to try them first?"
"The baby in your belly tasted it for you!"
Xiao Zhier set a date and decided to hold her wedding banquet at the textile factory canteen. The newlyweds spent a lot of money to save face. Xu Guangming even asked his comrades to exchange for imported canned goods, chocolates, candies, and... imported cola!
Xu Guangming: "Even if you eat in the canteen, make more elaborate dishes! This is a matter of your whole life, so make it respectable so that you won't be laughed at by people in the factory in the future."
Xiao Zhier: "Under the leadership of our factory director, the future will definitely get better day by day, and we are not afraid of being laughed at."
The newlyweds informed Jiang Changtian and Xiao Ye, as well as several of Xu Guangming's comrades-in-arms, that they were invited to have their wedding banquet at the textile factory's canteen.
"The textile factory... is run in the canteen?" Xiao Ye sneered. "Jiang Changtian, your navy canteen is famous for being good, but in my eyes, it's still nothing special."
"You should be very grateful that I cook for you at home, so that... Xiao Zhi'er won't have to let her husband eat cafeteria food!"
Jiang Changtian: "Naval kitchens are good, but they also have geographical limitations. There's a lot of seafood... There's a company stationed on an island, and even if they eat abalone and sea cucumber every day... people's eyes will turn green with envy."
"Many of us on the warship couldn't get used to the food either. Years ago, according to Soviet dietary standards, the warships were equipped with ovens to make bread... That bread was not as good as homemade steamed buns! Nobody liked it."
"And that vegetable salad, it doesn't taste as good as pickled cucumbers."
"You've been on the ship for too long. Feeding you bread, seafood, and fish... it's really not as delicious as steamed buns with pickled cucumbers!"
Xiao Ye was taken aback: "What restrictions are there on their textile factory?"
Jiang Changtian: "Their textile factory has an affiliated farm, and the canteen mainly supplies products produced on their own farm. They emphasize self-sufficiency, using their own pigs and vegetables!"
"It's mostly pumpkin, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, and taro will be ready soon too."
"On our island, there are definitely also big yellow croakers and poached geese. When a new son-in-law visits, we always prepare a poached goose and a poached chicken..."
Xiao Ye: "I wonder how meager their food is! These female factory workers work so hard! It makes their families suffer too! Women should stay at home and do laundry, cook, take care of children, and have children. Cooking is a woman's duty!"
"When a woman goes to work, it's like a hen crowing at dawn!"
"Qin Xiangxiang has set a bad example by raising a bunch of hens in our compound, corrupting my sister! I think she and Xu Guangming will divorce sooner or later! Who can stand a wife who works?"
Jiang Changtian: "..."
"Qin Xiangxiang is now a deputy section chief!"
Xiao Ye: "So what if I'm a deputy section chief? I'm still a 'deputy' one, aren't I?"
"That deputy section chief is more capable than the deputy regimental commander! In our family compound, only battalion-level officers can be allocated housing with their military personnel. Qin Xiangxiang is worth more than one man in that family!"
Xiao Ye rolled her eyes: "What good is it if one woman can replace a man? Can two men marry each other? What's the use of having another man in the family? One pillar of the family is enough. If a woman can replace two women, then she's truly useful!"
Have you ever heard the saying, "Two tigers cannot share one mountain"? There are only one male tiger and a few female tigers, but I've never seen a group of male tigers and one female tiger.
Jiang Changtian was dumbfounded.
Xiao Ye's logic is a bit off, but it also seems to make some sense.
Jiang Changtian stopped arguing with Xiao Ye. He didn't care. He only earned a hundred yuan a month and didn't depend on anyone else to live on, so he let Xiao Ye do whatever she wanted.
As long as she doesn't envy her younger sister, Xiao Zhier.
Jiang Changtian, however, greatly envied Xu Guangming and even more so Li Jianzhi!
"This man surnamed Li is incredibly lucky. He must have accumulated good karma over many lifetimes to find such a wonderful wife! I heard his daughter, Sui Sui, was born on the fifth day of the first lunar month... She's a lucky charm! It's an auspicious sign!"
Xiao Ye: "Women are not qualified to be the Goddess of Wealth! Women should be the Queen Mother of the West! They should grow peaches and hold a Peach Banquet!"
On the day of their wedding, Xiao Ye and Jiang Changtian arrived at Feiyan Textile Factory early. Xiao Ye confidently said, "I'll take you to see the factory's canteen. Let me tell you, the canteen is terrible! With my sharp eyes, I can easily find more than a dozen flaws."
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