self-improvement as a cook

Chapter 16

An Ran went to the back yard to look for her godmother, but she searched around and found no one, just wondering, when the maid who was packing things on the well platform over there saw her, her eyes lit up, she hurriedly shook the water from her hands, and put on her apron again. After smearing it twice, he trotted over: "Miss An Ran is Mrs. Xunliu?"

An Ran looked at her, and was very surprised: "Ma'am is..." The maid was not annoyed, she smiled slightly and said: "When Miss An Ran and Aunt Liu came here, I was washing vegetables on the well."

Only then did An Ran realize that this maid was under Aunt Yu's subordinate, so she knelt down and said, "An Ran has met Aunt Yu."

The maid was startled, and rushed to help her, but she was afraid that her hands would be wet, and An Ran disliked her, so she was a little flustered for a while, this could not be blamed on this woman, when An Ran first came, she was still a handyman in the outside kitchen, They are also handymen, an outside kitchen and a large kitchen, but there is a difference of one day and one place, so they will not rush over to talk to An Ran.

But who would have thought that, in the blink of an eye, this girl would become a kitchen assistant, or Chef Zhao's assistant chef, and she jumped up to this position in a blink of an eye, not to mention that she is a handyman who can't be on the table in a big kitchen, but The steward, An Fu, has to be polite to An Ran.

This big kitchen is different from other places. It’s really nothing to be in charge of things. The chef is the master. Needless to say, Mr. Zheng, the two chefs Gao and Zhao are also the same masters. The two assistant chefs are amazing. Ah, it's better than the second fire and third fire in this big kitchen. When I left, Aunt Yu's eyes were still on the top of her head. When she came back and saw Aunt Liu, her back couldn't straighten up.

Speaking of which, Mrs. Liu in the outside kitchen is really lucky. How could she have caught such a capable daughter-in-law? Even if this girl gets a foothold in the big kitchen if she is next to Chef Zhao, the benefits of her being a mother-in-law will be less in the future. Come on, this is really 30 years in Hedong and 30 years in Hexi. No one knows when it will take advantage of the Dongfeng to fly.

Seeing the flustered appearance of this servant woman, An Ran couldn't help sighing secretly, this person's status is really important, in just a short while, from handyman to kitchen helper, the attitude of these women also made a 180-degree turn, but they only Pretending not to see, she asked, "Do you know where my godmother has gone?"

The old woman hurriedly said: "I know, I know, you have been away for a long time. When sister Yu came back, she saw your godmother standing here dryly. She was afraid that your godmother would be tired and that she was not busy with work today. So I called your godmother to sit in our house, let me watch you here, and guide you when you come."

An Ran couldn't help but glanced at those half-cleaned guys on the well platform, even though Chef Zhao left, the banquet in the garden was not over yet, there were two fires and three fires over there, and the cooks on the table were still busy The feet are not on the shoes, as long as the banquet in the garden is not over, the people from all walks of life in the big kitchen have to support them at any time. Although the errands in the big kitchen are lucrative and profitable, they are also the most tiring.

An Ran remembers that there was a very talented student in Anji Cooking School back then, whether it was the comprehension of cooking or the mastery of the fire, he was very good, he was a good seed of a top chef, and he even inspired himself .

Although An Ran took over the Anji Cooking School from her grandfather, she did not accept any apprentices. Even though she was recognized as a top chef, she felt that she was far behind To the standard of a master.

A good cook is not necessarily a good master, she is not sure of being a good master, and rashly accepting apprentices will only lead to misleading students, but that child moved her heart.

It's a pity that it didn't work out. The child dropped out of school halfway. I felt it was a pity, so I went to find him. The child bowed his head and said nothing, and finally said to her before leaving: "My father said that he beat father and scolded mother in his previous life. , Only in this life will you be punished to enter the kitchen, my father said that being a cook is the most useless, and said that if I insist on learning how to cook, I might as well sweep the streets."

An Ran was silent immediately, she couldn't say that the child's father was right, but she couldn't say that she was absolutely wrong either. Cooking is hard work, and it takes ten times and a hundred times the effort of others to practice. This is the basic skill, and the most important thing is cooking. Comprehension, if you don’t have comprehension, even if you study for 100 years, you will not be able to become a qualified chef. In the end, you can only do the most tiring job in your life with a meager salary.

