Learning from the Master

“Zhuang Zhuang, are you going to help me start the fire?”

Xiaoguo went to the study and found Zhuang Zhuang practicing his calligraphy.

“I’m coming!”

Zhuang Zhuang immediately put down his brush and got ready to leave the room. However, he stopped and turned to remind Xiaoyi, who was planning to leave with him. “You haven’t finished writing a chapter.”

When Xiaoyi heard this, he quickly sat back down. It was obvious that he could not sneak out with them.

Zhuang Zhuang nodded in satisfaction, then he took Xiaoguo’s hand and left.

Xiaoyi watched enviously as they left. He pouted as he thought to himself, “Zhuang Zhuang is even stricter than the teachers in the palace…”

“Sigh, forget it. Hurry up and write.” Zhuang Zhuang was right. He had to finish what he was doing. Once he was done, he could join them right after.

After Xiaoyi made his decision, he immediately went back to writing.

“Wow, why are there so many dishes?”

Zhuang Zhuang looked at the table filled with side dishes and was very surprised. There was so much delicious food!

He ran around the table to take a good look at the food.

Xiaoguo pressed his head down. “Alright, stop running. Help me start the fire later.”

“Hahahaha…” Zhuang Zhuang leaned against Xiaoguo’s leg. When he heard her words, he nodded. “Okay!”

Xiaoguo’s plan was to prepare the cold dishes first. Some of the items on the menu like the assorted plates, steamed chicken with sauce, and shredded potato salad were usually served cold, so it would be better to make them earlier and place them on the table first.

Zhuang Zhuang was lighting up the fire when the two chefs came over.

“Madam, we’re free now. We came to help you and pick up a few techniques from you…”

The two chefs came over with a smile—but they were looking a little embarrassed.

Mrs. Xu was also a little shy. She didn’t feel good about going over so brazenly to pick up cooking techniques from XIaoguo. Although the food she made for the soldiers tasted pretty good, the fragrance was still lacking somehow. Thereafter, she tried making the dishes on her own a few times but she still couldn’t get it.

This time round, Xiaoguo was preparing dinner, so the two chefs did not have much to do. However, the two of them were really curious, so they came over to check things out.

“That’s good. Things will be easier with your help.”

Xiaoguo didn’t think much of it. She had no intention of hiding anything. What was the point of doing that? These were not recipes that she would use for opening a restaurant or anything like that. Besides, the dishes she was making today were just ordinary home-cooked food, and only a few condiments were being used. What was more important was getting the temperature right.

Hearing Xiaoguo’s words, the two of them heaved a sigh of relief. They were feeling a little uneasy before that.

“So what do we do first?”

Xiaoguo looked around. Actually, there was nothing much to do. She and Jiang Danhe had washed and cut all the ingredients. All that was left was to cook them.

“Well, there’s not much else to do. Why don’t you help to pass the ingredients?”

Mrs. Xu was a little older than the fat chef and was more experienced. When she heard Xiaoguo’s words, she looked around and saw that everything had been prepared. All the dishes were placed neatly beside the stove. Xiaoguo could just take them when she was cooking. There was no need for anyone to hand them over. This was just an excuse for the two of them to stay.

Auntie Xu smiled from the bottom of her heart. “Oh, okay!”

The fat chef was still a little young, so she was not as perceptive as Mrs. Xu. She took Xiaoguo’s words seriously and tried to help out.

Xiaoguo tried her best to explain each step clearly. The main point was the heat control. Xiaoguo could tell that the fat chef was just waiting to taste the food. Mrs. Xu, on the other hand, really wanted to learn. Hence, Xiaoguo told her about the heat control and the sequence of adding various seasonings.

Mrs. Xu was very serious. She took note of the sequence of Xiaoguo’s cooking from beginning to end. She also memorized when to put in which ingredients when the oil was at varying temperatures.

Xiaoguo slowed down so that Mrs. Xu could get a better look. There was still time.

Zhuang Zhuang had been pushed to one side when the two chefs arrived. The fat chef realized that there was no need for her to pass the ingredients, so she took over Zhuang Zhuang’s job and watched the fire.

Seeing that there was nothing else for him to do, Zhuang Zhuang got Xiaoguo’s permission to return to the study.

Xiaoyi had just finished writing a chapter and ran out happily. Before he could step out of the room, he saw Zhuang Zhuang walking over.

“Let’s learn another chapter.”

