Miao Chu

Chapter 74 Accident
Upon hearing this, the two workers glanced at Song Miao and then hurriedly ran to the other side.

Master Su gave Song Miao several warnings in succession, and then called over a laborer, who was immediately put in charge of running around.

He first ordered this person to cut and chop meat, then called that person to pick scallions and start the fire, while he himself squatted to the side rummaging through drawers and cabinets, busy with something, making a clanging noise.

After fiddling around for a while, he locked the cabinet with a small lock before returning to the workbench. He kneaded the dough on the workbench with all his might, acting as if he had nothing on his mind but to work, and didn't even say a word to Song Miao.

Song Miao had been warned by Han Li and knew that Zheng Guanren was likely to cause trouble. Seeing that after he took Master Su out, the latter came back and made this move, so it was not surprising.

The government offices of the Great Wei had a fixed number of staff, and all the cooks were hired from outside, paid only on a monthly basis.

If a hired cook wants to have a stable job, he still has to listen to his current supervisor—this Chef Su is just doing what Master Zheng is telling him to do.

Although he is not the culprit, his practice of picking out the best meat and stealing people is really annoying.

However, Master Zheng had already slipped away. If Song Miao were to start a fight with Master Su now, whether she would suffer a loss or not is another matter, but it would definitely waste time.

Song Miao was too lazy to argue with him. She rummaged through the condiments in the basins, jars, and cabinets. Seeing that everything else was there except for oil, she asked, "May I ask, Chef Su, where is the oil in the kitchen?"

"Oh dear! It seems we've run out!" Master Su finally looked up and replied seriously, "I said yesterday that we were out of them and was just about to go get more, but I haven't had a chance to get them yet."

As she spoke, she picked up an oil bottle in front of her, opened the lid to show Song Miao, and said, "I only have a little left here. I need it for making fillings and kneading dough later, but I can't wait. I'll have someone go and get it when they're done—you can do other things first!"

Then, in front of Song Miao, he called out, "Dabing, chop up the filling and go find Master Zheng to get two buckets of oil."

The worker called "Big Pancake" paused for a moment before finally agreeing.

Song Miao could tell at a glance that something was amiss.

The other party is deliberately delaying; who knows when the oil will be returned?

If we can't get it back, and there's no oil, are we supposed to boil this vegetable in water?

But Song Miao didn't argue with him. After searching around, she found a full range of seasonings, including dogwood, mustard seeds, Sichuan peppercorns, and fermented black beans. There was also a large cloth bag containing dried shrimp, dried shiitake mushrooms, and so on. After looking around, she found a basket of mung bean sprouts in a corner.

Since Chef Su said she could use any of the ingredients in the kitchen, she didn't ask any more questions. She took a bowl and was about to fill it with any seasonings she might need when she heard someone outside the door ask, "Which one of you is Miss Song?"

Song Miao turned around and saw two servants standing outside. She replied, "That's me."

The two hurried in and introduced themselves. They were sent by Han Li to help out. Although they had no cooking skills, they had cooked before and knew how to start a fire.

Song Miao greeted the two of them, then asked one of them to light the fire and cook the pot, and asked the other to help her wash the rice and cook.

Cooking rice in a large pot is different from cooking it in a small pot. It's not easy to cook it thoroughly and make it fragrant. If you don't pay attention to the heat, the bottom will burn while the middle and upper layers are still raw, or the top layer will be soft and mushy while the bottom layer is dry.

In this rush, there wasn't time to soak the rice in water beforehand.

But Song Miao was experienced. Her solution was to steam the rice twice. After the first steaming, she would steam it for the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn. Then she would pour out the cooked rice and let it sit for a while before adding water and oil, mixing it well, and steaming it again.

Rice steamed in this way, even if it's made with inferior or old rice, will taste much more fragrant and soft.

After rinsing the rice, and just as she put the full thirty catties of rice and water into the pot to steam, Master Su, who had been looking down, saw her movements and watched for a while before speaking up: "I have steamed buns, mantou, and pancakes here. You're cooking? How can you possibly finish all of this?"

But Song Miao didn't believe him at all. This action was to prevent this person from causing any more trouble. She said, "It's okay, just keep it in hand. If someone gets hungry at night, you can use it to fry rice."

The other person frowned, glanced at the oil jug in front of him, snorted coldly, and ultimately said nothing.

Song Miao ignored him and took the opportunity to carefully consider how to best combine the ingredients in the kitchen.

The inspectors, yamen runners, and clerks of the Left and Right Military Patrol Offices had been busy all day, and then they had to work through the night. It would be unreasonable and difficult to sustain them if they were only given thin soup and water for dinner.

