Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 254 Braised Pork and Tiger Skin Eggs

Shen Yu had no choice but to take another crabapple branch and said with a smile, "These are for trial use. They are not colored yet and cannot be used to make flower cakes. Just try them."

Yutao carefully plucked a crabapple from the crabapple branch, put it in her mouth, chewed it for a few times, and said in surprise: "Sister, this steamed dough flower is sweet and very hard, a bit like eating New Year's candy melon."

Shen Yu couldn't help but laugh, Yutao's description was so accurate.

She also picked up a crabapple flower and tasted it. It was indeed more elastic and denser than the flower cakes she had made before. It had the unique wheat aroma of the flour and became sweeter the more she chewed it. It was quite delicious.

Shen Yu placed the steamed flowers on a large plate and set it aside, intending to observe whether they would dry out and crack if left like this for a whole day.

When Li and the others heard Yutao say that the trial flower cake looked so good that it looked like the real thing, they took some free time to go to the kitchen to take a look and shared a branch of crabapple blossom to taste.

Zheng Sanniang, in particular, looked at the peony flower and couldn't help wanting to touch it.

She couldn't help but praise: "This peony is so beautiful. The best embroiderers I've seen embroider patterns, none of them can compare to this one. It looks exactly like the real thing."

“It would be nice if it could be embroidered like this.”

Zheng Sanniang looked at the dough sculpture of peony with some regret.

Shen Yu knew that the paintings at that time were still flat in composition, unlike the later Western paintings, which were three-dimensional, realistic, and well-proportioned.

She smiled and said, "When I have some free time some other day, I'll draw you a picture of a peony. I'm not very good at it, but I have the general idea."

"When I'm done, you can adjust the details. Maybe you can embroider a peony that's more beautiful than that one."

Zheng Sanniang said in surprise, "Really? Thank you very much, Miss Yuzhi. If I can really embroider it, I will embroider one for your winter coat."

Shen Yu was a little embarrassed, and waved her hands and said with a smile: "I deal with oil smoke all day long, why would I embroider on clothes? It's a waste of your time. If you want to embroider, embroider one for Yutao."

Zheng Sanniang smiled and said, "You are so pretty and at your best age, you should dress up well."

He paused and then said with emotion: "Since I followed the girl, I feel that I can sleep more peacefully, eat more deliciously, and after finishing the work in the store at night, I still have plenty of time to sew clothes and make shoes."

"In the past, I wouldn't even dare to think about such a day. Girl, look at me, do I have any flesh on my face?"

As he spoke, he touched his cheek.

Zheng Sanniang is a taciturn person who always works hard.

Shen Yu hasn't really looked at her carefully since the matter between her and Xiao Zhuzi was settled.

At this moment, it was true that in just a few days, Zheng Sanniang's complexion had improved a lot.

His thin cheeks were not as sunken anymore, and he didn't look as miserable as he did a few days ago.

Shen Yu nodded and said with concern: "It is true that Sister Zheng looks much better, but even if you like sewing, don't stay up too late at night."

"After all, getting up so early every day and getting too little sleep can easily make you sick."

Zheng Sanniang's eyes were a little red. She lowered her head to hide it, agreed, and turned around to do her work.

Today, since Yucheng and Dundun are both at home, Shen Yu thought that it would be a good opportunity to make a greasy dish while she is free to satisfy the cravings of these two students who walk to school every day and study hard.

Thinking of the abundant oil and water, Shen Yu suddenly remembered that he had to deliver meat skewers to Mr. Yang today, so he hurried to the store to ask.

Li smiled and said, "I remembered this. After breakfast, I started frying the meat skewers. I fried the portion for Mr. Yang first and set it aside."

"After letting it cool, I sprinkled the ingredients on it, packed it in a bamboo basket, and asked Zhou Dalang to hire a car to deliver it."

"Originally, I wanted Yucheng and Dundun to go, but Zhou Dalang said the road was difficult to travel, so he rushed to go. Now Zhou Dalang hasn't come back yet."

Only then did Shen Yu realize that he had not seen Zhou Dalang since breakfast.

Shen Yu smiled and said, "Just send it over. This way, our intentions are conveyed and we can accept the money with peace of mind."

At this time, a drizzle began to fall outside again, but it was not as heavy as yesterday.

Shen Yu stood in front of the shop and looked at the street. The street was soaked by yesterday's rain and was trampled by the passing vehicles and mules and horses. It looked like there were many ruts of various sizes, making it even more difficult to walk on.

Apart from the occasional horse-drawn carriage or mule-drawn cart that passed slowly and with difficulty, there were almost no pedestrians on the road.

Looking inside the shop, there were no customers either, it was empty.

Shen Yu sighed in his heart that the weather at this time had a great impact on people's daily travel.

If the rain continues, the quantity will be halved when the waiter comes to deliver the food today.

Although there is no business, people still need to eat.

Shen Yu advised himself that he should be open-minded. It's not like it rains every day. When the weather is fine, business will get better.

Back in the kitchen, Shen Yu looked at the pork belly that was delivered yesterday, thought about it, and prepared to make a dish of braised pork and tiger skin eggs. It would be fragrant, soft and glutinous, and full of oil. Yucheng and the others would definitely like it.

As soon as he started cooking, Shen Yu put all his worries aside and focused only on the task at hand.

The method of preparing braised pork and tiger skin eggs is simple, but it is a dish that takes a lot of time and effort. If you want to eat it at lunch, you have to start cooking it an hour in advance.

Because there were not many customers today, there was still a large piece of pork belly that had not been cut for cooking.

Shen Yu picked it up and weighed it. It weighed about two or three pounds, enough for everyone to have a good meal.

Cut the pork belly into three large pieces. Place the wok without adding oil directly on the small stove. When the wok is hot, dry-fry the pork belly skin side down for a while until the skin turns slightly yellow. Then wash it.

The advantage of doing this is that it will remove a lot of the mutton smell from the skin and make the skin firmer.

Soak the fried pork belly in clean water, scrape the skin vigorously with a kitchen knife, rinse it and drain it, then cut it into domino-sized cubes.

Clean the pot and put it on the stove. Put the meat into the pot and fry slowly over low heat, turning it over while frying, until golden brown on all sides. Remove the meat and set aside.

The oil fried in the pan is collected in a bowl and is most fragrant when used to stir-fry green vegetables.

Leave a little oil in the pan, add a few pieces of yellow rock sugar, and crush them with a spatula until the sugar turns into a shiny red color.

Pour the fried meat in and stir-fry, add two star anise, a small piece of cinnamon, two bay leaves, two thick slices of ginger and a section of scallion.

At this point the meat has started to take on colour and the spices have become fragrant.

Evenly pour a spoonful of sweet soy sauce, half a teaspoon of soybean paste, and a spoonful of rice wine, stir well and pour in boiling water, then add two small pieces of rock sugar, then cover the pot and simmer over low heat.

While the meat was stewing on the stove, Shen Yu went to the kitchen next door, took the kettle on the stove, and prepared to start making tiger skin eggs.