Chapter 147 - 146: Bringing Lobsters Again
About half an hour later, the Steamed Pork with Preserved Vegetables was done steaming and ready to be taken out of the steamer.
Li You walked into the kitchen, turned off the heat, and lifted the steamer lid.
Steam billowed out, carrying the unique, spreading aroma of the dish.
It was incredibly rich!
"That smells amazing! Boss, may I come in?"
Ye Shengge had smelled the fragrance all the way from the dining area.
"Of course! Come on in."
"Okay, I’m coming in."
Ye Shengge entered the kitchen and saw fifteen bowls of Steamed Pork with Preserved Vegetables in the steamer.
Although only the preserved vegetables on top were visible at this point, it already looked incredibly appetizing.
Even the preserved vegetables alone must be delicious.
Li You took one bowl of the steamed pork from the steamer and placed it on the stove.
He then grabbed an empty bowl with a slightly wider mouth.
He placed it upside down over the bowl of steamed pork.
Next, he picked up both bowls and flipped them over.
This switched the positions of the two bowls.
After setting them down, he lifted the top bowl.
In the bowl below, the preserved vegetables were now at the bottom, and the pork was on top.
This is also why the dish is called *kou rou*.
The name comes from the final step, where you have to cover (*kou*) the dish with another bowl and invert it.
In the bowl, slices of pork were arranged neatly, their skins a deep red and wrinkled.
A full slice was visible at the edge. The lean part was golden brown, while the fatty part was a subtle white.
Even though it was fatty, it didn’t look greasy at all.
The overall color was beautiful, and the aroma was intensely rich.
Ye Shengge said joyfully, "I’ve seen and eaten Steamed Pork with Preserved Vegetables many times, but yours looks the most appetizing and smells the most fragrant, Boss."
Of course, Ye Shengge wasn’t surprised by this result.
Li You said, "But the most important thing is whether it’s too greasy to eat."
With that, Li You handed Ye Shengge a pair of chopsticks and added, "You try it."
Ye Shengge took the chopsticks and said, "Then I won’t stand on ceremony."
She then picked up a slice of pork and put it in her mouth.
An excited expression quickly appeared on her face. Before she had even finished chewing, she eagerly mumbled through a mouthful, "Delicious!"
After swallowing the bite, she added, "Boss, this is incredibly delicious. Even better than I imagined. And most importantly, it’s not greasy at all."
Li You smiled. "Try another piece or two. One slice isn’t enough to judge."
Ye Shengge said, "No, I can tell from just one piece. When I’ve eaten this dish elsewhere, I felt the greasiness after just one slice. I couldn’t even eat it by itself; I needed to have it with rice. Unless I only ate the lean parts."
Li You nodded. "I’ll try a piece too."
Saying this, he also picked up his chopsticks, took a slice, and popped it into his mouth.
It was incredibly soft, tender, and fragrant.
And sure enough, there wasn’t the slightest hint of greasiness.
’Not bad, not bad at all. This is what you get when you’ve mastered the recipe for Steamed Pork with Preserved Vegetables.’
’This has to be the most delicious Steamed Pork with Preserved Vegetables in the world, right?’
"I’ll try some of the preserved vegetables," Ye Shengge said.
She then picked up some and put them in her mouth.
After tasting them, she exclaimed excitedly again, "Just as I thought, even the vegetables are delicious! Boss, your skill with this dish is top-notch. If you were to cater a rural banquet, it would absolutely be the best-tasting banquet in history."
Li You laughed. "I hope so."
Ye Shengge said, "It’s a certainty. By the way, Boss, is there any difference between Steamed Pork with Mei Cai and the Steamed Pork with Preserved Vegetables we have here?"
Li You said, "There are some differences. They use *mei cai* for the vegetable base, while we use *ya cai*. There are also slight variations in the cooking process and texture."
Ye Shengge nodded and asked, "So which one tastes better?"
Li You replied, "You can’t really say one is better than the other. They just have their own unique characteristics and flavors."
Ye Shengge said, "I think so too. Oh, right, Boss, since you can make savory steamed pork, you must be able to make the sweet version too, right?"
Steamed pork belly, or *shaobai*, is divided into two types: savory (*xian shaobai*) and sweet (*tian shaobai*).
The two are completely different in terms of preparation and taste.
Sweet Steamed Pork (*tian shaobai*) is a sweet dish, also using pork belly as the main ingredient.
It requires two other important ingredients: glutinous rice and red bean paste.
The red bean paste is also known as *xisha*, or "happiness sand."
When serving, it also needs to be inverted with another bowl—it requires the same "*kou*" action.
Therefore, it’s also called *tian kou*, or "sweet inversion."
After being inverted, the glutinous rice forms a base, with the red bean paste sandwiched between the pork slices.
