Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 407 - 364: Did You Secretly Open a Lamb Offal Shop? (Part 2)
The last type is mutton offal. In Jingzhou, this is absolutely a top-notch, luxurious breakfast for guests. All kinds of mutton offal need to be cooked at least a day in advance. The next morning, the cooked mutton offal is cut into strips and then steeped in a broth with chili oil.
Finally, after cooking the potato vermicelli, a large spoonful of mutton offal and broth is placed on top, sprinkled with chopped green onions and cilantro.
There’s an old shop on the street specializing in mutton offal. Many people would get up very early just to eat a bowl of fragrant mutton offal there, paired with two meat pies—what a delicious treat!
Liu Xiuzhen had already chopped up all the cooked mutton offal, saving Chen Mo a lot of work.
The next step was the broth.
Mutton offal has a strong smell, even though various seasonings are added during cooking to remove the gaminess, the final product still has a hard-to-hide strong aroma.
Therefore, this broth is particularly important.
Chen Mo didn’t analyze the recipe on the food truck. Now, as long as it’s not a famous dish series, for such homely dishes, he could basically guess the general preparation method based on the characteristics of the ingredients themselves, relying on imagination.
"Then let’s make a Sichuan version of mutton offal. If there’s no accident, this might be the first case in Jingzhou, haha."
Start the pot with oil!
When the oil temperature rises slightly, Chen Mo starts to add spices. Fennel is the main ingredient, while most of the others are common spices used to remove gaminess and add flavor.
Once the aroma of the spices is fully released, he pours in high-proof liquor and uses a lighter to ignite the evaporating alcohol.
The absolute high temperature can cause a further qualitative change in the spices.
When the flame is about to go out, he adds bean paste, followed by mildly spicy dry red chilies. Using low heat and a slow oil tempering process, the bean paste turns red, and the chilies release their fragrance. He then pours in a large amount of clear water before adding all the sliced mutton offal into the pot.
This indeed isn’t that complicated or difficult.
For a better taste, you shouldn’t add just plain water but mutton soup, and instead of using vegetable oil, it’s better to use a certain amount of beef tallow.
But these two things are either labor-intensive or not commonly kept at home, making it unrealistic to do, so Chen Mo made a simplified version.
Relying entirely on skill for success!
While the mutton offal was cooking in the pot, Chen Mo started his specialty—making buns.
Liu Xiuzhen had prepared ordinary pork filling.
Diced pork, mixed evenly with carrots and cabbage, was the kind of bun that Chen Mo didn’t like since he was a child...
"Never mind, these uncles are in for a treat today."
Chen Mo ran out with a large basin in the surprising gaze of everyone in the yard and came back shortly after.
"What’s Xiao Mo up to?"
"No idea, maybe he went to the car to get something. Speaking of which, that kid’s car is nice. Let’s have him haul a few loads of manure to the field in the afternoon."
"That car looks so expensive, and you still dare to ask him to haul manure for you?"
"Oh right, didn’t I remember Xiao Mo working in an office at a state-owned enterprise? How come he can suddenly handle a big ladle?"
The uncles turned their eyes to the only person who knew the current Chen Mo the best, Mu Mu.
The little girl was gnawing at tomatoes that Liu Xiuzhen had picked from the vegetable garden.
The tomatoes made Mu Mu feel refreshed and extremely comfortable all over. Each bite was crisp, with no sourness, and especially sweet.
Seeing everyone looking at her, Mu Mu made a sound and ran into the west room.
"Haha, the girl is timid and shy. You big guys should get back to work instead of gawking! Once Xiao Mo finishes cooking, you’ll know?"
Liu Xiuzhen had tasted a bit of Chen Mo’s cooking yesterday and was completely taken aback by the taste!
She thought to herself then, is this really my son?
When did his skills get so good, even better than her own cooking?
No wonder the little girl said she loved eating dishes made by Brother Mo. Anyone would like them!
Liu Xiuzhen glanced back through the window, watching Chen Mo bustling around with a look full of affection.
Tsk, not only does my son have a good job, but he also can cook, and he’s so handsome.
