self-improvement as a cook

Chapter 22

Aunt Liu got the letter, she felt at ease, and gave An Ran a few detailed instructions before returning to the outside kitchen.

An Ran is not in a hurry, because An Fu told her yesterday that if the Grand Master does not entertain guests, there is usually no need for a chef to cook, and when the Grand Master is in the house, the breakfast is very simple, with two fires and three fires. The face-to-face case in the big kitchen was enough to deal with, so he told An Ran that he didn't need to be so early every day, and he spoke very politely, as if there was some meaning to flatter him.

An Ran remembered that on the first day when she went there, An Fu deliberately confessed that she had gone earlier, but now she said no, if the master confiscated her as an apprentice, An Fu's attitude might not be the same.This is the big kitchen, even if An Fu is in charge of the big kitchen, how dare he offend the master who was once the imperial chef.

Suddenly remembered what the second senior brother said yesterday, the master used to be the best chef in the world, and the chef named Han Zizhang, even though he was stopped by the master, An Ran could roughly guess from those few words. Back then, there was a battle of top culinary skills, the master lost for some reason and broke his wrist, so he hid himself in this Anfu.

The grievances and grievances may not be explained clearly in one or two sentences. Since the master is unwilling to mention it, there is naturally a reason for the master. Although he only stayed with the master for a day, An Ran has almost understood the master's temperament. Personality, think about it too, how can one become a real top chef without character.

Instead of going to the big kitchen, An Ran didn't stay in her own room, but went to the master's small courtyard. She probably knew the master's schedule yesterday, so she wouldn't get up too early, so she didn't worry.

As soon as I arrived at the gate of the courtyard, I saw a few bamboo baskets on the ground. There were vegetables, meat and eggs, chicken, duck and fish, all of which were extremely fresh. I knew that they were specially sent to the master. The vegetables are exceptionally fresh, and they were delivered in the morning.

An Ran carried the things in, sure enough, neither the master nor the two senior brothers got up, An Ran didn't bother, went directly into the small kitchen, looked left and right, saw half a bucket of soaked soybeans on the ground, and looked at the The stone mill next to it is clearly used to grind soybean milk to make tofu.

An Ran doesn't know much about the master's taste, but it will definitely not be like what I thought yesterday, eating pig intestines for breakfast. I guess the master came to test myself specially, so I made myself the secret seven-inch dish. It is not difficult to prepare a dish, but it is quite time-consuming because the pig intestines are not easy to clean. The most test is the patience of a cook, and patience is a must-have quality for a chef. Of course, An Ran is talking about a real chef.

The master is getting old, so he should prefer a light taste. Moreover, lightness is also beneficial to the master's body. The way of health preservation is the most important food therapy. An Ran remembers that before I crossed over, I studied health-preserving medicinal diet with Lin Xinger. I have my own Cooking skills, Lin Xing'er's medical skills, a strong alliance, planning to open a restaurant specializing in medicinal food, the name has been thought up, called An Linzhai, once I have passed it, this matter will become a scandal.

An Ran peeled the soaked soybeans, so that the taste of the soy milk was more mellow, put it into the stone mill, estimated the amount, ground a bucket, and filtered it several times with an hourglass, so that the soy milk was more delicate, avoiding bean dregs, poured Boil it in a pot, and divide half of it. There is ready-made brine in the jar on the ground, presumably the two senior brothers boiled it for some tofu.

Anran slowly poured the brine into the boiled soymilk until she saw flocculent crystals, then put the lid on and put it aside, don't worry about it, it will be a bucket of snow-white, sweet and tender bean curd in a while.

Bean curd is nutritious and delicious, and it is most suitable for breakfast. Generally, sweet bean curd is eaten in the south, and honey can be used to make the juice, but An Ran prefers the traditional boiled sugar. Although it is more complicated, the sweet bean curd produced in this way is authentic.

The salty bean curd that is popular in the north is a little more troublesome. It needs to be stewed. This stew can be exquisite, but it can be home-made, and you can put more than a dozen or even dozens of mushrooms in it. Dice some cucumbers and serve.

