Border Cook

Ying'er quickly sent someone to deliver the two letters of obviously different thickness and weight separately.

On this side, Xia Mingyue has also arrived at the kitchen of Buyun Tower.

Lou Shanzi brought the plate over as if he were presenting a treasure, opened the bowl on it, and presented it to Xia Mingyue.

Handing over the chopsticks, Lou Shanzi introduced with a smile, "Master, try it, it's a new dish, grass head circle."

Grass head circle?

Hearing the name and looking at the dish on the plate, it was indeed a layer of green base with a few circle-cut pieces placed on it. The braised large intestine with thick red sauce looked very nice with dark green and green between. Just looking at it made me hungry.

"Not bad." Xia Mingyue nodded, "How did you think of making this dish and give it such a name?"

In modern society, Xia Mingyue is no stranger to the dish "Cao Tou Quan Chuan", which is one of the most representative dishes of Shanghai cuisine.

The main ingredients are pig large intestine and alfalfa. The former should be cleaned, stewed first and then braising until the braising sauce is completely tightened. Pour the thin starch on top and put the cooked intestine on the alfalfa that has been stir-fried with lard, soy sauce and sugar over high heat until cooked.

The circles made in this way are crispy, soft and cooked, fat but not greasy, and the green alfalfa removes the oil, tastes light and delicious, and is paired with the thick and rich sauce and mellow flavor of the pig large intestine, which really complements each other and is delicious.

However, dishes like Caotouquanzi appeared relatively late, and were consumed in large quantities even later. Xia Mingyue was still very surprised when she was suddenly made by Lou Shanzi.

"It was a coincidence." Lou Shanzi answered truthfully, "Da Hu and Er Hu used to make pig intestines with rock sugar, but now it's hot and the rock sugar melts easily and doesn't form a hard shell, so they stopped making it. Some diners couldn't eat it, so we often discussed it and decided to make a dish that uses pig intestines as an ingredient but is suitable for eating at this time of year."

"That day, I was at the front and heard someone talking about a dish he had eaten in his hometown, called grass-head circles. It tasted wonderful. Even though he had been away from home for decades, he still missed the taste. Although he tried to make it himself, he could never make it taste authentic. I was a little curious, so I asked him how to make the grass-head circles."

"After several days of thinking, we finally made this grass circle. We all tasted it and thought it tasted good, so we specially invited Master to come over and taste it to see how it tasted."

It turned out to be the case.

The era she traveled to did not exist in history, so it seems that the time when many things appeared did not correspond to reality.

This Caotou circle should be a local delicacy somewhere in this world and is deeply loved.

In that case, she should try it.

Xia Mingyue picked up the chopsticks and picked up a piece of the circle.

The pig intestines are cut into circles of just the right size, and are perfect for eating one bite at a time. The pig intestines are cleanly handled, and enough ingredients are added when stewing them. The heat is perfectly controlled, and the texture is soft and tender, not greasy or fishy.

The marinade has a salty and sweet taste, and the amount of thickening is also perfectly controlled. It has a really mellow taste and is very satisfying when eaten.

When the alfalfa, also known as the grass head, is stir-fried in the pan, the oil temperature is hot enough and the process is fast enough, so you can tell that it is served as soon as it is raw, so it tastes refreshing and delicious. However, because it is stir-fried with lard, the grass head fully absorbs the freshness and fragrance of the lard, making it taste even more unique.

"It tastes good." Xia Mingyue nodded repeatedly, and put another piece of the circle into her mouth, praising, "The cooking time and seasoning are both top-notch. It looks like our Buyun Tower will have another signature dish."

Seeing his craftsmanship being praised by Xia Mingyue, Lou Shanzi was overjoyed and rubbed his hands excitedly, "Really?"

"Of course it's true." Xia Mingyue smiled, "Your cooking skills have improved a lot compared to before. I think if you come up with any new dishes in the future, you don't have to teach you step by step. You can learn by yourself." Free from the guidance of the master, he began to figure out the dishes by himself. His cooking skills could be improved continuously. For those who study cooking, this is reaching another level.

I have to say that her vision is accurate. Although Lou Shanzi started slowly, he learned steadily and seriously, and was able to achieve great success through accumulated experience.

It is unpredictable what such a person's culinary skills will be like in the future.

Xia Mingyue was pleased that she could accept such a disciple, and was even more happy for Lou Shanzi's future.

Lou Shanzi was praised again, and he became even more shy. He just grabbed his ears and said embarrassedly, "Master, thank you for the compliment..."

"Aunt Xia never gives away awards!" Zhao Dahu interrupted.

"Yes." Zhao Erhu agreed, "Aunt Xia only speaks the truth, so Brother Lou's cooking skills are really amazing now!"

The two brothers also expressed their approval of Lou Shanzi and even gave him a thumbs up.

With everyone's approval, Lou Shanzi became more confident and nodded vigorously, "Yes! I am awesome now!"

Xia Mingyue looked at the confident Lou Shanzi with a smile, and then looked at Zhao Dahu and Zhao Erhu, "Now that I have talked about your brother Lou, how are you two doing?"

what?
Shall we talk about the two of them?

Zhao Dahu and Zhao Erhu suddenly felt guilty. They looked at each other and didn't dare to say another word.

It’s not that the two of them have made any mistakes recently. On the contrary, they are now cooking very properly.

But precisely because it is too regular, it seems a bit mediocre.

Even the old customers who often came to Buyun Tower to eat in recent days couldn't help but complain to Shopkeeper Ge, "The dishes cooked by the Zhao brothers in recent days are not bad, but when I eat them, I always feel as if something is missing..."

And the diners couldn't clearly explain what was missing.

But if I had to describe it, it's a bit like a pot of water that is about to boil. Bubbles seem to be coming out from the bottom of the pot, but the water just doesn't boil completely, which makes me feel very regretful.

Zhao Dahu and Zhao Erhu both knew the existence of this situation and knew the reason why it occurred.

Day after day, they gathered around the stove, cooking the same dishes every day, and there seemed to be no change, as if they were a spinning wheel on the ground, which was whipped twice every day before starting its daily rotation.

Nothing new.

This boring life made them both feel a little bored, and naturally they lost their previous passion for cooking.

For a chef, dishes are the things that best reflect his mood. Since the two of them were not in the mood, the dishes they made naturally lacked some of the original flavor.

Seeing that the two were silent, Xia Mingyue also sighed. (End of this chapter)