An Rong dressed and walked out of the room with high spirits. Being able to cook the food his beloved wife wanted to eat made him happier than earning a hundred taels of silver a month.
In the early morning, a cool breeze caressed his face like a gentle hand. The surroundings were quiet, with only birds singing on nearby branches, chatting about what insects they would eat that day and how they would build a beautiful nest for their chicks.
The tavern was filled with a faint aroma of alcohol, but nothing else.
Under Dou Dou's guidance, An Rong paid great attention to the cleanliness of the tavern. He would not rest until the tavern was cleaned after closing every day. He used soap powder to mop the floor and wipe the tables. After mopping and wiping, the tavern was not greasy and left a faint fragrance.
When leaving, An Rong would light a stick of sandalwood incense to purify the air. After all, it was a tavern, dealing with food and drink, and the greasy smell couldn't be completely wiped away.
An Rong walked briskly into the kitchen and started by kneading the dough for wontons. Kneading dough is a skill; it can't be too hard or too soft. Different types of noodles require different kneading techniques. For example, noodle dough needs to be firmer, which is more difficult to roll out, but it results in a chewy texture. Dumpling dough needs to be slightly softer so it's easier to seal when wrapping. Scallion pancake dough needs to be very soft so it's fluffy and delicious.
He can only make a limited number of noodle dishes, but everything he can make is delicious; steamed buns and mantou are no problem for him.
Wonton wrappers are not exactly the same as dumpling wrappers; they need to be softer so that the wrappers won't break when cooked, yet they are still very soft to eat.
An Rong quickly kneaded the dough, covered it with gauze, and went out to buy pork and shrimp.
DouDou loves eating fresh meat and shrimp. With a whole shrimp inside the meat, the flavor is rich and satisfying.
"Boss An, you're here to buy meat so early?" The speaker was Zhu Youjing, a regular customer of the tavern. He also owned a shop selling clothes.
An Rong nodded with a smile, "If I had come earlier, I wouldn't have been able to buy good meat."
There are only four or five meat vendors in the market, supplying the entire Ping'an Town. Every household plans their meat purchases the night before, thinking about what meat they need to eat the next day to improve their diet. Since they rarely get to buy meat, they naturally want to buy a good piece. Pork is divided into different grades, just like people.
It's generally accepted that those who arrive early get to choose the best pork.
"You're just too good. It's usually women who go out to buy meat, unlike you, a grown man, who goes out to buy vegetables every day." Zhu Youjing said sourly. He was five or six years older than An Rong, had a wife, and while she wasn't exactly ugly, she was certainly not very elegant. Compared to Dou Dou, she was worlds apart.
An Rong smiled and let it go, but Zhu Youjing's eyes were filled with ulterior motives; she had been trying to sow discord since early morning.
"Anrong, if your child needs clothes, come to my shop and I'll give you a discount." His wife wasn't good-looking, but her sewing skills were unmatched in the area.
She's more than ten times better than that Sister Juan.
An Rong nodded, quickened his pace, and didn't want to say another word to this kind of person.
He idled away his time, and the shop's business almost entirely depended on his wife. He spent his time indulging in debauchery and constantly complained that his wife was ugly and fat and not good enough for him.
Zhu Youjing was displeased to see that An Rong was ignoring her. After he left, she spat on the ground and thought, "He's just a tavern owner, what's with all the arrogance?"
Of course, An Rong didn't hear this. He had already bought pork and gone to the fish and shrimp stall, where he bought two catties of shrimp and five crucian carp to braise for lunch.
It's good to buy groceries early; the meat, fish, and shrimp are all very fresh.
Back at the tavern, Lu Xi was already waiting at the door and took the things from his hands.
"Brother Anrong, I saw you kneading the dough. What are you going to do with it?" Lu Xi asked.
“Wontons, your sister wants to eat them,” An Rong replied.
Lu Xi smiled and said, "I love to eat it too."
An Rong laughed too: "You little imp, you're something else."
Lu Xi beamed and skipped happily toward the kitchen.
The two worked together: Lu Xi chopped the meat filling, and An Rong rolled out the dough.
Unlike rolling out dumpling wrappers, dumpling wrappers are made by flattening the dough, cutting it into long strips, rolling them into cylindrical strips, cutting them into small pieces, flattening them with the palm of your hand, and rolling them into round dumpling wrappers.
Wonton wrappers are usually square, so the method of rolling out dumpling wrappers is not very feasible. Anrong directly rolled the dough into a large wrapper, just like rolling out noodles.
After rolling out the large dough sheet, cut it into small squares with a knife, and the wonton wrappers are ready.
Wontons are best when they have thin wrappers and lots of filling. When rolling out the dough, Anrong uses a lot of force and rolls it out many times to make the wrappers very thin. You can barely see your hand when you put your hand on the back of the dough.
Lu Xi worked quickly and efficiently, mincing the pork into a paste. She then began cleaning the shrimp, removing the heads, peeling off the shells from the tails, and removing the veins, resulting in a complete shrimp tail.
"You can pack it now."
An Rong picked up a wonton wrapper, put in a little pork, then a large shrimp, folded the wrapper diagonally, pinched it to stick the two corners together, folded the remaining two corners over from the back and pinched them together, and a wonton was wrapped.
"It was too fast, I didn't see it clearly."
An Rong picked up another wonton wrapper. This time, he deliberately slowed down so that Lu Xi could clearly see every movement. He even paused at each movement so that Lu Xi could see it carefully.
This time, Lu Xi understood perfectly. Following An Rong's method, she quickly wrapped one up, and it looked no different from the others.
Standing to the side, Huang Rong watched as Lu Xi learned how to wrap the dumplings so quickly and did it so well. She suddenly had the illusion that she could also wrap beautiful ingot-shaped wontons. She watched as Lu Xi picked up a wrapper and wrapped one up in a few quick movements.
“Brother Anrong, look.”
An Rong looked into her palm; it was a wrinkled dough ball with a tail, more like a wonton than a wonton.
"It's great," An Rong praised sincerely.
If Huang Rong hadn't seen An Rong's furrowed brows, she would have almost believed him.
Okay, she admits she has no talent for cooking. Even after watching the tutorial several times, she still can't make wontons like An Rong's.
Lu Xi wanted to teach her, and just as she picked up a wrapper, she heard Huang Rong complain, "Forget it, I'll just wait to eat. Making wontons is too difficult."
After saying that, she turned around and went out to find Tangtang.
Lu Xi shook her head helplessly. If Huang Rong doesn't want to learn anything, her in-laws will probably look down on her after she gets married, and her life will probably be very difficult.
He thought that when he had time, he should teach her how to cook properly.
An Rong saw through his subtle expressions perfectly, but kept quiet about it.
"If Rongrong is like this, she will be very happy if she finds a husband who will cherish her."
An Rong's words made Lu Xi blush. He hadn't said anything, so how did Brother An Rong know what he was thinking?
“Brother Anrong, I’m not.”
An Rong laughed, but he didn't say anything. Lu Xi was quick to deny it.
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