sinovels Chapter 105 Kitchen Adjustments
Chapter 105 Kitchen Adjustments
Anyone who frequently eats duck necks knows that the more you eat, the more delicious it becomes, and you only regret not buying more.
The diners in the front hall are now in this situation. Fortunately, other dishes are being served one after another, otherwise Lu Yuan would be besieged again.
The diners in the front hall and courtyard of No. 2 were separated by a wall, so they were unaware of the situation where the diners on the other side were besieging Lu Yuan.
They were leisurely waiting for the waiter to serve their food when the handsome owner suddenly gave them a complimentary dish.
This feeling is wonderful. You know, when Boss Lu makes a move, it's bound to be extraordinary.
A moment later, a chorus of "wows" echoed from the No. 2 front hall and courtyard; the joy of braised food can be addictive.
The three newly added dishes—a combination of tendon and shank, Sichuan-style chicken, and braised duck—are currently being prepared by Aunt Chaoyun.
Lu Yuan prepared all the sauces in advance. To ensure consistent serving quality, he even used a specific small bowl to precisely measure the amount of sauce.
Aunt Chaoyun only needs to 'assemble' this appetizer according to the fixed quantities. If it's braised, it's even simpler; you just need to take it out and cut it up.
Lu Yuan also handed over the two dishes, hand-pulled mutton and mutton neck, to Aunt Chaoyun.
These two dishes are not much different from cold dishes, and are even simpler than cold dishes. They only need to be shaped and plated.
For the hot dishes, Lu Yuan gave the clear broth stew to Aunt Xinyue.
Clear broth stews include stewed mutton, stewed beef, and clear stewed free-range chicken.
Restaurants in northern China rarely sell stewed mutton because it's simple to make and everyone knows how to make it, so there's no need for restaurants to sell it separately.
Besides some shops that cater specifically to tourists, there are also shops that specialize in casserole dishes that sell clear stewed mutton.
In Chang'an, Qin Province, people like to eat mutton soup, which is a form of stewed mutton.
Stewed mutton is made by stewing raw meat directly until cooked, and it mainly uses bone-in ribs.
Braised mutton, on the other hand, involves slicing cooked mutton into thin slices and serving it with side dishes such as radish, vermicelli, and wood ear mushrooms.
Add the meat back into the original broth, season lightly, and sprinkle with plenty of garlic sprouts and cilantro before serving.
Therefore, braised mutton has a richer flavor than stewed mutton, with the addition of the freshness of the mutton and the complex aroma provided by the side dishes.
If you're eating alone, you can get a full meal with a bowl of rice.
Some people also like to eat braised mutton with flatbread. The flatbread is soaked in the soup, wrapping the mutton slices and vermicelli, which is simply delicious.
The principle behind braised beef and braised lamb is the same, only the side dishes are slightly different. Braised beef does not include radish, but instead uses tofu.
The soup is made with the original broth from cooking beef, and is also sprinkled with garlic sprouts and cilantro, resulting in a rich beef flavor.
Stewed free-range chicken was a dish that Lu Yuan had served at a private banquet before. This dish is also one of the top ten famous dishes in the northern frontier.
The secret lies in the selection of chickens; the chickens must be free-range chickens raised in the jujube orchard.
These free-range chickens are raised in jujube orchards for two years, growing up on goji berries and jujubes, and the chicken soup made from them has a unique sweetness.
Therefore, the full name of this dish that became famous in later generations is: Zaoyuan Stewed Chicken.
During this period, Lu Hua found farmers who could provide stable supplies, which is why he decided to update this dish on Xiao Lu Farmhouse Cuisine.
The methods for making this dish are exactly the same; the chicken is stewed in a large pot in advance.
When serving, simply add pre-cut chicken pieces, gluten, wood ear mushrooms, vermicelli, and purple mushrooms to the original broth.
These three dishes are very easy to prepare and can be served very quickly, usually within 5 minutes.
