1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 36 The Troublemaker in the Kitchen [Please Read! !]

"Yes, yes, yes!" Ronan responded.

This was the first time he had heard his father's voice since leaving Paris.

"Cut the beef into large pieces." Luo Tianhai said slowly.

After explaining all the steps and Ronan saying there was no problem, Luo Tianhai said calmly:

"Bring something else tomorrow. The food doesn't have to be delicious, but don't be impolite. You are representing China now."

Ronan smacked his lips twice.

怪他
The tone was too high, and my parents thought that this meal had risen to a political level.

"Okay, got it." Without waiting for Ronan to say anything else, Luo Tianhai hung up the phone.

Ronan slammed the table excitedly.

The Long March has finally taken the first step!

Based on the recipe given by his father, Ronan added his own cooking knowledge and made some improvements to the braised beef.

More than an hour later, he soaked the stewed beef in the marinade prepared in advance to soak it in flavor, and then continued to make the second dish, the mouth-watering chicken.

Mouth-watering chicken is not as complicated as braised beef, and it can be prepared in less than an hour.

He picked up a piece with his newly bought chopsticks and put it in his mouth.
[Increase happiness by 3 points by tasting the mouth-watering chicken]

The system answered for Ronan's tongue.

"You don't need to taste the braised beef. Drain the water and put it in the refrigerator overnight." Ronan picked up the baguette from the table, tore off a piece, and soaked it in the tempting red oil soup. He said with great regret, "If I had known it would be so successful, I would have steamed some rice."

the next day.

Ronan returned to the village of Lourmarin before sunset.

He first went to the butcher's shop to buy a chicken, then went home to pack the braised beef in the refrigerator, and then took all the seasonings needed to make the mouth-watering chicken, and knocked on Louis' door with his "big and small bags".

"Look, our chef is here!" Alan, with a pipe in his mouth, started joking as soon as he saw Ronan.

"I'm not a master chef, I just show off my skills." Ronan carried something into the kitchen where Leia was busy.

"Do you need anything? I'll prepare it for you." Leah is a good host.

"I brought them all." Ronan said, pointing to his big bag.

The men and women chatting in the living room heard Ronan's voice and rushed into the kitchen.

"Ronan, are we making dumplings today? Vieri just described how it tastes, and I'm hungry." Freddy is a complete foodie. He is always the last person to put down his knife and fork at the table.

"We're not having dumplings today. I've prepared other dishes." Ronan started to process the chicken.

The kitchen area is limited, and even in Provence, which is vast and sparsely populated, it is impossible to "entertain" more than a dozen people at the same time.

In line with the principle of respecting the elderly and loving the young, everyone let the oldest Carl stand in the front position.

"Young man, you don't cook often, do you?" Carl commented on Ronan's speed in processing the chicken in a 'gourmet' manner.

Ronan wiped the water that splashed on his face with the back of his hand:

“I started cooking in Provence.”

"Oh la la -" Karl said with a long tail sound, "You are too rude to the food. If you treat a lady with such force, she will kick you off the bed."

The laughter of men could be heard all around.

Ronan had no way of refutation of what Carl said.

Level 2 [Cooking] gave him a lot of cooking knowledge, such as how to make dough, how to keep meat elastic, how many grams of salt to add to each gram of food, etc. But it did not enhance Ronan's knife skills and hands-on ability.

Ronan guessed that the scene of a ten-year-old child cutting a chicken should be highly consistent with his current actions.

"But this doesn't affect the taste of the food." Ronan tried to save face.

Knowing that Ronan was a newcomer who had just entered the 'gourmet world' for a month, these 'veteran gourmets' put a big question mark on his achievements tonight.

Can it really be delicious?

Uh. Maybe.

The enthusiasm faded and the onlookers left the kitchen one by one.

But the kitchen soon welcomed several new "visitors". Leah, who was cutting vegetables, shouted outside:
"Vieri, take Bobo and the others out! They went into the kitchen and made trouble."

"Okay, mom." Vieri obediently pulled the three dogs out.

A few minutes later, Leah's cry came again:
"Vieri, they're coming in again!"

"You guys get out of here, this is not the place for you." Vieri came in again to catch the dog.

A few minutes later, Leah's voice was clearly filled with anger:

"Vieri, take them to the yard to play for a while!"

"Mom! They won't leave." Vieri and the three dogs started fighting.

"My God, what is it in the kitchen that attracts them?" Leah walked around the kitchen.

Ronan's mouth couldn't help but twitch.

What else could it be?
The braised beef in soy sauce he brought.

Yesterday, the semi-finished product made my little black boy clamor for it all night long. Now it has been refrigerated overnight. I can’t imagine how delicious it will be now!
Provence is full of 'experts'.

In addition to a large number of gourmets, there are also quite a few zoologists.

The abnormalities of Louis' three dogs attracted the attention of zoologist Freddy.

Freddy runs a butchery, and according to him, everyone living in Provence has eaten the meat he slaughtered.

As someone who deals with cold animals every day, he is quite convincing when he says that he knows living animals very well.

He left his companions in the living room, took his glass of wine and went to the kitchen, carefully analyzing why they were reluctant to leave the kitchen.

"There's a smell here that attracts them, a smell they can't resist," Freddy concluded.

"There is food in the kitchen every day, but I've never seen them so persistent." Leah looked worried.

Freddy took two sips of wine, his eyes turned and he asked:
"Did you buy anything today?"

It must be the new smell that caught their attention.

Leah shook her head:

"I didn't go out today."

"Is this so"

Freddy and Leah both looked at Ronan who was giving a massage to a chicken.

Ronan felt that there was no point in pretending any longer, as everyone would be able to eat it sooner or later, so he suddenly realized something and took out a large piece of braised beef from the bag, and asked in a half-believing and half-doubting manner:
“Maybe it’s the smell of this?”

As soon as Ronan took out the things, the three dogs immediately stuck to him, waiting to be fed in a fawning manner.

Freddy got there first and tasted the braised beef before the dog.

He said "Wow" three times in a row, put his thumb, index finger and middle finger together, and kissed them with his mouth:
"It tastes amazing! Did you make this?"

Ronan couldn't bear to see Freddy using his kissed fingers to pick at his favorite braised beef, so he simply took the knife and cut it:

"Yes."

Leah curiously tasted a small piece of the fallen crumbs:

"beef?"

Ronan cut the braised beef into pieces, put them on a plate and pushed them to them:

"Yes, a Chinese way of cooking beef, it's delicious when you eat it in big bites, like I do."

As he spoke, Ronan stuffed a half palm-sized slice of braised beef with soy sauce into his mouth.

Freddy stuffed three slices into his mouth, licked his fingers, and walked out:
"Oh my God, who just bet a pack of cigarettes that Ronan would definitely mess up dinner? I want to place the bet!"

The kitchen was crowded again.

Everyone's movements are so uniform.

Eat a piece of braised beef in soy sauce, and express with gestures that this is the most amazing beef flavor he/she has ever eaten, then take a sip of red wine, then continue eating the meat, change a set of words to express his/her love, and then drink more.
Ronan leaned against the refrigerator and took a sip of the cold beer in his hand.

"Provence is indeed full of gourmets. I don't need to tell you that braised beef should be paired with wine."

(End of this chapter)