Huayu Chef

079 There's nothing a hot pot meal can't solve.

"Hey, Brother Xuan, did we buy some spoiled butter? It smells so strong and awful!" Jingjing hid far away, wrinkling her little nose, her face full of suspicion and anger.

Zhang Jinxuan looked at her strangely: "How could someone from Chongqing say such a silly thing?"

"What's wrong with you?" Jingjing retorted, unconvinced.

"The smell of butter is very strong when it's freshly rendered, don't you know that? You're not a real Chongqing native."

Jingjing tried to save face, saying, "My family never renders butter; we always buy ready-made ones. How would we know if rendering butter would cause any problems?"

"A fake Chongqing native."

"snort."

Jingjing turned her head away and ignored Zhang Jinxuan.

The assistant has quite a temper.

"Go out and play. Your staying in the kitchen will only hinder my performance."

"Fine, I'll leave then. Call me when you're done." Jingjing quickly slipped away.

"Okay?" Zhang Jinxuan shook his head and said, "It's a long way off."

Beef tallow hot pot base is a condiment with an exceptionally complicated preparation process. The beef tallow hot pot base that Zhang Jinxuan is making today requires thirty to forty kinds of spices, each of which must go through soaking, stir-frying and other processes.

When the production officially begins, it must be completed in one go without stopping. Even though Zhang Jinxuan had done it countless times in his previous life, he still had to be extremely focused and take it seriously.

One spice was over-sprayed, ruining the entire pot.

If we ruin two pots, we won't be able to have hot pot tonight; we'll have to make side dishes instead.

Just as Zhang Jinxuan was focused on making the beef tallow hot pot base, Huang Mengying also set off from school to the new store on Jian'an West Road.

Zhang Jinxuan hadn't told her what time to arrive at the store, only vaguely saying "afternoon." She planned to go ahead and check it out, and lend a hand if needed.

When she arrived at the store, the door was locked and she couldn't open it. Huang Mengying thought Zhang Jinxuan wasn't in the store. Just as she was about to take out her phone from her bag to make a call, she caught a glimpse of a small, dark head rolling around against the back of a chair.

Looking at it from a different angle, who else could it be but Jingjing?

"Jingjing..." Huang Mengying knocked on the glass wall and shouted loudly.

When Jingjing heard Huang Mengying call her, she quickly put the potato chips on the table, grabbed her phone, went to open the door, and invited Huang Mengying into the store.

"Mengying, you're here so early?"

"If you're not enthusiastic about eating hot pot, there's something wrong with your thinking," Huang Mengying said quipped, then asked, "Where's Brother Xuan? Isn't he at the restaurant?"

Jingjing pouted, "They're making hot pot broth in the kitchen."

Huang Mengying's eyes lit up, and she asked in surprise, "He's making it himself?"

"Hmm." Jingjing whispered, "I think Brother Xuan might be in trouble. He bought the wrong butter; it smelled really strong when he was cooking it."

"The butter is very pungent when it's freshly rendered."

How did you know?

"I've seen others make hot pot broth with beef tallow on-site; the smell of simmering beef tallow is awful." Huang Mengying glanced at the kitchen entrance and asked, "Can we go in?"

"Okay, it'll be just Brother Xuan inside."

"I'll go in and take a look."

"Go ahead." Jingjing waved her hand and said seriously, "I need to help Brother Xuan monitor public opinion, so I'll stay outside."

Huang Mengying walked into the kitchen carrying a tote bag and was almost suffocated by the pungent, foul smell inside. She covered her nose with her hand and walked towards Zhang Jinxuan.

Seeing Zhang Jinxuan intently focused on the pot, Huang Mengying didn't disturb him. She stood quietly to the side, observing, her gaze shifting between the pot and Zhang Jinxuan's face.

"That's about it."

Zhang Jinxuan muttered something to himself, picked up a can of beer, opened it, and poured it down the side of the pot.

After pouring out one can, continue pouring out the second can.

Huang Mengying couldn't help but ask, "Do you need any help?"

Zhang Jinxuan turned his head and glanced at her, teasingly saying, "Mengying, you came so early that there's no hot pot left. Next time, remember to come right at mealtimes, so you'll be in the perfect spot."

"You really think I'm a foodie?"

"Isn't that how it is?"

Huang Mengying smiled brightly and helped Zhang Jinxuan pour beer.

Seeing a lot of bubbles appearing in the pot, Zhang Jinxuan hurriedly shouted, "Mengying, get out of here quickly! A biohazard is about to break out!"

"what?"

Huang Mengying was confused.

Beer contains a lot of carbon dioxide, which will produce bubbles in the pot when it evaporates. The thick butter base looks like it is boiling, with bubbles rising from the bottom of the pot.

Suddenly, all sorts of pungent smells rushed out, and even with the smoke hood on, it was no use. Huang Mengying stood there, mouth open, trying to sneeze.

"Don't spit into the pot."

Huang Mengying chuckled, then sneezed two or three times in a row. She covered her mouth with one hand and punched Zhang Jinxuan a few times with her other fist.

"Hey, why did you hit me?"