Suddenly, Liu Xiuzhen felt that what Chen Jinping said to her last night was probably overthinking.
Such an excellent son, how could he not be a match for the young girl?
In the kitchen, Chen Mo brought back the ingredients he had stored away earlier, pork jelly, and the three-piece bun ingredients.
Although big meat buns are delicious, there wasn’t time to braise meat, as the ingredients for the three-piece bun were all ready-made, making them quick and convenient to prepare.
The uncles in the yard were busy and full of energy. As they say, there is strength in numbers.
In just one morning, the carpenter uncle had finished making the T-stage, and everyone helped clean the inside and outside of the yard. The tables brought back from the town were all set up.
The tablecloths would be spread before the feast starts to prevent them from getting dirty easily.
After finishing the last bits of work, the uncles gathered around a table smoking and drinking tea. The door of the east house was pushed open, "Mom, help me serve the dishes."
Chen Jinping looked up but didn’t move.
In northern rural areas, it’s common that when there are more men, work is divided clearly: women handle the indoor chores, while men take care of the outdoor tasks.
Liu Xiuzhen put down the melon seeds in her hand and hurried back in. As soon as she entered the room, she took a deep breath, "Wow, it smells so good! Didn’t you make mutton offal?"
In her view, mutton offal shouldn’t smell like that.
"I did make mutton offal, and the buns will be ready in two or three minutes."
Chen Mo walked out, carrying a large basin of red oil-slick mutton offal, "Mom, when the vermicelli is done, bring it out."
"Sure."
A large basin of mutton offal was placed by Chen Mo on the table where the uncles sat.
Chen Jinping’s nostrils flared slightly but he didn’t speak.
The butcher Liu Ping looked at the basin, took a deep whiff, "Wow, did Xiao Mo really make this?"
"Yeah."
"Amazing, you couldn’t have secretly opened a mutton offal shop in town, right?" As he spoke, Liu Ping picked up chopsticks from the table, ready to dig in.
"What are you doing now?" Chen Jinping snatched back the chopsticks with one hand, "Who’s ever heard of eating mutton offal without the vermicelli first? If you eat it all, what about everyone else!"
Liu Ping embarrassingly rubbed his hands together, "Who could resist when Xiao Mo made it smell so good?"
Chen Jinping’s action made the other uncles, who had just extended their hands, retract them awkwardly.
This aroma nearly made them lose control and reach out as well.
"The vermicelli is coming!"
Liu Xiuzhen brought a square tray filled with eight white bowls.
In the bowls was the vermicelli cooked in hot water, the slippery noodles laid at the bottom of the bowl, and Chen Mo took the bowls, scooping a ladle of mutton offal into each to cover the vermicelli on top.
"Here you go, Uncle Liu Ping, try my cooking skills!"
"I’ll add some green onions."
Liu Ping grabbed a bowl of green onions for himself and sprinkled a generous amount, then used a spoon to scoop a heap of chopped cilantro over the mutton offal.
The vibrant green atop the red oil-slick mutton offal made the dish look even more tempting.
And that wasn’t all.
Liu Ping took the vinegar pot and poured three full circles of old vinegar around the edge of his bowl before using chopsticks to mix everything inside.
Once stirred, the vermicelli was coated in a thick layer of red oil, with various mutton offal nestled among the noodles; you could see small intestines, lamb liver, heart, blood, tripe, and more...
Liu Ping lifted a smooth, semi-transparent piece of meat from the bowl, "Lucky, I got a piece of lamb tendon in my bowl! Haha."
Chomp!
One bite into his mouth.
"Mmm..."
Even for the butcher in his fifties, who dealt with pork and its by-products every day, he couldn’t help but take a deep breath, his throat unconsciously letting out a soft moan.
This flavor, tsk!
The tendon was tender and smooth, dissolving partially with a gentle bite, yet retaining some chewy texture.
The taste of the red oil was rich in flavor, different from any mutton offal shop outside!
After swallowing a bite of tendon, Liu Ping gazed incredulously at the young man busy serving everyone.
"Tell me, are you really running a mutton offal shop in Jingzhou?"
Chen Mo: ???
Can you guys give it a rest...
