Sauerkraut fish, apple pork chops, stir-fried squid with pick-up lines...
When they returned to the West Building, Rong Cheng was also back, sharing ice cream with Wu Jianing, each taking a spoonful.
The mango-flavored ice cream is topped with a thick layer of pistachio crunch, giving it a crunchy texture. The unique nutty aroma and oiliness of pistachios fill the mouth, but you can't smell any odor from the outside.
It's quite wonderful to pair it with something as soft and easily melted as ice cream.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen corridor, Lin Changli and Du Yuan were preparing dinner for the evening.
A special sink was built under the corridor specifically for washing vegetables with strong odors and a fishy smell.
It's not just about meat dishes.
For example, the sauerkraut in Lin Changli's hand.
The pickled cabbage was leftover from when I made the sauce for pickled cabbage beef noodles last time. The longer it's pickled, the saltier and chewier it becomes, and the stronger its aroma will be.
Lin Changli maintained a calm demeanor, while Little Phoenix was already vomiting uncontrollably.
Sangye even suspected that Du Yuan did it on purpose.
After squeezing out the water from the sauerkraut, Lin Changli let it air dry for a while before cutting it into small pieces.
Du Yuan was scraping a fish on the other side, a grass carp weighing seven or eight pounds.
With a gentle stream of water, scrape and rinse the scales, the scales mixed with slime being flushed into the sewer.
Du Yuan deftly cut open the fish's belly, discarding the scraps and leaving only the bladder; then, holding the fish by its back, she tore off the incredibly fishy black line, revealing the firm, garlic-clove-like flesh on the grass carp—clearly the result of her previous practice swimming backwards in her cave.
"Are we having pickled fish tonight?" Sangye moved closer to the two of them, looking at Lin Changli, who was holding his breath, with amusement. He blinked innocently.
"Yes," Du Yuan said with a smile. "We'll kill a few more later, slice more fish, and make more. Someone from the hospital came by earlier, but they didn't see you. They did tell me that their demand has been quite high lately, and it seems the previous treatment has been effective; some Sentinels are awake."
No wonder Lin Changli cut so much sauerkraut.
"That's a good thing." Sangye rolled up his sleeves, walked to the pool opposite the two of them, scooped fish out of the bucket, and joined in the fish-killing.
The robots here are only equipped with the most basic learning modules; they really can't handle delicate tasks like killing fish.
"Anything else to do tonight?" Kuwano asked.
"Make the kids some apple stewed pork chops to supplement their vitamins." Du Yuan learns new words very quickly. "Add one more dish, you order."
Kuwano thought for a moment and said, "Let's stir-fry the squid. We haven't had enough seafood yet."
"Okay." Du Yuan turned around, rummaged around, and brought out a bucket of squid.
The squid has a long body, each about one meter long, and is shaped like a long spear, with a triangular head.
Kuwano likes to eat squid, but he really dislikes killing squid. Killing squid involves cutting off its head, removing its internal organs, pulling out its teeth, gouging out its eyes, washing its suckers, removing its cartilage, and tearing off its skin... It sounds like some kind of cruel punishment.
But Sangye had a clever idea. She called out into the room, "Chengcheng!"
Rong Cheng agreed quickly and ran out soon, her eyes sparkling: "Senior sister, call me."
"Kill the squid," Sangye said, pointing to the bucket.
"Okay." Rong Cheng rolled up her sleeves and enthusiastically joined the preparation of the dishes.
Rong Cheng's true form is a three-legged golden crow, and it is never afraid of strangely shaped aquatic creatures.
As for Wu Jia Ning, who followed him out after finishing her ice cream, Kuwano originally wanted her to go play.
However, Du Yuan handed her a basket of apples and told her to use a rotary cutter to peel them, and that all she had to do was crank the handle.
The apple's surface will oxidize quickly, but it won't have a significant impact since it will continue to be stewed later.
Plus, Wu Jia Ning is small and has small hands, so she's slow. By the time Sangye and the others have finished preparing the dishes, Wu Jia Ning might not have even peeled a few pieces yet.
"Let the child do something under your nose, otherwise she might get into trouble somewhere if you're not careful," Du Yuan said with considerable experience. "If the child is quiet, she's definitely up to something."
Pickled cabbage was the quickest to process, and Lin Changli quickly finished chopping a whole jar. Sangye then asked him to chop the squid that Rongcheng had already cleaned.
Cut off the squid tentacles separately, then cut the squid body in half lengthwise. First, score it into a lattice pattern, then slice it into thin slices. This way, it will curl up nicely when heated. Some people don't cut it in half and make squid rings directly, but I think squid slices absorb the flavor better.
After cleaning the fish, Sangye carried a bucket of fish and a bucket of squid back to the kitchen. He first marinated them with cooking wine, ginger, scallions, and minced garlic to remove the fishy smell.
Then prepare the pork chops.
Sangye chose pork belly and some crispy spare ribs.
After washing, marinate the vegetables with garlic cloves, black pepper, olive oil, and a pinch of rose salt for a while.
This time, they made a large batch. After Sangye marinated the pork chops, the three people outside the kitchen had already prepared all the dishes and came back with Wu Jia Ning holding an apple.
As evening fell and the air grew cooler outside, Du Yuan closed the two windows and let Rong Cheng and Wu Jia Ning continue peeling the apples.
Everyone else performed their respective duties.
On one side, Du Yuan added egg white, starch, salt, and ginger and scallion juice to the fish meat and mixed it until it became sticky.
