Su Yun'er chopped all the chickens into pieces. The host estimated that there would be eighteen tables of guests, so a total of eighteen chickens were prepared. All the chopped chicken pieces were soaked in a large wooden basin to remove the blood. This would make the chicken more tender and prevent blood foam from affecting the appearance of the dish.
After soaking, the chicken pieces are directly poured into a wok and stir-fried in hot oil until cooked. Then, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, and rock sugar are added and stir-fried together in hot oil until the chicken pieces change color. Then, soy sauce, soybean paste, and oyster sauce are added, and the chicken pieces gradually turn into a reddish-brown color, becoming shiny and tempting.
He Liu was picking romaine lettuce in her hand, and kept craning her neck to look over.
"Yun'er, is the meat ready?" He Liu swallowed.
"Not yet, Auntie. We need to pour in boiling water to stew it, and we also need to add shiitake mushrooms. Oh, where are my shiitake mushrooms?"
When things get busy in the kitchen and there are a lot of people, things get moved around without anyone noticing.
Finally, I found the shiitake mushrooms. I cut each mushroom into three pieces, put them in the soup after it boiled, and waited until the meat sauce had reduced. Then I added some green bell pepper pieces, and the dish was ready to serve.
As soon as the braised chicken was served, He Liu couldn't wait to pick up a piece of meat to eat. She didn't dare to eat the good cuts of meat, so she only picked a piece from the chicken breast bone to savor the taste.
"Delicious! This way of cooking chicken is much better than the chicken we used to stew. Give me this little bit of broth, and I can eat three bowls of rice!"
"Shanhe's wife has always cooked delicious food. Yun'er, we can't keep the meat for ourselves, so let's save some soup. We can mix it with rice or noodles later," said Aunt Song.
Su Yun'er told the servants who came to deliver the dish that the name of the dish was "Braised Chicken".
"Braised chicken? My lady, this way of cooking chicken is novel, and the name is novel too," the servant praised.
Plates of braised chicken were served, and the guests were all drawn to this dish they had never seen before.
The rich aroma of soy sauce wafted through the steam, filling the nostrils of every guest.
"It looks like it. What kind of meat is this?"
"It looks like chicken."
"Why is it so dark red and shiny? How was this chicken prepared?"
"Mom, this meat smells delicious! I want to eat meat!"
"Butler Bai," the Xu family patriarch called over Butler Bai, pointing to the chicken and asking, "What kind of cooking method is this chicken?"
"This dish is called braised chicken."
"Braised Chicken? That's an interesting name."
For a time, everyone was studying this braised chicken.
With a gentle pinch of chopsticks, the skin and meat are easily broken. When you put it in your mouth, the aroma of the meat blends with the unique fragrance of shiitake mushrooms and the fresh taste of green peppers. Unlike the taste of stewed chicken, this chicken has a richer savory sauce flavor. After taking one bite, you feel like you need to eat a big mouthful of rice to go with it, and your appetite is instantly whetted.
"Excellent! Excellent! This dish tastes superb. Butler Bai, the chef you found this time is quite skilled; he deserves a reward!"
The servant and maid, having delivered the food, ran back to the kitchen.
"Madam Su, is there any chicken left?"
“That’s all? What happened? Not enough?” He Liu answered first.
"No, it's just that all the guests praised the dish, and we...we wanted to try it too," a waiter said, scratching his head and chuckling.
"There's no chicken left, but there's some vegetable soup." Aunt Song laughed heartily.
"Are you all hungry? These dishes and meats are all prepared for the wedding banquet, and each has a fixed portion, so it's not appropriate for us to share them. How about this, I'll make some tofu pudding for everyone," Su Yun'er suggested.
"Tofu pudding? What's that?" The servants and maids were all curious.
"You'll know once you try it," Aunt Song laughed, promoting Su Yun'er's dish. "Her tofu pudding is absolutely amazing; I guarantee you've never tasted anything like it. Do you have any soybeans here?"
“Yes, we servants eat our own grain and meat separately from the master. We bought some soybeans last year, and we still haven’t finished them.” A maid said, pulling out the soybeans.
The portion size is sufficient.
Su Yun'er asked someone to soak the soybeans first, and then she continued to work on the wedding banquet with Aunt Song and He Liu.
After making a few dishes, the soybeans, though not fully soaked, were ready to use.
The Xu family also had a small stone mill, which was just enough for their needs.
Since there were only eleven or twelve people eating, it was much easier to prepare. After Aunt Song and He Liu finished making several dishes, the tofu pudding was also ready.
Since no sauce or side dishes were prepared for the tofu pudding, and it wasn't a main meal, Su Yun'er added a large spoonful of white sugar to each bowl of tofu pudding. Today, everyone would eat sweet tofu pudding together.
A large spoonful of white sugar is sprinkled on the hot, white tofu pudding. The sugar slowly melts under the heat. Stir it with a spoon, and even the steam smells sweet.
"My goodness, this delicious food is actually made from soybeans?"
"I can't believe there's such delicious food in the world. Madam Su, you're amazing!"
"You don't know, do you? Madam Su sells this over at the dock, and she's really good at it." Aunt Song took the opportunity to help Su Yun'er promote her business.
"Really? If I have the chance, I must buy some and try it, so my parents can have some too!"
"The ladies' cooking is superb! Really, the guests in the front yard all said today's banquet was exceptionally delicious, better than any banquet they'd ever attended before. The guests' praise has made our master very happy. Ladies, you couldn't have seen it, but our master's eyes were practically popping out of his head from smiling!" a young maid said.
"That's for sure. The master is in a good mood today, and he might even give us a bonus." The servant said expectantly, "If we get a bonus, it's all thanks to the ladies."
The kitchen was bustling with activity when Butler Bai arrived.
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