Hearing that child's words, An Ran didn't keep him anymore. That child is not young anymore. If he really loves this profession, he won't drop out of school and change his future aspirations just because of his father's words. If he can change so easily, it shows that he is not sincere. I like this line of work. Grandpa said that the first thing to do in cooking is to put your heart into it. You can only do it well if you really like it. No matter how talented this child is, he has lost the most important thing, so it is not worth keeping.

And when I accepted Telford, I didn't know that he had the talent to cook, but his yearning and enthusiasm for cooking moved me. This line of work is hard work, but if you really like it, you can find it no matter how hard you work. pleasure.

However, this old man is really capable of tossing around. This Anfu is almost catching up with restaurants. There is a small banquet in three days, and a big banquet in five days. Isn't it serious to gather friends and friends to eat, drink and have fun, just soaking in the crowd of women in the backyard? What are you doing?Didn't it mean that Anjia's business is very big? Doesn't it matter that such a big business doesn't need to be managed? She has seen a few bosses of modern consortiums. They are so busy that they don't have time to eat. He has nothing to worry about, making the people below follow him too.

The maid who spoke to An Ran was named Zhang, and An Ran called her Aunt Zhang, and followed Aunt Zhang out of the big kitchen from the back, with several courtyards next to it.

Aunt Zhang pointed out to her one by one: "The farthest one over there, do you see it? It is the small courtyard facing a clump of bamboos in front of the door. It is the courtyard of Mr. Zheng, and the two chefs Gao Zhao are also in the courtyard. Well, the big housekeeper originally arranged for a boy to serve, but Mr. Zheng didn't want to use it. Usually, the two chefs, Gao Zhao, take turns in our big kitchen, and one of them always stays with the old man to serve him. Son, my son is nothing more than that."

An Ran said: "One day as a teacher and as a father for the rest of your life, this is what you should do."

Aunt Zhang hurriedly said: "That's right, it's better to have such two filial apprentices on the stall than to have many sons. The courtyard next to it is lived by the boys from the big kitchen. There are many people. It used to be noisy all day long, but later Mr. Zheng is here, and Manager An worked hard to rectify a few, and now it's quiet."

Pointing to the yard in front of them again: "This is where we live. There are not many people. Including the mountain willow before, there are only ten people. They usually live here, and they can only go home when they are on vacation. Speaking of the mountain willow Well, the house on the west is where Xiaoshuang and Shanliu live, you should move here now, I'll ask the two of you to move it here for you later, and it will save you the trouble of going back and forth."

An Ran hurriedly said: "An Ran thanked Aunt Zhang for her kindness, but I just told the steward that I will not move here for the time being."

Aunt Zhang was stunned: "Why is this? Our place is far better than the outside kitchen. There is a stove in the yard, which is close to the well platform. It is convenient for washing and washing. The house is also tight, and there is a heated kang to guard the big house. In the kitchen, there is no shortage of charcoal, so if it is full, it will burn for half a day, and it will be warm all night."

An Ran: "My godmother is in the kitchen outside. If I move here, I have to wait until I want to see my godmother. If I still live there, I can go there in the morning and evening."

Aunt Zhang said enviously: "Young lady is really a filial girl, Aunt Liu recognizes you as a goddamn girl, we all look envious of you."

An Ran smiled and said a few words politely, followed her into the yard, the yard was a foot larger than her own, and it was neatly tidied up, a shed was built in the corner of the yard, and a stove was set up to boil water, which is really true. Better than my own yard.

However, An Ran still likes her own small courtyard. The biggest advantage is that she only lives alone, so she can clean up even if it is not good. In order to cook something to eat, there is no need to go out to the kitchen, so it is better to have your own small courtyard.

Aunt Zhang led An Ran into the middle room on the left, and then went back.

As soon as An Ran entered the room, she saw Ganniang and Aunt Yu leaning on the kang, eating tea, eating melon seeds, and chatting. Seeing An Ran, Aunt Yu hurriedly jumped down: "I have been busy for a long time, the girl is tired. Come on, sit on the kang and have a good rest, our big kitchen is good, but the work is tiring."

