self-improvement as a cook

Chapter 5

There are several ways to make a single stewed pig's foot. Rock sugar soy sauce is often used in Chaoshan area. The stewed pig's foot is bright red in color and has a strong sweet and glutinous taste. Cantonese also adds orange peel. After stewing, it has a little sweet taste of orange peel. Personally, I prefer my mother's home-cooked recipes, which are relatively simple but extremely tasty, and the braised pig's feet are soft and delicious, which is the most satisfying. Even after she became a well-known top chef in China, she still likes the dishes made by her mother the most, especially this one. Braised pig's feet.

When my mother was alive, she would make it from time to time to satisfy her cravings. After my mother left, I also made it myself, but I still couldn't find the taste of my mother's cooking.

An Ran sighed, a fortune teller once gave her a horoscope, euphemistically saying that she was born with a hard life, thinking about it, her father died when she was young, and her mother followed her later, when she finally could carry When she settled down, her grandfather also left. Although she didn't believe in fate, it was an indisputable fact that her relatives passed away one by one.Sometimes I think about it, it's better for her to wear here, away from the remaining relatives of An's family, maybe they can be safe.

The water was a bit cold, An Ran stepped out just now, wiped off the water on her body, and looked down at herself, this was the first time she had such thoughts since she woke up.

A 16-year-old girl, although a little thin, is well-developed. She has a good figure. She has thin skin and tender flesh. She has a palm-sized face with slender eyebrows and big eyes. She is really a rare beauty. It's a pity that she has no brains. Climb on the bed of that old man, and don't look at how many women there are in this mansion, three wives and four concubines, and house maids. There are still a lot of them. There may be many unreasonable romantic accounts outside. It's just hard to think about looking for abuse.

People have to respect themselves and others are more important. A woman doesn't take herself seriously, and she still expects men to treat you well. Therefore, this girl really deserves it for falling into this situation.

But I am still very grateful to her, even though I have never felt inferior, I have to admit that this girl is much prettier than myself, there is no woman who doesn't love beauty, and so do I.

Thinking of this, she said to herself: "Since you have chosen to die, you can rest in peace. Don't worry, I will live on for you, and I will live a very good life." Tell me, from now on, she is An Ran who is two in one.

Put on the only set of clean clothes, wash the changed ones, find a rope and tie them in the yard before the sun sets, take the washed clothes, and the only mattress in the house, out to make a bed. on the rope.

But I don't want to go back to the house, the lighting in the house is too poor, it's dark, it makes people feel aggrieved, it's not as warm and dry as outside, An Ran wandered around the empty rooms, found some dry straw, half a broken kang mat, Find a flat place, spread straw first, then put the kang mat on it, lie down and close your eyes, only feel the warmth of the sun, very comfortable, and fell asleep after a while.

When Liu Xi'er opened the courtyard door and came in, she almost thought she had gone to the wrong place, and thought, why did she fall asleep in the courtyard, thinking of An Ran's previous virtues, she was sent to the outside kitchen by her aunt, and she didn't even reach the shelf , when I first came here, I thought it was not good, that was not good, so I lost my temper a lot, but it's a pity that when it comes to this, who would do what she does? , to see if you still dislike it.

Later, the girl finally couldn't bear the pain and hanged herself. She didn't want to be hanged, but she seemed to be a different person. She couldn't help being diligent and able to be a human being. position is impossible.

But she is so pretty, even if she is asleep right now, she is lying on her side on the mat, wrapped in a furoshiki with a roll of dry straw as a pillow, her hair is spread out on the pillow, like a woman in a cloth shop. The satin is black and bright, and against a small face, it looks red and white.

Liu Xi'er only took a few glances, and felt her face was hot, suddenly saw her move, startled, hurriedly lowered her head, a little flustered, there was no movement for a long time, Fang boldly looked up, found her turned over , I didn't mean to wake up, so I was relieved, but I didn't dare to look any more. Holding the rice dumplings I just made in my hand, I walked into the house softly and started to paste the windows.

