0p0 Chapter 225 The New Kitchen
Chapter 225 The New Kitchen
Li Xiaoyu initially didn't take it seriously, but when she pushed the door a little harder, it didn't budge.
She had no choice but to put down what she was holding and use both hands to pull the door open slowly.
She looked at it and was surprised to find that it was a stone door; no wonder it was so heavy.
Just as she was wondering why there was such a stone door underground, she felt a blast of cold air hit her face, making her shiver.
Shen Cao beckoned her over, and when she went inside, she was shocked to find that it was an underground ice cellar, a room made of ice blocks.
Similar to the storage room we just visited, this room had a lot of shelves, but these shelves were made of ice blocks.
There are only a few things scattered on the shelves so far.
Looking at the large ice cellar in front of her, Shen Cao asked smugly, "What do you think of this ice cellar?"
Li Xiaoyu took a few steps and carefully examined the ice cellar in front of her.
To her surprise, she discovered that there were water outlets on both sides of the ice cellar.
The melted ice water can then flow away through the drain hole, eliminating the need for any special handling.
"Sister Cao'er, this is much better than the ice cellar at Shen Family Restaurant."
Shen Cao said smugly, "Of course."
"Furthermore, considering that the ice will melt in the hot summer, I deliberately left drainage holes in the wall, and the ice water flowing from the ice cellar can flow directly into the kitchen, so that the ice water can also be placed in the kitchen to chill summer fruits and drinks."
"I spent a lot of money building this ice cellar. I specially covered the walls with a thick layer of cotton quilts to greatly slow down the melting of the ice."
Li Xiaoyu liked the ice cellar more and more as she looked at it. She imagined how cool and refreshing it would be in the summer, perfect for eating a bite of icy watermelon.
And such a large ice cellar can freeze so much meat!
When she first saw the ice cellar at Shen's restaurant, she was quite puzzled as to why Sister Cao'er would spend money to build a house for ice.
Later, after spending more time with Shen Cao, she came to understand the importance of the ice cellar.
Meat left in the kitchen will start to smell bad within a day, but if it's frozen in an ice cellar, it can last for several months.
No wonder there's such a heavy stone door at the entrance; once it's blocked, the cool air inside is completely shut out.
No wonder she felt the storage room was colder than the kitchen when she entered; there was such a large ice cellar underground.
Even after the two of them came out of the ice cellar, the excitement on Li Xiaoyu's face had not disappeared.
She took a few bowls and put the ingredients she had bought that day into them.
"Sister Cao'er, let me help you prepare these ingredients."
Shen Cao asked her to first wash the scallops she had bought.
She then picked up the ribs that Uncle Li had chopped for her earlier.
She suddenly wanted to eat plum-flavored pork ribs.
She walked up to the wall of condiments, took a plate, and found the condiments needed for the plum-flavored pork ribs.
Fortunately, she had tidied up the spice wall a couple of days ago; otherwise, she would have had to go back for a special trip.
Because the pigs were slaughtered that morning, the pork was very fresh.
She washed the pork several times with clean water.
"Sister, Xiaoqiao, Xiaoqi, and I have come to help."
Shen Cao looked up and saw Shen Wan, Xiao Qiao, and Xiao Qi leading the group of children from Baicao Garden into the room.
Shen Cao greeted them with a smile, "Perfect timing, Shen Wan and Xiao Qiao, you two go and help Sister Xiao Yu."
"Xiao Qi, take the garlic out of that small basin and peel it with them."
Xiao Qi walked in the direction Shen Cao pointed and saw a small bowl on the table filled with garlic that was almost overflowing.
Can we finish all this garlic?
Seemingly noticing Xiaoqi's confusion, Shen Cao smiled and said, "Anyway, you can't help with anything else, so just peel more garlic."
Next, Shen Cao began preparing to cook.
She called Xiaoqiao over to help her start the fire.
Since it was her first time cooking in the new kitchen, she first poured some lard into the pot, then grabbed a large handful of washed greens, stir-fried them until cooked, and served them.
Then I washed the pot again and prepared to make plum-flavored spare ribs.
The food served out is obviously inedible; this step is mainly to stir-fry off some of the dirt on the new pot.
She heated the oil in the wok again, and once the bubbles disappeared, she poured the large bowl of ribs into the wok.
A loud sizzling sound suddenly came from the pot, but the people in the kitchen seemed to be used to the sound and were not frightened. They calmly went about their business.
The person peeping through the kitchen window was startled.
He Yu and He Fei looked at each other, feeling extremely awkward.
They were just passing by to see if they had started cooking when they heard that sound as soon as they reached the kitchen window.
Both of them were so frightened that they took a step back.
The two touched their noses to ease the awkwardness.
Let's keep this a secret from both of us.
They went into the kitchen and walked to the stove. Just then, Shen Cao poured the prepared ginger, scallions, garlic, bay leaves, cinnamon, star anise and other spices into the ribs.
After the spices were added to the ribs, the ribs, which originally only had the smell of oil, were immediately infused with aroma by the oil and heat in the pot.
The aroma of meat fat, meat, and seasonings immediately filled the entire kitchen.
"It smells so good, Miss Grass, are you making spare ribs?" He Yu asked, looking at the pot full of spare ribs.
"Hmm, I'll make you some delicious plum-flavored pork ribs today."
Plum-flavored pork ribs? Aren't plums supposed to be sweet and sour? Why would you put them with pork ribs?
Hefei had never eaten Shen Cao's cooking before. When he went to Shen Family Restaurant, Li Xiaoyu was always in charge of cooking. Therefore, he frowned and was somewhat suspicious.
He Yu had great faith in Shen Cao's skills, saying, "Anything made by Miss Cao is sure to be delicious."
Hefei had cooked before, and he kindly reminded Shen Cao, "Miss Cao, I think it would be best to stew these ribs with some spices and potatoes."
Shen Cao nodded. "Brother Hefei can cook too?"
He Fei nodded with a hint of pride, "I know a little bit!"
He Yu pulled him back, stopping him from saying anything more. "Miss Cao'er, we have things to do, so we won't bother you any longer."
After they had walked a distance, Hefei asked him, "What did you mean just now?"
"How dare you presume to instruct Grass Girl on how to cook?"
"What's wrong? I've never heard of that plum-flavored spare ribs. Think about it yourself, those spare ribs are salty, right? Where's the plum?"
"Plums are sweet and sour, how can those two taste good together?"
"I was just trying to be helpful by reminding her because I was worried she would waste the whole pot of ribs."
"Besides, I just saw that Miss Grass didn't seem to care, so why are you in such a hurry?"
He Yu rolled her eyes at him, "That's because Miss Cao'er is considerate and modest."
"With your cooking skills, forget it, I won't say anything more. You'll know once you eat it."
"Trying to teach a fish to swim!"
"you!……"
Anyway, I definitely won't eat those ribs; just thinking about the taste makes me nauseous... Hefei thought to himself.