Song Miao felt that even though the ingredients weren't plentiful, she still had to find a way to cook a satisfying meal for people.

At this point, the only meat left was pork belly and beef.

Although the beef is good meat, with a good balance of fat and lean, it only weighs four or five pounds.

This meat shrinks a lot. Once cooked, it's good if about 70% is left. If it's sliced ​​and spread among a hundred or so people, even with the best knife skills and the thinnest slices, each person won't get much. It's simply not presentable.

But there was still a block of tofu on the counter, and in the cupboard there were also fermented black beans, Sichuan peppercorns, dogwood, mustard seeds and other seasonings, just right to make a spicy tofu with minced beef.

When the time comes, adjust the spiciness to three or four points. This level of spiciness will be acceptable to more people. Even people from Guangnan can barely handle it. It's enough to go with rice, and it tastes good with flatbread, steamed buns, or dumplings.

With the side dishes for rice sorted out, it's time to think about proper meat dishes.

Time was tight, and there wasn't time to braise or stew the meat. The only pork belly we could use was in fan shape, which was very fatty. We didn't know how much the pig had eaten from its trough while it was alive, because even the fatty parts were thicker than those of other pigs. If it wasn't handled properly, it would be very greasy.

She thought for a moment and decided to pan-fry it instead. When it was hot, she would take it out of the pan, crispy on the outside and meaty on the inside. She would cut it into large slices, and although it wasn't a fancy dish, it would definitely taste good.

It's difficult for large-pot dishes to achieve the desired wok hei (wok aroma), but pan-fried pork belly is no exception. Simply pan-fry it over low heat, and start slicing it once the person arrives; this will preserve its aroma.

We've got the main meat dish and side dishes to go with rice, so let's add a vegetable dish and a soup.

With three dishes and a soup, as long as the portions are generous, even someone with a large stomach can eat until they're stuffed and won't complain.

Having made up her mind, Song Miao didn't ask Master Su, but instead asked the two servants about the usual meal times. She glanced at the water clock in the corner and silently calculated the time in her mind.

Cooking is not just about skill. With more dishes and larger quantities, in the end, it's all about math and planning ability.

How to ensure that different dishes are cooked at the same time when they taste best, and how to adjust the seasoning according to the amount of each dish, all require calculation.

Relying solely on feel, it's fine for a small dining table, but it's difficult to cook well in a large pot. After deciding on the dishes to make and the time required for each task, and planning the use of pots, stoves, and manpower, Song Miao called over the two handymen.

She first pointed to the water clock and explained to the two men what they each needed to do, in what order, and when each task had to be completed. After she finished speaking, she asked, "I wonder if you two can make it in time and if you can accomplish it?"

It was just some chores like washing vegetables, starting a fire, and chopping vegetables, which didn't require any cooking skills, and the two of them readily agreed.

After arranging these things, Song Miao immediately washed the pork belly in the pan with water. Once the pan was hot, she placed the pork belly directly into the hot pan and seared the surface to remove the porky smell. After washing it again, she cut it into palm-sized pieces, about half an inch thick, and then removed the fattest part and sliced ​​it thinly.

Since there was no oil available, she naturally couldn't rely on waiting, so she added water, ginger, and other ingredients to the thin slices of fatty meat and slowly rendered some oil for later use.

While she was rendering oil, she put chunks of pork belly into a pot of cold water, along with ginger, scallions, and salt. She brought it to a boil over high heat, then turned the heat down to low and let it simmer.

At this moment, one of the two servants was helping to chop the beef, while the other was washing the cabbage and bean sprouts.

Seeing that they were doing well, Song Miao didn't interfere much. She then went to arrange all the necessary seasonings and condiments, and chopped the scallions, ginger, garlic, and other ingredients before starting to beat the eggs.

There wasn't enough time to make soup, but she didn't want to just give a clear broth. Luckily, she had some bok choy, eggs, and flour on hand. Although she didn't have pepper—it was too expensive—Sichuan peppercorns would do, and she could manage to make a mushy bok choy soup.

This soup is fragrant and rich. If you add a little less flour and make it less thick, it will be very pleasant to eat.

There are still bean sprouts left. I'll stir-fry them with vinegar later, dividing them into several small pots, and stir-frying one pot every now and then. Although it's a bit of work for me, I can ensure that the bean sprouts are crisp, tender, and refreshing, and won't wilt or become soggy.

After Song Miao finished cracking and beating all the eggs, she checked the oil simmering in the pot over low heat. It was ready. The other pot of boiled pork belly was also ready; it was easily pierced with chopsticks.