"Achoo!" Huang Mengying huffed. "Hitting you would be too lenient. Who told you to disgust me?"

"I'm just reminding you, okay?"

Zhang Jinxuan kept a close eye on the pot, and when the bubbles disappeared, he put in a few cleaned bell peppers and continued to stir-fry.

After a few minutes, the bubbles disappeared completely, and the smell of the hot pot broth became milder, so I turned off the stove.

"Is it ready?" Huang Mengying asked expectantly.

Zhang Jinxuan's brows relaxed, revealing a carefree expression, and he smiled playfully: "The most tedious part is done, but the hot pot broth can't be eaten yet. It needs to be left to sit for a day and a night to cool and solidify naturally. That's when it tastes the best."

"A day and a night?"

Huang Mengying was dumbfounded. What should we eat tonight?

Zhang Jinxuan teased her, "So you came early, huh? You're too eager to eat; there's something wrong with your thinking."

"Brother Xuan, you're so annoying! I feel like hitting you again, what should I do?"

"Violent maniac."

"I'm not just violent, I can transform too. Tenderina, this is the power of friendship..." Huang Mengying shouted, making a super chuunibyou (delusional) gesture.

The surrounding air suddenly became quiet.

Zhang Jinxuan blinked and burst into laughter, saying, "Mengying, you're so talented! It's a loss for the Japanese tokusatsu company if they don't cast you in 'Metal Heroes: Crush Saga'."

Huang Mengying looked at Zhang Jinxuan and smiled, then asked with surprise, "You've seen 'Metal Heroes!' too?"

"I've watched 'Magic King' and 'Metal Heroes: Crush Saga'. I used to love watching robot transformations. I thought Kabuto, Shark Chili, and Cockroach Bully's super transformation forms were awesome. Now I regret watching robot shows."

Why?

"Looking only at the robots and ignoring the beautiful traffic policewoman Miki Nakano, I feel like I wasted my childhood."

"Ha ha."

Huang Mengying laughed so hard she almost fell over.

"The old version of 'Journey to the West' was the same. When I was a kid, I only stared at the monkey. Now I understand how hard it was for Tang Sanzang. So many beautiful female demons were trying to seduce him. I was envious and jealous."

Huang Mengying laughed and said, "You want to be Tang Sanzang?"

"No, he's a Buddha, and I'm just an ordinary person." Zhang Jinxuan shook his head vigorously, took out his phone to check the time, and said, "Oh, it's getting late. Time to prepare dinner."

After saying that, he used a bamboo basket to collect some beef tallow hot pot base, let it sit for a while before refrigerating it to speed up the cooling process.

Huang Mengying stopped laughing and volunteered, "Brother Xuan, you take a rest, Jingjing and I will go out to buy groceries."

"No need to bother, the groceries have already been bought."

"When did you buy it?"

"I bought this before making the beef tallow hot pot base. It contains your favorite potatoes, duck blood, and bamboo shoots."

Huang Mengying asked, both surprised and delighted, "How did you know I like to eat these three things when I have hot pot?"

"You ordered these three things when we had hot pot together last time."

Huang Mengying smiled sweetly and gently, her eyes crinkling, "So thoughtful!"

"I've always been very particular about food."

"I'm not food."

You've killed the conversation.

Huang Mengying said cheerfully, "Haha, let me help you wash the vegetables."

"OK."

Zhang Jinxuan took the ingredients out of the freezer and began to process them one by one.

Huang Mengying sat down beside him, picking vegetables as she asked, "Brother Xuan, you made so much beef tallow hot pot base today, is it for the restaurant?"

"We don't need it in the shop, so we make a lot since it's a rare treat. This beef tallow hot pot base is made with high-quality ingredients and tastes amazing. It's great for cooking noodles, rice noodles, stir-fries, and hot pot ingredients. It's also a thoughtful gift."

"I'm inviting a few big shots to dinner at the restaurant tomorrow. I've invited Uncle Yu to join them. He definitely won't accept overly expensive gifts. He loves to eat, so I'll give him some of my homemade beef tallow hot pot base. He should like it."

Huang Mengying knew that Grandpa Yu had gone to Baoding for a whole donkey feast, but she wasn't surprised. She said warmly, "I've been quite free lately except for writing my thesis. I'll come to the shop to help you tomorrow."

Zhang Jinxuan glanced at her and flatly refused: "Don't show your face at the store tomorrow. Go write your thesis or do whatever you need to do."

Huang Mengying was taken aback for a moment. Meeting Zhang Jinxuan's calm gaze, she vaguely realized something. Feeling both touched and happy, she softly hummed in agreement.

As the saying goes, a man and a woman working together makes for a delicious and enjoyable meal.

After leisurely processing a dozen or so ingredients, Zhang Jinxuan washed the rice, cooked it, and simmered a pot of bone broth, using the broth and beef tallow hot pot base as the soup base.

Look at the materials used, so exquisite.

As the hot pot was served, the two girls from Sichuan and Chongqing smelled the familiar and rich aroma, and instantly felt as if they had traveled back in time to their hometown.

Back home, there's nothing a hot pot meal can't solve.

If so, then two meals.

"Let's eat."