Chapter 128 - 114: Have You Learned It?
Chapter 128: Chapter 114: Have You Learned It?
Zhou Yan’s smile was sincere and full of expectation. He looked like a harmless apprentice, awaiting his master’s guidance.
Xiao Lei unconsciously sat up straight. He couldn’t quite bring himself to smile.
’Guidance? What guidance is there left to give?’
This Braised Pork Liver today was even better than his own.
’This is like roasting me, his master, over an open fire!’
Zheng Qiang was also looking at Xiao Lei, his face full of anticipation.
’With a Braised Pork Liver this perfect, I wonder what kind of lofty critique Uncle-Master could offer.’
"This Braised Pork Liver of yours is cooked to an exceptionally high standard," Xiao Lei said, looking at Zhou Yan with a somewhat emotional smile. "Whether it’s the Fire Control or the seasoning, it’s all perfectly executed. Even I would have a hard time reaching this level. Like a new bamboo shoot growing past the old eaves, you’re reaching greater and greater heights!"
Zheng Qiang was stunned. ’I can’t believe Uncle-Master is admitting defeat!’
’But... he must be proud to have taught such a brilliant apprentice!’
’I’m such a disgrace. All I do is bring shame to my own master and think about finding a new one.’
"You’re too modest, Master. I haven’t even learned a tenth of your skills," Zhou Yan said, waving his hands hastily, a touch of wistfulness in his voice. "As for why I was able to cook this Braised Pork Liver so well, besides your careful instruction, there’s actually another reason."
"What reason?" Zheng Qiang’s interest was piqued.
Xiao Lei also leaned forward slightly, his eyes fixed on Zhou Yan, unable to hide the look of anticipation on his face.
Zhou Yan leaned in a little closer and whispered, "Actually, I got two tattered recipe fragments from my grandmother. They’re said to be from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. After reading them, I had a sort of epiphany, and my skill with a few dishes improved significantly."
"The Shang and Zhou Dynasties... Did they even have Sichuan Cuisine? People were eating Braised Pork Liver back then?" Zheng Qiang scratched his head, feeling like something wasn’t quite right.
"Your grandma must’ve been pulling your leg," Xiao Lei laughed, not believing a word of it. "Sichuan Cuisine has a long history, sure, but to say that recipes from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties taught you how to make Braised Pork Kidney and Huo Xiang Carp is just plain nonsense."
"Then maybe I misheard?" Zhou Yan scratched his head and looked at Xiao Lei. "Was it not the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, but... from last week? Anyway, I thought they were written with a lot of skill. Master, why don’t you come over tomorrow? I’ll go borrow them for you to take a look. Who knows, you might have an epiphany of your own."
"It’s a family heirloom. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to look at it," Xiao Lei said, shaking his head resolutely.
"Exactly. Family skills aren’t shared with outsiders. That’s the rule," Zheng Qiang added.
Zhou Yan looked at Xiao Lei. "Master, Braised Pork Liver is your specialty. Don’t you want to improve even a little more?"
Xiao Lei fell silent. It was something he thought about day and night; he couldn’t honestly say he didn’t want to.
"Let’s study them together tomorrow. I feel like there are still many things I need to ask you about. We can improve together," Zhou Yan said with a smile.
Hearing this, Xiao Lei smiled too and nodded. "Alright."
...
At the crack of dawn the next day, the young Master Zhou and the old Master Zhou went out to buy groceries.
Today, Zhou Yan had ordered forty jin of leaf lard. He was going to fill up the large oil crock in the kitchen.
The oil left behind by Comrade Zhou was nearly gone, as business had been booming for the past two weeks.
Buying oil, buying firewood—the normal, additional expenses were starting to add up.
But Zhang the Third brought him some good news today. The policy of requiring ration tickets for pork was likely to be lifted soon. This meant that the price of pork at their meat stalls might match the supply and marketing co-op’s prices, dropping significantly.
For a private business owner like Zhou Yan, this was fantastic news.
Could ribs at 1.8 yuan a jin be the same as ribs at 1 yuan a jin?
If the price dropped, customers would be more willing to buy, and he could earn even more.
After the lunch rush, Xiao Lei arrived unhurriedly on his bicycle, just as promised.
