Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow, surprised that the system even had a progress bar.
He glanced at his watch; it was 9:30 AM. He figured Laifu should have finished selling tofu and returned home.
The core of this task is to persuade Grandma Sun to change her mind and let Laifu stay so that he can inherit the Xiba tofu-making method and make a living by making tofu in the future.
The value of his kick that morning was still increasing.
Selling two slabs of tofu in two days, he could also sell dried tofu and dried bean curd sticks.
The lives of Grandma Sun and Laifu, which had been mired in difficulties, began to take a turn for the better.
Now that the task had a progress bar, Zhou Yan felt he was close to completion.
"Are we going to peel all twenty jin of lotus root and twenty jin of potatoes? Will we be able to sell them all?" Zhao Tieying asked.
She and Zhao Hong were sitting to the side peeling lotus root and potatoes; the two large enamel basins were almost full.
"You can just peel them all. This stuff is all about low profit margins and high volume." Zhou Yan replied. Lotus root and potatoes are 15 cents a jin so there's no waste of money. The price is cheap, it's just to attract customers.
Even if they didn't sell out, he wouldn't lose much money.
The kelp had already had its water changed several times, and the saltiness had lessened considerably.
Zhou Yan seasoned a newly bought aluminum pot and began preparing the braising liquid for the braised vegetables.
The old lady had repeatedly reminded him that braised vegetables and braised meats should not be cooked in the same pot of braising liquid.
Vegetables absorb oil and flavor, and have a high water content, so a pot of braising liquid can only be used once or twice. This is because the flavor is diluted and the braising liquid cannot be preserved and is prone to spoilage.
Zhou Yan now had two pots of rich, aged braising liquid. With so many pig heads and trotters braised everyday, the quality of the braising liquid remained consistently high.
Pork products are the best for nourishing braising liquid; the longer they are braised, the more fragrant the braising liquid becomes. Zhou Yan produces several jin of braising oil everyday.
The old lady explained that braising liquid needs a layer of braising oil for preservation, but everything has its limits; a layer about three centimeters thick is enough. Too much oil will spoil the braising liquid and have the opposite effect.
Don't throw away the extra braising oil. Add some when making new braising liquid for braised vegetables to enhance the aroma.
It can also be sold to shops and vendors selling barbecue, skewers, and crispy potato dishes.
These are all little tricks the old lady taught him.
She said that back then she would braise one or two hundred jin of meat a day, and the braising oil in the bucket would increase by several jin. Part of it was used to braise vegetables, and the rest was sold to other places, which also helped her recover some of her costs.
The old lady said that chili oil made with braising oil is more fragrant. Her chili oil for cold chicken dish was made with braising oil, so it tasted more fragrant than others.
This made Zhou Yan quite eager to try it.
Currently, the daily production of braising oil is only two or three jin, and selling it to other places doesn't earn much money.
However, if it's made into chili oil, it can enhance the flavor of cold chicken dish, creating a greater differentiation, which would be turning waste into treasure.
Braised vegetables need to have their braising liquid diluted. If it's used in the same braising liquid as the meat, it will be too salty and inedible.
The ratio of braising liquid to water is approximately 1:1. Zhou Yan only used a quarter of the old braising liquid, then adjusted the braising liquid for the vegetables by adding salt, water, and spices, thus minimizing the impact on the old braising liquid.
This pot of brine is prepared, and it weighs about forty jin.
Braised vegetables are added and removed from the pot in batches, so the amount of braising liquid isn't that large.
First, braise the vegetables that don't absorb as much water and oil, and then add the oil-absorbing giants like dried bean curd sticks and dried tofu.
In terms of technique, braising vegetables actually requires more skill than braising meat.
"There's so much, do you need us to help you cut it? Cutting a potato shouldn't be too difficult, right?" Zhao Tieying asked after she and Zhao Hong had peeled the potatoes and lotus root.
