Rebirth 07: Starting with Saving a Bankrupt Restaurant

Furthermore, most diners have never eaten crayfish before, and removing the shrimp vein might be a bit of a hassle, which could diminish the enjoyment of eating crayfish.

Cleaning crayfish alone takes a lot of time.

After processing, prepare a clean glass bowl, add dried chili peppers and dried Sichuan peppercorns, and then soak them in water for five minutes.

After soaking in water, use a strainer to drain the water.

This step is to extract the spiciness of the millet peppers and the numbing flavor of the Sichuan peppercorns, so that they are less likely to burn when cooked.

Then heat the oil in a wok, and once the oil is hot, pour the crayfish into the wok.

Once the crayfish have turned completely red, they are considered cooked through and can be removed and set aside.

Next, add the dried chili peppers and dried Sichuan peppercorns to the pot and turn on medium heat to bring out the numbing and spicy flavor.

Once the dried chilies and Sichuan peppercorns change color, add the scallions, ginger, and garlic to the pot.

After stir-frying the ingredients until fragrant, add a large spoonful of fermented bean paste, which will give you a spicy, numbing, and savory flavor.

The crayfish that had been set aside were poured back into the pot, and Zhou Wen skillfully opened two bottles of beer until the beer covered the ingredients.

Finally, we need to adjust the flavor.

Add a spoonful of oyster sauce, sugar, a little MSG, and some steamed fish soy sauce for an even sweeter flavor.

Cover and simmer for about ten minutes to allow the flavors to infuse into the ingredients.

Shi Ying, who was busy cleaning in the front hall, twitched her nose.

The words in my hand unconsciously stopped.

Shan Wei said the same thing, "Sister Shi Ying, can you smell something? It smells so good."

Shi Ying nodded, thinking that this must be the crayfish her boss had mentioned.

While the crayfish were almost cooked, Zhou Wen also cut a cucumber.

After opening the lid, add the diced cucumber and stir it with a spatula.

The spicy crayfish dish is now complete.

Zhou Wen wiped the sweat from his forehead with his forearm and nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the crayfish in the pot.

By the time Zhou Wen brought out the spicy crayfish, Shi Ying and Shan Wei had already cleaned up the restaurant.

The two stared intently at the steaming crayfish in Zhou Wen's hand.

Zhou Wen placed the crayfish on the table: "Have a taste."

After speaking, Zhou Wen went into the kitchen and took out bowls, chopsticks, and three roujiamo (Chinese hamburgers). There were also some disposable gloves stored in the store.

This amount of food should be enough.

Shi Ying had already smelled the numbing and spicy aroma, and she had been swallowing her saliva repeatedly.

However, for Shi Ying and Shan Wei, who were eating crayfish for the first time, it was obviously a bit of a challenge. Shi Ying, wearing gloves, hesitated to start.

Zhou Wen then demonstrated for the two of them.

Put on gloves and dip the crayfish into the broth again.

First, you suck on the shell, then you peel it until only the tail is left, and finally you just suck it gently.

"Just suck out the shell, then eat the meat," Zhou Wen said.

Shi Ying nodded and quickly started trying it out, while Shan Wei looked at Shi Ying, clearly wanting to learn more.

Following Zhou Wen's example, I dipped the crayfish into the soup base a little more and tried to suck out the flavor.

"Wow!" Shi Ying couldn't help but exclaim after taking a sip of the crayfish.

This tastes absolutely delicious!

Ignoring Shan Wei's somewhat bewildered look, he continued slurping the crayfish, making soft, slurping sounds.

After slurping and slurping until the shells had almost no flavor left, it was time to start peeling the shrimp.

Shi Ying had previously helped peel shrimp when the shop made shrimp and mushroom noodles.

Although the two are quite different, they are both shrimp after all.

They are largely the same.

"Boss, is there any meat in these pliers?" Shi Ying's lips were already quite red.

"No need, there's not much meat. You can scoop a spoonful of broth into your bowl, and then dip the peeled shrimp meat in the broth."

"Okay." Shi Ying nodded and scooped a spoonful of soup into her bowl.

"Sister Shi Ying, how does it taste?" Shan Wei asked before even taking a bite.

"Delicious," Shi Ying mumbled, then focused on eating the crayfish without saying anything more.

Shan Wei didn't ask any more questions and started trying it out.

I picked up a crayfish, looked at it again and again, and slowly put it into my mouth, sucking out the flavor.

How can I describe this feeling?

Without a doubt, it was a flavor I had never tried before.

The crayfish absorbed the spiciness of the broth and had a distinct flavor of fermented soybean paste, but it wasn't overpowering; it had a very rich and mellow taste.

Next comes the spiciness, a combination of dried chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns. This spiciness isn't dry; it's an oily, fragrant spiciness.

After the spiciness comes the numbness, which is most noticeable at the back of the tongue and the inside of the lips, but this numbness is not very intense.

It's a slow, tingling, gently vibrating sensation.

This sense of gradual progression is truly magical.

The shrimp meat was fairly firm, not too loose, and had no fishy smell.

Dan Wei also took Zhou Wen's words to heart and scooped a spoonful of soup into his bowl.

The second crayfish, Shan Wei dipped in the broth.

The crayfish dipped in the broth also combine the freshness, numbing sensation, and spiciness.

At first, Zhou Wen thought that there might be some left over from that pound of crayfish.

In front of each person was a small mountain of crayfish shells, and even a few glass beverage bottles.

Those three roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) were also completely devoured.

Without Zhou Wen even needing to say anything, Shi Ying and the other person already knew to dip the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) in the spicy crayfish broth.

This meal also took much longer than usual, about twenty minutes.

This meal was the most comfortable one Shan Wei had eaten since arriving at the restaurant.

To be honest, although the crayfish might have less meat, the taste was absolutely flawless.

And the more you eat, the more addictive it becomes; you just can't stop.

"Boss, I'm going to wash my hands first, I'll come back and clean up later," Shi Ying said, her mouth full of oil and her fingers sticking out.

Zhou Wen nodded; he also needed to tidy up the kitchen.

After all that, it was already three o'clock.

Zhou Wen also rested for an hour, and then resumed his work at four o'clock.

Besides processing the remaining crayfish, we also need to prepare the ingredients for dinner.

At 4:30, Shi Ying also arrived at the restaurant and helped Zhou Wen prepare the crayfish.

It is indeed much more troublesome to process crayfish than shrimp.

"Boss, how do I remove the vein from these shrimp?"

"Twist that spot in the middle of your buttocks a couple of times, and it'll come out with a pull," Zhou Wen pointed and said.

"Be careful not to get your hand caught. Just hold onto the area around your head."

"it is good."

Shi Ying was skillful, so she quickly became proficient at these things.