Chapter 39 That Must Be
Since they were going to have a dinner together in the evening, Xu Zhichun and his friends decided to use the afternoon to dig konjac to make konjac tofu and konjac knots.
After digging up the konjac, washing it, peeling it and dicing it, Xu Zhichun lit a fire and stewed the whole pork elbow and chopped pig's trotter.
After the pork elbow is stewed until soft, add soy sauce and a little brown sugar to a separate pot to reduce the sauce. This is a tender and delicious braised pork elbow. Add diced white radish to the pig's trotter and make a broth. When serving, sprinkle with a handful of green onions and cilantro for flavor.
The big rooster was killed and plucked as soon as possible.
Xu Zhichun didn't dare to kill the chicken. Although Aunt Zhu'er looked gentle and polite, she was very skillful at killing chickens. With a flick of the knife, the chicken blood dripped into the bowl, and soon the big rooster died.
Roast potato cubes with a big rooster and some dried bamboo shoots that were sun-dried a while ago.
Add some hot and sour potato shreds and we're done.
After collecting the agar-agar seeds, I started to cook dinner.
The pig's feet and radish that have been slowly cooked over low heat are already very soft. The big pork elbows that have been stewed in a pot are also soft enough. Take them out and wait for the potatoes and chicken to be cooked, then empty the pot and collect the sauce.
The spicy and sour potato shreds are made last. Stir-fry them quickly over high heat and they will be ready soon.
Xu Zhichun was in charge, Aunt Zhu'er was the chef, Zeng Xiaoyan was helping out, and Uncle Qi Tian was busy with carpentry work at home before it got dark.
Aunt Zhu'er said that her eldest brother Qi had been like a man possessed these past two days, tossing and turning on his carpentry from morning till night and couldn't stop. I'd never seen him so engrossed before. Wait until dinner time before calling him.
As for Liang Mingliang, seeing the little prodigy holding the hatchet and preparing to go to the backyard to chop wood, he was so scared that he quickly grabbed it and said, "I'll do it, Mingxuan, you can go read a book or take a break. I can handle this kind of heavy work, hehe."
Just kidding, if his father knew that he was resting and asked the little prodigy to chop firewood, he would definitely kill him. The little prodigy is the hope of the whole village.
Dinner was ready, and four dishes, three meat dishes and one vegetable dish, were placed on the table. They looked tempting no matter how you looked at them. Although the stewed pork feet with radish and chicken were also tempting, after all, they had all been eaten before. The braised pork elbow was so tempting, bright red and fragrant, that everyone picked up their chopsticks and started eating it first.
The chopsticks pierced the meat so much that it was almost impossible to pick up. I took a careful bite and found the skin was soft and the meat was tender, juicy, and fat but not greasy.
"tasty!"
I took another bite of the spicy and sour potato shreds and was amazed again.
Zeng Xiaoyan: "Sister Zhichun, are the potatoes you give us different from the ones you give us? Ours are delicious too, but they don't taste like this. They're crispy and light. These are better!"
It has a sour and spicy taste, and goes really well with rice! I can't stop eating it after taking a bite.
Aunt Zhu'er also nodded quickly: Yes, yes, that's right.
"They're all the same," Xu Zhichun knew the reason perfectly well, but because one lie required countless lies to cover it up, he feigned confusion. After thinking for a while, he smiled and said, "Oh, right? Could it be because we wash the shredded potatoes again after cutting them? I saw that the potatoes seemed a little sticky after being shredded, and they didn't look fresh, so I washed them again with clean water. After washing, each one was clean and fresh. Could that be the reason? Oh, and I added vinegar just before taking the dish out of the pot."
It’s hard to say, maybe.
Zeng Xiaoyan smiled and said, "Then I'll try it at home tomorrow!"
A bite of tender, juicy braised pork elbow, followed by a bite of crispy, sour and spicy shredded potatoes, is a perfect accompaniment to rice, delicious and satisfying. And the chicken stewed with potatoes is also delicious. The chicken is delicious, of course, and the potatoes, soaked up the broth, are soft and tasty.