"Let Dad help. You and sister in law can help me tie the kelp into knots." Zhou Yan said with a smile, politely declining Aunt Zhao's offer.
Braised vegetables are all about texture, requiring exceptional knife skills. Even subtle differences in slice thickness can affect the braising time.
This is perfectly illustrated in braised potatoes.
"Dad, cut the potato to this thickness. Make the first cut and save it for stir-frying potato slices at noon." Zhou Yan demonstrated how to cut a potato for Comrade Old Zhou.
Comrade Old Zhou picked up three slices, compared them for a moment, nodded, and then started slicing away with the knife.
Braised potatoes come in two types: thin slices and thick slices.
Thin slices offer a crisp, raw texture, while thick slices offer a soft, flavorful texture and taste.
This time, Zhou Yan was braising both lotus root and potatoes in thick slices.
Zhou Yan had complete confidence in Comrade Old Zhou's knife skills.
He was even more stable than him.
Zhou Yan was responsible for slicing the lotus root into half centimeter thick slices, taking into account both texture and taste.
Adding braised vegetables made the already busy morning even busier.
The braised meat was gradually taken out of the pot, while the vegetables were cooked in batches, then taken out and sorted.
The vegetables, arranged in bowls, were drizzled with a ladle of braising oil, making their colors even more vibrant and appealing.
The green kelp, golden dried bean curd sticks and potatoes, and the original color of the lotus root, all exuded a fragrant aroma and looked quite appetizing.
There are two flavors of braised vegetarian dishes: one is the original five-spice flavor, and the other is the spicy flavor.
Zhou Yan took several other bowls, took half of each vegetable, added chili oil, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and other seasonings, and mixed them together. The vegetables immediately turned a bright red, and were sprinkled with sesame seeds for decoration.
He didn't have the braising liquid for spicy braising, so this spicy braised dish is actually made more like a cold chicken dish.
Zhou Yan picked up the chopsticks and tasted a piece of spicy braised dried bean curd sticks.
The dried bean curd sticks are soaked in the rich aroma of the meat braising sauce and coated with spicy seasoning. They are soft yet slightly chewy, and have a fragrant, spicy and refreshing flavor!
Ah—
This is the taste of spicy braised dried bean curd sticks!
It far exceeded his expectations.
He then ate a piece of five-spice braised lotus root. It was soft yet slightly crunchy, soaked in the rich aroma of the meat braising liquid, and even tasted like meat.
The aroma of the braising liquid was already quite rich; he even thought it tasted better than the spicy version!
Zhou Momo came over with a small bowl, holding it above her head with both hands, and said in a childish voice with a pious expression, "Guo Guo, give me some, Momo's tummy is so hungry."
"Here, have the five-spice one." Zhou Yan smiled and put a little of each in the small bowl.
"Thank you, Guo Guo! I'll always love you the most!" Zhou Momo sat down on a small stool with her small bowl in hand, grabbed a slice of potato, took a bite, and her big eyes immediately lit up.
So soft! So fragrant! So delicious!
"Guo Guo, is this potato and meat?" The little one looked up at Zhou Yan, her face full of joy at discovering something new: "It tastes like meat!"
"May be." Zhou Yan smiled.
"Guo Guo is amazing! You've turned potatoes into meat!" Zhou Momo exclaimed, burying her head in her food, her eyes only focused on the delicious food and her admiration for her brother.
"Let me try some." Aunt Zhao said, bringing over a plate and taking a few pieces of each dish to share with Comrade Old Zhou and Zhao Hong.
"The potatoes are so soft! They even taste like meat! The original flavor is already so delicious."
"I think the spicy flavor is really good! The lotus root slices are spicy, numbing and refreshing, so delicious!"
"The braised vegetarian dishes taste so good! I feel like they're a bit too cheap?"
The three of them praised the food highly after tasting it, all looking amazed.
