Chương 77: [A Pot of Near-Perfect Brine]

The aluminum pot was too big; pouring in this jar of over twenty catties of old brine only filled about 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 pot contained about half a bucket of brine. However, with the addition of the two jars of water, the originally bright red color of the old brine was diluted considerably.

"This time we have over twenty catties of old braising liquid as a base, so we 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 clean water." Zhou Yan had already taken out his notebook and was scribbling notes on the paper, while casually asking, "What if the broth gets diluted and the color becomes lighter?"

"You start the fire first, then add color." Zhou Yan immediately turned the charcoal fire in the stove next door, added a handful of straw, fanned it a couple of times, and the flames immediately leaped up. He then stuffed in two pieces of oak wood.

"One is enough. You can't boil the meat over high heat, otherwise the moisture will evaporate quickly, causing too much loss to the braising liquid, and the braising liquid will easily turn black," the old lady said after glancing at it. Zhou Yan immediately retrieved a piece of oak wood and made a note in his notebook.

"Bring me the jar you just brought in." Zhou Yan turned around, picked up the jar, and opened the lid. Inside was a bright red, viscous syrup that 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 the braising liquid, not soy sauce, otherwise the color of the braising liquid will become 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, and the braising oil spread out, revealing the light reddish-brown braising liquid.

"Use the spoon to add caramelized sugar until it's the same color as the braising liquid you brought back yesterday. Then the color will be corrected." Zhou Yan nodded and began to add caramelized sugar to the pot spoonful by spoonful. As the water temperature rose and with the slow stirring, the originally light color of the braising liquid began to turn bright red, becoming closer and closer to the original color of the old braising liquid.

Recently, Zhou Yan had mastered several dishes, which greatly improved 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, put the spoon back in the earthenware pot, and looked at the old lady. The old lady nodded and said, "Not bad, your eyes are very accurate. That's about the right color. Use this standard for color adjustments from now on. The braised meat will have a beautiful, bright red color and taste great."

"A chef like me 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 more 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 his notebook. An hour later, the braising liquid was boiling.

The oak wood in the stove had been removed, and the color of the braising liquid was very close to the old braising liquid Zhou Yan had brought yesterday. The aroma of braising filled the entire kitchen; even a leather belt would taste amazing if you threw it in! [A near-perfect pot of braising liquid] A note popped up in Zhou Yan's eyes. That's right, even the system gave it a very high rating!

"Grandma, we're really amazing." Zhou Yan said sincerely to the old lady. What Comrade Zhang Shufen said was indeed true. The best braising liquid in Suji... no, no, it should be the best braising liquid in Jiaozhou, truly deserving of the title!

"Hmm, you've got some skill too." The old lady nodded with a smile. She was quite satisfied with Zhou Yan's performance today, much better than his mother. Back then, she had also thought about teaching Zhao Tieying how to make braising liquid. This daughter-in-law was efficient and organized, but she really didn't have any talent for making braising liquid. She couldn't even control the amount of salt when seasoning, so she had to give up in the end.

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"How about we get a pig's head to braise?" Zhou Yan asked eagerly, looking at the perfect pot of braising liquid. The old lady smiled and shook her head: "Don't mess around if we're not selling today. We're having a banquet tomorrow, how are we going to eat a pig's head?"

"That's true." Zhou Yan nodded, and then, speaking of the banquet, he laughed: "The cold dishes braised by the local cooks definitely won't taste as good as the ones I braise with this liquid. After all, this is the Zhang family's best braised food tradition in Suzhou. It's a pity I haven't had the chance to show it off to the guests."

"You're always so cunning." The old lady smiled and rolled her eyes at him.

"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 if it's 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. I'll buy you all the wine you drink from now on.

I'll get you six catties of the best wine from Old Zhang every month."

"You've got quite a few tricks up your sleeve. Endorsing you isn't a bad idea, but I don't want the wine. 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 badly and still say you're my apprentice, wouldn't that ruin my reputation? I don't want to be gossiped about even when I'm lying on my back."

Zhou Yan stopped laughing. The word "inheritance" seemed to become particularly heavy at this moment. The old lady's skill had once supported her entire family, enabling her four sons to marry and have children, yet she hadn't passed 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 lady 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, saying he wanted to learn. Perhaps from that day on, she had been seriously considering it. Once she made up her mind, she poured half of her treasured old braising liquid and gave 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. There was nothing inherently wrong with this approach; otherwise, Zhou Erwa's restaurant would have failed and never been able to revive. But the old lady's words instilled in him a sense of awe for the concept of inheritance. This wasn't just a slogan.

Nor should it be a mere code for generating traffic. He should be inheriting the skills his grandmother passed down from her grandfather—the unforgettable taste and the absolutely responsible attitude towards customers.

"Grandma, I understand. I won't say you taught me until you approve of my braised dishes," Zhou Yan solemnly promised.

"I won't teach others casually in the future, unless I find a talented and reliable apprentice." The old lady smiled and nodded, "I'm relieved to hear that." Next, the old lady explained the braising time and techniques for various braised dishes in detail, which Zhou Yan meticulously recorded.

"Vegetables absolutely cannot go into the braising pot, otherwise the whole pot of braising liquid will be ruined. If you want to braise vegetables, take ten catties of braising liquid separately from the pot, then add water and seasoning. Vegetables don't need that much salt; braise them at most twice, then discard the braising liquid."

"Ingredients with strong flavors, like pork intestines and offal, should also be braised separately, otherwise they will mix up the flavors of the old braising liquid."

"Braised beef..." Zhou Yan's notes filled five or six pages.

"Just writing it down won't do any good. Next time you start braising, let me know in advance. I'll supervise you for the first time, starting with avoiding mistakes," the old lady said leisurely.

"Okay, I'll start braising next Monday, beginning with pig heads. What do you think?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at the old lady.

"I think that's a good idea." (End of Chapter)