Chapter 8 Cooking Show, Deeply Shocked

Jiang Ning washed the ingredients, took them back to the kitchen and put them aside.

After adding firewood to the stove several times, Jiang Ning scooped up a few grains of rice with a shovel. Seeing that the rice was only a little raw in the middle, she took the colander hanging on the wall and placed it on the wooden basin, scooped up everything in the pot and poured it into the colander to separate the rice and soup.

Then she simply cleaned the pot, poured a few bowls of water into the pot, quickly cut the bitter greens into knuckle lengths and poured them into the pot, put the rice sieve on it, and then poured the rice in the colander into the rice sieve. After using chopsticks to spread it flat, she put a few eggplants directly on the rice and steamed them together. Finally, she covered the pot with a lid, and the step of steaming rice with rice was completed.

Jiang Ning sat in front of the stove, added two more flames, then used a pair of fire tongs to scrape the ash and buried the washed peppers in the hot ash.

Two minutes later, Jiang Ning used the fire tongs to take out the peppers. The green skin of the peppers had been burned into tiger skin, and the smell of burning peppers lingered in the nose. When it was not so hot anymore, Jiang Ning carefully patted the ash, then tore off the burnt skin of the peppers bit by bit with his hands, revealing the clean green flesh inside.

After cutting the roasted chili peppers into a few sections and putting them into a bowl, Jiang Ning then finely cut the green onions into florets, picked up a head of garlic, crushed it, chopped it into garlic cloves, and put them into the bowl. She sprinkled a spoonful of salt, poured two spoonfuls of vinegar and five spoonfuls of soy sauce, and stirred. A bowl of sauce was ready.

In fact, Jiang Ning wanted to add some oyster sauce, chicken essence, sesame oil and the like, but in this era, these seasonings were just a luxury.

After the sauce was prepared and the rice was steamed, Jiang Ning lifted the lid of the pot, and a gust of hot steam with the aroma of rice blew over her face, blinding her eyes.

Jiang Ning took a wet cloth, wrapped her hands, took the rice out of the pot, put it on the stove, and used chopsticks to pick up the eggplant on the rice. The eggplant had been steamed until soft. Jiang Ning used a chopstick in each hand to cut the eggplant into strips, and then poured the prepared roasted pepper sauce on them. A simple dish of roasted pepper and eggplant was ready.

There were also cooked vegetables in the pot. Jiang Ning took them out and rinsed them with cold water to remove the bitter taste. Then she squeezed out the water, heated the oil in a pot, and poured the vegetables into the pot when the oil was 60% hot and stir-fried them for two minutes. Then Jiang Ning picked up the wooden basin and poured the rice soup left over from rinsing the rice into the pot. After boiling over high heat, she added a spoonful of salt. The rice paste and vegetables were ready, and they were removed from the pot and served on a plate.

After working for nearly half an hour, Jiang Ning looked at the two dishes and a bucket of white rice in front of her, feeling very relieved.

Jiang Ning opened the kitchen curtain, looked at Liu Ming'an who was reading, and said, "It's time to eat."

Liu Ming'an looked up, put down the book, and said in surprise, "So soon?"

Jiang Ning turned and went into the kitchen, first brought out the rice and put it on the table, and then put the two prepared dishes on the table. Seeing this, Liu Ming'an hurried to help: "I'll get the bowls and chopsticks."

When the two sat down at the table, Jiang Ning took the bowl and served him a bowl of rice and pushed it to his hand. Liu Ming'an was a little dazed holding the chopsticks.

How long has it been since he had a proper meal like this?

It seemed that after his parents died, he cooked hastily, just to fill his stomach, anyway, he was alone, but he didn't expect that on this morning, he felt that this was a home for the first time in a long time.

Seeing that Liu Mingan didn't move, just staring at the dishes with his chopsticks, Jiang Ning couldn't help but ask, "Don't you like these?"

Liu Mingan pulled himself out of his past thoughts, and was afraid of disappointing his kindness, so he hurriedly explained, "No, I just thought of my parents."

Jiang Ning understood. How could someone who only knew how to make porridge use all the tools in the kitchen? They must have been bought when Liu Mingan's parents were alive, and then his parents passed away, and no one used them, so they were just left there.

"Try my cooking, I wonder if it suits your taste?"

Jiang Ning spoke again. Although she said it modestly, she was still very confident in her cooking skills.

Liu Mingan nodded, stretched out his chopsticks to pick up an eggplant, put it in the bowl, and then picked up a ball of rice and put it into his mouth.

The rice grains were distinct, not too soft or too hard. The eggplant was soft and glutinous, absorbing the flavor of the sauce, the aroma of green onions, garlic, and the unique aroma of roasted peppers. When he took a bite, the aroma of rice mixed with the aroma of vegetables spread in his mouth, which immediately aroused Liu Mingan's appetite.

Jiang Ning observed him calmly, and it was obvious that Liu Mingan liked this roasted pepper eggplant. She pushed the rice paste and vegetables to him and said, "Try this vegetable."

Liu Mingan picked up another chopstick of vegetables and put it into his mouth. This vegetable was in season and the best. He had eaten it for a while, but as soon as he put the dish made by Jiang Ning into his mouth, he had deep doubts.

Is this really a vegetable? Why is there no bitter taste? Why did he never know that this vegetable could be so delicious?

The bitter and astringent vegetables in my impression no longer have a bitter taste, but only a light fragrance that belongs to vegetables. The hard stems have become soft, and they are wrapped with rice paste just out of the pot together with the leaves. With the dry fragrance of stir-frying, the whole dish is refreshing and delicious.

"Miss Jiang Ning, why is this vegetable not bitter?" Liu Mingan couldn't help but ask curiously.

Jiang Ning was holding the rice and picking up the vegetables while saying, "Just blanch it in water."

The studious Liu Mingan asked, "Why can blanching it in water change the taste so much? It's like two different dishes."

"..." Jiang Ning was silent.

This vegetable did show her skills in front of Liu Mingan, but this scholar seemed to have a strong desire for knowledge.

You can't tell him that the vegetables are bitter because they contain mustard oil glycosides, and blanching can destroy these substances, so they are no longer bitter, right?

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Ning said, "Well... you don't have to care so much, just eat it."

After that, Jiang Ning stopped paying attention to him. She had eaten several bowls of vegetable porridge but was not very full. This time, she must enjoy it well.

Liu Mingan saw that she was concentrating on eating and felt embarrassed to disturb her. His greed was also aroused, so he picked up the bowl and started to feast on it.

Liu Mingan ate in a gentle manner. He was originally a person who paid attention to chewing slowly, but he hadn't eaten such delicious food for a long time. At this time, he ate a little hurriedly. After finishing a bowl, he still felt that he was not satisfied, so he added another half bowl for himself.

Jiang Ning has eaten in high-end restaurants, roadside stalls, and has also had the experience of eating compressed biscuits in the wilderness with river water. She can adapt to any dining environment. At this time, she held the bowl and ate slowly, matching Liu Mingan's eating speed.

When Jiang Ning and Liu Mingan finished eating and put down their bowls and chopsticks, the two plates of food on the table were swept clean.

A clean plate is the greatest affirmation of a chef. Jiang Ning glanced at the table and felt a little better.

"You take a rest, I'll go wash the dishes."

Liu Mingan stood up, cleaned the table neatly, and turned to go into the kitchen.

Quite self-aware.

Jiang Ning, who didn't like to wash dishes, looked at his back and felt a little better.