Under the guidance of little Feng Ruoruo, mom and dad brought out dishes one after another.
As everyone saw more and more dishes on the table, Yue Qingsong and Hu Yan's families were a little surprised. They didn't expect Feng Yifan to prepare so many dishes this morning.
What surprised everyone even more was that each dish was beautifully presented. Even the big hotels outside might not be able to do this. It looked more like the dishes served at banquets shown on TV.
Ten dishes had already been served, and Hu Yan's father, as the oldest person present, finally couldn't help but speak.
"Yifan, are the dishes almost ready? There are so many dishes, we may not be able to finish them all."
Feng Yifan also smiled and said, "Well, the dishes have been served. There are ten dishes in total, which means that we can all be perfect. I also wish that the vegetable base in our village can be prosperous and perfect."
Yue Qingsong's mother heard this and said, "Okay, this is a good implication."
But at this time, Feng Yifan brought up another pot of soup.
Without waiting for anyone to speak, he smiled and said, "This is an appetizer soup before the meal. It's a bit lighter. Let's try it first to see if it suits your taste."
After listening to what Feng Yifan said, Feng Jiandong also said, "Okay, your dishes have been served, you and Ruoxi should sit down too."
Feng Yifan then took his wife and sat down near the door.
Feng Ruoruo was originally with her grandmother, but when she saw her parents sitting near the door, the little girl wanted to go to her parents.
Grandma noticed this and smiled and whispered to her granddaughter, "What's wrong? You want to go to mom and dad's place, right? You don't want to sit with grandma anymore. You promised grandma that you would sit with grandma after the dishes are served."
When Feng Ruoruo heard what her grandmother said, the little girl thought for a moment and said, "Okay, then Ruoruo will sit with grandma today."
Lu Cuiling was very happy and picked up her granddaughter and placed her on her lap.
Seeing this, Su Ruoxi said, "Mom, put Ruoruo on the chair next to you. You can't eat well if you hold her like this."
When Feng Ruoruo heard what her mother said, she suddenly said coquettishly, "No, Ruoruo wants grandma to hold her, otherwise mommy will hold Ruoruo."
Su Ruoxi pouted at her daughter: "I don't want to hug you, you're so heavy."
Feng Ruoruo was immediately unhappy: "Ah, Mom, you are wrong, you can't say that to Ruoruo."
Su Ruoxi responded with a smile: "Is there anything wrong with what I said? You are eating with your father every day now, and you are almost becoming a little fat girl."
Feng Ruoruo immediately yelled, "No, Ruoruo is not a little fat girl. She doesn't like her mother."
The bickering between mother and daughter also made everyone laugh.
Su Jinrong smiled and said, "Okay, stop bickering. We are all gathered together. Let's raise our glasses together to thank my in-laws for arranging such a nice place for us, and also to thank Brother Hu, sister-in-law, and the old sister-in-law of the Yue family for coming to visit us."
After hearing Su Jinrong's words, everyone immediately raised their glasses.
Even Feng Ruoruo and Yue Qihao raised their glasses.
Hu Yan's father said, "In fact, we should thank you. Brother Su, you have taught a good apprentice like Yifan. Otherwise, how could we have such a good meal today?"
Yue Qingsong's mother said: "Hahaha, we are happy today, let's drink."
Everyone raised their glasses together, without deliberately clinking them together, but just for the sake of clinking them on the table, and then drank the first glass of wine together.
After drinking, Yue Qingsong glanced at his son sitting next to him.
"What did you drink, you little brat? There are so many grandparents here today, why don't you pay for them all with a drink?"
Yue Qingsong's mother heard this and said, "Qingsong, don't let Haohao drink. He's still a child, why would he drink alcohol?"
Before anyone could speak, Feng Ruoruo rushed to say, "Uncle Yue, children can't drink alcohol."
Feng Yifan heard his daughter talking and said to his childhood friend, "Listen to my daughter. Don't let children drink."
Seeing everyone saying so, Yue Qingsong nodded and said, "Okay, I was just joking, I wouldn't really ask my kid to drink."
In order to ease the awkwardness of his childhood friend, Feng Yifan stood up and said, "Okay, the first glass of wine has been drunk, I will make soup for everyone. First, you have to drink my bowl of soup, and then you can eat the vegetables and taste whether my soup is just right today."
Feng Yifan first served soup to Hu Yan's parents, and then served a bowl to Yue Qingsong's mother.
After that, it was his father-in-law and parents, then Hu Yan and Qi Yan respectively, then his wife and two children, and finally himself.
