Transmigration: The Little Chef Calls The Shots-Chapter 61 - Zhajiang Noodles_1
Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Zhajiang Noodles_1
Chapter 61 -61: Zhajiang Noodles_1
Seeing that Lin Siyu had left, Lan Hua also hurried home to help her mom make lunch, knowing that her old man hadn’t caused any trouble for Lin Yuan, so she was relieved.
Just as she encountered her, Lin Yuan quickly mentioned that she wanted to buy some eggs.
She had brought it up at Sister Guizhi’s house earlier but was worried Sister Guizhi would be too busy with making Liangpi to have the energy to spare.
As soon as Lan Hua heard it was about the eggs, she readily agreed.
Although her family didn’t store many eggs, her mom had good connections in the village, especially with the older aunties who loved to raise chickens and couldn’t bear to eat the eggs themselves, preferring to save them to sell in town.
Now that Lin Yuan was offering to buy their eggs at the same price, why would they not be happy to sell them without having to go all that way?
After Lan Hua left, Lin Yuan also hurried home to cook.
She had put the steamed buns she made yesterday in the steamer basket, and this morning they had buns for breakfast as well. frёewebnoѵēl.com
Although they were delicious, having meat for two consecutive meals had made her a bit sick of it.
Just then, Xiao Shitou arrived, bringing Xiao Linshuang back.
Sister Guizhi had also packed some tender cucumbers and large spinach she had picked from the vegetable garden in the morning.
The spinach was a bit old at this time, but in the village, being able to eat vegetables was already great; who could be picky?
Xiao Shitou put down the vegetables and ran off home, ignoring Lin Yuan’s calls to come back.
Xiao Linshuang, who had played until she was sweaty, wiped her face with her dirty little hand and immediately transformed into a little tabby cat, “Big sister, don’t keep him for lunch.
Sister-in-law said to let him go home to eat Liangpi.”
While helping her sister wash her face, Lin Wei curiously asked, “What is Liangpi?”
This was a shared topic of interest for the two sisters.
Xiao Linshuang stopped washing her face and kept praising how their eldest sister was the best, capable of making delicious food that others couldn’t.
Lin Wei was almost drooling, and Lin Yuan had no choice but to promise to make Liangpi for them the next noon, managing to coax the little ancestors out of the kitchen.
Having cucumber and spinach given by Sister Guizhi, Lin Yuan had an idea for lunch.
They had flour and meat at home, as well as the big jar of bean paste she had bought in town, perfect for making noodles and Zhajiangmian.
Adding the sliced cucumber and cooked spinach would certainly make a delicious meal.
Rolling out dough was physically demanding, but thankfully Lin Yuan had been exercising these past days, and her strength had increased.
Although it was tiring, she managed to finish rolling out the noodles in less than an hour.
Next, it was time to make the sauce.
She first took the pork out of the jar, cleaned off the salt on the surface, and cut the meat into small dices.
The task of lighting the fire was of course assigned to Lin Wei, while Xiao Linshuang was in the house, chattering to their parents about how tasty the Liangpi was.
Once the big pot was heated up, Lin Yuan scooped a generous spoonful of oil into it.
Making Zhajiangmian required a good amount of oil to be fragrant.
When the oil was hot enough, she first fried the scallion pieces, ginger slices, and garlic in the oil until fragrant, then removed these ingredients.
Leaving the onions, ginger, and garlic in would affect the texture when eating the noodles later.
After that, it was time to add the meat.
With a sizzling sound, the meat released enticing white smoke, and she quickly stirred it with her spatula.
Once the meat changed color, she added some soy sauce, which brought out the meat’s aroma.
Lin Wei fanned the flames and sniffed with her nose, feeling as though she could never get enough of the smell.
“You’re already salivating, just wait until I add the soybean paste, you’ll be drooling!” Lin Yuan teased her elder sister, who had also turned into a little foodie, as she scooped a spoonful of soybean paste into a bowl and mixed it with water.
Lin Wei, who was shy, blushed immediately upon hearing this and, with an embarrassed smile, went back to tending the fire.
As the paste was mixed and the meat cooked, Lin Yuan poured the sauce into the pot and suddenly, the fragrance of the meat, the sweet aroma of the soybean paste, and the subtle scent of the green onions melded together in an indescribable way.
As expected, Lin Wei began to drool, wishing she could immediately scoop up a spoonful of the fried paste and eat it!
A little gluttonous cat was also lured by the aroma and, while Lin Yuan wasn’t looking, dipped her little finger into the sauce, licked it, and ran off happily and secretly.
After serving the fried paste from the pot, it was time to cook the noodles.
Once the water was boiling, Lin Yuan blanched the well-selected spinach first, and quickly put it into cold water after it was cooked to keep it from becoming tough and chewy.
The julienned cucumber was already prepared; a large pot full of noodles had the whole family eating with greasy mouths.
Lin Jiaxin was so happy he had two big bowls.
In the idle afternoon, Lin Yuan remembered the soybeans she had bought, intending to make tofu.
At home, they only had soy sauce and no white vinegar, but she could start by soaking the soybeans.
Additionally, she would need a tofu mold, so she took the opportunity to draw it out while her sisters were napping.
With Lin Jiaxin, a master carpenter in the family, she wasn’t worried about not being able to create what she needed.
In just a few days, her father had almost finished making the mooncake molds she required, now only needing to carve the designs into each one.
After soaking the beans, she took out the various vegetable seeds she had bought from the town to show her father.
True to his skills as a farmer, Lin Jiaxin quickly sorted through the disorganized seeds, identifying which could sprout, which were empty, which could be planted now, and which had to wait until after the New Year’s spring to plant.
He clarified everything one by one to Lin Yuan.
Afraid she would forget, she even used the paper she had practiced writing on to pack the seeds according to their categories.
The ones that could only be planted after the New Year’s spring she stored away immediately, but there were several types she could plant now: chili peppers, Chinese cabbage, radishes, garlic, cilantro, among others.
Lin Yuan counted them off while planning in her mind the layout for the family’s two plots.
She didn’t want to plant haphazardly like her father; when Lin Yuan did something, she either did it not at all or did it well.
It was best to plant these vegetable seeds after the rain, when the ground was moist, saving her the effort of tilling and watering deliberately.
Once these vegetables grew, their family could enjoy eating vegetables every day.
Just as she had finished sorting the seeds, Lin Yuan saw Xiao Shitou running in excitedly.
Upon asking, she found out that the boy had seen some older village lads catching a big fish in the river, and, having just woken up from his nap, had come to find Xiao Linshuang to try fishing together.
