The aluminum pot was too big; pouring in the jar of over twenty jin of old brine only filled about small half a bucket.
"Use these jars to fill with well water, and pour both jars into the pot." the old lady instructed.
Zhou Yan didn't ask any questions, directly filling two jars with water and pouring them into the pot.
Now the brine in the pot was about half a bucket.
However, with the addition of the two jars of water, the originally bright red color of the old brine became much diluted.
"This time you have over twenty jin of old braising liquid as a base, so you don't need to add duck bones or anything like that to cook the braising liquid. The old braising liquid already has enough base flavor, so we'll just do it the way we usually maintain it." the old lady told Zhou Yan. "When we braise meat, the braising liquid will decrease during the braising process, so we need to add water. From now on, just follow this standard; add as much water as needed, and each time you add enough, just use plain water."
Zhou Yan had already taken out his small notebook and was scribbling notes on the paper, casually asking, "What if the broth gets diluted and the color becomes light? What should we do?"
"Start the fire first, then add color."
Zhou Yan immediately turned the charcoal fire from the adjacent stove, added a handful of straw, fanned it twice with a palm leaf fan, and the flames leaped up instantly. He then added two pieces of oak wood.
"One is enough. You can't boil the braised meat over high heat; that will cause the moisture to evaporate quickly, wasting too much of the braising liquid and making it turn black easily." the old lady said after a glance.
Zhou Yan immediately removed one piece of oak wood, noting it down in his notebook.
"Bring me the jar you just brought in."
Zhou Yan turned and picked up the jar, opening the lid to reveal a bright red, viscous syrup inside, which even smelled sweet.
"This is caramelized sugar made with rock sugar. I made it for you in advance this time, and I'll teach you how to make it separately next time. You must use caramelized sugar to color braised dishes; you can't add soy sauce, otherwise the braising liquid will get darker and darker, and you'll have to throw it away after a few uses."
The old lady gently stirred the pot with a spoon, causing the braising oil to separate and reveal the pale reddish-brown braising liquid. "Use the spoon to add the caramelized sugar until it matches the color of the braising liquid you brought back yesterday. Then the color will be correct."
Zhou Yan nodded and began adding caramelized sugar to the pot, spoonful by spoonful.
As the water temperature rose and the braising liquid was gently stirred, its originally light color began to turn a bright red, increasingly resembling the original color of the old braising liquid.
Recently, Zhou Yan had mastered several dishes, leading to a significant improvement in his control over seasoning and his ability to judge the color of the broth. He stopped halfway through adding the last spoonful of caramel coloring, placed the spoon back in the jar, and looked at the old lady.
The old lady nodded, "Not bad, your eyes are very accurate. That's about the right color. From now on, use this standard when adding color. The braised meat will have a beautiful bright red color and taste great."
"A chef, after all, has a good eye." Zhou Yan said with a touch of pride.
The old lady continued, "The most important thing next is adding salt. After adding water, the broth becomes diluted, and if it's not salty enough, you need to add salt..."
From adding salt to adding spices, and then to the daily maintenance of the braising liquid, the old lady taught him step by step, and Zhou Yan learned by doing, recording all the details and proportions in a small notebook.
An hour later, the brine was boiling. The oak wood in the stove had been removed, and the color of the brine was very close to the old brine Zhou Yan had brought over yesterday.
The aroma of the brine filled the entire kitchen; even a leather belt thrown in would taste amazing!
[A near perfect pot of braising liquid]
A note popped up below Zhou Yan's eyes.
That's right, even the system gave it an extremely high evaluation!
"Grandma, we're really amazing," Zhou Yan said sincerely to the old lady.
What Comrade Zhang Shufen said was absolutely true.
The best braised food in Suji... no, no, it should be the best braised food in Jiazhou, truly deserving of the title!
"Hmm, you've got some skill too." the old lady nodded with a smile.
Zhou Yan's performance today pleased her greatly; much better than his mother's.
Years ago, she had considered teaching Zhao Tieying how to make braised food. This daughter in law was efficient and organized, but she really didn't have any talent for making braised food. She couldn't even control the amount of salt in the seasoning, so she had to give up in the end.
