Chapter 82 - New Taste (1/2)
Although he was gluttonous, he also knew that Shitou’s family didn’t have an easy life. Meat was expensive and if they felt it was too precious to eat, what would it mean if he butted into this?
However, Little Shitou grabbed his hand and pulled him into the kitchen enthusiastically. The little boy pointed a finger at the piping hot braised pig head meat that had just gotten out of the pot and smiled, “Arriving early can’t beat coming at the right time! Come, try a little of my second sister’s talents…”
In actuality, Little Shitou was being devious. He wanted Qian Wu to be the first guinea pig. After all, whenever he thought about the way the pig head looked before it was braised, he felt a little scared to try.
The braised pig head meat was rosy red and had an enchanting smell. The meat looked tender and tasty, fatty without being greasy, and had all the qualities needed to evoke a sense of hunger and yearning from any customer.
Xiaocao seemed to have seen through Little Shitou’s plan and smiled knowingly at him. She cut off a small piece of pig head meat from the corner and stuffed it into Qian Wu’s mouth before he could say anything.
As soon as it hit his mouth, an explosion of savory flavor and richness occurred. It was so delicious that Qian Wu almost cried tears of joy. It was too delicious!! He had never, in his entire life, eaten meat that was as delicious as this!! Xiaocao’s cooking talent had to be better than his mother’s abilities by at least a hundred times. It would have been perfect if she was his younger sister. Then he could frequently taste the fruits of her talent.
Little Shitou stared intently at the multitude of expressions that crossed Qian Wu’s face and eagerly asked, “How is it? Does it taste good? Does it have any odd flavors?”
Qian Wu forcefully grabbed onto Little Shitou’s hand, holding back tears of happiness in his eyes, and replied with complete earnesty, “Shitou, the two of us should switch lives! You can be my mother’s son. Didn’t you always want to have a little sister, right? I have a little sister just waiting for you at home! I, on the other hand, will go to your family and be Xiaocao’s younger brother…”
A couple of imaginary black lines appeared above Xiaocao’s head. ‘Hey, hey! First of all, Qian Yafang is older than Little Shitou, and thus, she couldn’t be his ‘younger sister’. Furthermore, Xiaowu, you brat, you’re also older than me, the honorable Xiaocao, by a year, ok? How is it possible that you have the nerve to say such shameless things?’
Madam Fang had been helping them prepare the pig intestines and as she was bringing the basin into the kitchen, she heard Qian Wu’s childish suggestion and couldn’t help but ‘pfffft’ and laugh, “Wuzi, if your mother heard that you wanted to sell your younger sister and leave home for the sake of eating food, she’d probably beat you until your leg broke!!”
“Xiaocao’s cooking is seriously too good. In this lifetime...no, in my previous lifetime and the lifetime before that, I swear I have never eaten meat that has tasted as good as it did today. Shitou, what did you say it was? Is it called braised pig head meat? Does it use the meat from a pig’s head? That can’t be right, right?? A pig’s head is such a disgusting looking thing, how could it possibly be made into something so tasty?” Qian Wu shook his head until it resembled a rattle. He clearly didn’t want to believe that the meat he ate came from a pig’s head.
When Little Shitou saw Qian Wu’s reaction to the meat, he hastily cut off a piece and stuffed it into his mouth. He had believed that the braised blood tofu and braised chicken offal he had eaten yesterday were the tastiest dishes on earth. Who would have thought that the pig head, which everyone avoided like the plague, could be braised into a dish that was even more delicious than braised chicken offal?
After being braised, the meat from a pig’s head had the perfect ratio between fatty meat and lean meat. When eaten, the taste of pig’s fat and seasonings melded together into an explosion of flavor. The savory taste seemed to permeate into all corners of the mouth and made people feel so happy that they could have almost died.
Seeing their expressions, Xiaocao picked a piece that didn’t look very pretty and cut it into enough pieces to fill a plate. She let everyone taste a small bit and also used a pair of chopsticks to try her own handiwork. She placed a small piece into her mouth and carefully chewed it. Mhm, the taste was good and seemed to be authentic. In her previous life, she had almost gotten sick of eaten braised food since that was all she made in her store, but she had never gotten tired of eaten braised pig head meat. Because of that, she had gained a decent amount of weight from it.
In the beginning, Madam Fang was too scared to give it a try. However, after seeing how everyone was enjoying the food with immense pleasure, she picked up the smallest piece of meat with a pair of chopsticks and placed it in her mouth. Immediately, her eyes begin to shine with amazement. The taste of this meat, ah, was more flavorful and delicious than her best dish, stewed pork shoulder. Wherever Xiaocao learned this dish from, it was truly awesome!
“Xiaocao, Xiaocao! How did you make this braised pig head meat? I want my mother to learn from you, is that ok?” Qian Wu ate the meat deliciously as the flavor and oils from the meat filled his mouth. He ate the pig head meat in large bites and didn’t forget to sing his praises and talk.
Little Shitou’s eyes immediately became wide, and he said, “Second Sister’s culinary skills have all come from the gods in her dreams. She can’t tell other people! If the god blames her for spreading his secrets and decides to take her abilities away, then you will never be able to eat something as delicious as this again, even if you wanted to!”
Madam Fang thought that was just something that the children made up. She reckoned that Xiaocao had learned a secret recipe from someone and was told not to make it public. Thus, she decided not to ask to be taught as well.
However, Qian Wu had completely believed what Little Shitou told him. Just think about it, in the past, Xiaocao had a very weak body and it was considered a good day when she could get out of bed. How was it possible that she could be able to learn cooking from someone? Also, no outsiders had gone through the village recently. If a god hadn’t taught her, then where would she get these skills?After thinking about it, Qian Wu nodded his head furiously and said, “I won’t let my mother come here to learn then...Xiaocao, in the future, whenever you make some new type of food, please don’t forget to save a portion for me ah...I won’t be a freeloader either, I can help you gather wild plants, steal eggs from wild birds, and when it gets warm again, I can also dig up some clams…”
“It’s a deal! When there’s something good to eat, I’ll have Little Shitou grab you then!” Xiaocao didn’t add any more pieces of the pig head meat to the depleted plate. After all, the braised meat was supposed to be sold tomorrow at the docks.
After making sure that the braised pig head meat had been done correctly, Xiaocao started to braise the intestines and tripe. Braised intestines had a delicious taste, tender and soft texture, savory and rich flavor, and had a really good mouthfeel. Braised pig tripe had a sweeter taste, a silky texture without being mushy, and was chewy. Both of these were very delicious and tasty types of braised dishes.