Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle
Chapter 141 - 121 Liang Zhu (8)_2

Chapter 141: Chapter 121 Liang Zhu (8)_2

Jiang Weiming was so stumped by Liu Tao’s question that he wished he could dig a hole and bury himself. Qin Huai was very familiar with this expression; it was the same one Zheng Siyuan wore when he felt he had made a decision that disappointed his ancestors.

"This... I... this is my..."

Jiang Weiming stammered for a long time, finally squeezing out a sentence: "This is the only method I could think of."

"The taste of carrots is very unique, especially after steaming, it’s hard to cover up with other ingredients unless a lot of spices are added."

"But adding a lot of spices to the dumplings would only be counterproductive and even stranger."

"I’ve been cooking for you and Mr. Luo for so long, and I have a general understanding of Mr. Luo’s taste. Mr. Luo doesn’t like eating vegetables, and his favorite non-meat dish is tofu, because when tofu is simmered in meat broth or chicken soup, it has more of a meaty flavor."

"I make the meat filling by mixing carrot puree into the meat, then adding some diced bamboo shoots and mushrooms, stir-frying the stuffing first to bring out the oil, and then simmering it with chicken broth. I know this filling is strange because it’s a bun filling my father taught me."

"But this filling is, as far as I know, the closest to Mr. Luo’s taste that can be made with carrots."

"I made the dumplings in an apple shape, but please, when you take them back today, don’t tell Mr. Luo that these are dumplings, just say they are apple-shaped buns. He has to eat them while they’re hot; they aren’t good cold. If they get cold, just steam them for three minutes, and the taste will still be fine."

Jiang Weiming began to plead.

Liu Tao:...

"Alright," Liu Tao nodded, "I’ll go back and tell my husband... this is Master Jiang’s new apple-shaped buns."

Jiang Weiming began frying the filling.

Qin Huai watched from the side, his eyes growing brighter as he watched.

Qin Huai discovered that although Jiang Weiming’s dumplings were average and not as good as Zheng Siyuan’s, his skill in frying the filling was truly remarkable.

Qin Huai also fried fillings every morning, and he knew that frying filling didn’t require exceptional skills, nor did it require mastering techniques like flipping the pan, but the simplest things often showed skill the most.

It’s like making boiled cabbage well requires skill, but making cabbage taste like boiled cabbage requires even more skill.

After frying the filling, Jiang Weiming started to simmer it with chicken broth, a step Qin Huai was also familiar with, though he couldn’t achieve Jiang Weiming’s level.

The sauce thickened to just the right consistency, and the aroma of the simmered bun filling was so alluring that Qin Huai almost couldn’t resist tasting a bowl.

Qin Huai wasn’t the only one with this thought.

Gou Dan, sitting on the floor watching Jiang Weiming cook, had already begun staring intently at the filling in the pot, exclaiming clearly: "Meat, meat!"

"Mingming, meat."

Judging by the accent, it was definitely a northern accent.

Jiang Weiming scooped the filling into a bowl and mixed in a little sesame oil, patting Gou Dan’s head: "This is Mr. Luo and Mrs. Luo’s snacks, you don’t have this good fortune."

Both the meat filling and white flour were considered premium foods in this era, and having a bite would feel like a lifetime without regrets for an ordinary family. Jiang Weiming knew well that a cook could eat the guests’ leftovers, but absolutely couldn’t serve themselves from the guests’ main dish.

"Master Jiang, make a couple of smaller ones later; one for you and one for Gou Dan, since my husband and I can’t finish so many snacks," Liu Tao said with a smile, looking down at Gou Dan, "Gou Dan, you’re in for a treat today."

"Tao Tao, Tao Tao," Gou Dan called Liu Tao again.

"He’s really picked up a northern accent from you, Master Jiang," Liu Tao said with a laugh.

Jiang Weiming chuckled and began wrapping the dumplings.

Compared to his earlier ease frying the filling, Jiang Weiming appeared somewhat clumsy when wrapping the dumplings, but overall his skill was decent, showing that he had practiced before but was out of practice.

Qin Huai watched silently from the side, increasingly feeling that this technique was somewhat similar to what Zheng Siyuan had taught him.

Indeed, these high-difficulty snacks seemed to have a lineage, with the techniques being similar.

Soon, several apple dough balls of similar size were wrapped.

