Display his skill to the full
Sorting out the grains and seasonings, Shen Yanbei rolled up his sleeves to wash rice and cook. Meanwhile, Gu Changfeng stood aside. Scanning the existing ingredients at home, Shen Yanbei quickly drafted a lunch menu: pork bone soup, fried pork with spring bamboo shoots, and braised pork.
He had seen how Shen Yanbei cooked that day, but Gu Changfeng still couldn't help but focused his eyes on this young man that looked so shiny now. He washed the pork belly skillfully, cut it into small cubes, blanched it in the boiled water, removed it, and drained it, then put it in the pot and stirred-fry. Along with the sound of rustling, a burst of the smell of meat faintly diffused. Gu Changfeng sniffed. Looking at the slightly yellow pork belly, he couldn't help but look forward to it.
Even though he had eaten fish and rabbit meat in the past two days, he still couldn't stop his desire for eating meat.
Seeing the oil juice overflowing, Shen Yanbei added star anise, cinnamon, ginger, garlic, and other aniseed to fragrant. Soon a strong aroma drifted through the kitchen.
Gu Changfeng's eyes were full of surprise. This fragrance was very unique, he had never smelled such a strong and special smell.
Added some soy sauce to the pot and stirred-fry until it colored, Shen Yanbei took out the small bamboo wine he bought in the morning and added a small amount to remove the fishy. There was no special cooking wine, so only rice wine can be used. He sprinkled some salt in, added water to the meat, and closed the lid. Shen Yanbei asked Gu Changfeng to add some firewood then let it simmer.
Taking advantage of the stew time, Shen Yanbei prepared the next dish.
Cut the remaining pork belly into thin slices and marinated with salt and soy sauce. In another pot, added water to a boil on high heat, blanched the cut bamboo shoots, after that removed and drained it.
Heated the pot, added oil, put the marinated pork belly in the pot, stirred-fried until golden brown, and transferred to a bowl. Then put the fatty pork slices into the pot, after the fat was fried, added the onion, ginger, garlic. Then sauteed and poured in the spring bamboo shoots and pork belly slices...
Gu Changfeng was lost in thought when he watched from aside. The handsome young man raised his sleeves high, with a focused expression. When he added oil, stirred-fried, added seasonings, and moved neatly, just like an experienced chef. The heat pours on his face, made his slightly pale face blush, and the whole person looked radiant...
Who would have thought that such a weak scholar would wave his spatula and cook for him?
"Wifey, give me a plate!" Shen Yanbei turned his head and suddenly met the black eyes that stared at him deeply.
The corners of his lips curled up slightly. Shen Yanbei moved his face towards him and approached him. "What are you looking at?"
Gu Changfeng regained his senses. His ears were hot and he subconsciously replied, "No...nothing..."
With a raised brow, Shen Yanbei pointed to his own lips. Gu Changfeng's face was flushed, he kissed him quickly against his hot gaze.
Shen Yanbei smiled satisfied. "Okay, bring me a plate!"
...
Three dishes were served one after another. The color of the pork bone soup was clear and a few bright red goji berries were floating on it, which increased people's appetite. For the fried pork with spring bamboo shoots, the bamboo shoots and pork slices looked match. It seemed refreshing and delicious. The braised pork was shiny and tottering and the smell made people drooled.
Gu Changfeng's throat rolled. He served Shen Yanbei and himself.
"Try your husband's skill!" Shen Yanbei smiled and put a piece of fat and thin braised pork into his bowl.
Gu Changfeng couldn't wait to pick up the piece of meat. Then he put it in his mouth. The first feeling was that the meat was springy. The teeth touched the slightly sticky skin. After everything was bitten, there was a layer of fat but not greasy. When you continued to bite down, it would melt in your mouth...
The three sensations progressed layer by layer. The rich and alluring fragrance poured straight into the nasal cavity. Gu Changfeng opened his eyes suddenly and took a bite of rice eagerly. The rice fragrant mixed with the meat fragrant came into the throat. The deliciousness was simply unstoppable!
