Spicy and sour radish
After returning from teaching at the Qin family, Fu Zhiqiao had a very leisurely few days, but unfortunately, this leisure did not last long.
Because of the natural makeup she did for Qin Xiyu, the Qin family girls learned from her and wore this makeup every time they went out to meet guests. As a result, more and more people discovered the beauty of this makeup and started to learn how to do it. Natural makeup became popular in the capital.
This result was completely unexpected for Fu Zhiqiao, and at the same time, it made her even more certain that she had not made a mistake in befriending noble ladies.
In the Great Wei Dynasty, the influence of aristocratic families is enormous. I believe that before long, her Taibai Tower will become a major feature of the capital.
The pursuit of beauty by women in the capital is endless. Her goal this time shouldn't be limited to Taibai Tower; perhaps Fuyun Pavilion could also open a branch in the capital.
Last month, she wrote to Yu Roulan, saying that she was doing well in the capital and asked Yu Roulan to bring Xiaoyue over.
Judging by the days, it should be almost here.
Fu Zhiqiao has sent people to guard the city gate these past few days.
Two days later, the servants successfully brought Yu Roulan to safety.
Having not seen her daughter for a long time, the first thing Yu Roulan did was touch her face.
"You've lost weight!" Yu Roulan's nose tingled with emotion. She didn't understand why Fu Zhi Qiao would go to such lengths to open a restaurant in the capital, when her businesses in Qingzhou were thriving. Ever since her daughter left her side, Yu Roulan's heart had been in turmoil, and she only felt relieved when she saw Fu Zhi Qiao's rosy complexion.
Fu Zhiqiao showed Yu Roulan the Taibai Building, which was almost finished with renovations, and reported to her on the achievements she had made during this period.
Yu Roulan felt both gratified and heartbroken upon hearing this. The restaurant had been built up in such a short time. She gently patted Fu Zhiqiao's hand and said reproachfully, "Mother knows my Aqiao is very capable, but girls don't need to work so hard. Besides, the businesses in Qingzhou are enough to ensure we have enough to eat and wear for the rest of our lives."
Fu Zhiqiao pouted: "Mother!"
"Alright, alright! I won't say anything more. You know I'll support whatever you do." Yu Roulan just didn't want her to work too hard.
Fu Zhi Qiao smiled after hearing this. After speaking with Yu Rou Lan, she turned her gaze to Xiao Yue: "Xiao Yue, how are the dishes I prepared for you?"
Before coming to the capital, Fu Zhiqiao left the menu and cooking methods to Xiaoyue and told her to practice them well.
Now that she's in the capital, it's time to test the results of her training.
Yu Roulan was very satisfied with Xiaoyue's cooking skills and said with a smile, "Since you left, Xiaoyue has been cooking for the family for the past few months. I think her cooking is no worse than that of Penglaiju!"
The assessment that it was no worse than Penglaiju's was quite high, which raised Fu Zhiqiao's expectations for Xiaoyue's cooking skills.
Yinxing pulled Xiaoyue to the kitchen. Ever since she got Fu Zhiqiao's recipes, Xiaoyue had devoted herself to studying cooking. She wouldn't say that her cooking skills had improved significantly, but she was not afraid of the upcoming test at all.
In the kitchen, Xiaoyue took a deep breath, rolled up her sleeves, and prepared to get to work. She checked the ingredients available in the kitchen and finally made the three dishes that Fu Zhiqiao had specified.
The dishes were ginger wine duck, flaming drunken shrimp, and rice wine steamed chicken. Although there weren't many dishes, they were more than enough to showcase the chef's skills.
Fu Zhi Qiao tasted several dishes in turn, and her favorite was ginger wine duck. The duck pieces were fully fried to render the fat and become crispy and fragrant. The sauce coating the duck pieces was very thick. With one bite, the crispy aroma and the aroma of wine burst in her mouth.
She put down her chopsticks. "Very good. You've done a very authentic job with this ginger wine duck. However, you didn't control the heat of the other two dishes well, especially the steamed chicken with rice wine. It was steamed for too long, and the chicken became tough."
