0p0 Chapter 119 Half a Day of Leisure
Chapter 119 Half a Day of Leisure
Mu Qing was shocked to hear this. Yes! It would be better to innovate than waste time on that. No wonder her mother wasn't worried at all when the sweet potato starch recipe was leaked last time. She even came up with something new to replace sweet potato starch in the shortest amount of time.
"Let's go, Xu Fang should have bought the milk by now. The main ingredient for the drinks later will be this milk." Song Jiaojiao led Mu Qing out of the cellar and to the place where the milk was stored.
Song Jiaojiao first sealed one of the buckets of milk with oil paper, put on the lid, and placed it in their room to let it ferment naturally for two days.
Song Jiaojiao poured the remaining bucket into a pot and boiled it to sterilize it.
"Fresh milk needs to be boiled to kill germs. Wait until it starts bubbling in the pot, then boil it for another two minutes."
Song Jiaojiao poured the boiled milk from the pot into a clean bucket, scooped out a bowlful with a spoon, added white sugar and stirred until the sugar was completely dissolved. Then she added the brewed tea and mixed it all together. A simple milk tea was ready, and she served a bowl to everyone.
The rich aroma of milk mixed with the fragrance of tea makes even milk, which is usually not very tasty, taste amazing.
"What do you think?" Song Jiaojiao asked everyone with a smile.
"It's delicious." Mu Xue was the first to answer; this little foodie was always there wherever they went.
"Mother, is this the drink we're going to sell?" Mu Xue asked, holding the bowl and looking up.
"Well, these are just the raw materials. The real drinks need to have other things added. You have to keep a close eye on things for your sister these next few days, especially whether the shop outside is drawn according to the blueprints Mom gave us." Song Jiaojiao designed the shop outside according to the current milk tea shop model. The shop, which is about forty square meters, is just the right size after the bar is built, and there is still room for a few tables.
"Mom, don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on things," Mu Xue said, patting her small chest as she made her promise.
As evening approached, after dinner, Song Jiaojiao told everyone to get some rest, as there would be plenty of work to do tomorrow!
The next morning, Song Jiaojiao asked Xu Fang to buy glutinous rice flour, which was much more expensive than glutinous rice, but was convenient.
Everyone knows how to make glutinous rice balls, but Song Jiaojiao needs small glutinous rice balls without filling. "Yes, just this size is fine, about the size of my little fingernail is just right."
Song Jiaojiao nodded in satisfaction when she saw the small glutinous rice balls that everyone was making.
Take Mu Qing to see the red beans that were soaked last night. "Wash the red beans that have been soaked overnight, put them in a clay pot and cook them with rock sugar until they can be crushed with a pinch. These can be used to make red bean milk tea, red bean double-skin milk, etc."
Mu Qing nodded as she asked Bai Shuqin to write it down. She had thought carefully about what her mother had said last night. It was true that if she were alone, it would be very difficult to run the shop well. She would also be very tired. Having been with Bai Shuqin for so long, Mu Qing believed that she would not betray her.
Song Jiaojiao didn't say much. Since she had chosen to let go, she naturally couldn't interfere in everything. As long as there were no fundamental mistakes, they should be allowed to go out and explore.
Song Jiaojiao steamed a lot of the leftover milk from yesterday in a small bowl. After steaming, she let it cool naturally and then used it to make double-skin milk later.
While waiting, Song Jiaojiao used the remaining milk to make some mochi. If she didn't have tapioca starch, she could use glutinous rice flour instead.
"Pour the milk into a pot, add an appropriate amount of glutinous rice starch and rock sugar, stir to dissolve, and then simmer over low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Continue simmering until the milk becomes like this, like dough with too much water. Then you can scoop it out and it will stretch into strands when you lift it up." Song Jiaojiao lifted the cooked mochi from the pot and could clearly feel that the milk had clumped together.
He scooped it into a small bowl and let Mu Qing taste it. "How does it taste?"
"Hmm, it smells very milky and isn't fishy at all, but it feels like something's missing when I eat it alone?" Mu Qing said after tasting it. It was delicious, but she felt like something was missing.
"That's the right way to think. Mochi can be eaten with red beans and small glutinous rice balls, or it can be added to double-skin milk."
Just then, a layer of milk skin formed on top of the milk. "One bowl of milk requires about one egg white. We need to be careful when pouring the milk. Use chopsticks to hold the milk skin in place so as not to break it. Leave a little milk in the bowl to prevent the milk skin from sticking to it later," Song Jiaojiao said as she poured the milk.
"You two should try it too." Song Jiaojiao invited the two people standing to the side to come over and try it. At first, the two were very cautious, but after pouring more, they gradually became more skilled.
"There were about twenty bowls of milk here, which means we'll need about twenty egg whites. Let's wash the eggs first." Eggs in this era were all free-range and not very clean. Some eggs even had chicken droppings on them. When cooking, you have to pay attention to every detail; hygiene is very important.
"Like this, tap the eggshell back and forth twice, and the yolk will stay inside the shell." Song Jiaojiao cracked a washed egg to demonstrate to the two of them, placing the remaining yolk in a clean, empty bowl.
"You guys try the rest, but be careful not to get the yolk in." Song Jiaojiao made way for Mu Qing and the other girl to try, while she watched from the side, giving them pointers from time to time.
After beating the egg whites, Song Jiaojiao added an appropriate amount of sugar to the milk, then stirred it well. After filtering the milk through cheesecloth, she poured it back into the bowl.
"You need to be careful when pouring the milk. Don't pour it in the middle of the bowl, so as not to break the milk skin inside. Like this, slowly pour it in along the edge of the bowl. After pouring, steam it again for ten minutes and then set it aside to cool." Song Jiaojiao said as she did so.
All day, Song Jiaojiao taught Mu Qing how to make various toppings for drinks. Mu Qing and Bai Shuqin spent the whole day recording the recipes for these toppings, as they would be crucial for the success of the beverage shop in the future.
While teaching them, Song Jiaojiao also noticed that many things were missing, such as a good tool for pouring milk, and different cups for different drinks. These all needed to be prepared. Most importantly, they hadn't decided on a name for the shop yet. Naming things was not Song Jiaojiao's forte. After dinner, Song Jiaojiao asked everyone to gather together and think about what name the beverage shop should have.
Mu Xue, the little foodie, suggested using "Wang Shi" as the name of the beverage shop, which was met with unanimous opposition from everyone. It was really not original. Song Jiaojiao thought of the names of milk tea shops in her previous life, such as Typhoon Shelter and Shuyi Herbal Tea, but none of them were quite in line with the shop names of this era.
It's really not easy to come up with a name that is both relevant to the times and refreshing.
Just as everyone was troubled, Bai Shuqin spoke up, "The journey is truly rare, and half a day of leisure is a fleeting moment in life. Why not call it Half a Day of Leisure?"
Everyone applauded this suggestion, as it was indeed a leisurely activity, and drinking milk tea was a relaxing pastime. The name received widespread approval.