An Ran felt that sometimes too complicated recipes lost the real meaning of cooking. The purpose of cooking was to fill the stomach at first, and then began to emphasize the taste. Later, it became a bit hypocritical. The so-called delicacies Well, what I eat is just my own vanity. The more such things are, the less tasteful they are, and they need the lowest-grade chicken, duck, pork bones and other things to taste, which takes time and effort.It's better to eat chicken and duck directly, wouldn't it be more delicious.Therefore, in modern times, An Ran didn't like to eat these the least. Instead of eating bird's nest and shark's fin, it would be better to simply stew a chicken.

Moreover, those amazing and complicated techniques boasted by some chefs are nothing more than ostentation. Grandpa said that to really make a good dish, you only need to put your heart into it. Thinking about the mood of the person who eats this dish, from the very beginning From the selection of ingredients to the final cooking, you can do it well with your heart, so why brag about the techniques.

Therefore, An Ran planned to make a simple vegetable stew, black fungus, cauliflower, a few letinous mushrooms, chopped up, and some diced cucumbers.

Put a little oil in the pot, sauté chopped green onion, put the minced diced in it and stir fry, add soy sauce, pour in the ready-made chicken broth, add salt, a little sugar, and thicken soybean powder three times, put it in a small casserole and put it on a small stove to warm With that, a vegetarian halogen with complete color, fragrance and fragrance is ready.

Then take a clean pot and boil the sugar. It is relatively simple to boil the sugar. You don’t need to add oil. Stir fry until the sugar melts. Add cold water and keep stirring until the sugar that hardens when it is cold is completely melted. The sweet tofu curd syrup is ready.

There are also many ways to eat, you can add brown sugar and red beans, or add fruits, but An Ran likes crushed peanuts, crushed fried and crispy peanuts, put them in sweet bean curd, the crisp fragrance of peanuts is accompanied by the sweetness of bean curd syrup, eat it A bowl can make people feel good all day.

As for the main food, An Ran steamed two baskets of small steamed rolls, fearing that the two seniors would not like to eat bean curd, she boiled a pot of rice porridge, mixed with a few refreshing side dishes, and a simple breakfast was done.

An Ran finished tidying up here. Seeing the window in Master's room was open, she took the prepared hot water over and walked into the house. As expected, she saw two senior brothers in front of Master. An Ran greeted Master and Senior Brother first, and took the corner. The washbasin on the basin stand went out to mix the water, and then came in to wait for Master to wash his face.

These two senior brothers did all the work before, but now that An Ran is copying them, the two of them consciously step aside.Master and apprentice are like father and son. Serving in front of the bed is the same as being filial, even if An Ran is a woman. What's more, the younger sister is careful, and she must serve better than the two of them. Just look at the smiling and contented expression of the master. ,
An Ran waited on the master to wash his face and rinse his mouth, combed his hair in a bun and carefully wrapped his head scarf. Although it was the first day of serving, he didn't feel unfamiliar at all, only the hair took some effort, and the rest was quite smooth.

The old man stroked his beard comfortably: "I smelled the fragrance before I got up, tell me what delicious food you made for the master?"

An Ran tidied up the quilt on the bed, tidied up the house a little bit, and laughed when she heard the master say, "It's not a good thing, it's just bean curd. I don't know if the master likes salty or sweet. An Ran made two kinds. , I steamed two baskets of rolls, which are all home-cooked food."

The old man smiled and said: "Home-cooked ones are the best. Speaking of which, your master has eaten all the delicacies in the world in his life. Now that I think about it, it's the most common meals at home when I was a child. Master will miss it."

An Ran smiled and said: "It's not easy, just wait for Master Kong to go back to his hometown."

The old man's eyes darkened: "Things are different, people are different, so many years have passed, not to mention that the family is gone, even those old folks from the old days, I don't know how many are still alive, so they are alive, and they may not remember it." Master."

An Ran knew that it had aroused the sadness of her master, she regretted it secretly, and hurriedly changed the subject: "Today is the first time An Ran cooks for the master, if it is not good, the master will take care of it, and after getting instructions from the master, An Ran will definitely be able to do a good job. .”