Everyone waited until Feng Yifan had served the soup before they started to taste Feng Yifan's soup together.
The soup is very clear, but smells like chicken soup.
There wasn't much in the soup, just some bamboo shoots, green vegetables, and tofu shreds cut into matchsticks.
Everyone scooped up the soup with a small spoon and drank it into their mouths.
The soup is not very thick and the taste is a little light, but the soup is slightly salty and has a hint of sourness, which stimulates everyone's tongue.
After drinking a bowl of clear soup, you will feel very refreshed, and at the same time, saliva will be secreted and the gastrointestinal tract will begin to move.
It seemed as if my appetite was suddenly whetted by this ordinary bowl of soup.
After finishing the bowl of soup, Feng Yifan smiled and said, "Everyone, pick up your chopsticks and try my dish."
Hu Yan's father put down the bowl and subconsciously picked up the chopsticks in front of him.
This subconscious thought surprised Hu Yan's father. He didn't rush to pick up the food, but looked at Feng Yifan and asked, "Yifan, your bowl of soup is very good. I feel like drinking this bowl of soup makes me want to eat vegetables, just like I suddenly have an appetite."
When others heard this, they all agreed.
Su Jinrong smiled and said, "This is the purpose of the first soup of the banquet. It is not to let everyone taste the delicious food all at once, but to play a guiding role, to open everyone's appetite, and then they can enjoy the delicious food. So you see, the first soup has been drunk up."
Everyone stretched their heads to look, and sure enough, the big bowl of soup was almost empty.
Hu Yan's father thought for a moment and asked, "Brother Su, Yifan's ability to control the soup so that everyone has a bowl is also considered a skill, right?"
Su Jinrong smiled and nodded: "Yes, this is the ability of a top chef. You have to control the amount of ingredients and have a measure in mind. How many people are eating, how much ingredients you need to prepare, and how big a dish you want to make. You have to know all these things in your mind and not waste too much ingredients."
After listening to Su Jinrong, everyone had a new understanding of Feng Yifan's cooking skills.
Seeing that everyone was listening attentively, Su Jinrong pointed at the dishes on the table and said, "Okay, everyone, eat first."
Then everyone started to pick up their chopsticks and taste the ten dishes on Feng Yifan's table.
Although there were only ten dishes, each plate was quite large, plus there were six cold dishes, so the dishes on the table were really rich.
Hu Yan's mother picked up the dish on the plate in front of her, took a look and couldn't tell what it was.
Then she put it in her mouth and took a bite. Hu Yan's mother exclaimed: "Oh, this is actually Chinese cabbage?"
Feng Ruoruo, who was sitting in her grandmother's arms, immediately said, "Grandma, that's pickled cabbage."
Upon hearing this, Hu Yan's mother picked up another piece and held it in front of her to examine it carefully: "Oh, this pickled cabbage is really well made. I couldn't even tell it was pickled cabbage. It tastes good too, sour but crispy. It's really different from what we make at home."
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "Actually, this dish is very simple."
Feng Yifan then quickly introduced the production process.
When choosing Chinese cabbage, choose the stalks close to the center, which are relatively tender, and then cut them into thin slices.
Then before cooking, add salt to kill the moisture of the cabbage.
Feng Yifan smiled and said: "Before frying, prepare a bowl of sauce. That is, put some seasonings in a bowl and mix them in advance. Generally, there are about 80 grams of vinegar, 60 grams of soy sauce, and then some sugar to combine the taste of vinegar. Finally, add corn starch to make the sauce."
Listening to Feng Yifan talk about how to stir-fry this dish of pickled cabbage with vinegar broadened everyone's horizons and they discovered that such a dish actually requires so much attention to detail.
Put the chili segments into the hot oil pan first, fry until they change color, then add the garlic slices.
Feng Yifan reminded him, "Don't add onions or ginger, as that will affect the taste of the dish. Sliced chili peppers and garlic are enough."
After stir-frying until fragrant, pour the drained cabbage into the pot and stir-fry.
Feng Yifan reminded again: "The cabbage should be stir-fried until it starts to turn transparent. Then pour the bowl of sauce into the pot. Don't stir-fry it in a hurry. Wait for the sauce to slowly boil, then stir-fry it again, so that the sauce is evenly coated on each piece of cabbage, and then serve it on a plate."
After listening to Feng Yifan's story, everyone present was a little surprised.
It doesn't sound difficult, but every detail is very important, and it is because of these details that this dish of pickled cabbage tastes great.