"Master, I’ve washed all the leaf lard. I was just waiting for you to guide me," Zhou Yan said with a smile, welcoming him at the door.
"Let’s go. I’m sure you’ve done plenty of rendering," Xiao Lei said as he followed him into the kitchen.
This was his first time in Zhou Yan’s back kitchen. It was a bit larger than he’d expected, with a very logical layout. The flow between the washing, cutting, and stir-frying stations was efficient, and he couldn’t help but nod repeatedly in approval.
A large basin to the side was filled with snow-white pork leaf lard, at least forty jin of it. He said, "Alright, let’s get to work!"
"You got it!" Zhou Yan liked his no-nonsense, get-straight-to-it personality.
"The leaf lard is already clean. First, cut it up. I’ll give the instructions, you do the work. Next time, you’ll know how to render it yourself," Xiao Lei began.
"Okay." Zhou Yan tied on his apron, took a piece of leaf lard from the basin, and placed it on the cutting board.
"Cut it into pieces the size of mahjong tiles. The cracklings that result will be perfect for stir-frying with cabbage. See the lymph nodes and blood vessels on the side here? Cut those off and throw them away while you’re at it, or the rendered lard will have a funky, fishy smell..."
With his master guiding him from the side, Zhou Yan got to work.
The large chunks of leaf lard were quickly transformed into uniformly sized pieces, filling two large basins.
"This is too much for one wok. Fire up both of them and render the two basins at the same time."
"Get some Han Yuan Pepper, smash a piece of ginger, and add a splash of cooking wine to get rid of any gaminess and add aroma. After the leaf lard goes into the wok, add some water."
Zhou Yan added the cooking wine, then paused, looking at Xiao Lei in confusion. "Master, why add water when rendering lard?"
"Adding a little water makes the rendered lard whiter. The water will slowly evaporate during the rendering process," Xiao Lei explained with a smile.
"Okay." Zhou Yan nodded, added some water to the woks, and turned up the heat.
"There’s a trick to the Fire Control, too. When rendering lard, you start with high heat, then switch to low heat. If you get the order wrong, the lard will turn dark and bitter. And you have to keep stirring throughout the process to make sure the fat heats evenly..."
For a novice, rendering lard isn’t a simple task, but the margin for error is relatively high. As long as you keep your eye on the wok and have an old master guiding you, you can’t go wrong.
The white leaf lard was SIZZLING in the woks as the fat seeped out. The cracklings turned golden-brown and gradually floated to the surface.
The high heat was turned down to a low simmer, and the rendering continued.
"That’s good. First, ladle out the excess oil into the crocks, then we’ll press the rest of the oil out of the cracklings," Xiao Lei said.
Zhou Yan quickly brought over two large oil crocks. The remaining oil inside had been cleaned out and dried the day before.
He used a large ladle to scoop up the clear, pale-gold lard, pouring it through a fine-mesh sieve into the crocks. Filtering out the dregs made the lard cleaner and fresher, which was important as some dishes are very particular about their oil.
He used a spatula to press the remaining pork cracklings against the side of the wok, using the residual heat to slowly coax out the last of the lard.
Xiao Lei reached out, picked up a piece of crackling, and tossed it into his mouth. It made a loud KRUNCH as he chewed. He nodded and said, "That’s about right. Don’t press them too dry, or the cracklings will be overcooked and tough. When you stir-fry cabbage, you want them to still have a bit of fat on them so you get that rich, savory flavor."
"Uncle, is it good?" Zhou Momo had brought a small stool over and had been watching for an hour. Seeing Xiao Lei eat the crackling, she couldn’t help but swallow hard.
The smell of rendering lard was just too fragrant; she hadn’t been able to tear herself away from the kitchen since she walked in.
"Mhm, it’s fragrant and crispy," Xiao Lei nodded with a smile. He said to Zhou Yan, "Get a small bowl, scoop out a dozen or so for her, add a spoonful of white sugar, and mix it up. Let her have it as a snack."
The little one was adorable and a real chatterbox. She had been babbling away all afternoon, her eyes glued to the pork cracklings in the wok.
"Okay, your brother will get it for you." Zhou Yan turned off the heat, grabbed a small bowl, and scooped out a heaping spoonful of cracklings.
