BXBX NOVEL Chapter 122 - I Will
The four dishes he made this time were black pepper beef, red braised beef, saucy beef brisket, and stewed beef tendon soup. All were his restaurant’s signature dishes.
Black pepper beef used beef shoulder. Because of the way the cows walked, this piece of meat had a particularly good texture, very flexible. After washing the ox shoulder and letting it drip dry, he pounded it loose with the back of his knife. This was something he learned from Ruan Tang to make the beef taste better. He then cut the beef into small pieces, marinated it with a little scallion-ginger juice, a little soy sauce, starch slurry and black pepper. He then sautéed the marinated beef with shredded onions. Once it changed color, it was ready to serve.
Shi Mingxu’s control of temperature was on point. The freshly cooked beef was tender, juicy and succulent. The flavor of the black pepper was accompanied by a unique spiciness, and the aroma and sweetness of the onion make the taste of this beef very rich.
[Genius Twins: This beef is so delicious! freaking love it!]
[Super-sweet Pippi: Yes, even the onions inside were super tasty. This will go just perfect with rice!]
The characteristics of beef and pork was completely different, so the method of braising was also completely different. It could be said that this red braised beef was something that Shi Mingxu concocted himself. He planned to later include it as one of their restaurant’s signature dishes.
He first put the beef in boiling water and blanched it for about ten minutes, skimming off the floating scum. He then placed it in cold water to cool off. This will make the beef more firm. He then cut it into two cm thick pieces and set it aside.
He heated some oil in a pan and sautéed some chopped onions, ginger, and garlic until they turned fragrant. He added doubanjiang, cooking wine and the beef and stir-fried for 3 minutes on high heat. He then added water and covered it, letting it simmer for 15 minutes on low heat to add flavor to the beef.
When the lid was lifted, the scent hit the viewers full-on in the face and it made their mouths water uncontrollably. The thick juice glowed with brilliant radiance. It kept bubbling away like roiling magma. The beef in the pot was cooked into a beautiful brownish-red. The spaces between the veins of meat were filled with the sparkling sauce. The mere sight of it was enough to make people drool with envy.
The audience couldn’t wait for Shi Mingxu to load the beef on the plate. They directly reached out for the beef. The thick and full texture of the beef and its delicious and rich juices filled their mouths. For a while, the audience couldn’t say anything other than “delicious”.
[Gu Tai Family’s No. Twelve: Oh my, isn’t this delicious! This beef is obviously lean meat, but it’s so chewy and tender!]
[Mo Wen: The texture is superb, and the taste is so rich. it’s delicious!]
As its name implied, saucy brisket used a lot of sauces — not only doubanjiang, but also chili sauce and tomato sauce. It also used a lot of rice wine. He’d chosen the beef brisket with its combination of lean and fat. He stir fried it over high heat and added water with a pinch of salt and sugar. After letting it simmer for a bit over low heat, it was ready to serve. Amidst the dense savory flavor it had a slight sweet and sour taste. It had layer upon layer of flavor and its texture was particularly fine. This too was well-received by the viewers.
The last dish was stewed beef tendon soup. The main ingredients were beef tendon and white radish. Shi Mingxu first washed the tendon with hot boiling water. He then cut it into pieces, put it in hot water to blanch and removed it for later use. He then peeled and washed the white radish and cut it into pieces. He put the beef tendon and radish into a pot with a bit of white pepper. He slowly let it simmer over low heat. After the beef was cooked completely and the white radish turned soft, he added a little salt for seasoning.
This light and delicious beef soup was just perfect to dilute the heavy taste of the previous three dishes. It tasted sweet, savory and it cut through the grease. It was a truly enjoyable dish.
“These dishes will be available at my restaurant later. Everyone is welcome to come and have a taste.” Shi Mingxu said with a smile towards the camera.
[Mulberries: Go, go, go! We will definitely go! [Groundhog shrieking.jpg]]
[Fairy Star Twins: When will it open for business? I will definitely go to support you!]
[Shen Yunqing: Tang Tang won’t open a shop. But now that we have Mingxu’s shop, I’m also very satisfied!]
The audience was thrilled and they were looking forward to the day when Shi Mingxu’s restaurant officially opened.
Shi Mingxu also successfully obtained a tarpaulin and handed over the waterproofing of the wooden house to Qiu Ming. He then took a portion of each of the four dishes and placed it into a transparent fresh-keeping box. He was planning to make a trip to Ruan Tang’s camp after dinner to ask if there was anything about these dishes that could be improved.
Cao Jun chose mutton. He and Shi Mingxu are both friends and business partners and he also had a share in Shi Mingxu’s restaurant. So, he and Shi Mingxu had the same idea and planned to use this opportunity to advertise their restaurant.
The four dishes that Cao Jun was going to cook were scallion fried mutton, red braised mutton, stewed mutton chops and cumin mutton. The method he used was similar to how Shi Mingxu handled his beef, but the taste was very different. Although the mutton had a fishy smell, it could become delicious and tender so long as it was properly processed.