Since the meat that had been stewed in advance was moved to the central kitchen on the east side, the kitchen had some empty stoves.
When busy, Aunt Xinyue can prepare multiple dishes at the same time, which greatly increases the speed of food preparation.
Lu Yuan added a dish of stir-fried beef.
This recipe can be made with both lamb and beef. I didn't serve it together before because I didn't have beef on hand.
Now that we have beef, it's only natural to serve this dish.
Stir-fried beef is also made by slicing cooked meat, then stir-frying it in a pan, and serving it with pickled cabbage and glass noodles. It's incredibly delicious with rice.
Some southerners might find the food in northern China too strong in flavor.
However, the dish of stir-fried beef was generally well-received by tourists from later generations.
After handing over some dishes to his two aunts, Lu Yuan will have a lot more space on his side.
When it gets busy at mealtimes, Lu Yuan can stir-fry lamb and braised meat at the same time, which can greatly increase the speed of serving meals.
The food is served quickly, which is why many diners in a hurry are willing to come here.
Even if there's a wait for a table when you come to eat, people aren't afraid of the long wait.
Therefore, many restaurants are not doing well, not because of the taste of their food.
The problem lies in the food preparation process, which forces diners to consider the time cost of eating.
If your taste doesn't have an absolute advantage, then diners won't consider you.
Lu Yuan also arranged three dishes for Lu Jie: deep-fried ribbonfish, deep-fried sandwiches, and deep-fried meatballs.
Aside from the fact that deep-frying ribbonfish requires some skill, the deep-fried sandwiches and deep-fried meatballs are all deep-fried once when preparing the ingredients in the morning, and then he just deep-fries them again at mealtime.
Lu Yuan had prepared the salt and pepper and spicy dipping sauce in advance, so it was basically not difficult.
Moreover, Lu Jie can fry multiple portions at once, making the food preparation faster.
With the addition of new products and kitchen adjustments, diners can now enjoy their food in about 5 minutes after ordering.
Braised dishes were served the fastest, followed by fried foods and cold dishes, then clear soup stews, and finally Lu Yuan's stir-fries.
When diners order, Zhenzhen and Pingping will help them make reasonable combinations.
If you're dining alone, ordering a serving of lamb and rice might be enough.
Whenever there are two or more people eating together, Zhenzhen and Pingping will suggest a combination of fried food, braised dishes, or cold dishes with stir-fries.
Especially when diners are hungry, they can start with a serving of fried food or braised dishes.
It can stimulate your appetite without making you too full, which would affect your ability to eat the rest of the meal.
Today, after Xiao Lu's Farmhouse Restaurant reopened, diners enjoyed their meals, especially the new dishes Lu Yuan was trying.
After closing, Lu Yuan was sitting in the shade by the door drinking a Coke.
The drinks at the mala tang stall sold exceptionally well, so Lu Yuan simply placed a refrigerator in each of the stores.
Even lice meat is still meat, so these drinks can at least increase sales a little.
At this moment, Lu Hua rode his motorcycle off the national highway, sat down next to me, sweating profusely, and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt to let the cold wind in.
"When will this summer end? It's so hot outside!"
This is the kind of weather in northern China, where the temperature difference within a day can reach ten or even twenty degrees Celsius.
It was a bit chilly wearing short sleeves when I went out to run errands in the morning, but when I came back in the afternoon, I wished I could take my shirt off.
Lu Yuan got up, went back into the store, grabbed a bottle of iced cola, and handed it to Lu Hua, saying:
"How's the matter going?"
Lu Hua gulped down half a bottle of cola and said:
"All the paperwork is done, but the phone won't be installed for another two weeks."
When Lu Yuan went to the provincial capital, he originally wanted to buy a pager, but pagers have many restrictions. If you buy one in the provincial capital, you have to pay the fee there, and even if you bring it back, you might not be able to use the channels.
He might as well just install a landline; even if the installation fee is a bit higher, at least there won't be so many restrictions.