noffsinger Chapter 216: Seaweed and Meat Buns
Chapter 216: Seaweed and Meat Buns
At noon, Zhao saw Li Yuer and his friends bring back a bucket of seaweed and said with a smile, "Huahua is in for a treat. She will definitely lay eggs more frequently after eating these."
Huahua is the best hen at laying eggs in the Cai family, and also the best hen at hatching eggs.
Li Erlang looked at Li Yuer's wonderful expression and held back his laughter.
Li Yuer shrugged helplessly. It seemed that the people here really didn't regard seaweed as dry food. In the past, a pound of farmed seaweed cost five or six yuan.
She explained: "Aunt, this is not for Huahua to eat. I plan to use it to make dumplings."
It’s better to make it clear, otherwise you will really end up in the chicken feeder later.
Zhao was startled, then said, "Has Yu Baoer come up with another delicious dish? Hua Hua didn't have a good time, but my aunt did."
After lunch, Li Meir was taken to the small kitchen in the east wing. This time, Boss Li also came.
"Yu Baoer, I want to learn from you how to make cold jellyfish, stir-fried sea chrysanthemums, and seaweed buns, is that okay?" Boss Li asked nervously.
Although they are a family, they have separated, so they still need to ask each other for opinions on cooking secrets like this.
Li Yuer said: "Of course, when our restaurant opens, we will also want my eldest cousin to be the chef. If we open a branch in the future, we will have to hire people.
Also, a charter will be drawn up at that time.”
In this dynasty, there was no separation of management rights and ownership rights, and people usually did not receive wages when working for their own family.
Li Yuer doesn't want to change the business model of other stores, but her store needs to be divided.
It is like Li Dalang not only owns shares in Li Ji, but also works as a chef for Li Ji. Therefore, compared to the old man Li and his wife who do not work, he should be paid a separate salary as a chef.
"Buying people?" Everyone was shocked.
Their family is much better off now than before, but they have never dared to think about buying someone.
Li Yuer put the seaweed into the basin and said, "Of course, the recipe is the key to a restaurant. If we rely on my eldest cousin alone, we won't be able to handle the restaurant if we open a branch. If we don't hire more people, other chefs will learn our skills and run to other restaurants. Then we'll be finished."
Li Erlang was the first to agree with Li Yuer and said, "Yu Baoer is right. We must hire people. We worked hard to come up with the recipe, starting from setting up a stall and then working our way up to the restaurant. If they want to take advantage of us, it will be impossible."
Others thought it made sense and stopped worrying about it.
Li Yuer would not treat hired cooks as their private property and exploit them as she pleased, as some wealthy families did. She would treat everyone equally, pay them the same for the same work, and know a person by his appearance, not his heart. No one could guarantee that the hired cooks would not betray their employer, but since they had the indenture, if they wanted to betray their masters, they would have to bear the harsh punishment of the Cangyuan Dynasty for servants who betrayed their masters.
Seaweed is rather troublesome to clean and needs to be rubbed and washed repeatedly because there is a lot of sand in seaweed. If it is not cleaned thoroughly, it will hurt your teeth when you eat it, which will greatly affect the eating experience.
This job was given to Li Erlang and Li Dalang, who were stronger, and Li Laosan went to the construction site to help.
They cleaned the sea hemp and beech separately, used the sea hemp to make dumplings, and used the beech to make jelly.
The pork belly is cut into three-finger thick pieces and fried in a pan until it becomes juicy.
Seaweed consumes oil, and buns wrapped with meat are not as fragrant as those made with pork belly.
Moreover, the seaweed buns made with pure white bread are not as fragrant as those made with bean flour.
Li Dalang's knife skills improved day by day, and soon he had chopped the sea flax into pieces. Li Yuer instructed him to add the appropriate seasonings and let it sit for fifteen minutes for the seasoning to absorb.
"Let's make the buns a little bigger and flatter. We can steam some and simmer some in the iron pot. The steamed buns will have a layer of fragrant paste and taste better, but they will be a little harder to chew."
"I like to eat the ones with paste lumps. I have good teeth." Li Erlang said while kneading the dough.
Li Mei'er was washing red cabbage nearby. "Yu Bao'er, what is seaweed jelly?"
"Have you ever eaten pork skin jelly?" Li Yuer asked.
Several people shook their heads.
It seems that there are no various frozen foods in this dynasty, which is another business opportunity.
“Seaweed jelly is a very refreshing cold dish, chewy and smooth.”
"That's great. We can have another delicious dish in the summer. Braised seafood is suitable for winter. It's warm."
Li Yuer said: "Braised seafood can also be eaten cold, or mixed with noodles. There are many ways to eat it. Everyone should actively think and think more to come up with more ideas."
Li Yuer grabbed a handful of beetroot and saw that there was no sand or impurities in it. The beetroot was clean.
"It's very simple to make frozen food. Just put the seaweed in a pot and boil it. You can add a spoonful of vinegar to remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor."
Add firewood to the bottom of the stove and simmer the red cabbage on medium or low heat. They put the panel on and started making dumplings.
Only Li Meir knew how to make dumplings. The Li family was poor in the past and they could only eat dumplings a few times. Naturally, they would not let a novice waste food, so Mrs. Cai only taught Li Meir, who was clever and dexterous.
Li Yuer knew how to make a bag in her previous life. She pretended to be simple and learned it after watching it a few times.
Li Erlang still had the least talent in cooking, but after seeing the buns made by Guo Qingran, he regained his confidence.
In the end, Guo Qingran barely learned how to roll out the dough and started to help a few people.
She was not as good at rolling dough as Li Dalang. The dough rolled by Li Dalang was round and of even thickness, while the dough rolled by her was always in weird shapes, either too thick here or with a hole there.
But it's all for family members to eat, so no one cares.
Li Laosan is back and joins the steamed buns team. Li Dalang and Li Laosan are good at making steamed buns. Li Laosan learns quickly but has little patience, while Li Dalang learns seriously and is very patient. He also likes to think hard and the lace he makes looks very nice.
The big, flat, round buns are arranged in circles on the steamer curtain. They are yellow and look very appetizing.
"Okay, that's enough for one pot. Let's try it first. If it tastes good, we can continue making more. Everyone can give us some opinions after eating it. If it's too salty or too bland, feel free to tell us if there's anything wrong."
There was only one pot in the small kitchen, and as time was almost up, they decided to take out the beetroot first.
The moment you open the pot, a burst of hot steam rises, revealing the tender red cabbage.
After the red cabbage is cooked, the color is not as bright, and it becomes a dark gray and looks sticky.
Li Yuer picked up the colander and started to scoop out the vegetables. "Usually, we only want the broth from the red cabbage, not the vegetables. But I think we can boil the vegetables twice, so that we can make more jelly. The softer the red cabbage is, the better. It's also delicious if you leave some vegetables in it."
Li Dalang took the initiative to take out the vegetables and put them aside, waiting for the buns to be steamed before cooking the second pot.
Li Yuer poured the remaining seaweed soup into a basin and placed it outside the window to let it cool.
Li Erlang took the initiative to clean the pot, poured an appropriate amount of water into the bottom of the pot, and put the steamer on it. Li Meir took out the hawthorn leaves, placed them on the steamer, then put the buns on it, covered the pot, and started steaming the buns.
The leaves used to steam buns are called Alsophila leaves in the coastal areas of Northeast China. These leaves are as big as palms. After being steamed and dried, they can be stored for a long time. They are most suitable for steaming buns and steamed buns. They have no odor, are non-stick to the pan, and are disposable, which is more economical and hygienic than using rags.