It turns out that potatoes are really good things!
There aren’t many things that are so delicious whether stir-fried with vegetables or meat.
Everyone was still very satisfied with the dinner, and the duck for the next meal had already been arranged, so they decided to continue in a few days.
After dinner, Zeng Xiaoyan helped clean up and changed the water in the konjac tofu before leaving.
After seeing them off, Xu Zhichun smiled and urged Liang Mingxuan to wash up and go to bed, and made some jelly for himself.
The pig skin has been stewed in a pot with ginger, scallions and rice wine before dinner. Take it out and chop it up, then put it back into the pot to simmer over medium heat. After it is cooked, pour it into a large bowl and let it solidify.
In winter, it only needed to be left to stand overnight. Since the weather wasn't so cold, Xu Zhichun filled a basin with cold water and placed the bowl in it to speed up the solidification process. To be on the safe side, she also took some ice cubes from the harbor warehouse and placed them in the basin.
The next morning, Xu Zhichun was delighted to see the crystal clear jelly. He held the large bowl and showed it to Liang Mingxuan: "Mingxuan, look, the jelly is done!"
Liang Mingxuan was surprised: "Is this made from the pig skin that we boiled last night?"
"Yes! I'll cut a few pieces for you to try. They're delicious."
Xu Zhichun neatly cut the jelly into thin slices, placed the edges and corners on a plate, and ate them at home. He then neatly stacked the same-sized rectangles together to take to the Lotus Restaurant for Manager Tang to appreciate.
She then prepared a sauce with minced garlic, soy sauce, and salt, adding a little vinegar. "Dip it in this, it's delicious. Come and try it."
Liang Mingxuan obeyed politely, "It's delicious!"
“Right!”
Xu Zhichun also tasted it himself and nodded with satisfaction.
"Don't eat too much so early in the morning. Save it for dinner."
"Um."
Today's breakfast is sweet potato porridge and boiled eggs.
The sweet potatoes were diced and cooked with rice until cooked through, creating a thick and sweet dish. The boiled eggs were tender and delicious after peeling them.
After breakfast, Liang Mingxuan went to the neighboring village to attend school. When Zeng Xiaoyan arrived, she tasted the jelly and once again opened the door to a new world, praising it highly.
Both of them knew that it was made of pig skin and were amazed, but they tacitly agreed not to mention the word "pig skin".
Xu Zhichun smiled and said, "I've made quite a bit. When we get back at noon, each of you can take some home to eat."
After entering the city and delivering the goods to the Lotus Restaurant, Xu Zhichun went to discuss matters with Manager Tang again.
The success of the cold-mixed fish skin gave Shopkeeper Tang confidence in Xu Zhichun. When he heard that she had made another new dish inspired by the cold-mixed fish skin, Shopkeeper Tang became very interested.
No matter what kind of skin it is, the good skin is the one that can make money!
In the past, their Lotus Restaurant had exchanges with Zeng's Sifang Restaurant, with wins and losses, and they were evenly matched. However, ever since they had exclusive access to ice jelly and cold fish skin, they have gained the upper hand.
After all, developing a new dish that's incredibly popular isn't easy. Developing a new dish that's incredibly popular and leaves competitors completely baffled as to how to learn it is even harder.
The shopkeeper Fang of the Sifang Restaurant was the younger brother of Mrs. Zeng Fang. He usually looked down on him with arrogance, and his eyes clearly showed that he was just a poor worker, and he was the legitimate boss, as if he was superior to him.
He had severely killed his arrogance. Knowing that he was secretly furious and trying every possible means to find out the secret recipe of his new dish but failed, Manager Tang felt very happy.
If a new dish is served at this time and it is still very popular, it would be like rubbing the Sifang Restaurant to the ground and giving a hard slap to the face of the arrogant shopkeeper Fang. Shopkeeper Tang would be as happy as New Year's Day.
(End of this chapter)
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