I am the cook, but I am Li Er's son-in-law

Star anise, cinnamon.

These are the two most commonly used spices in cooking, and many dishes that need to be stewed cannot do without them.

Yin Xuan has wanted these two spices for a long time—of course, he also had the idea of ​​buying them in a pharmacy. Firstly, they are expensive, and they cost two pennies. Secondly, there are some problems with the quality. .

The prices of these two kinds of spices in the system mall are not cheap, they are both ten cents and one tael, but compared with the prices in pharmacies, they are undoubtedly much cheaper.

With these spices, the hard dish that can be cooked is naturally braised pork.

Star anise and cinnamon are the basis for making braised pork. Without them, there is no dish. On this basis, it would be better if there are fragrant leaves and peppercorns.

Datang has no scented leaves - this kind of bay leaf is still growing in the Mediterranean area, and no merchants have even brought it all the way to Datang.

As for pepper
It's too expensive, and Yin Xuan is reluctant to buy it. One tael of peppercorns and one tael of gold are you kidding me?
Braised pork is a very special dish.

It does not belong to any cuisine, no matter which cuisine has it.

Speaking of which, braised pork actually has the characteristics of local cuisine - thick oily red sauce, rich in color and flavor.

Although other dishes are good, they are not as good as braised pork.

Of course, no matter which cuisine it is in, the method is similar, but the details are slightly different.The biggest difference is the taste, the south is more sweet, and the north is more salty.

This dish is delicious no matter whether it is salty or sweet, but Yin Xuan is more salty.

Yin Xuan walked out of the kitchen with a smile, and greeted Li Lizhi and the others: "This restaurant has a new dish, do you want to try it?"

There are new dishes!
Li Lizhi swallowed a mouthful of saliva: "I want, I want, what's the name of the dish?"

Yin Xuan reported the name of a dish: "Manjianghong is a pure meat dish, 120 words."

Pure meat dishes.

Li Lizhi looked forward to it even more. Although she couldn't read much useful information from this elegant name, but Yin Xuan's craftsmanship was there. She felt that even if Yin Xuan fried a plate of stones, she could do it. Cheng Yaojin Crunch it and eat it.

The maid calmly weighed her purse. She felt that her princess's monthly allowance, except for the part of daily expenses, would be folded in this restaurant.

In the morning, they are still taught to read.

After the teaching is over, it is time to start processing pork.

Yin Xuan will not be stingy about the quantity of dishes that sell for 120 Wen. Take out two catties of pork belly without any treatment, and soak the whole leaf in onion and ginger water for a while.

This step is to get rid of the blood in the meat, and also to get rid of the fishy smell - good pork can't be said to be without these, it can only be said to be very light.

After soaking, take it out and cut it into two centimeters square pieces of meat, put some cooking wine, and then blanch it in water, wait for the floating powder to float out and the meat color to turn white, take it out and clean it for later use.

Bring the pot to a low heat, add a little oil, and add two tablespoons of white sugar - the most important thing about braised pork is this color.

Stir-fry the sugar color, wait until the sugar is melted, from big bubbles to small bubbles, turn on the high heat, put the meat down and stir-fry, wait for the meat to roll to the sugar color, put the prepared star anise, tangerine peel, ginger slices, and scallions into the pot, and use this With boiling hot air, stir-fry the spices to force out the aroma, then add a little light soy sauce, and continue to stir-fry.

When the aroma becomes strong, you can add water—do not add cold water, put warm boiled water, and while the water is boiling, you should skim off the floating powder and add some dark soy sauce if the color is not enough.

Wait until the pot is bubbling.

Turn to medium-low heat and let it simmer on the stove for at least two hours.

This dish is such a hassle.

Yin Xuan couldn't help sighing. It would be great if the system's mysterious surprise package last time was a pressure cooker. With a pressure cooker, it can be cooked for ten to twenty minutes.

Just let it entertain itself.

Yin Xuan turned and went out of the kitchen, Li Lizhi was still looking at it: "Where's Man Jianghong?" She could already smell the strong aroma of stewed meat, and she couldn't see that Yin Xuan was holding the dishes in his hands.

"What's the hurry, this dish takes a lot of work, and it will be ready by lunch time." Yin Xuan shook his head, sat down again, and took the paper in front of Li Lizhi: "Let me see what you think?"

But obviously, Li Lizhi still didn't have a clue.

The paper is still blank.

Li Shu did draw some, and her thinking was correct, but it was still a little off. Yin Xuan called back and asked her to think again. She was already very close to the correct answer.

Yin Lulu also drew one, which is similar to Li Shu, and the idea is correct.

As for Jiu'er, it's still a bunch of grapes.Mrs. Wang can buy grapes today, but she doesn't know if she can get used to the carefully selected sour grapes.
When it was almost noon, Yin Xuan got up again and went to the kitchen when he felt that it was almost time.

The braised pork is almost stewed. Pick out the spices, ginger, onion, star anise, and cinnamon, and turn on the fire to collect the juice. While collecting the juice, add salt.For salty braised pork, salt is indispensable, especially when it has been fried with sugar.

Juicing is also a technical task.

When there are big bubbles in the pot, the juice seems to be boiled dry, and when you see the bottom of the pot, it happens to be the best time to collect the juice.

Take out the pot and put on a plate.

Yin Xuan filled several more bowls of rice and took them out.

As soon as the dishes were placed on the table, Li Lizhi and Li Shu sighed in unison.

A rich, bright crimson, topped with a few shallot blossoms.

No wonder it is called Manjianghong. A plate of appetizing red is like a big red river. When it lands on the table, the meat in the bowl trembles like a wave.

The sprinkled shallots are just right, neutralizing some of the colors, making this dish not so monotonous, like islands in the middle of the river.

Li Lizhi couldn't wait to pick up a piece.

The fat part was crystal clear, like a piece of jade, while the lean part was darker in color, which reminded her of a piece of jade in her father's hand.

She really didn't expect that a mere piece of meat could actually be made like jade.

After watching it for a while, I put it in my mouth.

Fresh and salty, the meat is fatty but not greasy at all. After two hours of stewing, the whole piece of meat almost melts in the mouth.

After chewing it a few times, swallowing it down her throat, there was a small, unobtrusive return of sweetness, prompting her to press down on her chopsticks and pick up another piece.

This one, she served with rice.

The white rice is stained with a red crystal sauce, and it is eaten together with the braised pork.

This made Li Lizhi give the highest evaluation of food.

dinner!

No matter whether a dish is good or not, if it is not served with rice, it is a disqualified dish. The meaning of food is to open up the appetite and bring happiness.