allonlinenovel Chapter 72 Making Braised Pig Trotters
Chapter 72 Making Braised Pig Trotters
When Pork Master Zhang heard that the little girl wanted to buy pig's trotters, he was immediately delighted.
These pig trotters are mostly just hair and skin, with tendons and hardly any meat on them, so they're practically unsellable.
People in the countryside are poor and can't afford to come to town to buy meat even twice a year. People in town are a little richer, but they complain that there's no meat in pig's trotters.
He was naturally happy to sell the pig's trotters; he wanted to sell as many as possible, otherwise he would have to take them home and cook them himself if he couldn't sell them all.
His whole family is almost sick of it!
"A pig's trotter costs ten coins. How many do you want?"
Ten coins a piece?
Sold regardless of weight?
This is way too cheap!
You should know that in modern times, a pound of raw pig's trotters can cost more than pork belly!
A braised pig's trotter costs forty or fifty yuan a piece, but this is only ten coins a piece?
Isn't this the same as getting it for free?
She suppressed her excitement and immediately took out her money.
"Uncle, here's thirty coins, give me three front trotters first!"
"okay!"
Zhang the butcher took the money, picked up the straw rope, tied the three pig trotters together, and handed it to her.
Shen Xiaotang was overjoyed as she carried the three pig trotters.
Fortunately, in her previous life, she worked part-time at a restaurant and saw the chefs in the kitchen making pig's trotters. She went back and looked up information online, and tried to make them herself a few times. Although her results were not as good as those of top chefs, they should be enough for this place!
However, the most important part of braised pig's trotters is not the trotters themselves, but the ingredients.
The village was poor, and everyone could only afford to buy coarse salt all year round. Her family, especially her stepmother, that old pious woman, was so stingy that she didn't even know the price of the ingredients.
Forget it, they have a mouth on their face, they'll find out by asking!
Shen Xiaotang carried the pig's trotters back to the roasted sweet potato stall and put them into the mule cart.
"Dad, I want to go buy some seasonings to make braised pig's trotters at home."
Shen Qingchuan was slightly taken aback, somewhat confused.
"When we used to cook meat dishes or make bone broth, we always added some salt, so why do we need to buy seasonings this time?"
"Because in the past, as long as the soup was fresh and the vegetables were nutritious, that was enough for me. But this time, I'm making it for the restaurant to see, so it's different."
"Tang'er's new business is to make braised pig's trotters?"
Shen Qingchuan was taken aback, realizing that his daughter was really bragging this time.
She's just a young girl, but she can make simple home-style dishes that taste pretty good. How can she sell her cooking in a restaurant?
That restaurant has several chefs; they can cook any dish. Why would they want my daughter's braised pig's trotters?
"Tang'er, maybe we should just forget about it. These pig's trotters have little meat and are cheap. Would anyone even buy them?"
Customers who dine at restaurants are picky eaters and have extremely high requirements for the dishes and their taste!
Before they even started, her father backed out, leaving Shen Xiaotang with a helpless sigh.
"Dad, how will we know if it will work if we don't try?"
"Don't worry, I'll definitely be able to do it well. Anyway, we didn't buy much. When we get home, you and Mom can both try it. If you think it's delicious, then we'll go find Manager Yao, okay?"
Shen Qingchuan was somewhat persuaded by his daughter, "Okay, you make it first, and if it's delicious, we'll ask Manager Yao to let him try it."
Xue Ruifeng squatted on the ground against the tree, quietly waiting for the father and daughter to sell roasted sweet potatoes.
Shen Qingchuan supported his daughter's business of making braised pig's trotters, so he took out a money pouch from his clothes, which contained sixty coins that he had brought from home.
With a determined effort, he gave it all to his daughter.
Touched, Shen Xiaotang took the money bag and went to the pepper shop. Relying on her memory, she bought cinnamon sticks, star anise, galangal, angelica, amomum villosum, cardamom, nutmeg, hawthorn, and fennel.
With little money in hand, she only dared to buy a little of each item, and even that small package cost her several dozen copper coins.
Once the braised pig's trotters are made, how much should they be priced at?
If she sells it too cheaply, she won't be able to cover up the cost of this book.
Forget it, let's make it first, and then wait for Manager Yao to introduce it to us, and see how the manager of Yunlai Inn reacts after tasting it.
In the latter half of the day, they sold quite a few more sweet potatoes. Seeing that it was getting late and there weren't many customers left, the father and daughter turned off the stove, packed up their stall, and prepared to go home.
Xue Ruifeng stared at the two of them pitifully, as if afraid they wouldn't take him home with them.
"I...I...can I go home with you?"
There wasn't even a place to sleep in this town. This morning, he finally found a sheltered spot, but was chased out by a gang of beggars. He was hungry and tired, and had nowhere else to go.
Moreover, they promised to take him home. What if they change their minds again?
Shen Qingchuan shook his head and grinned, "Don't worry, I'll take you with me later, I won't leave you here."
After packing their things and harnessing the mule cart, Shen Qingchuan led the mule while Shen Xiaotang and Xue Ruifeng rode on it, heading home.
When they got home, Liu heard the commotion and immediately went out to greet them. She was surprised to see that there was a little boy on the mule cart.
"Dad, what... what is this?"
"We found him in town. He said he was from Pingding County. After we get directions, Tang'er and I will take him home."
Liu nodded, understanding.
She looked Xue Ruifeng up and down, and was quite surprised to see the fabric he was wearing that she had never seen before.
In town, you can still find children from wealthy families, even if their homes are in the county?
However, being an honest person, she didn't say anything. It was just a matter of adding a pair of chopsticks and eating one more cornbread.
After her husband and daughter had been busy in town all day, Liu went into the kitchen and busied herself with cooking a pot of brown rice soup, heating up some cornbread, and stir-frying three kinds of green vegetables.
Simple, yet filling.
Xue Ruifeng ate his cornbread and drank his brown rice porridge, while also shoveling vegetables into his mouth, as if he hadn't eaten in eight hundred years. He was clearly very hungry.
Liu felt a pang of sadness at the sight, wondering what had happened to the child to make him so destitute and starving.
What a sin!
"Don't rush, eat slowly, I made a lot tonight."
As she spoke, Liu pushed the plate of food towards Xue Ruifeng again.
Xue Ruifeng didn't stand on ceremony and ate like a whirlwind.
After he finished eating, put down his bowl and chopsticks, let out a burp, and looked up, he saw that the family of four around the table were all staring at him.
His chubby little face, still showing signs of baby fat, suddenly turned red.
"Yes, yes... I'm sorry, I'm just too hungry."
Xiaoyu covered her mouth and chuckled. How come someone in her family, just like her, stutters? Hahaha...
After dinner, Shen Xiaotang started roasting the pig's trotters to remove the hair, blanching them, and adding some scallions and ginger to remove the fishy smell.
Fortunately, she had managed to plant some ginger in her small vegetable garden a few months ago, and it came in handy this time.
After blanching, I washed the pig's trotters twice, changed the water, put them back in, added the seasonings I bought, only half of each, not wanting to use them all. Finally, I added a few dried red chilies and simmered them over low heat.
Spicy pig's trotters are more flavorful than spiced ones!
The first time I'm seeking an introduction from Manager Yao to discuss business with him, I must impress them.