The sunny boy in Cardcaptor Sakura

Chapter 464 Cooking
Kinomoto family, kitchen.

Looking at the neatly organized and clean kitchen, Xia Yu nodded secretly. From the little details in the kitchen, it can be seen that Xiaoying's home must be very warm.

It seems that Fujitaka, a single father who plays both the role of father and mother, is indeed very responsible. Even though he can only raise two children by himself, his love and care for them has not diminished in the slightest.

On the side, seeing Xia Yu looking at his kitchen, Xiaoying couldn't help but smiled a little embarrassedly and said, "Sorry, my kitchen is very small and there are not many tools. I think it will be a bit restrictive."

"Absolutely not."

Noticing what Xiaoying said, Xia Yu, who was originally sighing, came back to his senses, shook his head and said seriously: "Just by looking at this clean stove, I can see that you take your daily life very seriously."

"Eh? Can you tell that?"

Xiaoying was slightly startled, and following Xia Yu's words, she also looked around her own kitchen. Perhaps because she was too familiar with it, she didn't see anything.

"Of course you can see it, like this."

Xia Yu stretched out his index finger and rubbed the tile surface next to the gas stove, then twisted his finger, looked at Xiaoying and smiled: "It doesn't feel sticky at all. Doesn't this just mean that you guys clean the kitchen carefully after cooking every day?"

Anyone who has cooked knows that because of the fumes, the tiles next to the gas stove will easily be covered with a sticky layer of oil stains.

Even if you don't cook often, this situation is likely to occur as long as you turn on the fire and add oil. Only by wiping it carefully after cooking every time can you avoid the accumulation of oil stains on the tiles.

A clean stove makes one feel more comfortable. Just looking at this point, Sakura and the others live their lives very seriously every day.

"But isn't it normal to clean the kitchen after cooking?"

"That being said, there aren't many people who clean as diligently as you do."

Xia Yu spread her hands and told the cruel truth. After all, most people would just wash the dishes after cooking, and as for the stains in the kitchen, they would just wipe them with a rag.

Kitchen tiles like these that don’t feel sticky at all must have been cleaned by someone who is either really serious or has obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"oh oh."

Xiaoying nodded in confusion. Is there anyone who doesn't even clean the kitchen carefully? But the kitchen is for cooking, how can you not clean it carefully?
Sakura felt herself being shocked.

"Okay, let's get started. Where are the ingredients you bought?"

"It's in the refrigerator. Wait, let me get the apron first."

Sakura tapped her slippers and walked out of the kitchen. After cooking every time, they would wash their aprons carefully and hang them up to dry, and take them down when they were to be used next time.

Watching Xiaoying leave, Xia Yu walked directly to the refrigerator, opened the door, and planned to see what ingredients Xiaoying bought.

Shrimp, carrots, corn... and gluten-free flour. Are you planning to make shrimp dumplings? Or shrimp dumplings?

After all, gluten-free flour, also known as rice flour, is suitable for making various dim sum, such as shrimp dumplings, rice noodle rolls, etc., which is very much in line with the taste of Li Xiaolang, a Hong Konger.

After a while, Sakura came back with two aprons, one yellow and one white.

Looking at this obvious women's apron, Xia Yu hesitated for a second, but still reached out and took the white apron that Xiaoying handed over.

"So… this is your apron?"

"Yes, because dad and brother's aprons are adult styles, which are a bit too big for us, so Xia can only wear one of mine."

After finishing speaking, seeing that Xia Yu still had a strange expression, Xiaoying asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"

"nothing."

Xia Yu shook her head and put on the apron. Although it was a women's apron, it was just an apron and it was nothing special.

Moreover, the apron is loose to begin with, so after tying it on, it won’t feel tight or too small to wear.

"Then let's get started."

"Wait, let me take a note first."

Sakura quickly took out a small notebook from her pocket and a pen. After opening the notebook, she replied.

"I'm ready."

"You really are serious."

Xia Yu raised his eyebrows, spread out the ingredients he took out of the refrigerator one by one, and asked, "What are you going to make? Shrimp Shaomai?"

"Eh? Xia, can you even guess this?"

Sakura was slightly surprised. She hadn't even said this yet, but he could guess the finished product just by looking at the ingredients. That was too amazing.

"Chengmian is suitable for making these Cantonese noodles. Since there are shrimps in the ingredients, it must be either shrimp dumplings or siu mai, so it must be shrimp siu mai?"

Xia Yu casually threw the shrimp into the pool to wash it, and Xiaoying put down her notes and went over to help, replying: "Yes, it's shrimp steamed buns. Meiling said that Xiaolang's favorite food is this."