An Ran smiled and shook her head: "I'm a junior, please sit down, Madam." Saying that, she moved a bench by herself and sat by the pit.

Aunt Yu and Aunt Liu laughed and said: "If you say that we old sisters have been mixed up to this day, you are still very lucky. You are so good at recognizing a goddaughter, and you will be left with a lot of blessings in the future."

Aunt Liu is really elated now. The anger that has been held back for many years finally came out today. At first, they were all serving in the yard of the old lady. After the old lady disappeared, they scattered everywhere. I count myself as the worst. After so many years, I have been an outside kitchen manager who can't get on the table and can't get oil and water.

I usually ask these old ladies, the face is not the face, the ass, the ass is not the ass, the ass can really suffocate people to death, but there is nothing wrong with being aggrieved, you are not as good as others, you have to ask others, they give you You have to keep up with all the expressions, now that the daughter-in-law has saved her life, Mrs. Liu is so open-minded, it's like eating a elixir.

Although he probably knew An Ran's craftsmanship, he never expected that he could become a helper once he entered the big kitchen. He was still the helper of Chef Zhao. Was it so easy to become a helper of Chef Zhao? There was such a dispute. A goddamn girl with a face, no matter where she goes in the future, her back can be straightened, let's see who dares to look down on herself.My heart is flattered, the more I look at An Ran, the happier I am.An Ran said a few words to Aunt Yu, and found an excuse to leave.

Aunt Yu went all the way to the gate of the courtyard, and seeing the two of them talking and laughing away, she couldn't help sighing, this person is really lucky, thanks to the fact that she had some friendship with Mrs. Liu in the past, she didn't tear herself apart, otherwise, today It's not easy to clean up.

Don't mention Aunt Yu's sighing and rejoicing for a while, let's talk about An Ran and his wife. On the way back, An Ran held his godmother's arm and talked about what happened today in detail.

After hearing this, Aunt Liu felt even more joyful, and patted her hand: "Girl, it's your luck. Not everyone can get a job by helping Chef Zhao, but you also need to be careful, don't worry. Offend people, this big kitchen is not as good as our outside kitchen, everyone has great connections, just take Aunt Zhang who just sent you here, you think she is just a handyman, but you don't know, she is Zhang Lao Liu, who is in charge of the garden Dear sister, Aunt Yu just now, her man Feng Lu is in charge of the Anji Restaurant outside, and..."

Aunt Liu was afraid that An Ran would be at a disadvantage if she didn't know the details, so she told An Ran about the backgrounds of the people in the big kitchen, and told her: "Be careful when dealing with people, even now you are Chef Zhao's assistant cook, are you a newcomer? Those who go, if you take Da, turn back and those people make a stumbling block, you will be doomed. Once you enter the big kitchen, the godmother will help you in the future, and she can't do her best. Everything has to be done. Rely on yourself, you need to remember that in this day and age, many favors are better than one enemy."

Aunt Liu babbled on all the way, An Ran was impatient at all, she listened carefully and kept it in her heart, she knew that the godmother only said these things for her own good and for her own sake.

While listening, she felt warm in her heart. This long-lost family affection is really precious. She secretly decided in her heart that she would treat Aunt Liu as her own mother from now on.

Thinking about it, she shouted: "Mother, I have written down what you said, don't worry, An Ran will be fine, and when I go out in the future, I will be filial to you."

Aunt Liu was taken aback, her eyes suddenly felt hot, she raised her hand and touched the corners of her eyes: "Okay, from now on, you are my mother's own daughter, and if you have time to turn around, let your father see your daughter, look at your two brothers." Look at your own sister."

An Ran nodded: "Well, An Ran made delicious food for Dad and Brother."

Aunt Liu laughed: "This is a blessing that they will never be able to make in eight lifetimes." The two mothers talked and laughed and went back to the outside kitchen.

