Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 232 Crispy Salt and Pepper Lard

Shen Yu had only learned about the plant Cornus officinalis in class in modern times, but he had only heard of what it looked like in real life and had never seen it.

According to the master chef in the cooking class, when talking about the origin of spicy food, the fruit of Cornus officinalis has a very spicy taste, which is much softer than the spiciness of chili peppers and not as direct.

However, it is very effective in removing the fishy smell of food and can be bought in pharmacies, but it has long been replaced by chili peppers as a seasoning.

Cornus officinalis is ripe and picked at the end of August. After being dried, one or two can be added to soup to remove the fishy smell and increase the flavor.

Shen Yu also heard from the master that according to historical records, it can be used to make chili oil. Before the advent of chili peppers, dogwood was also used as a spicy food.

So the first time I went to the spice shop, I asked the owner if they had dried dogwood fruit for sale.

However, the weather was still hot at that time, and the dogwood was not yet ripe for sale.

Although Shen Yu had agreed with the southern businessman to buy chili peppers, even if the businessman brought them back, they would only be two small potted plants.

If you want to eat chili peppers at every meal, you have to wait until next year when they are grown in large quantities.

Before that, Shen Yu was more looking forward to the dried dogwood fruit that would be on the market in September.

When Shen Yu heard that the store had newly arrived dried dogwood fruits, one can imagine how excited he was.

But now it’s getting late, and the guys are going home after delivering the goods, and the shop is about to close.

Shen Yu had no choice but to be patient and wait until tomorrow to go to the spice shop to buy some.

The next morning, as soon as Li got up, Zheng Sanniang got up too. After getting ready, she followed Li and Jiang to the kitchen to learn how to roll out dough and make dumplings.

Although Zheng Sanniang had never made buns, she prepared three meals a day when she was at the Li family.

She learned kitchen chores very quickly, and because she was young, her movements were more skillful. Mrs. Li kept praising Zheng Sanniang for being capable.

When Shen Yu got up, she found that she and Yutao were not needed in the morning. Li and others, plus Zheng Sanniang, were enough.

Yesterday, Zheng Sanniang packed some common clothes and toys for Xiao Zhuzi and wrapped them into a small bag.

After Xiao Zhuzi woke up, Yutao helped him put on his clothes and according to what they had discussed yesterday, she carried the small bag in one hand and took Xiao Zhuzi to Mrs. Liu's house with the other hand.

Li smiled and said, "From now on, the job of picking up and dropping off Xiao Zhuzi will be assigned to Yutao. She doesn't have much to do in the store."

Zheng Sanniang said: "Although Miss Yutao is young, she is very careful and patient with children. Xiao Zhuzi likes to follow her."

Shen Yuze said, "I feel more at ease now that Sister Zheng is here. There are enough people. I will free up my hands to make more new dishes."

Li said, "Just focus on your work and let Yutao help you."

"From now on, I will guide them in the store's work. When new dishes are available, you can teach us how to make them."

"I tried Sister Jiang's cooking, and it's not much different from yours."

Shen Yu nodded. Since opening the shop, Shen Yu deliberately asked Jiang and Li to prepare dinner every day. When he was cooking in the shop during the day, he always asked Jiang to follow him.

Jiang’s cooking is indeed quite good.

Li’s cooking is also okay, but he is sometimes too impatient and his cooking control is not as good as Jiang’s.

Zheng Sanniang is helping in the shop today, so Shen Yu plans to go to the spice shop after breakfast.

After finishing his work in the morning, Shen Yu thought the spice shop would be open, so he took his purse and went to the spice shop he often went to.

The delivery guy who came yesterday was wiping the counter. When he saw Shen Yu, he came over to greet him warmly.

Shen Yu went straight to the point and asked to buy some Cornus officinalis to take back.

The shopkeeper asked his assistant to fetch a cloth bag from the container. Inside was half a bag of dried cornus fruit. The small dark red grains smelled of the peculiar spicy aroma of medicinal herbs.

Not many people buy dried dogwood fruit on weekdays. Generally, they use it to make meat soup, and just throw one or two pieces into the soup.

A small pack can last for a long time, and no one would buy a lot at once.

Therefore, the spice shop would not collect a lot of inventory every year, and it was rare for the shopkeeper to buy half a bag at a time like Shen Yu.

The price of dogwood was not cheap, but Shen Yu still emptied his purse and bought it happily.

When she got home, the extra ingredients she had ordered yesterday had just arrived.

Looking around the shop, Li and her friends have already started preparing lunch, and Zhou Dalang has also started making pancakes. Everyone has a clear division of labor and everything is in order.

She started to make dogwood oil in the big kitchen at the back.

Following the method taught by the old master, Shen Yu planned to make a small amount first to try it out.

Yutao followed Shen Yu's instructions, lit the charcoal fire in a separate small stove, and put a small iron pot on it.

Shen Yuze took a piece of lard, cut it into small pieces, put it in a small iron pot, added a small amount of water and a few peppercorns, and began to boil the lard.

The key to making lard is to use low heat throughout the process.

When the water in the pot has dried up, the lard will start to fry out oil. The lard cooked in this way is snow-white in color, has a pure and fragrant taste without any peculiar smell, and will not stick to the pot.

Shen Yu asked Yutao to watch the pot while she went to prepare the meat filling for making lasagna today.

After Zhou Dalang has made the pancakes, he can then proceed to make the lasagna.

As for the sauce-flavored cakes and red bean paste cakes, Shen Yu planned to boil the dogwood oil before making them.

After preparing the meat filling and handing it to Zhou Dalang, Yutao also boiled half a pot of oil from the pork fat.

The unique aroma of lard began to waft through the big kitchen. The lard residue in the pot had turned yellowish brown and the heat was just right.

Shen Yu took the pot off the stove, scooped out the lard residue that had shrunk a lot with a colander, and placed it in a small plate.

When poured in, there was a slight crackling sound, and the lard residue had become dry and crispy.

Shen Yu sprinkled a little bit of ground pepper salt into the plate and shook the plate to allow the pepper salt to spread evenly on the oil residue.

She picked up a piece with chopsticks and passed it to Yutao, smiling and saying, "Try it, it's delicious."

Yu Tao watched the soft and greasy pork fat cubes being put into the pot. She hesitated when she saw the pork fat residue being handed to her mouth. She dodged and said, "Can I eat this? It's so fat and soft."

Shen Yu blinked and said, "Don't regret it if you don't eat it, it's really delicious."

Seeing that Shen Yu didn't seem to be teasing her, Yu Tao took it from him, chewed it twice, and opened her eyes wide in surprise: "It's really delicious. It's fragrant and crispy, and not greasy."

Shen Yu smiled and said, "The oil has been boiled out of the lard residue, so it is not greasy. It is delicious when mixed with rice or used to make steamed buns with wild vegetables."

As he spoke, he picked up a piece and started chewing it. Then he handed the small plate and chopsticks to Yutao and said, "Take it to mother and the others to try. They definitely don't know what it's made of."