The old man who said a word laughed: "You girl can't do it with honey on one mouth, that's all right, don't be modest, just smell the smell without looking at it, the master will know that this bean curd is made authentic."

The two of them walked out as they spoke. There was a big pagoda tree in the yard of the master. The tree hat was wide and very dense. It was early spring. Among the emerald green leaves, there were clusters of snow-white pagoda flowers, and the breeze shook them down for a while. The fragrance of Sophora japonica in the yard is refreshing.

The senior brother put the table under the locust tree, and the second senior brother had already set out the meal. The four of them sat on the small bench and had breakfast, bean curd, two baskets of steamed rolls, a few side dishes, the most homely food, but also the most delicious .

After eating, the senior brother took out the master's purple sand hand pot and handed it to the master. The second senior brother cleaned the yard, An Ran cleaned up the dishes, and then went into the house to tidy up the room of the master and the two senior brothers.

This small courtyard is not too big, and there are not many rooms. There is a two-dark layout. The master lives in the east room, and the two senior brothers live in the west room. Not to mention the masters, the two senior brothers are now famous chefs. Naturally not bad, but still retaining a simple living habit, the bedding and curtains are made of the most common coarse cloth, and so are the clothes.

An Ran didn't leave the small courtyard all day, she unpacked and washed the quilts of the master and the two senior brothers, put them in the sun, dried them in the sun, and sewed them up again. The tables and floors in the room were soaked in water twice, and everything that should be dried was moved. Go out to dry, and start washing the dirty clothes after the bedding is done. I have been busy from the morning until the second half of the day.

The second senior brother tied several ropes in the yard. When An Fu came in, he was still drying the clothes in the yard. Sitting under the tree, drinking tea and chatting, that kind of intimacy, those who don't know, really consider it a family.

An Fu's gaze fell on An Ran involuntarily. This girl didn't know whether she was lucky or what, since she came to the big kitchen, she changed every day. Girl, this status is no longer the same.

Seeing An Fu, the elder brother greeted him with a smile: "Why is Manager An coming here when you have time? What orders do you have?"

An Fu greeted the old man first, and then said: "No, no, I came here today to find An Ran."

An Ran was stunned for a moment, and before he could speak, the second senior brother had already said, "Could it be that my aunt wants my junior sister to eat again? Turn around and tell Lanyuan that my junior sister hasn't graduated yet, what would my aunt want to eat?" , just look for me and senior brother, if she wants to eat dragon liver and phoenix brain, we two brothers can also make it."

The old man also snorted: "That's right, the two of them are useless, and I am the master."

An Fu secretly wiped off his cold sweat, and said to himself, Auntie didn't make a good dream. She originally wanted to embarrass An Ran, but she didn't want to stab the old man's hornet's nest. She thought that An Ran was that silly girl in the past, and now she is closed by the imperial chef. Disciple, if you only report the name of the old man when you go out, you won't have to worry about eating and drinking for the rest of your life.

However, speaking of it, An Fu couldn't figure it out. I heard about a girl in Lan Yuan who climbed onto the old man's bed and was punished by her aunt, but she didn't have any connection with An Ran. Although she used to serve in Lan Yuan , but I am in the big kitchen, I haven't seen it much, I have seen it, and it passed by in a blink of an eye. There are so many girls in the mansion, they all remember, and he won't be exhausted to death.

Moreover, when An Ran came to the big kitchen that day, she showed such a hand, and even though this girl had a good appearance, she didn't have the slightest vixenishness, her eyes were clear, her temperament was stable, and she spoke and acted very properly. As for the bed-climbing girl, even at this moment, An Fu doesn't feel like a person.

Seeing the old man staring at him, he was startled, and hurriedly said: "I don't dare to work on you, I will send a message to the younger one. Come to think of it, An Ran will not be allowed to cook in Houlan Courtyard anymore."

The second senior brother said angrily: "Since it's not the Orchid Academy, what are you doing looking for Junior Sister?"

An Fu also didn't dare to be impatient and said with a smile: "It's a good thing, the master kindly said that the servants in the mansion have worked hard, from now on, no matter whether it is a handyman or a servant, it will be the same. But there are four days off, those who have a home can go home to visit my mother, those who don’t have a home can go out for a stroll, look at the excitement of our Jizhou mansion, buy some gadgets for yourself, and save yourself from being an errand in the mansion every day, It's weird."