Heat cold oil in a wok, then sprinkle in a handful of dried chilies. With a "whoosh," the chilies burst open, releasing a pungent, hot aroma. Du Yuan, unfazed, quickly toss in a handful of pickled cabbage, stir-frying until fragrant. Add water, bean sprouts, dried bean curd sticks, and other vegetables to the bottom of the wok. Once it bubbles and cooks for the first time, add the fish fillets. Cover and cook for one minute before serving.
Sprinkle chopped green onions, cilantro, and dried chili peppers directly on the surface, then pour a spoonful of hot oil over it. The aroma is instantly released and fills the kitchen.
Du Yuan took a bite and was very satisfied: "Wow, my cooking skills haven't gotten any worse!"
Du Yuan never cooks large-pot dishes. Large-pot dishes easily lose the original flavor of the ingredients, and in order to cook them thoroughly, they are always cooked for a long time and then simmered for a long time, resulting in some ingredients becoming mushy and others becoming tough.
The first batch was divided into three large bowls and set aside to keep warm.
Then she started preparing the second pot.
Meanwhile, Kuwano pan-fried the pork chops until golden brown on both sides, creating a mountain of chops, and placed them in a colander. Then he added apple chunks and stir-fried them with onions until just cooked through. After that, he added the pork chops, tomato sauce, water, rosemary, and a whole block of butter and stewed them together.
This dish is essentially a fruit stew with meat, using the sweet and sour taste of the fruit to balance the greasiness of the meat. You can substitute apples with pineapple, pears, oranges, or other similar fruits.
Because Wu Jia Ning was still a child, Sangye did not add alcohol as a base.
However, there aren't many restrictions on adding spices when stewing. White beer, dark beer, red wine, rosemary, tomatoes, and basil are all suitable.
In Sangye's opinion, this dish is a rare example of something that can be made with anything, and in terms of difficulty and the precision of the ingredients, it is not as good as Guo Bao Rou (sweet and sour pork).
Moreover, this is very suitable for making "big pot meals" because it requires a long stewing time anyway, so it's just a matter of dividing it into several pots and stewing it together.
After cooking, the pork chops were tender and soft, the apples were translucent and turned mushy when poked, the broth was thick and had an amber sheen, and Sangye added pineapple chunks for color garnish.
While the stew was simmering, Sangye had already started preparing the next dish—stir-fried squid.
It's a very simple dish, but it incorporates the freshness of seafood. The squid meat is both chewy and springy, and it uses the stir-frying method that best brings out the flavor of the ingredients.
Blanch the squid in boiling water.
Wet the knife before cutting the onion, cut it in half lengthwise and then into thin strips. Prepare the red and green peppers by cutting them into pieces.
Heat oil in a wok, then sauté minced garlic, onion, and two kinds of chili peppers until they are just cooked through. Add the squid and stir-fry for a few minutes. Add fermented bean paste, oyster sauce, and chicken bouillon. No need to add salt, otherwise it will be too salty when it's done.
Finally, add a small bowl of water, cover the pot, and simmer.
When it's done cooking, the squid tentacles are slightly curled, the squid slices are rolled into a nice arc, coated with amber-colored broth, and garnished with green and red peppers, creating a distinct color scheme.
As for the staple food, Kuwano still prepared white rice, as noodles are prone to clumping.
Meanwhile, Rong Cheng, after peeling the apples, set up a small stove by the vent, brewed a pot of tea, and made a pot of roasted milk. A small grill was also set up on the stove, with longan, tangerines, and other hydrating fruits on it.
Wu Jianing and Lin Changli sat beside her, the three of them enjoying their tea and fruit. They couldn't help at all with the cooking.
The kitchen was filled with the aroma of various delicious foods, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.
The prepared food was divided and handed over to the robot to be delivered to the hospital and several officers who had ordered the meals.
The sentinels on Black Tower Star are all quite wealthy, and many of them are willing to order food from Sangye. After taking on a few orders, Sangye felt overwhelmed and declined the rest, but he would provide semi-finished products instead.
What remained was dinner for the five of them.
The meal featured a perfect blend of sour, sweet, spicy, and numbing flavors, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
If we're talking about who enjoys their meal the most, then we have to look at Wu Jia Ning.
Du Yuan had raised so many children, and now that there were no children to raise here, she felt a little lonely.
However, Sangye and Rongcheng repeatedly warned him never to pick up children around here, and that even if he did, he must immediately hand them over to the military or police. Due to the influence of spiritual power, the birth rate in the interstellar world is extremely low; every child is precious, and if Du Yuan were to bring a child back one day, everyone here would likely be investigated.
Du Yuan herself didn't want to pick up children everywhere, but she seemed to have some special constitution, always managing to encounter lone children. Suddenly, there were no children to pick up, and she was still a little unaccustomed to it.
That's why Du Yuan loves watching Wu Jianing eat, constantly praising her for eating cleanly, eating a lot, and not being picky. He also has to mention Rong Cheng and Sangye, one who's always out in the mountains like a wild man and never comes home for meals, and the other who's picky about food, refusing to eat this or that.
Sangye had something to say about this: "She's never eaten anything since she was little, so of course everything tastes delicious to her. I've eaten everything, so I definitely have my own preferences."
Du Yuan rolled her eyes: "If you were just a normal picky eater, I wouldn't say anything. But you won't eat chickens that are over five months old, fish that aren't raised in spring water, or seafood that wasn't made by our master."
Sangye buried his head in his rice, not daring to say a word.
Lin Changli looked at her and laughed.
Sangye heard this, looked up and glared at her: "Don't laugh."
Lin Changli raised an eyebrow, giving off an arrogant "What can you do to me?" look.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
