Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 412: Soft and fragrant shredded radish rice, and 1 large egg

Shen Yu felt that three people were enough to cook a meal for sixty or seventy people, and there was no need to assign another person from the restaurant to help on the construction site.

But Shen Yu knew that he should not let his family members watch him cook a meal with their own eyes.

No matter how relaxed she sounded, her mother and the others would not feel at ease, so they had no choice but to get on the mule cart with Jiang.

The four of them went to Dongmen Street to buy some food, then turned the car around and headed towards the canal construction site.

When we arrived at the construction site, everyone was shouting slogans and working enthusiastically by the canal.

After the car stopped, Shen Yu jumped out first and then helped Jiang down.

Liushun and Qixi moved the purchased food into the guard house.

Jiang looked around and saw that the guardhouse was built solidly and was windproof. After everyone went in, they had to change into short jackets when working so as not to be too hot. She felt a lot more at ease.

She pulled Shen Yu aside and whispered, "Seeing that the place where you cook is not cold, I feel relieved."

"We are warm and comfortable in the restaurant. My heart aches when I think of you getting up early every day and not having time to eat breakfast to come to the canal and freeze."

"Last night, I heard your mother tossing and turning in bed for a long time before she fell asleep. She must be worried about you. I have to talk to her when I get home today so that she can feel more at ease."

Shen Yu said with a smile: "Our restaurant has always been serving breakfast, and I'm used to getting up early. You see it's not cold here, so just think of it as me cooking in a different place."

As they were talking, Liushun and Qixi moved the radishes they had just bought to the stove, preparing to wash the mud off them in a basin of water.

Shen Yu and Jiang stopped chatting, quickly changed into short jackets and tied aprons, and everyone started to work together.

In the menu planned by Shen Yu, today's lunch is shredded radish rice with pickled vegetables, and a boiled egg for each person.

Shredded radish rice is a home-cooked dish that is steamed together with rice. It is easy to make and tastes great.

First, wash and drain half of the rice and millet and set aside.

Add enough cold water into a large iron pot and bring it to a boil over high heat, then pour the two kinds of rice into it and cook it into glutinous rice.

Liu Shun was responsible for making the fire, while Shen Yu and Qi Xi began to cut the washed radishes into thin shreds.

Seeing that the two men were chopping with their knives so loudly that there was no need for her help, Jiang went to wash the eggs with clean water and put them in a bamboo basket to drain. She would steam them together with the shredded radish rice later.

Qi Xi’s knife skills are pretty good. Although he is not as precise as Shen Yu, he is much stronger.

There is no need for any standards when making this kind of big pot rice, just cut it into thin strips. It is actually faster than Shen Yu's cutting.

After a short while, the water in the pot boiled. Jiang hurriedly poured the rice and millet into it and stirred it a few times with a spoon.

Wait until the water in the pot boils again, and cook it for a while until the rice has no hard core, and the rice is ready.

Jiang had been watching by the side, and when she saw that the fire was cooked, she quickly scooped out the rice from the rice soup with a fine-meshed bamboo basket for draining.

Place the bamboo basket on an empty basin and spread out the rice inside to allow the moisture to dissipate faster.

The leftover rice soup can be used as hot soup for lunch by adding a little salt to it.

Shen Yu had also cut the shredded radish into pieces, placed them in a large bowl, added salt, chopped green onions, and minced ginger, mixed them well, and marinated them.

When the rice stops dripping, pour it into a large bowl and mix the pickled shredded radish and the rice evenly.

Fill another large pot with cold water, then place the steamer on top and cover it with a cloth.

Because there was a lot of food to be steamed, three layers of large steamers were used to put the stir-fried shredded radish rice into the steamer.

Although they are boiled eggs, they are actually steamed in a separate steamer together with shredded radish rice.

It takes the time of a stick of incense to steam shredded radish rice. If you boil the eggs in water for that long, they will be too overcooked and will not taste good.

Shen Yu simply changed to the steaming method and put the steamer containing the eggs on the top layer.

After the steamer has been steaming for half an incense stick of time, you can take the steamed eggs out and rinse them with cold water. The steamed eggs will be tender, fragrant and soft, and not overcooked at all.

Jiang nodded and said with a smile, "I only knew that the young lady cooked delicate and delicious dishes, but I didn't expect that she was also very careful when cooking a big pot of rice. She controlled the heat of everything. Although the food is simple, it tastes delicious."

Shen Yu smiled and said, "Everyone has worked hard, I can only try my best to make the food more delicious so that everyone can eat it more sweetly."

As the two were talking, Shen Yu had already blanched the pickled Chinese mustard greens he had bought in hot water, squeezed out the water, cut them into small cubes, added balsamic vinegar, chopped garlic, and poured in a little sesame oil to fill half a small basin.

After finishing all these, several people became idle. Except for Liu Shun who needed to add firewood to the fire, the remaining three people had nothing to do.

Qi Xi said to Jiang with a smile: "Aunt Jiang, you can rest assured now."

"With Brother Liushun and I here, the girl won't get tired."

"You don't need to send anyone over here anymore. The restaurant is so busy, I'm afraid Aunt Jiang will be worried about it again."

Although Jiang was not talkative, she really liked Qixi, who was diligent and cheerful all day long.

Hearing Qixi say this, Jiang had to admit, "Qixi is right. Right now, there must be a long queue in the restaurant. It must be very busy."

Shen Yu discussed with Jiang: "You don't have to wait until dinner is ready to go with me. This evening meal is a snack and is easier to prepare."

"Even if it's just Qixi and I, I can handle it because we have plenty of time."

"Liu Shun will follow the team and drive the mule cart back later. Aunt Jiang should go back to the restaurant first. In fact, they need more manpower there."

Liu Shun hurriedly agreed and said that he would send Aunt Jiang there first before returning to the county government office.

Seeing that Shen Yu and the other two were able to cook with ease, Jiang agreed as she was also worried about the shortage of staff in the restaurant.

After a few people chatted for a while, the eggs were soon steamed to the right temperature.

Qixi deftly peeled off this layer of the steamer and quickly replaced the lid.

Shen Yu and Jiang brought over a large basin of cold water, and used a spoon to transfer the boiling eggs in the steamer to the cold water to soak them. When they were no longer too hot to touch, they took them out and the eggshells were easy to peel.

After the three of them peeled the eggs and steamed the shredded radish rice, as the heat dissipated, the room was filled with the aroma of rice and coriander, and lunch was ready.

When the servants heard the gong and came over to line up for food, the first person in line took the meal in the large bowl and was stunned.

He rubbed his eyes and shouted excitedly while holding the big bowl: "Oh my God, I can eat eggs when I come out to serve as a clerk. I am not dreaming!"