As soon as Zhuang Zhuang finished speaking, Xiaoyi was petrified. “Help…”

–

Each time Xiaoguo scooped out a completed dish, the fat chef would bring it to the hall and place it on the table.

Xiaoguo set aside a small portion of each dish for the two chefs to taste.

Mrs. Xu hurriedly picked up the food with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth. It was indeed delicious, and there was an indescribable fragrance. Every condiment was added so precisely that every ingredient still retained its own unique fragrance. The food was unlike the dishes prepared by other chefs, where there is always a dominant flavor that overshadows the other accompanying ingredients.

Xiaoguo continued to stir-fry the vegetables. Now that the cold dishes had been served, she heard from the fat chef that Li Shouji was already sitting in the hall, waiting. Xiaoguo guessed that the guest would be arriving soon.

“Auntie, turn up the heat.”

Hot dishes should be stir-fried to taste good.

Mrs. Xu acknowledged Xiaoguo’s instructions and added more firewood to increase the temperature.

Xiaoguo took the opportunity to add more cooking oil and stir-fried the vegetables.

After a while, the fragrance wafted out.

The two chefs were momentarily intoxicated by the overpowering fragrance.

“What’s this dish? It smells so good…”

The fat cook couldn’t help it and commented first. This fragrance was unfamiliar to her. It was fragrant and spicy at the same time.

Mrs. Xu had to stand up and move closer to take a closer look. “Beansprouts, duck blood, fish balls, pork balls.”

Mrs. Xu read out all the ingredients in the pot and smelled them carefully. “It’s really fragrant. What dish is this?”

“This is blood curd in spicy sauce.” Xiaoguo scooped out the completed dish from the pot after it was cooked “First, stir-fry the chili sauce to bring out the fragrance. Then, add all the ingredients together with some water. After you’re done, add some salt to season the food. I should have added tripe and pig intestines to the dish. However, tripe is not easy to get in the markets and pig intestines have to be washed and cooked beforehand. It will take too much time, so I didn’t put them in.”

Xiaoguo found that the chili sauce they made themselves was very fragrant, so she dug out a large spoonful and used it for stir-frying.

As she spoke, Xiaoguo’s hands did not stop moving. She filled the pot with oil and heated it until it was smoking. After all the ingredients in the blood curd dish were cooked, she placed some dried chili flakes and peppercorns on top before pouring the bubbling hot oil to complete the dish.

When the hot oil was poured onto the ingredients, there was a crackling sound and a delightful fragrance filled the air.

The two chefs surrounded the dish curiously and studied it. They had never seen such a dish before.

Xiaoguo did not stop for long. She quickly washed the pot and began to stir-fry the next dish.

Before the sky turned dark, all the hot dishes and the chicken radish soup were served. There was only the fish left.

Mrs. Xu knew how to make brown sugar glutinous rice cakes, so Xiaoguo left the cooking to her while she carefully processed the fish.

First, she worked on the steamed fish head with diced hot red peppers. Mrs. Xu had made some diced hot red peppers and kept them in the kitchen. Xiaoguo was used to stir-frying the peppers and adding them to the fish head before steaming. This way, the taste would be better.

After the fish head was put into a pot to steam, it was time to make the crispy fish with gravy. The West Lake Vinegar Fish would be cooked last.

The lower half of the fish was cut into thick slices, wrapped in flour, and deep fried in a pot until golden yellow. Then, all the fish slices were placed into the heated oil and fried again.

After 30 seconds, Xiaoguo fished everything out. She then prepared a sauce with a couple of condiments, and soaked the fish slices in it.

While soaking the sliced fish, Xiaoguo began to prepare the West Lake vinegar fish.

She split the fish meat on both sides and made a few cuts. By doing so, the shape would look good and it would be cooked more evenly.

She covered it in flour, lifted it up, and patted off the excess flour from the fish. Then, she placed it in the same pot that she had just used for deep-frying.

While waiting, she went on to prepare the vinegar sauce. Compared to the sweet and sour fish, the West Lake Vinegar Fish was slightly more sour and had less sugar. Everything else was the same for the two dishes.

Xiaoguo added a little more vinegar in proportion to the fish. Then, she added the scallions into the pot and began to stir-fry until the sauce became thick.

The fried fish was placed on a plate and drizzled with the vinegar sauce.

Finally, it was garnished with a pinch of chopped green onions.