"It's delicious!" Gu Changfeng was holding the bowl, his eyes bright.
"Then try this!" Shen Yanbei said while gave a piece of spring bamboo shoots straight to Gu Changfeng's mouth.
Gu Changfeng bit down without hesitation. Then nodded quickly. "It's delicious too!"
The bamboo shoot slices that had absorbed the gravy was crisp and refreshing. It was delicious!
"Have a mouthful of soup?" Shen Yanbei brought the cold soup over and Gu Changfeng took a sip smoothly.
The soup was delicious. There was a taste in it that he had never tasted before. He took
another sip, still unable to tell what it felt like.
"How?" Shen Yan held his chin in his hand. He looked at him with a slight smile, enjoying the different delicious experiences he brought to Gu Changfeng.
"I'm stupid and can't describe it, but they all are delicious!" Gu Changfeng told the truth. He had never eaten such a delicious dish before and he really wanted to swallow his tongue!
"Then what do you think if we open a restaurant with this kind of skill, the guests will appreciate it?"
Gu Changfeng didn't even think about it. He answered, "It will definitely be... a delicious dish..."
Halfway through the conversation, Gu Changfeng was stunned.
"Husband, you... do you want to open a restaurant?"
Shen Yanbei nodded. "Didn't Uncle Shen say that the restaurant where Laifu Gē works is about to change hands? That restaurant is in a good location. I want to buy it."
"You are a master Xiucai... How can you do cook!" Gu Changfeng said dumbly. He clenched his chopsticks tightly, full of self-blame. If it weren't for him to be useless, how could his husband, a dignified Xiucai, wanted to find a way out by cooking! As the saying went, "The gentleman is far from the kitchen". If someone knew that Shen Yanbei was cooking like a chef in a hot and full soot kitchen...
Thinking of those people looking at Shen Yanbei with scornful eyes, Gu Changfeng broke his chopsticks with a "pop".
"What are you thinking about?" Shen Yanbei took out the broken chopsticks, replaced them with a new one, and gave him a piece of braised pork. "I will definitely not come forward to run it. Just teach the chef how to cook them.”
This dynasty was divided into four classes: scholar, farmer, artisan, and merchant, as same as in ancient China. Although the status of merchants had improved a lot with the development of society, if a scholar with merit and fame was caught doing business, he would be mocked. Moreover, his name as a Xiucai was still very useful. As a Xiucai, they didn't kneel when they saw an official and he could still be exempt from 80 mu of land tax and exemption from labor. So he did not intend to discredit this status.
"But..."
Gu Changfeng still didn't want Shen Yanbei to teach others how to cook.
"Aren't we short of money right now? I haven't thought about other jobs, so I will do this for now." Shen Yanbei explained softly.
People relied on food. No matter what time and space in an era, the catering industry was one of the most profitable industries. The most important thing was that he found that there was a lack of condiments and the cooking methods were relatively simple. So most of the dishes were boiled or stewed. There were very few stir-frying dishes because they needed much oil.
He didn't know if this was also the case in other places, but this area alone was enough to make him determined to do catering. This was a business opportunity that should not be missed!
While watching Gu Changfeng not speaking, Shen Yanbei said softly, "I won't show up on this matter so I have to rely on you."
"Will you help me?"
The young man's smiling black eyes looked at him expectantly. Gu Changfeng only felt that his whole heart was scorched by these eyes.
There was a voice in his mind: You were not an ugly Shuānger who was useless except for brute force. You could learn to help him solve problems! You could do more by trying what he did!
"You are my man, why would I not help you!" Gu Changfeng's voice was a little trembling. He tried to suppress the excitement in his heart and said slowly, "Even though I have to climb a mountain of swords or plunge into a sea of flames*!"
*shàng dāo shānxià huǒhǎi: undergo the most severe trials.
Shen Yanbei couldn't laugh or cry. "What climb a mountain of swords or plunge into a sea of flames? I can't bear it!"
Yummy Yogurt's thought:
Happy New Year My Dear~ Thanks for supporting and accompanying our Yummy Yogurt through these 2.5 months~
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