Fu Zhi Qiao pointed out some areas for improvement, which Xiao Yue noted down, preparing to continue improving the flavor according to her requirements.
Two cooks accompanied Xiaoyue on her trip to Beijing. The taller one was named Han Rong, and the shorter one was named Tang Xingkang. They were recruited by Fu Zhiqiao from Qingzhou.
There's a saying in the martial arts world: "Teach your apprentice, and you'll starve." That's why craftsmen generally don't pass on their unique skills to outsiders; they either pass them on to their children or to their apprentices.
These two chefs, nearing middle age, had never seen a chance to advance their careers. Fu Zhi Qiao bribed them with several recipes and secret formulas, promising to make them head chefs. This persuaded them to sign a ten-year contract, after which the two followed her to the capital.
A good chef is crucial to the restaurant's development, and after much deliberation, Fu Zhi Qiao decided that bringing chefs from Qingzhou would be more convenient. These two chefs were from Qingzhou, and being unfamiliar with the capital, they would have no choice but to rely on her wholeheartedly and wouldn't harbor any disloyalty.
After the chefs were selected, Fu Zhiqiao gave them the restaurant's menu and asked Xiaoyue to guide them in practicing.
Because three people needed to practice cooking, the amount of food used in the small kitchen increased dramatically, and each time we went out to buy groceries, we had to arrange for two or three people to barely make ends meet.
Fu Zhiqiao simply had the villagers of Guojia Village deliver the vegetables to her door.
The person sent by Guojia Village to deliver vegetables was named Guo Wu. He had been delivering vegetables to the courtyard for five or six days in a row. Unlike before, today after delivering the vegetables, he asked an extra question: "Does the owner want to buy radishes?"
This year, the radishes in the village had a bumper harvest, but since every household grows radishes, they don't fetch a good price, and there's more than enough to eat. So, he mentioned it when he came to deliver vegetables to the courtyard.
The people in the kitchen relayed Guo Wu's message to Fu Zhiqiao.
"Radish?" Fu Zhi Qiao pondered for a moment. "Let me see it."
The basket was filled with plump, white radishes.
Guo Wu took out a radish, broke it open, and showed it to Fu Zhi Qiao. "Boss, look, this radish was just pulled from the ground, it's so fresh and juicy!"
Fu Zhi Qiao had no idea how to tell the difference between good and bad radishes, but as she looked at these fresh radishes, an idea popped into her head.
"Send some over tomorrow!"
The next day, the farm delivered 500 catties of radishes.
For a moment, everyone in the kitchen was chopping radishes.
Wash the radish thoroughly without peeling it, then cut it into strips about one inch long. Sprinkle salt evenly over the radish strips, mix well with your hands, and let it sit for an hour. After an hour, drain the water from the pickled radish strips, wash them, and let them air dry.
This part was entirely handled by the cook, while Xiaoyue prepared the ingredients.
Boil water, let it cool, then add white vinegar, salt, and sugar cubes to make a vinegar sauce. Meanwhile, slice garlic and set it aside.
After the vinegar sauce cooled down, Fu Zhiqiao scooped up a little to taste the saltiness, and nodded after confirming that there was no problem.
After receiving positive feedback, Xiaoyue continued the pickling process, pouring vinegar into the pickled radish strips, adding garlic slices and mixing well. Then, she put the mixed radish strips into a clean earthenware jar, and finally poured in the cooled vinegar to complete the process.
Several jars were filled to the brim, and after being covered, they were stored in a cool, dark room.
"Girl, is this all you need?" Xiaoyue was still a little incredulous after putting the vegetables into the jar. Could pickled vegetables really be made like this?
Fu Zhiqiao pointed to a jar of sliced radishes and said, "Hmm, this jar can be eaten after pickling for half a day. Don't mix it with the others."
