CHAPTER 1313: CHAPTER 670: ROOM FOR MANEUVER (PART 2)

Han Zhong came to report to Lian Shouxin about Erlang’s matter, saying that Erlang and Luo Xiaoyan had already left, and the old house didn’t keep them for a meal. Erlang only took his clothes and a set of luggage; Er Niuniu was carried away by Luo Xiaoyan. It was said that Luo Xiaoyan fed Er Niuniu milk at the old house before coaxing Er Niuniu to sleep.

"How’s the old master looking?" Lian Shouxin listened and didn’t say much, just asked about Old Master Lian’s situation.

"The old master took his medicine today, looked quite spirited, and sat outside watching Old Luo work for half a day," Han Zhong replied.

The family should be growing with male members, but now, the population has decreased. With Old Master Lian’s personality, even if he nods and accepts it, he wouldn’t feel at ease in his heart. He tends to keep things more subdued; even in distress, he would keep it inside.

"Alright, I got it. Go and have a meal with Old Luo," Lian Shouxin waved at Han Zhong.

Han Zhong agreed, then retreated outside.

...

The hanging oven for roasting duck has been bought and installed, suitable wood is available, but these past few days have been busy with preparing Old Master Lian’s coffin, and the hustle of Erlang and Luo Xiaoyan’s wedding, so the trial of making roast duck has been delayed.

Now that these two matters are settled, Lian Manman discussed with Lady Zhang that they should start the trial of making roast duck.

For the roast duck trial, Lian Manman is the theoretical advisor and assistant, the head chef is Lady Zhang, with Lian Shouxin also assisting. Lady Zhang has gotten quite adept at slaughtering ducks as per Lian Manman’s method: after slaughtering and draining the blood, she plucks the feathers, opens a small hole under the duck’s ribs, removes the organs, and cleans it thoroughly.

Then, the duck’s skin is scalded and colored with boiling maltose syrup. Next, the prepared duck is hung in a cool, ventilated place to air dry. In this season, it usually takes two to three Chinese hours for the duck skin to dry, and then it can be roasted.

Before placing in the oven, the duck needs to be filled with soup, and re-colored. Meanwhile, wood is burned in the hanging oven, and when the oven reaches a certain temperature, the duck can be hung inside for roasting.

During roasting, one must observe carefully and turn the duck for even cooking. From entering the oven to fully cooked, it takes about half an hour. After roasting, the duck is taken out, and the soup inside the duck cavity is used to judge the roasting degree. If the soup is pink, the duck is undercooked, no more than 70-80% done; if light white, it’s perfect; if thick and milky, it’s overcooked.

After taking out, the duck must be immediately brushed with sesame oil to make the duck skin look better and more appealing.

Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang carefully control the roasting conditions, while Lian Manman meticulously records notes on the side.

That evening, after several people had been busy all afternoon, the first roast duck finally came out.

"Isn’t this a bit overcooked?" After taking out the roast duck and checking the soup inside, finding the color leaning towards milky white, Lady Zhang recalled what Lian Manman taught her—that this color indicates the duck is slightly overcooked.

"It’s alright." Lian Manman glanced, jotting down a few notes in her booklet. "For the first time, this is quite good. Next time, just control the fire a bit more, and it should be perfect."

Lady Zhang nodded, indicating she understood.

In Liaodong Prefecture, people usually eat stewed dishes, often preferring them well-cooked and tender. Lady Zhang’s method is due to her habit.

With the duck roasted and brushed with oil for color, the next main task is slicing the duck. This task falls to Lian Shouxin, who has the best knife skills in the family.

After roasting, the duck must be sliced before the breast sinks in, for optimal slicing and taste. Lian Manman explained to Lian Shouxin that each slice should have both skin and meat, and be as thin as possible. One must say, Lian Shouxin also has a knack for culinary arts; after adjusting a few times, the sliced duck meat looked quite presentable.

Seeing Lian Shouxin getting the hang of it, Lady Zhang had already prepared the batter, and began frying lotus leaf pancakes in the pan to Lian Manman’s specifications. Lady Zhang was adept at making pancakes; hearing the requirements, she immediately started, producing almost flawless lotus leaf pancakes.

Lian Manman wasn’t idle either; she plated the sweet bean paste prepared earlier and sliced small radishes, cucumbers, and scallions into thin strips and plated them as well.

A large plate of sliced duck, a plate of lotus leaf pancakes, a dish of sweet bean paste, and a large plate of radish strips, cucumber strips, and scallion threads were served as dinner. Mr. Loo was invited to the seat of honor; Lian Manman first picked up a lotus leaf pancake, smeared it with paste, added two slices of duck, some radish strips, cucumber strips, and scallion threads, rolled it up and handed it to Mr. Loo.

"Please taste," Lian Manman said.

At home, with good food, it naturally had to be offered to Mr. Loo first. Furthermore, Mr. Loo, who was knowledgeable and a connoisseur, held significant sway with his opinions.

Mr. Loo took the lotus leaf pancake roll and leisurely began to eat. Everyone watched Mr. Loo, and Lian Manman especially wanted to capture every change in Mr. Loo’s expressions.

Watching Mr. Loo’s expression start from surprise, ease, to enjoyment, after finishing the entire lotus leaf pancake roll, Mr. Loo sighed gently.

******

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