Jiang Weiming began adding color.

"Mrs. Luo, do you want to give it a try?" Jiang Weiming asked, "Coloring the dumplings is quite fun. When my second brother was learning to make dumplings, everyone at home would rush to do this step."

"My eldest brother also wanted to color them, but he would always let the younger brothers go first. I would insist on painting one before yielding due to my thick skin."

"Can I?" Liu Tao was pleasantly surprised.

"Of course, but you’ll have to take off your rings."

Liu Tao quickly took off her rings, picked up a dumpling, and carefully cradled it, imitating Jiang Weiming’s technique to color it.

The result was less than ideal.

Liu Tao, perhaps afraid that the pig bristle brush would poke through the dumpling, colored with very light strokes. Based on Qin Huai’s experience coloring dumplings recently, the final product’s color would likely be patchy.

A large spot of crimson, a spot of light red, and a spot with no color; in summary, it wouldn’t look good.

Liu Tao painted earnestly but slowly.

Qin Huai stood by watching, enjoying himself, until he was abruptly interrupted.

He nearly fell flat on his back but quickly ran outside, only to find that Luo Jun had already folded up his newspaper and started walking home. He walked slowly and even ran into a peddler selling malt sugar with a shoulder pole on the way, buying a large package.

Though they spoke different languages – the peddler couldn’t understand Luo Jun and vice versa – money was a universal language.

Once Luo Jun pulled out a Da yang, everything became comprehensible. The peddler wanted to give him half a basket full, but Luo Jun thought it was too much, so he only took a package. The peddler gushed a bunch of local blessings, bowing towards Luo Jun’s departing figure.

Back home, Luo Jun dusted himself off, put the malt sugar on the table, found a comfortable spot on the sofa, and resumed reading his newspaper.

Ten minutes later, Liu Tao arrived home with a food box, sweating slightly, still catching her breath, likely from jogging back.

"Master Jiang made a new snack today, apple-shaped buns! They are especially delicious, and he said to eat them while they’re hot. I was afraid they’d cool on the way, so I ran all the way home," Liu Tao said while panting, opening the food box and placing the apple dough balls on a plate.

"If you want to eat some later, just call me from the door; if they’ve cooled they won’t be any good, you’ll have to steam them for three minutes."

Liu Tao noticed the malt sugar on the table.

"Did the sugar vendor knock today?" Liu Tao asked, surprised.

"He did," Luo Jun replied, putting down the newspaper. "Didn’t you say last time that you missed him? He knocked today, so I just bought a pack. He was babbling in a dialect I couldn’t understand."

"His accent is quite strong," Liu Tao said with a smile, moving the plate in front of Luo Jun and then unwrapping the wax paper to eat a piece of malt sugar herself.

Luo Jun accurately picked out the single, ugly dumpling that Liu Tao had colored – the one resembling a poorly dyed apple – and decisively took a bite.

"That one is..." Liu Tao wanted to stop him but was too late.

"What is it?" Luo Jun asked knowingly, "Is it an ugly apple?"

Liu Tao was embarrassed to admit she had colored it herself, and only said, "It’s a failed snack that Master Jiang didn’t do well on, but since flour is precious, and meat is precious, I thought nothing of it being ugly and brought it back for myself."

"If he makes mistakes on snacks, maybe we should pay Master Jiang less next time," Luo Jun teased.

"No, no... it was... an accident. Maybe I distracted Master Jiang, which is why there was a mishap," Liu Tao hurriedly explained, fearing that Jiang Weiming would get less pay because of her blame-shifting.

"But I think this one looks quite nice," Luo Jun said, taking another bite, "and it tastes good. Those uniform apples are boring; this one has more personality."

Liu Tao’s eyes lit up.

"Bo Yan, do you think this apple looks nice?" Liu Tao asked with her head lowered, slightly embarrassed. "Actually, I’m the one who painted it. I didn’t dare tell you because it looked so bad."

Luo Jun chuckled, "I’m not stupid, of course, I can tell."

"Next time, don’t bother with the shape; just make regular buns. Carrot puree, meat filling, diced mushrooms, and bamboo shoots – isn’t that just a bun filling?"

Luo Jun ate the last bite of the bun: "I really like this filling."

Hic.

Qin Huai quietly burped.

This dog food was quite to his liking as well.

Qin Huai left the memory.

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