I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 869 - 373: Can Birthday Gifts Predict Exam Questions? Happy 30th Birthday, President Chen! [Extra - for Xiaohe005]
"Welcome!"
Shen Baobao, wearing a little tiger onesie, opened the door and saw Ren Jie holding a box of imported fruit and two live sea fish. Curious, he asked:
"You’re already here, why bring stuff? Or are you worried there won’t be enough food?"
Chen Yan said:
"Your brother-in-law thought it wasn’t appropriate to come empty-handed. The fruit is for you two, and the fish is for Dundun... Dundun, come let your auntie hug you. After eating our fish, you must bless uncle with safety and peace, alright?"
Dundun: "..."
Oh dear, such a big request for just two fish.
In that case, better not eat the fish!
The little fellow snorted and continued to eat his own tuna.
Ren Jie laughed and said:
"Still as aloof as ever."
He changed into slippers, reached out to rub Dundun’s head, and then brought the two fish in front of Dundun:
"These are live fish, baby, not interested?"
Dundun glanced at them and was immediately captivated by the two fish in the bag.
The little guy raised his hand and tapped on the fish’s head through the plastic bag, causing the fish inside to wiggle crazily. Dundun immediately wagged his tail joyfully as if he had discovered a fun game.
In the kitchen, upon learning that Chen Yan and Ren Jie were coming over, Lin Xu urgently whipped up a dish of stir-fried peanuts with shredded potato, pan-fried fish, and spicy lamb salad using the ingredients at home.
Stir-fried peanuts with shredded potato is a typical Northeast dish for drinking, made by tossing deep-fried peanuts and cilantro onion shreds with white sugar, salt, and chili, then adding freshly fried potato strips.
This dish has crispy peanuts, savory potato strips, and fresh onions and cilantro, all full of flavor.
The sweet, sour, spicy, savory taste is unforgettable.
In the Northeast, this is a classic dish, but it’s rarely found in restaurants because it’s too troublesome — the potato strips must be freshly fried, and they need to be served immediately, or they’ll soften.
For quality, the potato strips are ideally fried in new oil that’s never been used for anything else, to ensure a good color.
Due to such trouble and being just a cold dish, the return isn’t proportionate to the effort, so fewer restaurants are willing to make it.
Tonight, the ingredients were limited, and since there were leftover cilantro stems and onion strips from making stir-fried lamb, it was convenient to use them to prevent waste.
As for the fish, it was ready-made since this kind of marinated fish can last a long time in the fridge after being prepared.
Sliced thinly and pan-fried in hot oil, it brings out the fish’s fresh taste, perfect for accompanying drinks.
The spicy lamb salad was made by slicing the leftover lamb loin into thin slices, blanching them until just cooked.
Tossed in a bowl with leftover sesame sauce from making sesame seed buns, then adding shredded green onions, garlic, onion, and cilantro. Lastly, topped with garlic and chili powder and drizzled with hot oil, it’s mixed well to let you feel the joy of hotpot instantly.
It’s even more enjoyable than hotpot because it’s a full plate of lamb, much more satisfying than eating it piece by piece with chopsticks.
With the dishes arranged on the table, Lin Xu asked Ren Jie:
"Brother-in-law, what would you like to drink?"
"A little beer will do, but I can’t drink too much; I have work tomorrow. This way, I can rest a full day and night the day after tomorrow."
Lin Xu took two bottles of dark beer from the fridge.
After opening, he poured two glasses.
Chen Yan, being the driver, couldn’t drink. She took a bite of the sesame bun, her eyes instantly twinkling:
"Yes, this is real sesame buns. The ones we just had at the barbecue were frozen semi-finished products, tasted nothing like sesame and weren’t crispy."
Following Shen Baobao’s example, she tore the bun open and filled it with some stir-fried lamb; to avoid greasiness, she also added some stir-fried peanuts with shredded potato.
Once filled, she took a bite holding the bun with both hands. The bun’s crispiness, the rich sesame flavor, and the fragrant dish made her instantly regret eating barbecue.
It would’ve been better to drive straight here, saving the stomach from synthetic stuff.
The bun was semi-finished, and the meat was probably synthetic too; relatively speaking, the food from Lin Ji felt more reassuring.
Though a bit pricier, it uses authentic ingredients, no deception, no tech shortcuts.
Ren Jie tried the stir-fried lamb made by Lin Xu and told Chen Yan:
"It’s indeed much better than the barbecue we had. Come on, Lin Xu, let’s have a drink."
His arm was no longer in a sling, but it was still bandaged, couldn’t exert force, even when holding a cup, he used his right hand to clink with Lin Xu after putting down his chopsticks.
He’s not being particular, just hoping the gunshot wound will heal quickly.
Currently, the boss is taking care of him, only requiring some desk work, but as a detective, only doing desk work isn’t enough; he needs to get involved in cases.
With cold weather, various cases in Beijing peak.
Because compared to summer, there are fewer people on the streets in winter, everyone’s doors and windows are closed tightly, pretty soundproof, so even if criminals make some noise, it won’t get people’s attention.
Moreover, as the year-end approaches, criminals might take risks, preparing for major activities.
"Is Beijing really that safe with so many criminals?"
Shen Baobao’s question made Ren Jie laugh:
"Plenty. Plus, fugitives from other places like to gather in Beijing, especially those who’ve lost hope in life and the future, always hoping to hit it big... Just around National Day and Mid-Autumn, the railway police arrested more than twenty to thirty fugitives, and during the earlier 100-day operation, they caught more than a hundred fugitives."
