Chapter 168: Translucent Beef Slices and Sautéed Vermicelli with Spicy Minced Pork
Translator: Xiong Guoqi Editor: DesTheSloth
Following that, many more people dropped the wrapping paper but asked for chopsticks. Many did so to save money while more did that because the change of 0.2 RMB was awkward to keep. No one ever thought of throwing it away. However little the amount was, it was still money.
"These people don’t know to appreciate it at all. Of course the Baked Egg Cakes should be eaten while being held in the hand. Otherwise, where would that taste come?" Wu Hai uttered that with a seemingly knowledgeable manner.
"Even if you say so, I still won’t tell you anything about the new dishes," Yuan Zhou uttered a rare long sentence, but it was to refuse Wu Hai.
"Boss Yuan, I won’t say anything else. I’m going home. Bye-bye," Wu Hai felt it would be great if he was capable of cooking the dishes, if possible.
However, he was lucky if the gas furnace didn’t explode and if it did explode… it was considered normal if he did cook. He would rather keep away from the kitchen, which improved the safety of others and him.
The breakfast time was almost up when Wu Hai left. After all, he had originally waited there for quite a while.
Then, Yuan Zhou started to prepare the ingredients for the new dishes at noon. Three of the four new dishes required advance preparations.
Yuan Zhou prepared for the Silk Twined Rabbit first as it required the most time. Beside him, there was a cabinet that had been marked with "Rabbit". With a squeak, he pulled open the cabinet straightforwardly.
"What the hell?" As soon as the cabinet was open, Yuan Zhou was so surprised that he immediately shouted.
Inside the cabinet, several living rabbits were bounding about actively. To his surprise, there was even some grass on one side inside of the cabinet and the rabbits were eating the grass leisurely.
Some of the rabbits were astonished by the sound of opening the cabinet and thus stared blankly at Yuan Zhou, their long ears hanging down.
"Is there anything you are unable to do? Even the cabinet can be made into a cultivation farm by you. You are really awesome, my system," Yuan Zhou closed the cabinet and couldn’t help ridiculing the system.
The system displayed, "Thank you for your compliment."
"I’m not actually speaking highly of you." Yuan Zhou suddenly felt like he was conversing with Wu Hai. He had the same feeling of being speechless when talking with the system, which Wu Hai also had when he was talking to Yuan Zhou.
Having taken a deep breath, he focused the attention back to cooking and then felt better. The dish of Silk Twined Rabbit had very high requirements on rabbits and craftsmanship. Living rabbits were required to complete the preparations for the next process.
Yuan Zhou prepared all the ingredients for 6 Silk Twined Rabbit in one go. It was definitely not a problem to sell it based on the number of his customers.
The remaining work was to prepare the beef, which was also required beforehand so that it could be available at noon.
Luckily the beef was placed together with the pork this time, rather than living cattle. Yuan Zhou then began to process the beef calmly after he had soaked the beans.
After finishing all the preparations for the Translucent Beef Slices, all he had to do was just to wait until someone ordered this dish and then cut it into slices.
The other dish was even more troublesome. Starting from soaking the beans, it needed many procedures to be eventually made into tofu.
Speaking of which, the origin of tofu was awfully interesting. It was invented by Liu’an, an alchemist and the King of Huai’nan. It had the advantages of high protein and low fat along with the good effects of lowering blood pressure, blood lipid and cholesterol. It was also edible no matter if it was cooked or uncooked.
In the Compendium of Materia Medica written by Li Shizhen, the most well-known medical expert in Ming Dynasty, the way of making tofu was also listed.
The tofu was divided into south school and north school. For the tofu of south school, it was tender, smooth and refreshing, suitable for making soup and being a cold-dish. However, for that of north school, it was more suitable for braised-dishes and boiled in clear soup.
What Yuan Zhou was preparing today was to make the tofu of north school.
The morning time filled with various preparations soon passed. When he opened the door for lunch at noon, there had been a lot of people waiting outside. The first, of course, was Mu Xiaoyun.
"Boss, what a fragrant flavor it is. Have you prepared the new dishes?" As soon as she came in, Mu Xiaoyun asked with a smile.
"It surely is. I smelled the spicy and fresh scent. What a wonderful taste." Wu Hai was the second who entered the restaurant.