The big guys heard that An Ran became Chef Zhao's helper, so there was no reason to be unhappy. Although he was not himself, but how can I say that An Ran is also a person who goes out of the kitchen, and is Aunt Liu's daughter-in-law, so she has a good relationship with them. If they can get ahead in the future, they will suffer no harm if they follow. The smiles on their faces are almost blooming, and they are clamoring for Liu Xi'er to drink, cook some dishes for An Ran's celebration and see him off at night.

But Aunt Liu stopped her, and gave Ma Dazu a look: "Just counting your noisy Huan, when will you fail to celebrate, what are you doing at this time, An Ran just went to the big kitchen, and she hasn't got a firm footing yet. Well, at this time, it is becoming more and more careless. After a good night's sleep at night, you will be able to support yourself tomorrow. I know you are greedy for alcohol again. If you are greedy, I still have half a jar left. You can drink it later. .”

Ma Dajiao laughed and said: "It's a good deal for me, I'll take it in a while." He took Aunt Jiao to discuss where to go to her for a drink at night.

Aunt Liu shook her head and sighed, remembering something, hurriedly pulled An Ran aside, and told her: "Don't touch alcohol."

Now thinking of the incident in West Corridor, An Ran still has lingering fears, how could she dare to drink, she nodded quickly: "Don't worry, mother, I will remember."

Looking left and right, he didn't see Defu, so he asked Liu Xi'er, "Where is Defu?"

Liu Xi'er pouted in the yard: "That's not it. As soon as I heard that my sister entered the big kitchen, this kid didn't know what to do. It's too late to be happy for such a big happy event, so this kid started to make a fuss."

"I'll go and see him." An Ran said and walked out.

Defu was squatting at the base of the wall in the yard, his head was sullen and he didn't know what to think, An Ran patted him, Defu stood up quickly, his simple face twitched, trying to show a smile: "Teacher, Fu, I'm not unhappy, really."

An Ran nodded: "I know, you are afraid that if I go to the big kitchen, I won't be able to ask you to cook in the future, right?"

Telford's face darkened, his head sullen and silent.

An Ran laughed, and couldn't help but patted his head: "Your brain is really a string, what am I afraid of when I go to the big kitchen, and you can go there later."

Defu stared blankly at An Ran, and it took him a long time to understand, his eyes lit up: "What the master said is true, I can also enter the big kitchen?"

An Ran nodded: "It should be possible, but it's not possible now, wait for the master to stand still, and then try to get you there, the big kitchen has a lot of ingredients, and the guys are complete, and I can teach you more dishes by then, However, when I’m gone, you can’t be lazy. You must practice knife skills. Knife skills are the basic skills of a chef. A chef’s knife skills are equivalent to laying the foundation for building a house. If the foundation is not well laid, even if the house is barely built, it will collapse. "

Defu said seriously: "Master, don't worry, I will practice knife skills every day when I have free time."

An Ran shook her head: "That's not necessary, what you do requires a combination of work and rest. In this way, you can set aside an hour every day to practice knife skills."

Defu nodded in agreement, but suddenly remembered something: "Master, if Lian'er comes to make dim sum again, the master is not here, and Defu may not be able to cope with this skill."

An Ran thought for a while: "In this month, I also taught you a few dim sum, our outside kitchen has limited ingredients, these few can almost handle her, no matter how complicated it is, she won't let our outside kitchen make it. After thinking about it, she remembered a simpler snack: "Miss Yue likes to eat dim sum filled with red bean paste. Master will teach you the same thing today, called red bean paste cake." Then, she followed Defu into the kitchen.

The red bean cake is simpler than other dim sum. It only uses spring roll oil skin, bean paste filling, fried sesame seeds, peanut kernels, and walnut kernels. An Ran likes to use peanuts.

Stir-fried peanuts are crushed, you can also add some cooked sesame seeds, the taste will be more sweet, add the bean paste filling and mix well, rub the mixed filling material tightly into the spring roll wrapper, roll it up, press it flat with a knife, Cut into pieces and fry in a pan.It's just that there is no ready-made spring roll skin in the kitchen, so it needs to be made now, which takes some time, and the rest is very trouble-free.

As soon as the bean paste cake was out of the pan, I heard Lian'er's voice from outside: "Oh, it's so fragrant, just smelling it, it arouses my greed."

(End of this chapter)