Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 249: Sour and Fresh Pickled Fish

After hearing this, Yutao nodded with a smile.

Shen Yu asked again: "Why did you come from the store? The side dishes are already cut here, so you don't need to do it yourself."

Yu Tao has always been gentle, and this time she rarely complained: "Sister, you don't know, the young lady who came here is very arrogant. She sat in the store and scared me so much that I didn't dare to speak."

"The lady following her was very fierce. The two guests were eating, and she walked straight over and told them to eat faster."

"She said that her daughter wanted to rest in this inn and couldn't sit with the man. She would pay for the two guests' meal. As long as they finished their meal quickly and left, it would be fine."

Yutao blinked her big watery eyes and pouted, "I thought those two guests would be angry."

"I didn't expect that the guests would be so happy to thank her, finish the food on the table in a few bites, and each of them would pack up a handful of meat skewers. They thanked the lady and left with a smile on their faces."

Zhou Dalang was stunned as he listened, his face full of surprise.

Yutao was furious, as if she thought those two people were spineless. Shen Yu couldn't help but laugh when he heard that, but didn't comment.

At this time, the aroma of the fish soup in the pot wafted out, smelling fresh and fragrant.

When I lifted the lid of the pot, I saw that the fish soup had already turned thick and white.

Shen Yu asked Yutao to get two soup bowls and put them on the table. He scooped out the fish head and fish bones from the fish soup with a colander, cut it in half, and poured it into the soup bowls.

The fish soup was first served in the soup pot next to it.

Shen Yu started the pot again, blanched the soaked black fungus, bean sprouts and sauerkraut in water and set them aside.

Pour out the water, heat the pot on the stove, add some oil, put in the scallion segments, ginger slices and some pickled ginger and stir-fry until fragrant.

Then add the sauerkraut and stir-fry over low heat until the sauerkraut is free of moisture, then pour in half of the fish soup from the small soup pot.

Bring to a boil over high heat, add appropriate amount of salt, pepper, a little sugar and a small spoonful of vinegar to season, stir with a spoon, then you can add the battered fish fillets.

Both methods require the soup to be fresh and the fish to be tender.

After the fish fillets are put into the pot, roll them a few times. When they turn white, they can be served in a soup bowl.

Sprinkle white sesame seeds, minced garlic and chopped green onions into the soup bowl, put a spoonful of oil in the pot, add some peppercorns, fry until fragrant, then remove the pot from the heat.

After removing the peppercorns, the oil temperature also drops a bit, and it is poured directly onto the minced garlic in the soup bowl. With a "sizzling" sound, a dish of sour and fragrant sauerkraut fish is ready.

Shen Yu washed the pot and was about to cook the fish when she heard a clear female voice coming from the kitchen door: "It smells so good, sister cook, what are you cooking?"

Shen Yu turned around when he heard the voice and saw the girl in red standing at the kitchen door.

At this time, she had taken off her veil, and she looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old, with her black hair combed into two pretty buns, dotted with only a few small hairpin ornaments.

A delicate oval face with curved eyebrows and eyes, smiling and holding an oil-paper umbrella, stood by the kitchen door.

Shen Yu smiled gently, squatted down and bowed: "Hello, young lady, this is pickled fish."

Before the girl in red could speak, she heard a distant female voice behind her: "Miss, the kitchen is filled with smoke and charcoal, it's very smelly, come back quickly."

Shen Yu looked over the girl's shoulder and saw the maid standing at the door of the shop, whispering with an anxious look on her face.

The red-dressed girl was immediately disappointed by her. She turned around and waved her hand impatiently, saying, "Madam Qiu, this kitchen is clearly clean and tidy, how can it be dirty?"

"This isn't our home. We can't go here or there. Now that we're outside, don't be so long-winded. Just sit there and drink tea and wait."

Although the maid wanted to say something, she could only stand at the small door of the shop and look at her young lady.

Seeing that Aunt Qiu stopped talking, the girl in red simply put away her umbrella and placed it by the door, then walked into the kitchen without looking back.

Shen Yu had no idea what this rich lady in gorgeous clothes was doing in the kitchen, so he could only stand aside quietly with a smile on his face.

This girl in red looks noble, but she is still as lively as a little girl.

He entered the kitchen, stood at the door, looked around, and his eyes were fixed on the steaming pickled fish.

After a slight hesitation, he walked to the dining table, sniffed, raised his head, and said with a smile: "Sister Cook, this fish is ready to sell. How much is the silver?"

Shen Yu smiled slightly: "This fish is prepared for our family to eat, but if you want to eat it, I can give you a portion. If you have such a big bowl of soup, you can't finish it by yourself."

Unexpectedly, the girl in red said, "My mother loves fish, but the fish cooked in our kitchen always smells fishy."

"I think you cooked the fish well. The soup is thick and white. It smells sour and appetizing, but it doesn't smell fishy."

"Let me discuss with you whether you can sell me this pickled fish, including the fish and the soup bowl. If you have a food box at home, please sell me one as well."

"I want to take it away. My mother has no appetite these days. I'll take it back for her to try."

Shen Yu didn't expect that this little girl was so filial, so she said hurriedly, "Of course, I have a lunch box at home, but it's our own lunch box, not a new one. I don't know if it will work."

As he said that, he went to fetch the lunch box that he usually used at home.

The girl in red didn't take it. She just looked at it in Shen Yu's hand and nodded, saying, "It's okay. It's quite clean. It shows that the food cooked by the cook is also very clean."

After saying that, he looked at the fish and couldn't help asking, "Can you help me serve some to taste? I just want to taste it first so that I can brag to my mother later."

After saying that, he blinked, tilted his head and smiled playfully.

Shen Yu responded: "Please wait a moment, young lady."

Because this is the kitchen where we eat, the bowls and chopsticks used by guests are not here.

Shen Yu turned around and went to the cupboard to get a new set of dishes and chopsticks, washed them with water, scalded them again with hot water, and shook out the water.

He took a large spoon, scooped a small bowl of pickled fish and placed it on the table, then smiled and gestured to the girl in red to invite her in.

When Zhou Dalang and Yutao saw the guest coming, they looked at each other and quietly went to the kitchen next door. At this time, there were only Shen Yu and the girl in red in the kitchen.

When the girl in red saw that there was no one around, she sat down calmly, picked up the bamboo chopsticks gracefully, picked up a piece of white and tender fish fillet, and took a careful bite.

She took only one bite, a look of surprise appeared in her eyes, her beautiful eyebrows raised, and then she closed her mouth and started chewing.

After eating the fish fillets, he picked up some sauerkraut to eat.

It seemed that this dish was very much to her liking. Although she ate elegantly, she did not eat slowly. Soon, she had finished half a bowl of pickled fish, including the soup and the fish.

After eating, she breathed a sigh of satisfaction and smiled, like a full kitten who was ready to stretch.