Ordinary observers in fast time travel

Chapter 1260 Stir-fry
"Huh?" Wang Quan was a little confused. Could they really decide what to eat for dinner?

Seeing his reaction, Shi Jia realized what he meant and said, "Oh, then I'll save a bowl for you guys when I'm cooking later."

After she finished speaking, she went out to find Manager Luo. In the meantime, she finalized the menu for her family. For three people, one meat dish and two vegetable dishes would be enough.

Wang Quan and the fire-tiller were still completely bewildered. What was Master Li talking about? What did he mean by leaving them a bowl? Was it for the masters? That would be absolutely unacceptable.

Although Wang Quan was somewhat simple-minded, he would never do something like embezzling food from someone's home.

When Shi Jia returned with a basket of groceries, she saw Wang Quan pacing anxiously. "What happened?"

"Master Li, I, Master, the dishes..." Wang Quan's mind went blank, and he stammered.

Shi Jia thought he was asking when to start cooking, so she said, "This soup will simmer for another half an hour. As for cooking, let's start in 25 minutes. Could you cut the yam and wash the vegetables for me first?"

As Shi Jia spoke, he picked up a palm-sized piece of meat, peeled off the skin, separated the fat from the lean meat, and chopped the lean meat into minced meat. He planned to make stir-fried yam slices with minced meat, as well as steamed eggs with minced meat.

The fatty meat is sliced ​​and can be fried later to be used to stir-fry the sauerkraut.

Suddenly, she remembered the taste of fatty pork stir-fried with pickled cabbage, with some chili and minced garlic, how delicious it would be.

Shi Jia couldn't help but drool.

Indeed, ever since Hongliu read the recipe, her memory of cooking seems to have started to falter. Whenever she sees raw ingredients, she subconsciously thinks of related dishes.

Especially now, the aroma of the pickled cabbage under the knife keeps wafting into my nostrils.

"Gurgle~"

Goodness, my stomach started growling on its own.

Shi Jia took a deep breath, swallowed the overflowing saliva in her mouth, and placed the pickled cabbage in a plate with the minced meat for later use.

"Master Li, the yams and greens are all washed." Wang Quan handed the items to Shi Jia, somewhat curious. Had the old woman and the second young mistress added some dishes earlier?
Shi Jia took the yam and began to slice it. The sliced ​​yam was then soaked in water to prevent oxidation.

In the midst of the busyness, half an hour had already passed.

Shi Jia then instructed the cook to start a fire so he could begin making braised duck. First, he blanched the duck. Next, he heated oil in a pot, added ginger slices, and stir-fried the duck until the surface of the duck meat was golden brown and the fat was rendered. Then, he added star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon, and dried chili peppers, stir-fried them briefly, and then added cooking wine, soy sauce, and rock sugar, and simmered them together for 45 minutes.

Worried that there wouldn't be enough time to cook, Shi Jia asked Wang Quan to bring in the small stove from outside so they could start making ginger-fried chicken.

When making ginger-fried chicken, Shi Jia didn't use all fresh ginger, but rather half of it that had been soaked. This way, the ginger flavor wouldn't be as strong, and it would have a slightly sour taste, which would be perfect for Lu Xing'er.

Of course, Prefect Wan and Madam Wang also had a share.

One chicken, after removing the head, neck, feet, and gizzard, is enough for three people.

Making ginger-fried chicken doesn't take too long. Shi Jia started cooking while the braised duck was almost done reducing the sauce. She heated the pan with cold oil, sautéed ginger and garlic slices until fragrant, then added the chicken pieces and stir-fried quickly.

Although the stove was small, the fire burned fiercely, frying the chicken until its fat rendered out, releasing a rich aroma that quickly spread. Seeing this, Shi Jia added the remaining pickled ginger and a small amount of fresh ginger, continuing to stir-fry.

While Shi Jia was busy cooking, she didn't notice the others' drooling and gleaming expressions.

How come this new cook, Li, has such amazing culinary skills?

