vrcanaries Chapter 451 Taking Care of Things
Chapter 451 Taking Care of Things
Zheng Ying watched Gu Xixi keep the accounts, her eyes filled with envy. "My cousin's skills are much better than my father's. No wonder the guests are all so generous."
Gu Xixi smiled and said, "Your shop has been open for many years, so it must have something special about it. By the way, there are still a lot of kitchen utensils to be washed right now, so I'll have to trouble you with that."
Gu Xixi did intentionally send Zheng Ying away, simply because she couldn't muster any goodwill towards the rest of the Zheng family. Even just hearing Zheng Ying mention them made her feel uncomfortable.
You Guo came to the pastry shop alone. As soon as she entered, she reached out to lift the covers of the pastries, but Gu Xixi quickly slapped her hand down.
"You impatient girl! If you want to eat snacks, go wash your hands first, then get a plate and use tongs! Don't use your hands randomly."
Yu Guo grinned, went to the kitchen to wash her hands as instructed, and came out saying, "The restaurant isn't busy right now, with Xiao Lan and Mom taking care of things, so I took some time to come and see if there was anything I could help with."
Watching her eat the pastries one bite at a time, Gu Xixi chuckled and said, "I think you came here all this way just to eat some pastries, didn't you? Perfect timing, I need to go to the kitchen to make some preparations, you just stay here and keep watch."
She has an order for 60 jin of pastries tomorrow, so she needs to prepare the necessary ingredients early today.
During this time, You Guo has been learning from You Feng, and he has learned more characters and has started to write a few characters.
Leaving Youguo outside to collect money and keep accounts is definitely not a problem; she can still do these things now.
All the pastries to be sold in the shop today have been made. With Mi Duo helping Gu Xixi, the preparation work was much more efficient. In less than an hour, she had gathered all the materials that could be prepared in advance.
Gu Xixi left Mi Duo and Zheng Ying to clean up the kitchen while she went out to check the accounts. She calculated that the pastry shop had started to make a profit today, and in the afternoon, they had made the biggest sale since the shop opened. Gu Xixi was in a very good mood.
Her voice became brighter. "Guozi, there aren't many snacks left. You can stay and take care of Mido and the others. I'll go back and cook. I'll make a few more dishes today as a reward for your hard work these past few days."
Youguo clapped her hands happily, "That's great! I've been so busy opening the shop lately that I haven't had my second sister's cooking for days!"
Gu Xixi took off her apron. "You'll get your share. Don't just think about eating. The important thing is to sell all these snacks as soon as possible."
Yu Guo playfully stuck out her tongue, "I do have that much skill, don't you know whose sister you are?"
When Gu Xixi returned home, it was already getting dark, but she wasn't in a hurry. The restaurants and pastry shops probably wouldn't close until after dinner time, which would be the time for her family to eat.
There was a basket of quail eggs at home, which were delivered to the store by the merchant that Gu Xixi had ordered eggs from this morning.
Besides what she would use in the shop, Gu Xixi specially kept some for her own family.
After boiling the quail eggs in plain water, I poured them into cold water to cool them down. While waiting for this, I prepared the vegetables I needed.
The quail eggs, peeled and white, were piled up on the plate, looking quite adorable. Gu Xixi used a thin-bladed knife to make a slit in each quail egg, took out the already formed yolk, and put it into another bowl.
Marinate the minced meat with egg whites, starch and several seasonings in advance, mix in chopped parsley, and stuff it into quail eggs.
Gu Xixi filled all the quail eggs with filling, then fried them in a pan over low heat until they turned golden brown.
When frying quail eggs, you need to pay attention not only to the heat but also to the right amount of stirring force.
This method prevents quail eggs from burning in some areas, and instead gives them a beautiful "tiger skin" effect with varying shades of golden yellow.
The aroma of meat and eggs, enhanced by the hot oil, wafted far from the kitchen.
You Guo returned from the You Family Restaurant with Xiao Lan and Madam You. As soon as they entered, they smelled the tempting aroma.
You Guo sniffed contentedly, then grabbed Xiao Lan's arm and ran towards the kitchen.
Madam You was left behind, bolting the door and muttering, "You brat, slow down! You go crazy as soon as you come in. You're getting bigger every day. You don't act like a proper young lady at all!"
Yugo didn't care about any of that right now. She dashed into the kitchen, her eyes shining as she stared at the pot.
"Second sister, what delicious food have you made? I could smell the aroma from far away!"
Gu Xixi scooped the fried quail eggs into a plate to drain the oil. "These are tiger-skin quail eggs."
Yu Guo looked closely and, sure enough, they were quail eggs. "Fried quail eggs? Can they even taste good?" She wanted to eat meat!
Gu Xixi glanced at her and said, "You'll know whether it's good or not after you try it."
Leave a little oil in the pot, sauté the garlic until fragrant, then add sugar, soy sauce, cooking wine, etc. and stir-fry for a while, then add some chicken broth.
The dark red sauce was diluted to a brown color, and you could see the garlic cloves bubbling and tumbling in the soup.
Once the broth has become fragrant, add a large spoonful of cornstarch slurry and cook until it becomes a thick and smooth sauce.
The meat filling inside the quail eggs is already seasoned; you just need to toss them in the sauce over high heat for a few seconds.
In addition to tiger-skin quail eggs, Gu Xixi also made a chili-free version of stir-fried green beans, cold shredded bamboo shoots, and chicken and almond vegetable soup, making a total of three dishes and one soup.
As for the extracted egg yolks, they are too high in cholesterol, so it's not advisable to eat too many at once.
Gu Xixi took out only a portion, crushed it, and sprinkled it into the almond and vegetable soup. She also added a little to the orange and fish porridge.
Gu Xixi put away the remaining egg yolks, planning to cook porridge with them tomorrow; she couldn't afford to waste any food.
Tiger-skin quail eggs have a crispy, golden-brown exterior and a smooth, tender egg white with a slightly chewy texture.
When you bite into the innermost meat filling, savory meat juices burst in your mouth.
The added chopped parsley is the perfect finishing touch, adding a refreshing flavor. It not only enriches the texture but also helps to cut through the greasiness.
These tiger-skin quail eggs are very flavorful and delicious when dipped in the broth and eaten with rice.
Yuguo ate a quail egg and exclaimed with delight, "This isn't an ordinary quail egg! There's meat inside! It's delicious!"
Gu Xixi smiled. As a chef, the two words she heard most often were "delicious".
She also tried one and nodded in satisfaction; the tiger skin was cooked perfectly and the sauce was well-balanced.
Gu Xixi doesn't like greasy food for dinner, so she only ate half a bowl of rice, soaked it in soup, and then ate some vegetables.
She loves cold-dressed shredded bamboo shoots. The bamboo shoots that are just coming into season in spring are crisp and tender, with no residue when you eat them. Just peel them, shred them, and toss them raw with a sweet and sour dressing. You can still taste the unique fresh and sweet flavor of the vegetables.
After dinner, Gu Xixi took the oranges and went back to her room, wanting to have some free time alone.
The next morning, Gu Xixi got up before dawn. After eating the stew cooked by You Guo, she hurried to the pastry shop. She needed to make two batches of pastries before the shop opened that day, so she had to prepare early.