"How about we get a pig's head to braise?" Zhou Yan asked, eager to try, looking at the perfectly prepared braising liquid.
The old lady smiled and shook her head: "Don't mess around if you're not selling today. We're having a feast tomorrow; how are we going to eat a pig's head?"
"That's true." Zhou Yan nodded, then, mentioning the banquet, he chuckled, "The cold dishes braised by those village chefs certainly can't compare to the ones I braise in this pot of brine. After all, this is the Zhang family's premier braised dish tradition in Suji. It's a pity I didn't get a chance to show off my skills to the guests."
"You always have so many tricks up your sleeve." the old lady said, rolling her eyes at him with a smile.
"Grandma, you underestimate your influence. The bricklayer who built this stove for me the other day was still raving about your braised pig ears and offal. If you came out of retirement, even just to endorse me and say I'm your successor, my business would definitely boom." Zhou Yan looked at the old lady and said with a grin.
"Just be my spokesperson. I won't use your reputation for nothing. From now on, I'll buy you all the alcohol you drink. I'll get you six jin of the best liquor from Old Zhang's place every month."
"You have quite the scheming. Endorsing you isn't a bad idea, but I don't want the liquor. I want your taste to pass my test." The old lady looked at him calmly and said, "People remember my braised food as delicious, they haven't forgotten it for decades, and they all praise my skills because I put my heart into making it. If you make it shoddy and still claim to be my apprentice, wouldn't that ruin my reputation? I don't want to be gossiped about even when I'm lying on a flat board."
Zhou Yan stopped laughing.
The word "inheritance" seems to have become particularly heavy at this moment.
The old woman's skill once supported her entire family, enabling her four sons to marry and have children, yet she didn't pass it on to any of her descendants.
Selling braised food, no matter how hard, couldn't be more tiring than getting up in the middle of the night to slaughter a cow.
The old woman wasn't a selfish person; she nurtured every younger member of her family with love, even her daughters in law respected her, not feared her.
She was choosing a successor for her braised food craft.
Until Zhou Yan came to her door, saying he wanted to learn.
Perhaps from that day on, she seriously considered this matter.
Once she made up her mind, she poured out half of her treasured old braising liquid and handed it to Zhou Yan.
That moment marked the beginning of the inheritance.
Zhou Yan used to be a food blogger focused solely on making money, his mind preoccupied with monetizing traffic, thinking about how to use gimmicks or celebrity influence to open up sales channels, and then retain customers through the quality of the dishes.
This approach wasn't inherently flawed; otherwise, Zhou Erwa Restaurant would have been defunct and unable to open, let alone revive.
However, the old lady's words instilled in him a profound respect for the concept of "inheritance."
This wasn't just a slogan.
Nor should it be a marketing formula.
What he should inherit was the skill the old lady had passed down from her grandfather, the unforgettable flavors, and the unwavering commitment to his customers.
"Grandma, I understand. Until you approve of my braised dishes, I won't say you taught me." Zhou Yan solemnly promised. "I won't teach just anyone in the future, unless I find a talented and reliable apprentice."
The old lady smiled and nodded, "With your words, I'm relieved."
The old lady then explained in detail the braising times and techniques for various types of braised dishes, which Zhou Yan meticulously recorded.
"Vegetables should never be put into the braising pot, otherwise the whole pot of braising liquid will be ruined. If you want to braise vegetables, take out ten jin of braising liquid separately from the braising pot, and then add water and seasoning. Vegetables don't need that much salt. At most, you can braise them twice, and then you have to throw away the braising liquid."
"Ingredients with strong flavors, like pork intestines and offal, need to be braised separately, otherwise they'll mix up the flavors of the old braising liquid."
"Braised beef…"
Zhou Yan had already filled five or six pages with notes.
"Just writing things down isn't enough. Next time you start braising, let me know in advance. The first time, I'll supervise you, starting with avoiding mistakes." the old lady said leisurely.
"Okay, I'll start braising next Monday, beginning with pig's head. What do you think?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at the old lady.
"I think that's a good idea."
…