After pasting the windows and leveling the ground in the house, tidying up, clapping hands, seeing that the sun was about to set, he was about to go out to wake An Ran up, but when he turned his head and saw An Ran coming in, he remembered that he had just stared at her for a long time , I couldn't help but feel a little guilty, I hung my head and didn't dare to raise my head: "Well, Sister An, do you think this will work?"

In fact, An Ran woke up just now when the kid was staring at her. No matter how nervous she was, it was impossible for her to fall asleep if a man stared at her.

The reason why he pretended to be asleep was because he felt that he would be difficult to deal with when he woke up at that time. Sure enough, men are not shy. This kid is only old enough to know how to look at women. However, he looks guilty and shy. It really made her hate it.

Besides, I am indeed good-looking, everyone has a love for beauty, it is understandable for this kid to peek, no matter what, he is considered a colleague, and being able to live in harmony is much better than hating each other. Will run on myself again.

Thinking of this, An Ran smiled and said: "Thanks for your help, if you let me do it myself, it may be when it will be, I don't know how to thank you."

Liu Xi'er blushed even more, and she had no place to put her hands and feet: "Well, sister, don't be polite to me. If you have any work in the future, just say hello. By the way, Aunt Liu asked me to see if my sister is awake. In order to ask my sister to come over, I just saw Lian Er from Miss Yue's place, so I think there is something wrong."

As she said that, she was afraid that An Ran would be worried, so she hurriedly said: "Look at her happy face, it's not a bad thing, sister, don't worry."

An Ran thought for a while, and suddenly figured it out, the white jade roll at the front was intended to make things difficult for Aunt Liu, and then the fried jujube she asked herself to make was probably a test. The ability to make food, I want to use it to please the scumbag above.

Although I have been here for a short time, I have probably heard about some things in the mansion. The four aunts and two house maids, in order to compete for favor, are all treasures. Isn't he the cannon fodder for Zhaidou?

Although Miss Yue is a common house girl, she is not a serious aunt after all. She has to eat in the outside kitchen every day. It can be seen that her status is low. A woman wants to be nice to a man. Apart from her own beauty and other abilities, there is probably nothing else. After eating, isn't there a saying that to conquer a man's heart is to conquer his stomach first.

I also vaguely heard that the elder of the Anfu is very greedy for food, otherwise, he would not spend a lot of money to dig a royal chef back, watching the man's hobbies, and eating has naturally become the most profitable bargaining chip. It is estimated that this person wants to follow Aunt Liu's craftsmanship and compete for favor.

It's really boring to think about it. The purpose of these women in the back house is to fight for a man. It's really sad. However, it has nothing to do with me. , It's an opportunity, no matter if Miss Yue can achieve her goal or not, it's no secret that Aunt Liu has a good handicraft news soon.

Now that someone has started, are you afraid that there will be no one to follow suit? With your own skills, it is not difficult to make extra money. If you save it for a year or so, you may be able to redeem yourself.

Thinking of this, I suddenly felt that the light was right in front of my eyes, and I became more energetic. I put away the mattresses and clothes that had been dried in the yard, and went to the kitchen with Liu Xi'er to find Aunt Liu.

Aunt Liu was in a hurry here, and when she saw An Ran, she hurriedly pulled her aside: "Just now, Lian'er came and said that you made that fried jujube. For some reason, the master tasted one. Although he didn't say anything, he called Miss Yue went to the banquet, thinking she was going to stay and serve, Miss Yue quietly asked Lian'er to bring over two slings of money, and asked me to make a refreshing hangover soup, come and pick it up later, I'm worried here, you're here That's all right, come on, just tell me what ingredients you need, I'll go find them right away, I guess, the banquet in the garden will be over in a while, this hangover soup is probably for the old man, there is no delay. "

An Ran said in her heart that if she really made herself guess, Miss Yue is really a master who sees every stitch and needles in every possible way. However, the old man of Anfu is a famous foodie, so he must be difficult to serve. It's not easy for my mouth.

But it has something to do with the future of making money, so I have to try it anyway, so I told Aunt Liu the ingredients I needed one by one: "Others are fine, but the fish head, winter bamboo shoots, and shiitake mushrooms for making soup have to be eaten by Aunt Liu. The kitchen just got it, in addition, there are balsamic vinegar and pepper."

