Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 330: Trying out new ingredients, starting with the beauty-enhancing stewed pig's feet

When Shen Yu first came to Anping County, he went to the butcher shop to buy pork, and found that the only things on the stall were large pieces of pork, ribs, and shanks.

Parts like pig's feet and pig's liver, which are often seen at pork stalls in later generations, have never been seen.

Shen Yu was busy making meat buns at the time and was preparing to start a stall to sell them. All he needed were various fillings and pork ribs for making broth.

In addition to buying some ribs regularly and cooking them to add nutrition to the family, I also cook whatever ingredients are available at home for meals on weekdays.

I was busy setting up the stall at the beginning and had no time to try out new dishes, so even though I had doubts, I didn’t ask.

Later, after I opened a restaurant and added stir-fried dishes, stews and skewers, I began to have the waiters deliver large chunks of pork every day.

Shen Yu later asked the guy who delivered the ingredients why there was nothing else on the meat stall except the sliced ​​pork.

The waiter turned around and asked Shen Yu: "You don't have any dogs or cats at home, why did you buy these?"

Shen Yu didn't understand why the waiter asked this, so he smiled and asked him, "Why do you need to buy these if you want to raise a cat or a dog?"

The waiter then realized that Shen Yu didn't know the rules of the butcher shop.

He hurriedly explained: "Miss, you don't know that the pork sold in the butcher shop is all slaughtered by butchers before being sent to the shop."

"Things like pig feet, pig heads, and offal are cut out when the pig is slaughtered and put aside. There are workshops that specialize in making dog food and cat food that collect them every day."

"The girl is a good cook. She made the pork very fragrant and the guests also loved it."

"But most ordinary families can't cook pork well, not to mention these offal."

"So on weekdays, no customers come to the butcher shop to buy these."

Only then did Shen Yu realize that these ingredients had been used to make dog food and cat food.

Think of the tender and chewy braised pork trotters with soybeans that are good for beauty.

The crystal clear, refreshing and fresh pork skin jelly.

There is also the dense and fragrant braised pork liver at the braised meat stall, and the fat and lean pig head that leaves a lingering fragrance in your mouth.

And the spicy and fragrant dry pot pig intestines...

Everything is delicious!

But here, these delicious foods are treated as inedible and made into cat food and dog food, which is such a pity.

In the eyes of foodies, no matter what the food is, there is no distinction between expensive and cheap, the only difference is whether it tastes good or not.

Shen Yu planned to start with the easily acceptable pig's trotters.

Make a little for yourself first and see if people around you can accept it.

If you can accept it, sell it in the store, and then do other things.

If not, you will have to close the door and enjoy these delicacies at home.

A few days ago, Shen Yu had talked to her waiter and asked him to tell the boss to help her order some pig's trotters the next time the butcher came to deliver meat.

The young man agreed readily and asked Shen Yu whether he planned to raise a big dog or a kitten.

If you want to raise a kitten, there is a shop next to the butcher's shop that sells various kinds of catfish. He can help buy dried fish at a suitable price and bring them over.

Shen Yu was afraid that the waiter would not understand if she told him that she was planning to cook for herself, so she jokingly said that she was planning to raise a big dog to guard the house.

The young man readily agreed and said that he would tell the shopkeeper when he got back, and ask him to send the pig's feet over together with the meat when they were ready.

Today the waiter brought me eight large pig's feet. When I asked the price, it turned out to be only eight cents each.

This is because Shen Yu only ordered a few. If he ordered more, it would be even cheaper.

Eight cents each!

Not one pound!

But one!

Shen Yu picked up one at random and weighed it. It weighed almost two kilograms!

When Shen Yu heard the offer, he was stunned.

Think about the pig's trotters that were much more expensive than pork belly in later generations. What's the difference between this price now and getting them for free!

The price of pork was not high to begin with, and since the daily orders for her restaurant increased, the owner of the restaurant believed that Shen Yu's restaurant had a bright future.

In order to ensure that Shen Yu would not change suppliers, they took the initiative to lower the price and set a more favorable price.

For example, the pork ribs used to make broth started out by charging a symbolic amount of money, and later they just gave them away for free. From time to time, they would also give away some extra ribs as a bonus.

For this reason, Shen Yu often felt that he was taking advantage of the butcher shop too much, so whenever the shopkeeper came to pay the bill, he would make some extra delicate cakes for the shopkeeper to take home.

The cooperation between the two companies is mutually beneficial and everyone is happy.

After the waiter left, Shen Yu was still a little dazed.

Li and the others didn't understand why Shen Yu wanted so many pig's trotters. There wasn't much meat on them, just bones. How could they be delicious?

Seeing that everyone was at a loss for what to do with this pile of pig feet, Shen Yu hurriedly said with a smile: "Don't underestimate this because it looks a bit ugly, with more bones than meat. It's actually very delicious when it's cooked, and..."

She looked at the ladies of the Li family with a smile: "After stewing, pig's feet are especially nourishing to the skin."

"Eating it regularly can improve your complexion and improve your complexion. It is an excellent beauty dish that is both cheap and nutritious."

Shen Yu paused and said, "In winter, you can make pork skin jelly with pork skin. The finished dish is crystal clear, smooth and delicious."

There is no woman who doesn't love beauty. When talking about a good face, not only the ladies, but even Yutao, a girl with skin so tender that water can be pinched out of her, became interested.

However, looking at the unprocessed, rough and hairy pig's feet, several people still felt that they didn't like it and couldn't imagine how delicious it would be after being made into a dish.

Mrs. Li said with some worry, "It sounds good, but I'm afraid that once the guests hear that it's pig's feet, they will dislike it and refuse to eat it."

Jiang was also a little worried: "Ordinary people also buy pork and cook it at home, but they are not good at cooking it, so the taste is not so good."

"But since we eat it at home, when it's sold in restaurants, as long as it tastes good, customers will easily accept it and buy it to take home."

"But aren't pig feet used to make dog food? That doesn't sound very nice."

Even Zheng Sanniang, who always did what Shen Yu taught her, said in an uncertain tone: "With your cooking skills, you can definitely make pig's feet delicious."

"But what if the girl makes the food and the customers dislike it? What if the customers find it disgusting and stop eating at the restaurant?"

Yutao and Zhou Dalang didn't think so much at first, but when they heard that the three of them were worried that customers would not easily accept pig's trotters in dishes, they suddenly lost confidence.

Shen Yu originally thought that diners had a good reaction to pork dishes and accepted them quickly, so it shouldn't be difficult for diners to accept pig's feet as well.

I didn't expect that when I was actually preparing to try making it, my own family members thought it was dog food and were skeptical about it, not to mention those diners who had never eaten pig's trotters.