Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 425 Even the pickiest people will be conquered by hot pot

Mrs. Li listened and said, "This pot is good. We have a large family and different tastes."

"Yutao and Sanniang can't eat spicy food, but everyone else loves spicy food."

"If we brew them separately, we need two small tea stoves, and the table is too small to accommodate them."

"Wouldn't it be more convenient if I could use one stove and one pot to cook two flavors?"

After Li finished speaking, she said to Yutao, "Go get your sister some paper and pen."

"It sounds like this pot has an extra partition compared to ordinary pots. Let Yuzhi draw a picture of the pot, and then we can go to the shop and ask the master to customize one."

"In winter, you have to eat hot pot. If you order a shabu-shabu hot pot like this, you will need it many times."

After hearing this, Yutao responded and got up to leave.

In fact, this double-handled pot looks simple. Just take an ordinary double-handled pot to a blacksmith and weld a partition in the middle.

I just don't know if the blacksmith shop can make it now.

While Shen Yu was thinking about it, he took out a pen and paper and simply drew a shabu-shabu pot.

Li took it and looked at it with Jiang and the others. They discussed for a while which shop nearby could make it. Then they folded the paper pattern and put it in their arms, preparing to order it in the next two days.

Shen Yu stood up, lifted the thick door curtain and looked at the street. The street was empty.

So he discussed with Li: "Let's close early today. The shop next door probably thinks there's no one here and has already started to close its doors."

"It's warmer in the backyard kitchen than in the store."

Li nodded in agreement, and everyone worked together to put the door panels on, put the tables and chairs in place, and after everything was cleaned up, they moved the charcoal brazier to the backyard.

Everyone started preparing ingredients for tomorrow, while Shen Yu and Yutao began preparing hotpot for dinner.

Yutao followed Shen Yu's instructions and prepared all kinds of ingredients available at home.

Wash the cabbage and tear it into large pieces, slice the radish, slice the tofu, cut the bean curd skin into diamond-shaped pieces, and cut the meat into thin slices before it is thawed.

There are also some ready-made foods such as meatballs and fried tofu, which can be cooked and eaten later.

Shen Yu was responsible for preparing two kinds of hot pot soup bases and dipping sauces.

Because there is ready-made broth, the soup base for this hot pot is very easy to make.

Put a few big red dates and a dozen wolfberries in the clear soup pot that Yutao is going to eat.

Add a few wild mushrooms soaked in warm water, a few slices of ginger, two pieces of green onion, and the boiled bone broth, and stew on a small charcoal stove.

It can be cooked in about a cup of tea, and then can be used for hot pot.

Making spicy hotpot is not that difficult. Just put some charcoal on the small stove, light it and fan it.

Heat the wok, add a proper amount of oil, a small handful of peppercorns and two or three star anises.

Add a dozen peppercorns and stir-fry over low heat until fragrant.

Add the chopped scallion and ginger slices and stir-fry for a while.

Add a sufficient amount of boiled dogwood oil, a large spoonful of bean paste, and then add a bowl of broth to cook together.

After boiling, pour all the food into a double-handled copper pot, fill the pot with broth, then cover the pot and stew.

Although the soup base of the hot pot determines the basic taste, the main reason why it is delicious is the variety of ingredients.

The aromas of various ingredients are mixed together. As long as they are fresh and rich enough, they will taste better and better even if they are cooked in plain water.

Add to that the different combinations of condiments, and it can be said that even the most picky eaters will be impressed by the rich flavors of hot pot.

This is probably the reason why hot pot has become so popular across the country in modern times.

Whether you like sweet or salty, spicy or sour, you can find the most suitable taste for you in various hot pots.

Although the ingredients were not as rich as those available today, Shen Yu also managed to create six or seven flavors of dipping sauces.

Use a small stone mortar to mash the garlic, add some salt and it will become a spicy and salty garlic paste dish.

Add some balsamic vinegar, sesame oil, and a little salt, and stir with chopsticks until it is smooth and fragrant. It will be a sour and fragrant garlic paste.

There is a three-in-one oil dish made with sweet soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and sesame oil.

There is a hot and sour dish made with balsamic vinegar and dogwood oil.

There is also a spicy dish made with fried and ground pepper powder, cooked sesame seeds and dogwood oil.

Sour, salty, spicy, all kinds of flavors were made, and all were served in bowls and placed on a large tray.

When the time comes, everyone can just use a small plate to take whatever flavor they like.

By evening, the north wind died down, but snow began to fall sporadically again.

Yucheng and Dundun came back from school and said that if it snowed again tomorrow, the academy would be closed and they wouldn't have to deliver meals.

Shen Yu and Yu Tao started to move the ingredients to the table.

The two small tea stoves prepared for boiling tea were filled with charcoal and moved to the middle of the table, and the pot of boiled soup was brought over and placed on top.

Then all the prepared ingredients were brought over.

There were many types of ingredients and the portions were large, so there was not enough room on the table, so the meat dishes to be shabu-shabu first had to be put on the table, while the vegetarian dishes were squeezed to the sideboard.

Yucheng and Dundun followed to serve the dishes and found today's dinner very strange.

Yu Cheng couldn't help but ask Shen Yu: "Sister, these are all raw, how can we eat them?"

Shen Yu pointed to the two soup pots in the middle of the table that were starting to boil again and said, "This is called hot pot. Put these vegetables in the boiling soup until they are cooked, dip them in your favorite dipping sauce, and you can eat them."

After putting away the dishes and chopsticks, everyone sat around the table. It was even more lively because Zhou Dalang's family also came.

Shen Yu taught everyone to cook the meat dishes first and then the vegetarian dishes, as this would make them taste better. Then everyone started eating as the snow gradually fell outside the house.

"Well, this pork belly slice is shaved like this, and then dipped in spicy dogwood oil. It tastes fragrant, tender, spicy, and really enjoyable."

"I didn't expect that the chicken meatballs tasted better after being cooked like this than in the mixed pot. They are so tender and chewy."

"It seems that the chicken meatballs in the mixed pot should be put into the pot a little later in the future, so that they will taste better."

"This soup base is really good. The bean sprouts are cooked like this and absorb the flavor of the meat. They are crunchy and fragrant when chewed, and have a unique flavor."

Although snow was falling outside, the fire was burning brightly inside the house, making it warm and cozy.

Everyone was eating and commenting, picking out their favorites and enjoying their meal, when Zheng Sanniang, who was closer to the door, vaguely heard a knock on the door.

She said uncertainly, "It seems like someone is knocking on the door."

Everyone put down their chopsticks, calmed down and listened carefully.

At this time, there was another knock on the door. Zhou Dalang stood up and said, "Someone is knocking on the door. I'll go check it out."

Having said that, he opened the door and walked out.

But after a moment, a man holding an umbrella came in behind Zhou Dalang.