"Fortunately, the boy is from Hong Kong and likes to eat snacks like this. If he were from Sichuan, hehe, you would be in trouble."

"Eh? Why?"

"Sichuan people love spicy food. If you are not good at eating spicy food, you might choke yourself and cry just by cooking."

"Uh-huh——"

Hearing Xia Yu's words, Xiaoying exclaimed in surprise and shuddered subconsciously.

Somehow, she suddenly imagined herself crying while cooking. If the little wolf saw her like that, she would be so ashamed that she couldn't raise her head.

Fortunately, Meiling never told Xiaolang that he liked spicy food. At most, she said that Xiaolang didn’t like konjac just like her.

This made her very happy. After all, neither she nor the little wolf liked eating konjac. So she wouldn't need to add konjac to the food she cooked for the little wolf in the future.

"By the way, Xia, do you like spicy food?" After washing all the ingredients, Sakura looked at them curiously.

"I like it. I'm good at spicy food, especially spicy hot pot... Come on, chop these shrimps into shrimp paste."

While Xia Yu was cutting the washed vegetables on the chopping board, he put a small portion of the washed shrimp into a bowl and handed it to Xiaoying.

"it is good."

Xiaoying nodded and took it. She poured the shrimps onto another chopping board and chopped them into shrimp paste. Then she turned her head and asked, "So, Xia, you are from Sichuan?"

"No, I'm next to Sichuan, but the dialect there is similar to Sichuanese. Because I speak with a slight accent, people often mistake me for a Sichuanese."

"I see. But Xia, your accent is very accurate. It doesn't sound like a dialect at all."

"..."

Xia Yu paused while cutting vegetables, glanced at Xiaoying helplessly and replied: "Is there a possibility? I mean maybe, my accent is Mandarin, not Japanese."

After all, they are both languages. How could he possibly speak Japanese with his own accent?
"Eh?"

Sakura was stunned when she heard that and her face immediately turned red. Because she had heard Xiaoke's Osaka accent so many times, she subconsciously thought that this accent was also Japanese.

Sakura, who accidentally made a fool of herself, stopped chatting and quickly processed the shrimps in her hand with a slightly red face. After she had cut all the shrimp paste, she looked over.

"I've already cut it here."

"Okay, then you can also prepare the remaining shrimps, mix them with cooking wine, a little salt and a little white pepper, and marinate them for ten minutes."

"Wait, let me take some notes first." Hearing Xia Yu's words, Xiaoying quickly washed her hands, then wiped them on her apron, picked up the notebook she had placed aside and started taking notes.

When she was halfway through memorizing, she looked up in confusion and asked, "Um, how much is a little?"

"A little is a little."

Xia Yu, who was kneading dough, chuckled and looked over and said, "It's like the quantifiers like a little bit and a proper amount. It's impossible to give a precise number of grams."

"Ah this..."

Sakura was dumbfounded for a moment, unable to give an exact number of grams. Could it be that she could only go by her feeling?
As if seeing Xiaoying's confusion, Xia Yu added: "It all depends on your feeling. If you cook a lot, you will naturally know how to put a little and the right amount."

"But this is my first time making shrimp siu mai?"

Xiaoying felt like crying but couldn't. How could she cook based on her feelings? Should she cook based on her usual feelings? Would it taste good?
Seeing Xiaoying in trouble, Xia Yu wiped his hands and replied: "Okay, then I'll demonstrate these in small amounts first, you just remember how many spoons."

"it is good!!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Sakura's eyes instantly lit up, and she understood what was said.

It would be more convenient to put a certain amount of spoons. She really doesn't know how much to put, a little or the right amount.

……

"When marinating shrimp, you can put the previously chopped shrimp paste with onions, ginger, garlic, carrots and corn shreds, as well as salt, sugar, cooking oil, white pepper powder and chicken stock in a bowl and mix well for later use."

"Then roll the fermented and kneaded dough into long strips and cut them into small pieces. If you don't need them for the time being, you can cover them with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out."

"Now, after the shrimps are marinated, you can roll the dough into wrappers and then wrap siomai. By the way, do you know how to wrap siomai?"

Xia Yu, who was covering the cut dough with plastic wrap, looked at Xiaoying and asked.

Xiaoying, who was taking notes, looked up embarrassedly when she heard this: "Sorry, I only know how to make dumplings, not siu mai."

"Okay, I've guessed it. Remember to learn from this when you make siu mai later. The technique of making siu mai is also very important."