An Ran was taken aback, thinking of An Zihe's words yesterday, she couldn't help becoming suspicious, "Why did you suddenly have this grace?"

An Fu said with a smile: "Speaking of it, we have to think about the benefits of our Anji restaurant's chief steward. I heard that early this morning, he came to find the master to talk about this matter, saying that he would give the servants who are on the errand something to look forward to. It’s better to be an errand, the elder thinks it’s reasonable, so he agreed, this month is already in the middle of the month, why don’t An Ran take a day off tomorrow, take care of his own affairs, or go out for a stroll.”

An Ran still didn't believe it: "It turns out that the steward of An Ji Restaurant is so useful in his words, and the old man gave him such a big favor with just one word."

An Fu: "You don't know the details. Although An Zihe is the steward of the restaurant, he is related to our elder. He studied with the third master in our mansion when he was a child. He is a steward, which is equivalent to us. He is half the master of the mansion, if he doesn't have to support himself, why would the old man let him be the manager of some restaurant, it's just an excuse to keep him."

An Ran nodded secretly, no wonder that guy was so idle, he ran to the big kitchen to steal food all day long, no one cared, even if he saw him, he just pretended not to see him, and let him pass by with his eyes closed. Poking the old man in the back, who can offend him.

However, he did this because of what he said yesterday, forget it, don't think about it, An Fu said, no matter what, this is indeed a great thing, at least he can have a chance to go out and have a look, This big swallow, what is this Jizhou like, I am really curious, when I think that I don't have to be locked up in Anfu like a caged bird, I wish I could run out right now.

An Fu left, An Ran's heart also flew away, the old man waved his hand funny: "You look like a little girl when you look at it like this, come on, go, master doesn't have so many rules, your filial master understands, and you don't have to do it every day." Supporting you in front of the master, you can also relax when you go out for a stroll, but it’s not right to be alone, why don’t you let your second senior brother follow you.”

An Ran hurriedly waved her hands: "Don't bother the second senior brother, An Ran recognized a godmother, and the two god-brothers are working outside, if you want to go out, just let them follow."

The old man nodded: "That's fine."

An Ran put her clothes in and folded them before going. She didn't go back to her small courtyard and went directly to the outside kitchen. It was time to get dinner, and she bumped into many people along the way. Hurrying to talk and say hello, I looked at her with a particularly envious look, I guess I have become a model of inspiration, the goal of the girls.An Ran thinks it's good, being a cook is more pursuit than climbing an old man's bed.

Entering the outside kitchen, seeing that she was busy with work, she wanted to help, but Aunt Jiao pulled her aside and sat down, refusing to let her intervene, An Ran felt that both Aunt Jiao and Ma Dazu looked at her differently than in the past Now, in addition to envy, there is respect from the subordinates to the superiors, and there is also some faint fear, and they are no longer as comfortable as they were before.

An Ran couldn't help sighing, the change of status has gained benefits, but also lost a lot, only Defu and Liu Xier are still the same as before, especially Defu, who brought her a bowl of boiling water with a simple smile: "Master, drink water." Then he smirked for a while and said, "Master, you have become Chef Zheng's apprentice, so I have almost become Yu Chef's apprentice?"

An Ran nodded: "Naturally." Defu's eyes lit up, and he ran away.

An Ran was stunned, and Liu Xi'er smiled and said, "My sister doesn't know, since I knew Chef Zheng accepted my sister as an apprentice, this kid did all my work today, I'm so happy."

An Ran couldn't help laughing, but saw Liu Xi'er blinked and opened her mouth, and said after a long time: "Sister, you haven't forgotten what you told me back then, right?"

An Ran looked at him with a funny face, but she liked Liu Xier like this, she would say something without hiding it, and she would not be afraid just because she became the apprentice of the imperial cook, and nodded with a smile: "Don't worry, remember it." .”

Liu Xi jumped up happily: "Then I don't worry, my sister is sitting, and I'm going to work." He left the words and ran away...

(End of this chapter)