Grandma Su’s braised pork bones were made with her own secret recipe.
Grandma Su had no formal training in cooking; her dishes were mostly home-style.
Having lived in the Northwest for a long time, Grandma Su’s cuisine bore distinct Northwestern characteristics.
Later, when she moved to the capital, she adapted her recipes to suit the tastes of the capital’s residents, making them more palatable to the local palate.
In terms of ingredients, Grandma Su paid close attention to the combination of spices. While the main spices were the usual star anise, fennel seeds, cinnamon, dried chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, bay leaves, and so on, she also added some Xiangqi sauce, dried yellow bean paste, segments of scallions, ginger, cooking wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and white pepper.
The proportion of each seasoning was also meticulously adjusted by Grandma Su.
It had to be said that Grandma Su had a natural talent for cooking.
Whatever she prepared seemed to taste better.
The braised pork bones made by Grandma Su were absolutely delicious.
However, Grandma Su rarely made braised pork bones anymore, mainly because it was time-consuming and labor-intensive.
Each batch of braised pork bones couldn't be finished quickly; it always took several hours from start to finish.
For instance, this morning, Grandma Su specifically arrived at Yiming Pavilion early and spent three to four hours preparing this batch of braised pork bones.
For braised pork bones, pig leg bones were used. The pig leg bones needed to be soaked in clean water to remove the blood.
After washing away the blood, the bones were put into a pot with water and cooking wine.
The water was brought to a boil over high heat, the scum was skimmed off, and the bones were blanched for five minutes. They were then taken out, rinsed clean, and drained.
This completed the first step.
The second step involved stir-frying scallion segments and ginger slices until fragrant, then adding diluted dried yellow bean paste and Xiangqi sauce, along with other seasonings, and finally adding the prepared pig leg bones to stir-fry.
Stir-frying tens of pounds of pork bones in a large pot was truly a physical labor.
As Grandma Su was getting older, her strength was inevitably insufficient when stir-frying the pig leg bones.
This was also a major reason why Grandma Su didn't make braised pork bones much anymore.
Today, she had specifically made this pot of braised pork bones for her grandson.
But the old lady was indeed getting on in years, and her stamina was not keeping up.
After a few stirs, she was already panting from exhaustion.
In the end, Liang Xiu completed the stir-frying.
Liang Xiu was young and had learned a lot of skills by following Grandma Su over the years.
"My third daughter-in-law, I have to admit, I'm getting old. From now on, this will be your responsibility!" Grandma Su said with emotion.
Liang Xiu stirred the pork bones and said with a smile, "Mom, the restaurant can't do without you; I'm not there yet!"
Liang Xiu was also helpless about her lack of innate talent in learning culinary arts, but while diligent practice could achieve results, true talent was hard to come by.
"What you make is actually very good."
Liang Xiu was a typical example of someone who compensated for a lack of talent with diligence.
Grandma Su greatly admired this about her.
With Liang Xiu's diligence, she would surely achieve something in the future.
"Mom, it's all because you taught me well," Liang Xiu smiled.
"From now on, the cooking will be up to you, and I'll watch from the side. When the stir-frying is almost done, my third daughter-in-law, add clean water, dark soy sauce, white pepper, and the spice bag."
Grandma Su sat to the side, talking with Liang Xiu and guiding her.
Although Liang Xiu felt uncertain about her mother-in-law suddenly wanting her to take over the cooking, her mother-in-law was indeed getting older, with deeper wrinkles and whiter hair.
She couldn't let the elderly lady work in the restaurant her entire life.
During these times, Liang Xiu and her husband, the third son, would occasionally discuss this matter.
Sensing her daughter-in-law's hesitation, Grandma Su smiled.
"Don't worry, I can still come to the restaurant to guide you for the next couple of years. In two or three years, your culinary skills will be sufficient to establish yourself in the capital."
After speaking, Grandma Su added, "We can also hire a chef. As long as the ingredients are right and the food is prepared with care, the dishes won't be too bad."
What Grandma Su said was indeed true.
Many restaurants, to save costs, might use ingredients that others have discarded.
This was especially common in products with fillings, like buns.
However, Yiming Pavilion Restaurant had always strived for excellence in this regard, using only the finest ingredients.
Grandma Su always said that people should earn money, but also maintain a clear conscience.
Liang Xiu nodded.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law spent the morning preparing dishes for Su Xiao Wu's comrades, sharing many intimate conversations.
After a morning together, their relationship had become much closer.
When Su Wu Rang was asked to fetch the food, he even felt surprised.
However, due to other matters, Su Wu Rang didn't have time to ask.
Qiao Guangyuan noticed that his soldiers were already salivating and felt embarrassed.
How could these brats be so shameless?
The food prepared by the Su family was all substantial meat dishes. How much would that cost?
Although meat no longer required coupons, it still cost money, and prices had increased compared to a couple of years ago.
If they ate this meal, would their families be unable to afford food?
"Company Commander, please start first?" Su Wu Rang invited Qiao Guangyuan.
Qiao Guangyuan pulled Su Wu Rang over.
"Wu Rang, you've gone too far. You can't let your family go hungry just for our appetites!"
Su Wu Rang was stunned. Had he appeared that poor?
"Company Commander, our family is actually doing alright!" Su Wu Rang said hesitantly.
"How can I not know how your family is doing? You wouldn't throw away a pair of socks even when they were torn, mending them over and over. You wouldn't discard a toothpaste tube until you could no longer squeeze anything out of it."
Hearing Qiao Guangyuan say this, Su Wu Rang suddenly felt that perhaps his past behavior had led the Company Commander to believe his family was poor.
"Company Commander, saving is a virtue, not a sign of poverty. Our family's conditions are truly alright; we own a restaurant, and business is doing reasonably well!" Su Wu Rang said anxiously.
If he didn't clarify this, the Company Commander might not eat this meal today, or if he did, he might try to pay for it.
That would be quite meaningless!
"Really?" Qiao Guangyuan asked.
If they owned a restaurant, why were they preparing food at home?
"Company Commander, it's true. My grandma even said that the restaurant was closed for a day to entertain comrades, but I refused, so we decided to eat at home."
Hearing Su Wu Rang say this, Qiao Guangyuan then looked at the young girl, Su Xiao Tian, in the distance.
Su Xiao Tian was wearing a silk long-sleeved shirt-style dress, looking very beautiful.
The young girl was chatting with a few classmates, smiling charmingly, her every move graceful and poised.
She looked exactly like someone from a wealthy family.
At this moment, Qiao Guangyuan truly believed that the Su family was well-off.
After all, an ordinary family couldn't raise such an outstanding young lady.