Because of this, it has yet another name: *jia jia kou*, or "sandwiched inversion."
It has quite a few names.
The taste is fresh, fragrant, sweet, and glutinous, with a rich savory-sweet flavor that is satisfying but not greasy.
It is also a very important, and indeed essential, dish at rural banquets.
Of course, Li You knew how to make Sweet Steamed Pork.
’However, since I haven’t ’learned’ the relevant ingredients, the result wouldn’t be very good.’
But he couldn’t tell Ye Shengge that.
After a moment of thought, Li You said, "I do know how. We’ll see about the future. When I’m in the mood, I’ll start making it."
Ye Shengge nodded and said, "So, Boss, how are you planning to sell this Steamed Pork? How much is a bowl? My grandfather loves it, and I’d like to buy a few bowls for him. He would be thrilled to eat something this good."
Li You replied, "I haven’t decided on a price yet. And I’m not planning to sell this batch. However, I can give you a few bowls. You can take them back for your grandfather."
Li You was happy to see her filial piety.
He enjoyed seeing the younger generation show respect and care for their elders.
So, he was more than willing to give Ye Shengge a few bowls.
Ye Shengge hesitated for a moment before accepting joyfully, "Then thank you, Boss!"
Li You said, "You’re too kind, Miss Ye. Is five bowls enough?"
"That’s enough, more than enough," Ye Shengge said, nodding repeatedly. "Even one bowl would have been plenty."
Li You said, "With just one bowl, an old man won’t have eaten his fill before it’s all gone. Let’s make it five."
Ye Shengge said gratefully, "Thank you so much, Boss!"
Li You smiled and again told her not to be so formal.
He then took out five take-out containers, brought out five more bowls of the steamed pork from the steamer, and placed them, bowls and all, into the containers.
After that, he brought out the mushrooms he had prepared earlier—termite mushrooms, chanterelles, green-head mushrooms, dried beef mushrooms, and others.
These were the ones he and Ye Shengge had foraged the previous morning, split evenly between them.
"Well, Boss, I’ll be leaving now."
"Alright. Be safe on your way."
"Okay."
Carrying the mushrooms and the five bowls of Steamed Pork, Ye Shengge took her leave.
Not long after, Lin Guodong, Lin Zhonghai, and other villagers from Taoshan Village walked into the shop.
Lin Guodong was carrying a large cloth sack. It was bulging, and it was unclear what was inside.
It was market day in town, so they had probably just come back from there.
Seeing Li You, Lin Guodong laughed heartily and said, "Xiaoyou, we’re back!"
Li You smiled. "Uncle Guodong, Elder Lin, and all you uncles, it’s great to see you again."
Lin Guodong placed the cloth sack in front of Li You and said, "Xiaoyou, we caught some more crayfish and brought them for you. But we have to agree on something first—you can’t give us any more wine or anything else."
So it was crayfish.
This huge bag of crayfish was even bigger than the last one, at least seventy or eighty catties.
Li You thought for a moment and said, "How about this, Uncle Guodong? I’ll buy them from you. You know I buy crayfish in my own village for 14 yuan per catty. I’ll give you the same price, 14 yuan a catty. What do you think?"
Lin Guodong shook his head. "No, that won’t do. These are a gift for you."
Lin Zhonghai and the others all expressed the same sentiment.
Li You said, "You feel bad about taking more wine, but with this many crayfish, I feel bad about taking them for free!"
"Well..."
Lin Guodong and Lin Zhonghai exchanged glances.
Finally, Lin Guodong said, "Alright, how about this, Xiaoyou. You take these crayfish today. The next time we catch more, we’ll come and sell them to you. We’ll charge whatever the proper price is. How’s that?"
After a moment’s hesitation, Li You nodded. "Alright, then. Thank you all for the crayfish today."
Lin Guodong, Lin Zhonghai, and the others were all very pleased and told Li You not to stand on ceremony.
Then, Lin Guodong made a sound of surprise. "Huh? Xiaoyou, have you started selling Steamed Pork with Preserved Vegetables? I can smell it."
Lin Zhonghai said, "I smell it too. The aroma is so rich."
The other men chimed in that they smelled it as well.
Li You smiled. "I haven’t started selling it yet. I just steamed a test batch today. I’ll bring a bowl out for you to see."
With that, he went into the kitchen and brought out the bowl of steamed pork that he and Ye Shengge had each taken a piece from.
The aroma was even stronger now.
When Lin Guodong and Lin Zhonghai saw it, they couldn’t help but marvel.
They had seen and eaten plenty of Steamed Pork with Preserved Vegetables in their time.
But Li You’s version was the most appetizing they had ever seen.
And, of course, it smelled the most fragrant.
Of course, this wasn’t surprising.
The men praised it endlessly.
...