Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 416 - 369: First Pot of Pig Trotters

The pig trotters cleaned with warm water looked white and shiny as they were poured into the big black pot in one go. Using the special strength granted by his white clothes, Chen Mo energetically grabbed the black ladle and mixed the sugar glaze with the pig trotters as evenly as possible.

Once the sugar glaze coated the white pig trotters, they looked glossy and bright under the solar light in the yard. Even though the cooking hadn’t started yet, the visuals already gave a "very delicious" impression.

"Oh my, Xiao Ni, I don’t think you can finish all those pig trotters by yourself. Can you share some with us later? I’ll also buy a few." Liu Ping saw the pig trotters being stirred in the big pot and realized he had been impulsive earlier.

He didn’t feel it when not cooking, but once he started, he did want to eat them a bit.

Brother Niu turned his head away, pretending not to hear what Liu Ping said, thinking to himself how he worked hard driving large trucks every day, so what were a few dozen pig trotters?

After the sugar glaze evenly coated the pig trotters, Chen Mo began ladling from the stock made earlier.

Spoonful after spoonful of the stock was added until the broth completely submerged the ingredients. It boiled on high heat before lowering to simmer slowly.

Braised pig trotters are served cold, so they shouldn’t be stewed too long. It’s only the fall-off-the-bone kind that requires lengthy stewing; this cold dish is about a chewy and springy texture.

"Master Hou, could you do me a favor?"

"What?" Hou Yao had just finished washing the pig trotters and looked blankly at Chen Mo, "Haven’t they already been braised?"

Chen Mo grinned, "You also have to skim the oil, please."

"What?"

This was the first time he’d heard of skimming the oil from braised meat, and even the onlooking old ladies and aunties in the yard were puzzled.

"No way, Xiao Mo, if you skim all the oil, won’t it taste good? It wouldn’t have any aroma at all."

"Yeah, during Chinese New Year, we let a layer of oil float on the broth when we’re braising meat; that’s the way it tastes great!"

"It won’t be good without oil."

Chen Mo saw that Master Hou was a bit confused too, so he quietly explained, "Please go ahead and skim it. Once the pig trotters are braised, we’ll just tear them apart and serve them tomorrow. Too much oil solidifies and doesn’t look good, and guests can’t really eat it easily either."

Only then did Hou Yao have a realization.

After all, he usually worked with high-end Cantonese cuisine and indeed had little experience with dishes like these.

He acknowledged that Chen Mo made a lot of sense. If you didn’t skim off the fat, the trotter might look fine when just out of the pot, but once it cooled, the fat that encrusted it would solidify.

If guests were to see a plate of pig trotters with a layer of white lard on the outside... it would indeed be quite unappetizing!

Since that was the case, there was no need for further words. Hou Yao continued to stand there, skimming off the thin layer of oil on the surface of the gently simmering stock, not finding it boring at all.

The making of Husband and Wife Lung Slices is somewhat unique. Among the various ingredients, only beef is braised, while the offal is boiled in plain water.

Therefore, Chen Mo had to find a large stainless steel barrel, set it on an idle stove, place the cleaned cow head and hooves into the barrel to boil, and then note the time on a slip of paper: boil for an hour, simmer on low heat for four hours.

Beef tongue: boil for an hour, peel off the rough skin on the tongue, place in the drying sieve.

Beef heart: boil for an hour, same as above.

Beef tripe: boil for an hour, tear off the skin, place in the drying sieve.

Master Hou, not too busy skimming the oil, was curious about what Chen Mo was doing. Suddenly, he saw Chen Mo slip a piece of paper into his hand.

"Please, Master Hou!"

"No, what’s this plea about?"

"This pot of offal is also entrusted to you. I trust your work!"

Hou Yao, still bewildered, hadn’t even had time to see what was written on the paper. He hurriedly asked, "Then what are you doing?"

Chen Mo took a deep breath, "I forgot something, so I’m rushing to the city’s supermarket while it’s still open to buy it."

"What sort of forgetting?" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Can someone preparing for a big feast forget to prepare things? Hou Yao found it a bit hard to believe.

Without daring to linger long, Chen Mo dashed out, jumped into the car, and directly put in his coordinates for his hideout in Sichuan Hanyang Town... base!

Dizziness!

"Oh crap, can I have some reaction time next time?"

[No.]

Chen Mo opened his eyes to find himself outside the streets of Hanyang Town. This small town, by eight or nine o’clock at night, was mostly deserted.

The previously closed Lu Fang had its doors shut tight, but surprisingly the newly opened Lu Fang had light seeping through the cracks in its wooden doors.

Pressing his face to the gap in the door, Chen Mo peered inside. He saw Lu Yingqiu seated at the dining table in the main hall, engrossed in a book.

Squeak~

The old wooden door creaked with a sharp friction sound as it swung open. As Lu Yingqiu raised her head, she began to say, "We’re closing... Brother Chen?"

Chen Mo nodded, smiled after the long separation, "Why are you reading a book? Preparing for exams?"

Ignoring the question, Lu Yingqiu curiously eyed Chen Mo, "You finally changed your clothes?"

Chen Mo: ???

He assumed that when they met again, if not tears of joy, at least a warm hug or some small talk would ensue, right?

What on earth was "finally changed your clothes" supposed to mean?

Realizing her own blunder, Lu Yingqiu awkwardly chuckled a couple times, "Why didn’t Brother Chen give me a heads-up about coming over? I haven’t prepared anything, have you eaten?"

This was the simplest greeting among Huaxia people.

Chen Mo nodded, then shook his head, "I’m in a bit of a hurry, do you have the key to next door?"

"Yes, what’s up?"

"I need some red oil and red chili oil from there."

"Huh? Oh!" Lu Yingqiu got up, pulling a key out of her pocket, "You make it much tastier than Dad does."

Chen Mo chuckled awkwardly, "I don’t have time to make my own, so I’ll just take the ready-made stuff."