"Yes, Teacher Xia!"

"Um... Teacher Xia."

Hearing Sakura's name, Xia Yu thought about it and felt that it was quite pleasant to be called that, so he had to find an opportunity to let Tomoyo call her that as well.

A few minutes later, the shrimps were marinated, and Xia Yu then rolled the dough into dough sheets, while still giving instructions.

"Siomai is neither a dumpling nor a wonton, so the dough has to be neither too thin nor too thick. If it's too thick, it won't taste good, and if it's too thin, it's easy to break when you pinch it."

"After rolling out the dough, the shrimp paste is used as the filling. Wrap it into the shape of a siu mai like this, and then put a large piece of shrimp on top, and a siu mai is ready."

"oh oh!!"

Looking at the steamed dumplings that Xia Yu had wrapped, Xiaoying's eyes lit up. She exclaimed in amazement and quickly wrote it down in her notebook.

After taking notes, she rolled out the dough herself and then tried to make steamed dumplings.

After wrapping a steamed bun, Xiaoying looked at her crooked steamed bun and said in frustration: "It's so difficult..."

Looking at the dumplings that looked like neither dumplings nor steamed buns, Xia Yu suppressed his laughter and encouraged them, "It's okay. It's always like this the first time. Just try a few more times and you'll be fine."

"Is it the same the first time, Teacher Xia?"

"Forehead……"

Xia Yu was speechless for a moment and subconsciously looked away. What should he say? Should he tell the truth and hurt Xiaoying?
Looking at Xia Yu like this, Xiaoying couldn't help but shed tears in her heart and said, "I'm sorry, I am really an idiot."

"Hehe, don't underestimate yourself. There's also the saying that hard work can make up for lack of talent." Xia Yu coughed lightly and gave some encouragement to Xiaoying who had lost confidence.

However, Sakura was not the kind of person who would get frustrated. She immediately cheered up and clenched her fist and said, "That's right. I will work hard to make Xiaolang eat the most perfect shrimp dumplings."

After saying that, Sakura put down the Sibu Xiang in her hand and rolled out the dough again, intending to start over.

Seeing Sakura like this, Xia Yu nodded. It seemed that she didn't need his encouragement. Sakura's love for that boy was enough to make her muster all her energy.

After more than ten minutes, all the dough turned into steamed buns.

Xia Yu looked at the shrimp steamed buns that had gone from being crooked at the beginning to looking about right in the end, and nodded in praise.

"Very good, if you do it one or two more times, Sakura, you will definitely be able to do it exactly like me."

"Hehe~ It's all thanks to Teacher Xia's good teaching."

"Well, I like to hear that."

Xia Yu was not polite at all. After all, Xiaoying was just telling the truth, which only proved that Xiaoying was an honest child.

"Now that the siu mai are ready, put them in the steamer. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then switch to medium-low heat and steam for about ten minutes."

"Yes!"

Xiaoying nodded and turned on the stove, then put the pot and added water to the steamer, then put the prepared steamed dumplings in one by one and turned on the gas stove.

Start steaming.

The steaming process was nothing interesting, so after finishing the cooking, the two people came to the living room and planned to wait for ten minutes before going to the kitchen to check.

"Thank you so much, Xia-san."

Sakura thanked again while holding her notebook. After all, if she had followed the video before, she would not have been able to do it so smoothly.

You know, when she was learning how to make omelet, she failed several times, and she could only eat those failed ones with tears.

This time it went so smoothly, and with Xia Yu supervising, the finished product will definitely not be bad.

"You're welcome. It's normal for friends to help each other."

Xia Yu held the teacup and took a sip of the tea that Xiaoying had just brewed. Besides, Xiaoying called him Teacher Xia, so as a teacher, he naturally had to teach such a studious student well.

"Then if there is a chance in the future, can I still ask for advice from classmate Xia?"

"Ahem, what should I call you then?"

"Teacher Xia!"

"That's right. When studying, you have to refer to people by their positions. You can't just call them casually."

"Can I still ask Teacher Xia for advice in the future?"

"Of course, you can call me teacher."

　I am ashamed to say that I am the one who doesn't clean the kitchen. The kitchen tiles feel sticky. But it's not really the kind of stickiness that comes from dripping oil, it just doesn't feel as smooth as when it was just put on. This is the case with kitchen tiles that have been used for a long time.

　　……

　　Emmm, I wrote a whole chapter on how to make shrimp steamed buns. Although it sounds easy to write, I have never actually made it or even eaten it. I have eaten glutinous rice steamed buns, but they were not very delicious.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)