Zhou Yan's lips curled up. Look, the cost-effectiveness is obvious.
To win over the stomachs of female textile factory workers, they relied on these cost-effective braised vegetarian dishes.
Lunch was simple: a serving of braised vegetables, a plate of stir-fried pork cracklings with cabbage, and a serving of [Ordinary stir-fried potato slices]. Everyone ate with relish.
Zhou Yan apologized for the slightly burnt potato slices.
Potatoes, which are naturally starchy, were a challenge for him to handle on his first try.
As the factory's closing bell rang, workers who had left to find food poured out of the gate one after another.
A prominent sign stood at the entrance of Zhou Erwa Restaurant:
New Item: Braised Vegetable Dishes!
Shockingly Low Prices!
Braised lotus root, braised potatoes—40 cents a jin!
Braised dried bean curd sticks, braised kelp—80 cents a jin!
Welcome to try them!
Passing workers couldn't help but slow their pace and glance at the newly added small table.
In that one glance, their money flew out of their pockets.
Two plates were set with small pieces of braised lotus root, braised dried bean curd sticks, and braised kelp, one plate of five-spice and the other of spicy, and the enamel cup next to them was filled with short bamboo skewers.
Behind the plates were two rows of eight bowls of oily braised vegetables, half of which were naturally oily and flavorful with a five-spice aroma, and the other half were bright red and spicy.
The tastings were everyone's favorite!
Especially the new dishes from Zhou Erwa Restaurant.
The workers immediately crowded around, grabbing bamboo skewers to snatch three different dishes in a row, trying to taste them all at once.
Wang Wei hadn't been to Zhou Erwa Restaurant for a week. Today, she made plans with her colleague from the office to eat twice-cooked pork. When she saw the braised food tasting, she immediately pulled her colleague over.
"You try the spicy one, I'll try the original flavor, let's see which one tastes better." Wang Wei said, taking out two bamboo skewers, handing one to her colleague, while she grabbed a piece of lotus root and a piece of dried bean curd sticks, took two steps to the side, and made room for her coworkers behind her.
The vegetarian dishes for tasting were cut into pieces about two centimeters in size, just the right size for one bite.
There was a small sign on the table that read: "Welcome to try different flavors and vegetarian dishes, but each bamboo skewer can only be used once."
A simple sentence, yet it excudes generosity and sophistication.
One of the biggest reasons Wang Wei liked Zhou Erwa Restaurant was its cleanliness, hygiene, and well-organized layout.
She first tasted the braised lotus root. The thick slices already had a slightly crisp texture, and the braising sauce had soaked into the lotus root, making it tastes surprisingly savory with a rich, meaty aroma and a lingering aftertaste.
"Wow, this braised lotus root smells so good! The texture is amazing!"
Wang Wei's eyes lit up. This was much more fragrant than those thinly sliced lotus root slices, and she preferred this slightly richer taste.
After savoring it for a while, she eagerly tried the remaining braised dried bean curd sticks.
The soft dried bean curd sticks had absorbed all the braising sauce, giving it an extremely rich meaty aroma. Chewing it almost gave her the illusion of eating meat. The subtle bean flavor was the perfect finishing touch. Soft but not mushy, with a slightly chewy texture, it was simply exquisite.
This taste…it's even better than meat!
Wang Wei smacked her lips, still wanting more.
Meanwhile, her colleague Xiao Huang, who had just taken a bite of the spicy dried bean curd sticks from the bamboo skewer, also wore an expression of amazement.
"Five-spice flavor is delicious!"
"Spicy flavor is delicious!"
The two spoke at the same time, each holding their own opinion.
"The five-spice flavor is delicious, the rich aroma of the braising sauce is already perfect, it doesn't need any spicy flavor to embellish it."
"You don't understand, spicy flavor is king! This chili oil smells so good, it's numbing and spicy, it's so satisfying to eat!"
...
The ship of friendship can capsized in an instant.