Lu Cuiling listened to her son and said, "Okay, okay, look at you, you keep talking and talking, are you going to let us eat? Don't listen to him, eat quickly, eat more of your hard dishes, like the meatballs, the beef, and the braised fish."
After looking around, Lu Cuiling pointed to a dish and said, "This is good. Everyone, eat more of this. Roasted chicken with chestnuts."
When Feng Ruoruo heard her grandmother say that, she immediately raised her hand and said, "Grandma, then Ruoruo wants to eat that."
Lu Cuiling immediately picked up a piece of chicken for her granddaughter in her arms.
Feng Ruoruo then pointed at the chestnuts in the pot and said, "Grandma, Ruoruo wants to eat chestnuts."
Lu Cuiling picked up another chestnut for her granddaughter, put it in the small bowl and said, "You little thing, you have a lot of demands. Isn't chicken delicious? You must eat chestnuts."
Feng Ruoruo scooped up the chestnuts with a small spoon, put them in her mouth and slowly chewed the soft and glutinous chestnuts.
The chestnuts have been cooked until they are very soft and have absorbed the chicken soup, and they taste really good.
"Hehehe, because chestnuts are delicious, grandma, please give me some more."
While Lu Cuiling picked up another piece for her granddaughter, she said, "Chestnuts are delicious, but you can't eat too many of them. If you eat too much, your stomach will feel bloated and uncomfortable."
At this time, Yue Qihao, who was sitting not far away, was eating the beef in front of him with big mouthfuls.
Seeing his son eating, Yue Qingsong couldn't help but say, "Can't you eat slower? No one is trying to snatch the food from you."
Yue Qihao raised his head and said, "Dad, this beef made by Uncle Feng is delicious. It doesn't get stuck in your teeth at all. It's not like the last time you made it. I couldn't chew it, and the meat got stuck in my teeth."
Yue Qingsong was a little helpless when his son said this: "That's because the beef Dad bought was not good."
Feng Yifan said at this time: "Qingsong, it's not the beef's problem, it's your cooking method that's wrong. You cooked the beef too well, so it's hard to chew and it gets stuck in your teeth."
Feng Yifan then told his childhood friend some recipes for different parts of beef.
Which parts are suitable for cooking and which parts are not suitable for cooking.
"You have to remember that the beef needs to be blanched before stewing, but you must not use hot water to blanch it. Put it in cold water and add some green onions, ginger, and rice wine. Then, during the blanching process, you must skim off the foam in time. After it boils, add cold water a few times to smash it, and then skim off the floating foam."
When Feng Yifan talked about the details of cooking, everyone listened very seriously and felt that these were solid stuff.
"After the foam is almost cleared, you can add a piece of star anise to cook it for a while to bring out the flavor, then remove the star anise. Don't keep it in to cook."
Feng Yifan further explained: "After that, you don't need to add spices when braising."
The next part, the braised dish, is not much different from most home-cooked braised dishes.
Feng Yifan finally added: "If you have a pressure cooker at home, you can actually skip the stewing process and use the pressure cooker to press it. This way the food will be softer and more flavorful."
After listening to Feng Yifan's home-made braised beef, Yue Qingsong really learned something.
Yue Qingsong listened and said, "Okay, I'll take note of it and make it for my little brat next time I get home."
At this time, Yue Qihao suddenly said: "You don't have time to make it. Grandma and mom always make it. You only made it that one time, and it wasn't tasty."
Yue Qingsong felt helpless as his son ruthlessly revealed his true colors.
Qi Yan spoke up to excuse her husband: "Haohao, you can't say that about Dad. Your dad has to go out to do transportation and delivery. How can he have time to cook for you at home? We have to support Dad's work. Without Dad's hard work outside, how can our family let you eat beef?"
After being taught a lesson by his mother, Yue Qihao bowed his head and admitted his mistake to his father beside him.
"Dad, I know you've worked hard. I will study hard and try to get into a good university. Then I can make money to buy delicious food for you and mom."
At this point, the boy looked at his grandmother and said, "And grandma."
Hearing the boy's words, Yue Qingsong, his wife and mother were all very moved.
Yue Qingsong patted his son's head and said, "Good boy, now that you have said this, all my hard work over the years has paid off."
Seeing this, Feng Yifan raised the cup in his hand and said, "Okay, let's all toast to the Qingsong family and wish our classmate Yue Qihao can achieve his dream."
Afterwards, everyone raised their glasses together, and Feng Ruoruo even clinked glasses with her brother and said, "Come on, brother Haohao."