She scooped out both dishes, washed the pot, left a small fire burning under the stove, and laid the pork belly pieces one by one at the bottom of the pot. She didn't add any oil or other seasonings and slowly fried it while turning to look at the rice.

Sure enough, the first dish of rice was already cooked.

Just then, a servant finished washing the cabbage and was free to help. Song Miao asked him to help scoop the rice out and put it in a large basin. She added water and freshly rendered lard, stirred it all together, and let the rice grains absorb the water and oil on their own. Afterward, the rice was put back into the pot to steam.

Although there were only two servants, and it was their first time entering the kitchen of the government office, Song Miao led them and assigned them tasks one by one, explaining and teaching them everything verbally and by hand. Most importantly, the tasks she assigned were all very simple and easy to learn. She also arranged for them to do one thing at a time, and everything was done very well.

The two followed instructions without rushing or being in a hurry; on the contrary, they both seemed quite efficient.

Song Miao kept praising the vegetables, saying they were washed very clean, the leaves were neatly broken and the right size, and the meat was chopped very finely and quickly, and the fire was well-managed and closely monitored.

However, in the same kitchen, the white food preparation area across the street is completely different.

The two apprentices were probably helping with the whitewashing for the first time, and whether they were genuinely not good at it or for some other reason, they were constantly being scolded by Master Su.

The cook kept nagging about how this steamed bun had too much meat filling and would easily leak out, and then he complained that the dough portions weren't evenly sized, resulting in some large and some small steamed buns that were difficult to steam.

He clearly had a bad temper; his voice was loud and noisy, and he swore rudely. Sometimes, while he was talking, he would kick the pancake and hit it on the head with his oily hands—the latter half-dodged and half-avoided.

Song Miao frowned as she looked at it.

She disliked Master Su, unaware that Master Su was also observing her, growing angrier as he did so.

—Song Miao used two novices so well here, but he used two experienced ones and stumbled around, making it seem like he didn't know how to train people.

He was grumbling and cursing, but he was actually distracted by Song Miao's movements. Every now and then he would make an excuse to come over and take a closer look, just trying to guess what she was going to do.

The cook didn't really believe that a young woman could produce anything good in a rush, but seeing her methodical approach, he became annoyed, especially when he saw Song Miao cut up the fatty pork belly to render oil right away.

However, when Chef Su saw Song Miao cut that palm-sized slice of pork belly, he breathed a sigh of relief, his cursing voice softened, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his face.

This woman cuts the pork belly into pieces this thick and long; she must be making braised pork belly, right?

If you're making braised pork belly, it's impossible to cook it properly in less than half an hour; the meat will definitely be fatty and greasy!

He had carefully examined the pork belly today; it was extremely fatty. Moreover, she could only find a small pot of soy sauce in the kitchen, and the sugar had been put away. The seasonings were incomplete and not enough. If the inspectors and yamen runners ate it, wouldn't they curse her?

Besides, there was no oil.

He had just seen clearly that the other party had poured all the oil she had rendered into the rice. Did she really expect him to ask someone to bring her oil back?

The dream was beautiful!

With his mind at ease, Master Su glanced at the water clock and realized that time was running out. He had been so engrossed in watching the excitement that he hadn't paid much attention to his work. If it got any later, he feared he wouldn't have enough time to steam and wrap the buns. So he quickly lowered his head and got back to work.

Song Miao had no idea that the other party had so much free time.

She timed the process, flipping the pan-fried pork belly several times. After two rounds of cooking, about half a pot of lard had been rendered.

She poured the lard into a hot pan and then poured the beaten egg mixture into it from a height, stirring it in circles with chopsticks as she poured.

The hot pan and lard collided with the egg mixture, quickly releasing an intense aroma of fried eggs. The mixture was then broken up into small pieces by chopsticks.

Song Miao fried two large bowls of eggs, adding a few peppercorns to give the rich aroma of the fried eggs a slightly pungent flavor that enhanced the taste.

She used a lot of lard, so it was more like a half-fried and half-deep-fried egg than a pan-fried one. The aroma that burst out was so strong that the two servants couldn't help but turn around to look.

It wasn't just the handyman watching; the two laborers on the other side were also secretly peeking over.

Song Miao was focused on cooking and naturally ignored it. She was putting flour into the oil and frying it over low heat until it was fragrant. Just as she added boiling water, she heard a loud "bang" from the other side, followed by a series of "thumps". Something messy fell to the ground, followed by a scream of pain.

She was immediately startled, not knowing what had happened, and quickly looked up.

(End of this chapter)