Some people subconsciously looked at He Chuan and found his expression complicated. They thought to themselves, "So that's why he was able to take He Chuan's place!"

"Wang Quan, plates." Shi Jia sprinkled a handful of scallions into the wok, quickly stir-fried them a couple of times, and then grabbed the wok with one hand. Just as he was about to put it on the stove, he couldn't see any plates. "Oh, oh." Startled, Wang Quan finally realized what was happening and went to get two plates. Of course, these were the special tableware for the masters.

Shi Jia divided the ginger-fried chicken into two portions, one large and one small. "Cover them up first, they'll get cold soon."

"Ok."

"Wash the pot. Make sure the fire is burning high in the big iron pot, we need to reduce the sauce." Shi Jia washed the spatula in his hand and walked to the big iron pot.

As the lid of the iron pot was lifted, an equally irresistible aroma wafted out and quickly spread throughout the kitchen. The bubbling sound made everyone in the kitchen drool.

"Smells so good, slurp~"

Shi Jia heard it, of course, and smiled, "Braised duck."

She picked up the spatula and stirred the duck a couple of times, letting the broth coat the duck meat better. Then she picked up a small spoon and scooped up some broth to taste the saltiness. Hmm, the taste was alright. Looking at the duck meat again, it was tender and delicious, but the flavor seemed a little lacking.

However, there's quite a lot of water in the pot, so it should be almost done once the sauce has reduced.

Shi Jia instructed the fire-tender to keep the fire burning high. As the flames grew stronger, the water in the pot evaporated rapidly, thickening into a sauce-like consistency. Shi Jia nodded in satisfaction and signaled the fire-tender to reduce the heat. She then picked up some garlic leaves, sprinkled them into the pot, stir-fried them briefly, and removed them from the heat.

This time, Wang Quan prepared two plates, one large and one small, well in advance.

"There aren't enough plates, prepare another small one."

"it is good."

Soon, three plates—one large and two small—of braised duck, glistening with oil, were ready. "Not bad." Another dish for dinner!

Shi Jia nodded in satisfaction. After thinking for a moment, she decided to make three portions of the steamed egg with minced meat, with less minced meat and more egg.

Thinking of this, Shi Jia asked Wang Quan to boil water in an iron pot on the small stove and start steaming the eggs. While that was cooking, she also made stir-fried wood ear mushrooms and yam slices, and stir-fried vegetables.

Finally, Lu Xing'er's dishes included yam and chicken soup, ginger-fried chicken, braised duck, steamed egg with minced meat, stir-fried yam slices with wood ear mushrooms, and stir-fried vegetables. Prefect Wan and Madam Wang, on the other hand, changed their soup to dried bamboo shoot and old duck soup.

"Alright, take the food over there." Shi Jia waved her hand, and the maids, trying to suppress their drooling, came up to get the food box.

After they left, Shi Jia didn't linger and immediately started cooking for herself. She had to go back home after she finished. Sigh, she wondered how things were at home now.

I wasn't home on the first day of moving, and I don't know if the two older kids can manage, or if the younger one is hungry.

Once she relaxed, Shi Jia couldn't help but let her mind wander. The more she wanted to go home, the more anxious she became. She also became careless when cooking. She would put in the minced meat, stir-fry it a couple of times, put in the yams, stir-fry it a couple of times, add some water, and put the lid on.

She then picked up a small pot next to her to fry lard and stir-fry pickled cabbage, but her movements were extremely perfunctory; she would stir-fry for a couple of seconds and then simmer until done. It was completely unlike her previous skill level, which made those quietly observing in the kitchen extremely curious.

Some boldly asked, "Master Li, whose master are you preparing this dish for?" But in their hearts, they thought, "Maybe I can say a few words to him later?"
"I ate it myself."

"For your own consumption? But isn't it a rule in the kitchen that all the servants' food should be prepared the same way?" the man asked.

"That's for you guys. I'll cook for myself and take it home to eat." Shi Jia stated bluntly. There was no way to hide this from anyone anyway.

"What? How is this possible?"

The clever one had already slipped out of the kitchen.