Jiang Sen, who was still unaware that he had caught someone’s attention, was still in high spirits. Jiang Chan glanced at him casually, thinking that her things weren’t that delicious anyway.
The next day was a day off, and Jiang Sen didn’t go to the academy. Instead, after breakfast, he disappeared into the study.
Jiang Chan also got up early, as it was her daily routine. She believed in the health benefits of going to bed and waking up early. After getting up and stretching a bit, she joined Li Ma and began thinking about today’s dishes.
Li Ma’s cooking skills had improved significantly. The owner of Mingyue Tower had visited several times, eager to recruit Li Ma. He insisted that Li Ma’s current skills were more than qualified to be a head chef.
However, Li Ma was used to serving Lin Shi and Jiang Sen. No matter how much the owner insisted, she refused. Now, Li Ma could cook various dishes like braised pork, chicken with mushrooms, steamed pork, steamed fish, and squirrel-shaped fish with great proficiency.
Since Jiang Sen’s friends were coming, Jiang Chan decided to prepare something different. As everyone had tried them before, the previous dishes had already lost their novelty.
Considering the time and the lively morning market, Jiang Chan and Li Ma went out together to see if there were any fresh ingredients.
It was winter, and fish were in high demand. Not far from home, they encountered a fish vendor. Jiang Chan scanned the offerings and decided on a large herring, nearly seven or eight pounds, perfect for making fish balls.
Uncle Zhong immediately paid for the big herring and followed along. The morning market was bustling, and by the time they returned, Uncle Zhong’s hands were full.
At the butcher’s, Jiang Chan ordered a slab of ribs and, noticing the discarded offal nearby, she also took all of it. Pig offal has become more expensive than meat these days, and now, the price for half a catty is only about the same as picking it up for free.
Jiang Chan also carried a large bone cut by the butcher, intending to use it to make bone soup. Passing by a traditional Chinese medicine shop, she went in and bought some spices.
Many of these spices can be used in medicine and are not commonly sold in regular places. After meandering around, the three of them finally made their way back home.
On the way back, Li Ma looked at the offal Uncle Zhong was carrying and the large pig’s head in her hands, “Miss, these offal don’t taste good; the flavor is too strong.”
Jiang Chan: “That’s because others don’t know how to eat them. When I cook them, you’ll see how delicious they can be.”
Li Ma immediately kept quiet. She knew that Jiang Chan never spoke empty words. If she vouched for the taste, it would undoubtedly be delicious. It was rare for something to be inedible to others but delicious to Jiang Chan.
Back at the house, everyone got busy. Jiang Sen and Lin Shi also joined in the excitement. The ingredients Jiang Chan had prepared today were new to everyone, sparking curiosity.
Uncle Zhong and Wang Ma also came over to help; otherwise, relying solely on Jiang Chan and Wang Ma, it would be impossible to manage. The first thing Jiang Chan did was make fish balls. The fish balls made from herring were quite excellent; this was also Uncle Mo’s unique skill.
After cleaning the herring thoroughly, removing the head, tail, and skin, only the white fish meat remained. Uncle Zhong helped chop the fish meat finely. Jiang Chan added spring onions, ginger, and cooking wine to the minced fish, stirring in one direction until the fish mixture became firm.
Lin Shi asked curiously, “Xiao Chan, what are you making?”
“Fish balls. Many ingredients can be made into meatballs, such as meat balls, shrimp balls, and even vegetarian ones, like shredded radish balls,” Jiang Chan looked at Lin Shi, “I’ll make it for you next time.”
Lin Shi immediately nodded and watched Jiang Chan continue the process.
Once the oil was heated, Jiang Chan handed the fish mixture to Uncle Zhong. He shaped the mixture into a ball and put it into the oil. In a few seconds, the round fish ball floated to the surface.
Li Ma watched for a moment and immediately took over Jiang Chan’s work, while Jiang Chan went to prepare another dish – Sixi meat Balls. Today, she planned to make both fish balls and Sixi meat malls.
In the cold winter, it was convenient to fry more in advance. The preparation of Sixi meat balls was not difficult. Each ball was the size of Jiang Chan’s fist. Once fried, they were set aside. The real work began as Uncle Zhong, who was always diligent, had already processed the offal according to Jiang Chan’s instructions.
Jiang Chan praised Uncle Zhong for his clean handling of the offal. He beamed with joy, looking forward to having a few extra bites at lunchtime.
A complete set of offal included large intestine, small intestine, pig heart, pig lung, pig liver, and pig belly. Jiang Chan quickly figured out how to use them. Jiang Sen was half doubtful, “Xiao Chan, how do we eat these things?”
Jiang Chan picked up the small intestine and put it aside, “We won’t need this today. In the afternoon, we’ll use it to make sausage, and the large intestine will be used for Nine Turn Large Intestine. Pig lungs will be made into couple’s lung slices, pig liver for cold cuts, and pig heart for stew.”
Li Ma chimed in, “What about the pig’s head?”
Jiang Chan: “I’ve already planned it. We’ll have braised pork for dinner. Braised pork takes a long time to cook, so we won’t be able to have it for lunch.”
Jiang Sen was initially disappointed but immediately cheered up. Not being able to have it for lunch meant no one would compete with him. Jiang Sen looked at Jiang Chan with a soft expression, and Lin Shi glanced at him meaningfully. He was such a character!
Now there were already five dishes: Nine-Turn Large Intestine, couple’s lung slices, cold-cut pig liver, pig heart soup, and Sixi meat balls. Seeing the spare ribs, Jiang Chan then said, “Let’s make sweet and sour spare ribs with these. I’ve never made this before.”
Jiang Sen’s Adam’s apple had been moving for a while. Lin Shi felt distressed, “How long will this take? It’s so tiring!”
Jiang Chan: “It’s not tiring at all. Li Ma, Wang Ma, and Uncle Zhong are helping me. I’m just talking and directing.”
As for fish balls, let’s make a dish with vegetables and braised fish balls. For the vegetables, we can stir-fry bean sprouts with tofu, sauté leeks with eggs, and also prepare a dish of leek flower stir-fried with meat. As for the bones, let’s make them into a bone soup.
Jiang Sen was overjoyed. All these were dishes they had never tasted before. Today was a feast, especially knowing that they would have braised pork for dinner. Jiang Sen was looking forward to it.
“The dishes are ready, but we also need some desserts. I see there are yams and red beans. Let’s make red bean and yam cake, it can help digest after a heavy meal.”
Lin Shi wiped the sweat beads on Jiang Chan’s forehead, “It’s all up to you. If your father sends someone over again, let’s not cook anything for him next time.”
Jiang Chan looked at Jiang Sen, and indeed, she saw Jiang Sen’s guilty look, unable to meet Lin Shi’s eyes.
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