"Humm, come on in, please." With a serious look, Yuan Zhou made room for the customers to get inside.
"That’s great. I feel I can finally eat something spicy," a young girl said happily.
"Aren’t you scared of getting pimples?" a man standing behind the young girl said mischievously.
"No, dishes of Boss Yuan never bring about pimples." The young girl showed a manner of trust on her face.
"What does delicious dishes have anything to do with not getting pimples?" the man indicated that he was unable to understand.
"What? You think I’m wrong?" The girl said discontentedly with a long face.
"No, not really. A Yuan is always right. Let’s order the spicy dishes in a while." Immediately, the man smiled flatteringly.
"Now, that’s the right way," the girl nodded contentedly and continued to line up.
Then, the customers entering the restaurant instantly occupied all the remaining vacant seats
"The new dishes are all written on the wall behind you guys. Please tell me directly what you guys wanna eat," Mu Xiaoyun instructed deftly at the side.
"Wow, just the names of the dishes are almost letting me drool. Finally, there’s meat for me," Chen Wei said while reading the dish names at the side.
"Didn’t you eat the prawns and chicken claws last time?" Wu Hai turned the head and counteracted his words while staring at Chen Wei.
"They are not one and the same. Only the beef, pork and rabbit meat could be considered as the meat dishes," Chen Wei defended himself seriously.
"Don’t show me this expression. It makes my liver hurt." Instantly, Wu Hai turned his head away. The expression of Chen Wei reminded him of the moment when Yuan Zhou had refused him primly.
"Who wants to talk to you? Xiaoyun, let me order my dishes," Chen Wei said generously.
"Tell me, please," Mu Xiaoyun waited for him to order at the side.
"Offer me a saucer of beef, a plate of rabbit meat and a serving of the plain white rice from 100 Styles of Rice Cuisine." Although Chen Wei wanted to order all the dishes available, he nevertheless also had to consider the feelings of his wallet. Despite being single and not needing to consider much for his family, he was, nevertheless, reluctant to give up on the liquor in the evening. Luckily, he had a part-time job to make some extra money besides his salary.
"I’m sorry. You have to reserve the Silk Twined Rabbit in advance. It’s not available for now," before Mu Xiaoyun answered Chen Wei, Yuan Zhou told him directly.
"Huh, that really sucks. How long does it take?" Chen Wei asked curiously.
"If you order it now, you can only eat it at 6:00 in the evening of the day after tomorrow," Yuan Zhou brought out the time.
"Such a long time!!!! Then change it to the dish Sautéed Vermicelli with Spicy Minced Pork," with a frown, Chen Wei straightforwardly changed to another dish.
"One moment, please," with a nod, Yuan Zhou then returned to the kitchen, preparing to cook. The work in the main hall was then in the charge of Mu Xiaoyun.
Having quickly stir-fried with a big flame, Yuan Zhou soon carried the dish of Sautéed Vermicelli with Spicy Minced Pork and the sliced beef to Chen Wei.
The beef was like a cold-dish, with its fragrance not so strong as the other one. Therefore, Chen Wei turned his sight to the Sautéed Vermicelli with Spicy Minced Pork in one go.
"This dish well explains that vivid nickname of Ants Climbing the Tree," Chen Wei sighed with emotion.
The vermicelli was shiny, with minced meat scattered over them as if ants were climbing up the trees diligently. The shredded leek inside the dish was like the verdant tree leaves and the dish emitted a special scent.
He picked up a piece of vermicelli, finding that the minced meat was hanging firmly on it, unlike other restaurants where when the vermicelli was picked up, the minced meat directly fell into the plate. At the late part of the meal, the vermicelli and the minced meat would be totally separated which did not give the feeling of ants climbing up the trees. It should be called Minced Meat Fried Vermicelli then.
This one was nevertheless different. The vermicelli was covered with minced meat and shredded leek. On the glossy shredded leeks were the tiny minced meat and the shredded leek was to increase the fragrance and remove the underlying smell.
He stuffed it into his mouth and ate it with a blissful sound of "Ba Ji Ba Ji". The smooth, tender and refreshing taste of the vermicelli and the crispness and fragrance of the minced meat were thoroughly merged into one. With a slight chew, he caught a hint of spicy taste from the leek. It was devoid of any greasy taste and he could only feel fragrant, tender and refreshing taste.
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