1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 85 Braised Beef and Cold Chicken Salad (Sixth Update!)

"Have it."

Zhou Yan responded and went to find Zhou Hao and Zhou Hai. Together, they grabbed Zheng Qiang and took him away.

He brought over a bowl and chopsticks, sat down next to Xiao Lei, poured wine for his master, and chatted about the arrangements for tomorrow's banquet.

Jiaozhou's "Ba Ba Banquet" is mainly held at noon, featuring nine large bowls of hearty dishes to ensure guests are full and satisfied.

Dinner will be simple, with two meat dishes and a few stir-fried vegetables. Minced meat and pickled cowpeas are good dishes to eat with sweet potato porridge.

In fact, not only in Jiaozhou, but Zhou Yan had also attended several wedding banquets in Sichuan, and the lunch banquet was always the most grand, with the wedding ceremony also taking place at noon, which was different from the more important evening banquet in Zhejiang Province.

As for dinner, usually after playing mahjong in the afternoon and having a bowl of porridge to fill their stomachs, everyone goes home.

Who can stomach two meals of greasy, meaty food in a row?

Xiao Lei put his arm around Zhou Yan's shoulder and said earnestly, "Learn from your grandma. If you can learn eight-tenths of her braised food skills, you won't have to worry about selling your food in Suji. People from all over town will come to buy it."

“Yes, I understand.” Zhou Yan nodded.

His master didn't blame him for taking someone else as his master; instead, he encouraged him to study hard, which was extremely commendable.

After a while, Uncle Er and his brothers took turns toasting, and Zhou Yan's cousins ​​also came along. Master Xiao, who had a good capacity for alcohol, gradually got a little tipsy.

It was already dark when they finished eating. Xiao Lei, who had drunk a pound of baijiu, declined to stay overnight, but he couldn't get on the bicycle after three attempts. In the end, Zhou Yan dragged him away.

Zhou Yan's bedroom had been unoccupied for a long time. There was only a wooden bed in the room, with an old box at the head of the bed.

The bedding was complete, but it smelled a bit musty because I hadn't slept in it for a while.

After taking off his drunken master's shoes and throwing him on the bed, Zhou Yan came back from washing up and found that the master had already taken off his coat and was sleeping soundly against the wall.

He's a good drinker; when he's drunk, he just falls asleep without hitting or cursing anyone, and he doesn't try to get people to chat.

Zhou Yan was exhausted from all the running around today. He turned on the light, lay down on the bed, and fell asleep immediately, not caring about the musty-smelling blankets or his master snoring loudly next to him.

If you have the mind to complain about these things, it means you're not tired enough.

Before dawn the next day, Zhou Yan heard a rustling sound. He opened his eyes and saw his master standing by the bed putting on his shoes. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and said with some surprise, "Master, why are you up so early?"

Yesterday I saw him completely drunk and I was worried he wouldn't be able to get up today, but I didn't expect my master to get up even earlier than him.

"The roosters have crowed, what's so early?" Xiao Lei took out his watch from his pocket and glanced at it. "It's 4:30. The wedding procession is leaving at 6:00, and they need to eat at 5:30. I'm going over there now to cook two pots of noodles for them, that should be just right."

“Okay, then I’ll get up too.” Zhou Yan replied and got up as well. It was still dark, so he went out with a flashlight.

In the courtyard, Old Zhou and Aunt Zhao were each brushing their teeth with an enamel cup.

"Why are you two up so early too?" Zhou Yan asked the two of them, puzzled.

Aunt Zhao smacked her lips and said with a smile, "Go help out. Your second uncle said he was worried that the young people might not be careful when they went to pick up the bride and would be late, so he asked your father to go with him to lead the team. I didn't go to help yesterday, but I definitely have to go early today. Someone needs to lend a hand when cooking noodles in the morning."

"Master Xiao, your home is quite simple. You probably didn't sleep well last night, did you?" Old Zhou asked Xiao Lei with concern.

"I slept well, I slept until the rooster crowed, I haven't slept so soundly in a long time," Xiao Lei replied with a smile.

After a quick wash, everyone went out.

Zhou Momo was still asleep, wrapped in a small blanket and placed in a bamboo basket, and was carried out by Old Zhou.

Zhou Yan glanced at the little girl in the basket on his back, turned on his flashlight, and rode his bicycle toward the old house.

It was so early, Zhou Yan thought the old lady hadn't gotten up yet.

But as the car turned the corner, it saw a dim yellow light shining at the entrance of the old house.

Zhou Weiguo was holding a damp towel and carefully wiping every nook and cranny of the bicycle. A red ribbon was tied to the handlebars, making it look very festive.

The old lady sat on the stone bench at the door. Today she was wearing a dark blue jacket with a front opening and new cloth shoes. Her silver hair was neatly combed back, and she looked very energetic. When she saw Zhou Yan riding his bicycle, she smiled and got up: "You're up early."

"Grandma, Uncle, why are you up so early too?" Zhou Yan stopped the car.

“Zhou Hao is getting married, so we definitely need to get up early to prepare. He’ll be using my car for the wedding today, so I’ll clean it first and then deliver it to him,” Zhou Weiguo replied.

"Come on, let's get the chicken. We'll be busy this morning." The old lady came over carrying a package and got into the car.

"Hold on tight," Zhou Yan said with a smile, then pedaled away.

When Zhou Hao got married, the whole family took it to heart and worked together to make sure it was a success.

Zhou Yan began to understand the old lady's teachings through her words and deeds.

Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai got up early to boil water and kill the chickens. They had already cleaned them thoroughly. When they saw Zhou Yan arrive, they put a nylon bag in their basket and put the four chickens inside.