Aunt Liu said curiously: "We have vinegar here. If it's not enough, there's still half a tank under the wall outside."

An Ran shook her head: "The reason why this hangover soup has the effect of sobering up is due to its hot and sour taste, so vinegar and pepper are indispensable, and this vinegar is the most important thing. It must be the best balsamic vinegar to get the taste. If you use ordinary vinegar, even if you make it, it may not be able to enter the mouth of the elder."

Aunt Liu was a little embarrassed: "Well, girl An Ran, I don't know much about it, don't be sorry, just wait, I'll go find it right away." She trotted away.

It took only a quarter of an hour to turn back, with a jar of balsamic vinegar in the basket on his right hand, half a piece of lettuce bamboo shoots, a few shiitake mushrooms, and a silver carp with fat head in his left hand.

Seeing that she was struggling to carry it, the servant woman behind hurriedly took it: "Oh, this fish is enough. It is estimated that it is not more than five or six catties, and it is about the same amount. You can make soup with such a big fish? An Ran girl, are you serious? Yes."

An Ran can naturally hear the voice, and understands in her heart that the things she did before have hated these people to the core. Now, although Aunt Liu is the guarantor, these people don't say anything on the face, but it is impossible for them to treat themselves in their hearts. It's human nature to change immediately, An Ran didn't care, and nodded: "Just use the fish head, keep the body for a while and braise it, and serve wine to the ladies."

Once An Ran said this, those few couldn't say anything more, but they didn't go out, and they all stood by, presumably holding back their energy to see if An Ran was really capable or just fooling them.

An Ran smiled, went to the basin in the corner to wash her hands, fished out the fish, put it on the chopping board, inserted the knife in her hand directly into the cheek cover and turned it lightly, then threw it back into the water again, letting the fish go back and forth Swimming and bleeding, after a while, the water in the bucket turned red.

When it was almost ready, the cloth towel in his hand went down and wrapped around the body of the fish, picked it up and put it on the chopping board, slapped the head of the fish with a knife, then removed the scales and opened it, tidied it up, cut off the head of the fish, and threw it aside Add scallions and ginger slices to the boiling water, cook for about 10 minutes, remove all the fish skulls, and leave the fish meat for later use.This process is not easy, and the fish must be intact while removing the bones, so it took a lot of effort.

Heat up the pot, add lard, fry the boneless fish for a while, add cooking wine, salt, ginger slices, fresh soup, cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, remove and put into the soup bowl.Cut shiitake mushrooms and winter bamboo shoots into the original soup, turn to low heat and burn.

An Ran glanced at the tofu soaked in water next to her, then looked at the knife in her hand, and sighed secretly. Cutting shredded tofu is the most skillful knife. The knife must be fast and the hand must be steady. After cutting, put it in the water and spread it out. , Tofu must be as thin as a hair to be considered qualified.This is the basic skill of a chef, so I can't help myself, but I don't know if I can cut it out because the knife is not smooth.At this moment, she couldn't help but think about it again, took the tofu out of the water, and put it on the chopping board...

In the eyes of Aunt Liu and the others, the tofu in An Ran's hand had been put into the soup in just a split second, and after a while, the tofu shreds turned up, and the intricate strands were as thin and even as hair strands. That soup bowl is almost unbelievable.

Even if Aunt Liu had seen An Ran's ability to make dim sum, she never expected that she was really so good, not to mention, those servants looked at An Ran as if they were aliens. Naturally, I guess they would never Don't know what aliens are.

An Ran did not deny that she did it on purpose today, she had just thought about it, since she wanted to rely on craftsmanship to survive, she naturally couldn't hide it, as long as she shocked them today, she would be able to gain a foothold in the kitchen outside, this is what she had to do to face reality.

When the soup is boiled, add egg liquid, add soybean powder, sesame oil, balsamic vinegar, mix well, pour into the soup bowl containing fish meat, and finally add pepper and minced green onion, this hangover soup becomes...

(End of this chapter)