Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 331 Secret Soybean Pork Trotter Casserole

Shen Yu couldn't think of a better solution for a moment, so he simply said, "The stewed pig's feet in a casserole is fragrant, nutritious, and cheap. It is the most economical and tonic food for ordinary people."

"I'll make a little less today, and we can try it ourselves."

"If you think it tastes good, make some more and put them in the restaurant so that regular customers can try them first."

"If you can accept it, then we can continue to make it. If not, then we can just make it for ourselves and not sell it in restaurants."

When Li and the others heard Shen Yu say this, they knew that she was determined to use the pig's feet to cook the dish, so they said, "It would be more appropriate to take it slowly this way."

"It's ready today, everyone can taste it at dinner."

"If we all think it tastes good and we can accept it, we will ask our regular customers tomorrow. If they don't mind it being made from pig's feet, we will make some more for them to try."

After a discussion among the few people, Shen Yu began to prepare to make amber meat.

I plan to cook the pig's trotters stewed with soybeans. First, soak some soybeans in warm water, and then the soybeans will be soaked when stewing the pig's trotters.

The amber meat made today is intended to be sold tomorrow, and a large quantity is made at one time.

After Shen Yu prepared the ingredients, he moved them to the stove in the main kitchen to cook.

This modified three-burner stove is much easier to use than the stove in the small kitchen in the backyard of the county government office, and the iron pot is also thicker.

Shen Yu was working on it, while the Li family members were watching carefully.

When Shen Yu was cooking, he explained every step in detail, including how big the meat should be cut into pieces, why it had to be tied up with straw mats, how to place it in the pot, etc.

When adding seasonings to the pot, he would also take a spoon and ask his family members to remember how much sake, sweet soy sauce, etc. to add for every pound of meat.

After the lid was finally put on and the food was simmered on low heat, everyone started to busy themselves with their daily tasks.

Shen Yu began to prepare to stew the pig's feet in a casserole.

The pig's feet I bought were in original condition, with the pig hair still on them and not cleaned.

Shen Yu pierced the pig's feet with a few iron skewers, wrapped the skewer heads with cloth, and used the skewers to singe the hair off the pig's feet under the stove.

As I was doing this, I couldn't help thinking that it was no wonder that my mother and the others didn't like pig's trotters. These unclean pig's trotters, which had not been plucked of the hair, did not look like food that humans could eat.

Shen Yu patiently turned the skewers over and over, looking at the faint fire at the bottom of the pot, and thought of Qi Xi's method of slow-cooking with firewood and wheat bran.

She put the pig's feet in her hand into the basin beside her, and ran to the next kitchen to talk to Li who was marinating meat skewers. She was thinking of buying some firewood so that she could use it to stew amber meat in the evening, which was inconvenient and did not require care.

Li smiled and said, "Since you think it tastes better when it's slow-cooked, I'll order some more firewood and wheat bran tomorrow."

"Every morning, as long as it's not raining or snowing and cars can pass on the road, there are people pushing carts along the street selling firewood."

"We use coal because we are a restaurant and the stove is kept running all day long."

"Many families living here wait for the small truck to come early in the morning to buy firewood. They don't need to buy too much at a time, because if they buy too much, there will be no place to store it. So they come here every day."

Shen Yu agreed with a smile and continued to singe the pig's feet.

After removing the hair, Shen Yu put the pig's trotters in clean water and scraped them one by one with a knife and then rinsed them clean. The big pig's trotters became white and refreshed, and seemed to be in much better condition.

Because there are many people in the family, and there are two growing boys, who come home hungry every day.

Although he said he would make less for tasting, Shen Yu still chopped off two large pig's feet in one go and planned to use the rest for cooking tomorrow.

Put the chopped pig's feet in clean water, add some salt and rub it again, then rinse it with clean water, and you can start cooking.

Zheng Sanniang had already lit the small stove and sealed the door, waiting for Shen Yu to come and use it.

Open the stove door and wait for the fire to get strong, put the wok on, add cold water, and put the chopped pig's feet in.

Pour in a spoonful of sake, a few slices of ginger, and a piece of scallion and bring to a boil.

Cook for a while, then take out and put it into a basin of warm water nearby. Clean off the floating foam on it, take it out and set it aside to drain.

Pour out the water in the pot, rinse it clean and put it back on the stove.

When the water in the pot is dry, pour in an appropriate amount of oil, take two pieces of old rock sugar, smash them with the back of a knife and put them in the pot.

Turn the heat down to minimum and stir the pan with a spatula until the rock sugar melts and becomes a thick, bright red sugar.

Pour all the drained pig's feet in, stir-fry until colored, add a little scallion, ginger slices and a few crushed garlic cloves, and stir-fry until fragrant.

Add the soaked soybeans and start seasoning.

Add some sweet soy sauce, soybean paste, a tablespoon of granulated sugar, and two pieces of bright red fermented bean curd.

Press with a spatula to break up the red fermented bean curd. After it has an aromatic aroma, add a small amount of boiling water and bring to a boil over high heat.

Move the wok to the pot rack next to it, and then place your large homemade casserole on the stove.

Pour the stewed pig's feet in the wok into the casserole, add enough boiling water to cover the ingredients, cover the pot, and simmer over low heat.

After stewing for about half an hour, you will have a full casserole of soft, tasty stewed pig's feet.

Shen Yu looked at the sky and estimated that by the time Yu Cheng and the others returned from school, the pig's trotters would have been stewed and would be served in time for dinner.

After stewing for a while, Shen Yuzheng and Yutao were sitting at the small table peeling garlic cloves when they heard a knock on the courtyard door.

Zheng Sanniang was washing vegetables in the yard. When she heard the noise, she hurried to answer the door.

When I opened the door, I saw that it was Qixi who came to deliver a clean small copper pot.

Zheng Sanniang took the small copper pot and went to the kitchen with Qixi.

Seeing that it was Qixi who came to return the tableware, Shen Yu smiled and said, "Didn't you say that someone would deliver it? Why did you deliver it yourself? Aren't you busy now?"

Qixi still looked cheerful.

Seeing that everyone in the kitchen was busy, he greeted Li and the others loudly, then bowed to Shen Yu and said hello: "The governor has a tight schedule, so he will leave after lunch today."

"After sending the prefect back, the young master, the old master, and the legal advisor are discussing the celebration of the birthday in the study."

"I have nothing to do right now, and it's not time for dinner yet, so I came to deliver the small pot myself, and by the way, see what the girl is having for dinner."

The large casserole on the small stove in the corner was making cheerful gurgling sounds, emitting a slight wisp of hot steam and a faint unfamiliar fragrance.

Qi Xi stared at the wisp of steam rising from the casserole, and asked greedily, "What delicious food is the girl making?"

"It's covered tightly, and you can't see anything. Are you ready for dinner?"

Shen Yu smiled, asked Qixi to sit on a small stool next to him, and said the long name in a casual tone: "Secret soybean pork trotter casserole."