When preparing the radishes, Fu Zhiqiao specifically instructed that the kitchen staff should cut them into strips, while Xiaoyue should cut them into thin slices. Radish strips are thicker and don't absorb flavor as easily, so they need to be marinated for two more days before eating. Radish slices, on the other hand, are different; a thin slice can be eaten after marinating for an hour or two.
During dinner, Xiaoyue brought over a plate of radish slices.
The radishes had been pickled for two or three hours and were fully flavored. When they were served, the air was filled with a mouthwatering sour aroma.
"Mother, try it quickly."
Yu Roulan was the first to pick up her chopsticks. She took a bite with a "crunch," and her eyes lit up immediately. The radish slices were perfectly balanced between sour and spicy, and the crispness of the radish itself made her mouth water.
"Ah Qiao, where did you learn this method of pickling radishes?" Yu Roulan asked, puzzled. Her daughter's business acumen could be attributed to her family background, but where did she learn to write recipes and pickle vegetables?
Fu Zhiqiao had already come up with a reason: "I saw farmers pickling radishes in the countryside, but they pickled them for half a year, and the pickled radishes were too sour to eat. So I thought of improving it, and shortened the pickling time of the radishes. As a result, the taste was surprisingly good."
Yu Roulan nodded, then picked up another piece of food with her chopsticks. "Does this side dish have a name?"
"Yes, it's called spicy and sour crispy radish."
After the lady and young lady had tasted it, Granny Cui picked up her chopsticks: "In my opinion, this spicy and sour radish is very suitable to accompany the porridge."
Ginkgo, chewing on a slice of radish, added, "It's also great as a snack!"
Fu Zhiqiao and Yu Roulan exchanged a smile as they watched Ginkgo nuts being eaten with great relish.
After tasting it, Fu Zhiqiao told Yu Roulan about her idea of using spicy and sour radish as an appetizer at Taibailou.
It's true that everyone loves to eat hot food in the dead of winter, but she deliberately did the opposite, using this cool, spicy, and crunchy radish as an appetizer.
Ginkgo asked, puzzled, "Girl, what are appetizers?"
"After the guests order their food, while they wait for the dishes to be served, we bring them a plate of spicy and sour radish. This allows them to eat the radish before their meal, which helps them pass the time while waiting for the food and also shows that Taibailou provides thoughtful service!"
“Young lady, this is an excellent idea. The radish is sour and spicy, which will surely enhance the guests’ appetite.” Granny Cui agreed. She was used to serving people and knew that sour and spicy flavors were the most appetizing. This dish would definitely be popular in the restaurant.
Having dealt with ledgers extensively, Yu Roulan was particularly interested in pricing, and asked, "How much do you plan to sell this dish for?"
"I'm not selling them; I plan to give each table a plate for free!"
Whether used as an appetizer before a meal or to cleanse the palate after a meal, it's excellent. Once you've tried it, you'll never forget its tangy and crunchy flavor.
Yu Roulan nodded after hearing this, indicating that she understood. Fu Zhi Qiao was in charge of all business matters, and she would not interfere too much.
With more than a month to go before the Chinese New Year and about ten days until the restaurant opens, Fu Zhiqiao is busy finishing up at the restaurant in the next few days.
Defu, as the manager of Taibailou, was also busy assigning tasks to everyone. He went to the kitchen and carefully checked every nook and cranny. After finding any omissions, he immediately directed two old women to clean them again.
The kitchen is the lifeblood of a restaurant, and the hygiene and cooking environment of the kitchen are of paramount importance. There can be no mistakes, and the eaves and corners must be kept truly clean and tidy.
"Han Rong, after you get the menu, take stock of the kitchen's inventory. Write down anything you're missing so I can send someone to buy it in time. We must ensure that all the ingredients are available on opening day!"
Fu Zhiqiao wasn't worried about the food supply.
The supply channel to Guojia Village was found by Sheng An, who was a member of the Prince Duan's Mansion. She believed that no one would be so foolish as to try to deceive the Prince's Mansion. However, just to be on the safe side, she still had Defu conduct random checks from time to time to prevent the deliverymen from being negligent and passing off inferior goods as superior ones.
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