Cao Jun’s ability to innovate may not be as strong as Shi Mingxu’s, but his basic skills were very solid and he has a strong perceptive ability. As long as he has seen a dish, he can immediately learn how to make it. Plus, he’s Ruan Tang’s loyal fan. Therefore, these dishes were more or less influenced by Ruan Tang, but it was undeniable that the taste of these dishes were really outstanding.
His four dishes were also welcomed by the audience, and everyone also said that they would definitely go and support them.
Because of where Chen Yuanwu’s camp was located, the only game they could catch were small animals like rabbits and pheasants. He wasn’t very familiar with rabbits so it may be difficult for him to use it to make four different dishes. Therefore, he chose the poultry.
The four dishes he was going to cook were drunken chicken slices, crisp-fried chicken, scallion chicken and three cups chicken.
Drunken chicken slices was a dish he came up with himself. Because he usually likes drinking, he developed this dish that was cooked with wine. He peeled off the skin and cut the chicken breast into thin slices. He put them in hot water and cooked them slowly for 15 minutes over low heat. He fished the chicken slices out and combined it with the sauce he made by mixing cooking wine, salt and pepper. He put everything in a preservation box for half an hour to let it absorb the flavor. The chicken was tender and had a unique aroma. Anyone who liked to drink would definitely like this dish.
As for the crisp-fried chicken, scallion chicken and three cups chicken, they were actually the dishes of the Rose Restaurant. Originally, these were dishes Ruan Tang produced during the live broadcast. Their restaurant later purchased the recipes and usage rights from the Chefs’ Association. As a chef of the Rose Restaurant, he was very proficient with cooking these dishes and they all, naturally, tasted very good.
The cave in which Zha Panpan lived was very hot and muggy, and the smell that had yet to disappear from inside made them very uncomfortable. When Gilbert built the stone pavilion near their camp, they simply moved to the stone pavilion to sleep. But the stone pavilion didn’t have any doors or windows. It would be very troublesome if they couldn’t get the tarpaulin.
In the end, Zha Panpan chose shrimps, which were easier to catch. She planned to make fruit salad with shrimp balls, shrimp-flavored egg rolls, crisp-fried shrimps, and oil-fried shrimps. The way to make fruit salad with shrimp balls was similar to the way pineapple shrimp balls were made, but the fruits she used were all picked from the ecological area. The resulting taste was also sweet and tangy, really quite good.
She had garnered high scores for her egg rolls during the Rising Chef Competition before, so this time the shrimp-flavored egg rolls posed no problem for her. The spongey egg rolls were wrapped around fresh and delicious shrimps, topped with sweet and sour tomato sauce, it was quite delicious.
The crisp-fried shrimp was actually shrimp covered in a layer of flour and fried in oil. The method was simple and convenient, but the final taste was simply delicious. The oil-fried shrimp was a dish Ruan Tang made before. Of course, Zha Panpan’s version also tasted pretty good. Her four dishes can also considered to be very successful.
After eating, Shi Mingxu took the four dishes he made to Ruan Tang’s camp to ask Ruan Tang where they could be improved. Ruan Tang admired him for being such a learned and talented young chef. Naturally, he gave a few of his personal suggestions. The two huddled together and talked in whispers for a long time. He Yun Chen, who was ‘given the cold-shoulder’, couldn’t help but send them dirty looks, only then did Shi Mingxu take his leave.
The night breeze blew gently bring with it the cool moisture from the stream. It seemed that even the star-filled sky was moving about.
Only Ruan Tang and He Yun Chen were left by the cabin. Today’s live broadcast has ended. The two turned off the flying cameras and sat together in the gazebo side by side, watching the full moon.
Ruan Tang thoughtlessly took a blade of grass and fiddled with it. He was skilled with his hands and with a few rolls he had made it into a loose ring.
“Mr. He, you’ve already eaten so many of my meals. So, won’t you promise yourself to me?” He raised the straw ring before He Yun Chen, leaning against him half-jokingly.
He Yun Chen turned his head. His soft and gentle gaze fell on Ruan Tang. He kept his breathing shallow, and then said lightly but seriously. “I will.”
Ruan Tang did not expect to get such a serious response. He raised his eyes slightly, looking into his eyes filled with starlight. His heart trembled and he suddenly lost his voice.
“When we go back, let’s have a wedding.”
He Yun Chen’s hand gently stroked Ruan Tang’s hair, bringing with it a warm and ticklish feeling that seems to go from the top of his head all the way into his heart.
Ruan Tang was ticklish and so he drew back his neck and smiled. His eyes, curved into crescents, seemed like pools of spring water.
“Okay.”
He Yun Chen leaned over and covered his slightly raised lips with his own.
Soft and sweet was the taste of moonlight.