"You ride your bike slowly and take Grandma back to the shop. I'll go get the beef and pig's head and bring them to you right away," Zhou Jie said to Zhou Yan, then got on his bicycle and left.

Zhou Yan tied the flashlight to the handlebars and rode the bike slowly towards town with the old lady on the back.

In those days, there were no streetlights, and the roads were bad. Zhou Yan didn't dare to be reckless with the old lady, who was quite old. "Grandma, why don't we just bring the brine to the banquet area to braise it? Wouldn't that be more convenient?" Zhou Yan asked on the way.

“Braised food is a skill that can make a living. The open space of the banquet hall is crowded with people and eyes. If someone wants to learn it, how can you prevent it?” The old lady said slowly, “There are only a few spices. You can try adding more or less. As long as it tastes five or six parts like yours, if they lower the price by 30%, the customers will choose their place instead of yours. That’s one point.”

"Secondly, this pot of braising liquid you made was cooked with my old braising liquid. The bumpy ride back and forth on the way here could easily cause it to get dirty and spoil. If it spills on the way, it would be a huge loss. A good pot of braising liquid should not be touched easily, and even more so, it should not be touched by others."

“The braised dishes can be cut at the banquet without affecting the taste at all. When I used to run a stall, restaurants in Jiaozhou would come to me every day to get braised pig's head and pig's ears. They would take the whole thing back and cut it when a customer ordered it.”

"I understand." Zhou Yan nodded, having gained a deeper understanding of the importance of the brine.

A while after Zhou Yan arrived at the store, Zhou Jie also arrived and carried the meat into the kitchen.

The basket contained three boneless pig heads and eight extra pig ears. These are things that knife makers usually don't sell separately; Brother Jie's methods are truly unconventional.

In addition, there are 15 jin of beef shank, freshly slaughtered today. There is no shortage of beef in Zhoucun. The family are butchers, and they just need to inform their colleagues in advance.

Finally, they took out four pig trotters, each about the length of a palm.

"Do you want braised pig's trotters again?" Zhou Yan was a little surprised, as this was not on the menu.

Zhou Jie said with a smile, "My old man said that Grandma and Momo like to eat the pig's trotters from the pig we slaughtered yesterday, so I asked you to braise them for Grandma to have with her drinks, and let Momo have one too."

“Okay.” Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. His second uncle really respected the elderly and cared for the young. He was in charge of the braising, so he wondered if he could taste it to see if it was salty enough.

"Do you need any help?" Zhou Jie asked.

"No need, you go pick up the bride, I'll take care of things here." Zhou Yan waved his hand and started fetching water to wash the ingredients.

"Grandma, I'll head back now." Zhou Jie said to the old lady and jogged out the door.

The wedding procession is the most important part of the wedding.

As Zhou Hao's older brother, he definitely wanted to go with him.

In the kitchen, Zhou Yan was in charge of the work, while the old lady stood by and gave him instructions.

Zhou Yan is already proficient in braising pig's head and pig's ears, and she handles the ingredients with ease.

The pig's ears and snout were separated, and the pig's head meat was cut in half. Every step was done very meticulously.

The pig's trotters were also processed and placed aside separately.

At first, the old lady would offer some pointers, but later she simply moved a stool over and sat down to chat with Zhou Yan, her eyes never leaving him, nodding occasionally.

"Did you learn how to make cold dishes from Chef Xiao?" The old lady finally couldn't help but ask as she watched Zhou Yan divide the pig's head.

“I’ve learned a little, but my master said your skills are better than his, and he told me to learn from you properly,” Zhou Yan said with a smile.

The old lady nodded: "I don't think his skills are bad either. The techniques and skills he taught you to process pig brains are quite advanced."

"A second-level chef, of course." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. The old lady had a very sharp eye, so he had no choice but to push his master out to take the blame.

"Grandma, I've never cooked beef or chicken before. How long should I braise the beef shank? I need to decide which one to cook first." Zhou Yan straightened his posture and earnestly asked the old lady for advice.

Braised beef and cold chicken salad are both delicious dishes!

If the system won't give it to me, then I'll just learn from the old lady.

Zhou Yan is no longer the same person he used to be. Now he is proficient in knife skills, and his seasoning and cooking techniques have also greatly improved. He is also an expert in braised pork products and has a certain level of understanding of braised food.

If the old lady is willing to teach, he will definitely learn quickly.

The old lady took a watch out of her pocket and placed it on the stove. She said, "After cleaning the beef shank, braise it for an hour and a half. This is the longest braised dish we're making today. Put the beef shank in first. Braise the pig's trotters for an hour, and the pig's ears, pig's snout, and pig's head meat for forty minutes each."

Cold-dressed chicken is a bit different; it can't be directly braised in a pot. You need to prepare a separate pot of braising liquid, a white braising liquid, so that the chicken meat will be white and clean. After tearing it apart, you toss it with chili oil, and the color becomes bright, making it both delicious and visually appealing..."

The old lady taught, and Zhou Yan cooked, adding each ingredient to the pot precisely according to the timing, making almost no mistakes and extremely efficient.

Even the old lady, who rarely praised anyone's cooking, couldn't help but compliment Zhou Yan a couple of times:

"Your basic skills are really good."

"The seasoning is just right, the saltiness is just right, not too much or too little."

The sky outside was gradually brightening.

The fire under the braising pot gradually went out.

The braised meat is simmering in the pot, waiting for the meal to begin.

Braised pork relies 30% on boiling and 70% on simmering; the flavor must be infused into the meat for it to be perfect.

　Sixth!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)