Xiao Lei shook his head. "That’s too much. This stuff is rich and ’heaty.’ A kid can’t eat too much of it. Just give her a little to taste. You’ve clearly never raised a child."
"Indeed. She might be happy eating it now, but we’ll be the ones dealing with it if she gets an upset stomach tonight," Zhao Tieying said with a smile as she came in. She took another small bowl and divided the cracklings.
Zhou Yan gave a slightly embarrassed smile. He really hadn’t thought of that; he’d only been thinking about making Zhou Momo happy.
He sprinkled a spoonful of white sugar over Zhou Momo’s portion.
On the other bowl, he sprinkled the chili powder used for Kneeling Beef. He tossed the bowl a couple of times to make sure every piece of crackling was coated in the chili flakes.
"Thank you, Brother!" Zhou Momo took the bowl. Holding it in one hand, she grabbed a piece with the other and popped it into her mouth. Her cheeks puffed out as she chewed happily, KRUNCH, KRUNCH. She looked like a little hamster, cute beyond words.
"Dad, Sister-in-law, come have some pork cracklings! They’re freshly made, the flavor is perfect," Zhou Yan called out with a smile, tasting a piece himself.
The chili-coated cracklings were spicy, fragrant, and satisfyingly crisp. That rich, savory aroma went straight to his head. They would be an absolutely fantastic dish to have with drinks.
The best time to enjoy pork cracklings was right now, when they were fresh.
Xiao Lei ate another piece and nodded. "This chili powder mix of yours is excellent. Fragrant, spicy, and slightly numbing. It really elevates the cracklings."
"It really is fragrant, and the texture is so crispy. It’s a shame they won’t taste the same once they’re recooked," Zhao Tieying remarked as she ate.
Zhou Miao and Zhao Hong also nodded repeatedly as they ate.
In this era, rendering lard was a major event for any household.
Who wouldn’t crave that rich, savory flavor of pork cracklings? People would store them carefully in jars and toss a few into their stir-fries just to get a hint of that meaty taste.
The bowl of pork cracklings was shared and finished by everyone, smiles on all their faces.
Zhou Yan scooped up the rest with a woven basket, letting them cool completely before storing them to prevent them from getting soggy.
The two large woks of lard had taken all afternoon to render.
Zhou Yan glanced at the time and said with a smile, "Master, it’s dinnertime again. How about you make a cabbage dish and I’ll make Braised Pork Liver? We can just have a simple dinner here at the restaurant."
"Alright." Xiao Lei rolled up his sleeves. Zhou Yan had already handed him the cabbage.
Cabbage goes by many names. Some call it round cabbage, others head cabbage. In the Sichuan and Chongqing Region, it has its own common name.
Vegetables grown in local fields were cheap now. Green vegetables were three fen per jin, and this cabbage was the same price.
For this dish, you only use the cabbage leaves, removing the stem and core. And you don’t use a knife; tearing it by hand is the authentic way.
Xiao Lei didn’t take it. He glanced at Zhou Yan. "Are you asking me to do your prep work now?"
"Whoa, Master, I was just kidding!" Zhou Yan pulled his hand back and started tearing the cabbage leaves.
The stems and core shouldn’t be thrown away. You can dry them and put them in a pickle jar to make pickles, or use them in other braised dishes.
He smashed a few cloves of garlic, chopped three millet chilies and a few dried chilies, and added a small handful of Han Yuan Pepper.
The wok had just been used to render lard, and a small pool of oil remained at the bottom. The wok was reheated, and Xiao Lei used a ladle to scoop a handful of pork cracklings into it. Then he added the prepared aromatics and stir-fried them until fragrant before tossing in the torn cabbage. He blasted it with high heat, stir-frying nonstop.
The cabbage visibly wilted. He added salt, MSG, and a small spoonful of soy sauce, gave it a few more tosses, and immediately took it out of the wok and onto a plate.
The entire process took less than three minutes, and Xiao Lei didn’t say a single word.
[A plate of rather excellent Cabbage with Cracklings]
The evaluation had already appeared in Zhou Yan’s vision.
"Did you learn anything?" Xiao Lei asked, looking at him.