When everyone started eating lunch, they soon noticed that their lunch was different.
First, Liu Wanhua, after just taking a sip of the chicken soup, she could already tell the difference in taste. She could clearly taste that the noodles Lin Ruifeng made for her had a special flavor.
The overall taste is no different from Su Ji’s before, but there are slight differences in the seasoning.
He took a sip of the soup, then picked up the noodles and slurped them, then ate a mouthful of noodles.
When Liu Wanhua chewed the noodles mixed with the soup in her mouth, she felt a very refreshing sensation. She could drink the noodles and the soup in one go without chewing at all.
You can really just drink the noodles, and even though it’s chicken soup, it doesn’t leave that greasy feeling in your throat.
At the same time, there is a slight fragrance in the noodles, which is the aroma of raw wheat that Liu Wanhua likes very much.
After taking the first bite, Liu Wanhua said, "Well, it looks like Xiaolin put a lot of effort into this. This bowl of noodles must have been made with a mixture of several different flours. In order to highlight the wheat aroma in the noodles, you must have baked the flour to bring out the wheat aroma, and then kneaded the dough and rolled out the noodles, right?"
When Lin Ruifeng heard Liu Wanhua's words, he was a little surprised and said, "Grandma, did you figure this out by eating it?"
Liu Wanhua smiled and said, "Of course I can tell by eating it. Do you know why every time I go to Su Ji to eat noodles, your master always mixes the dough for me and then rolls out the noodles?"
Lin Ruifeng then recalled that every time Liu Wanhua came to eat noodles, they were indeed freshly hand-rolled by the master.
He was stunned for a moment and asked, "Grandma, did my master also use this method?"
Liu Wanhua nodded: "Yes, your master used a similar method to you, but the flour your master used was also different. He mixed in some raw wheat flour to increase the wheat flavor in the noodles. And his method really requires fresh hand-rolling."
At this point, Liu Wanhua took another sip of the soup and said, "Your bowl of chicken noodle soup, is this soup also seasoned?"
Lin Ruifeng nodded again: "Yes, if the chicken soup is used directly, it may be greasy, so I swept the soup a little, and I added some fish soup to the original chicken soup for seasoning."
Liu Wanhua smiled and said, "Sure enough, I was wondering why this chicken soup has a umami taste."
After taking another sip of soup, Liu Wanhua said affirmatively: "Not bad, Ruifeng, you have indeed made great progress. You have lived up to your master's teachings and have reached a certain level."
Lin Ruifeng felt very happy to receive Liu Wanhua's affirmation.
Fan Chaodong's comment followed: "Well, this plate of fried rice is a bit special. It still tastes like the kind of fried rice with distinct grains, but the texture is softer and stickier. And I don't feel it's greasy even after eating it till now."
After hearing what her husband said, Wang Cuifeng immediately said, "Yes, yes, this dish doesn't feel greasy to me."
Lin Ruifeng nodded and continued, "This is also an attempt I made today to solve the problem of over-oiling fried rice. Uncle Fan and Aunt Feng, do you think my solution is okay?"
Fan Chaodong took two more bites and asked, "You should first tell me how you solved it?"
Lin Ruifeng did not hide it: "I first reduced the oil, and then I added some apple juice when the fried rice was about to be served."
When Fan Chaodong heard this, he looked at Wang Cuifeng beside him.
Then Wang Cuifeng said, "Well, it is true that some lemon juice was added. Although this solves the greasiness problem, it also affects the overall taste of the fried rice. Have you ever thought about whether someone who likes spicy food can still eat a plate of fried rice like this?"
After hearing what Wang Cuifeng said, Lin Ruifeng instantly realized the problem.
Fan Chaodong even handed the uneaten part of his meal to Lin Ruifeng and asked him to taste it himself.
Lin Ruifeng used a clean spoon to taste the food himself. He soon discovered the problem. It was indeed less greasy, but the addition of apple juice made the rice a little soft, and the taste was also limited by the apple juice.
If you are someone who doesn't like sweet food, adding apple juice will have the opposite effect.
Lin Ruifeng suddenly felt a little disappointed and felt that his efforts had not really been successful.
But when Lin Ruifeng was feeling lost, Zhao Daxia and her two sons gave him encouragement.
Zhao Daxia said first: "Xiao Lin, I think the fried rice you gave me is delicious. My two sons like it too. Look, they have finished their meals."
The younger son gave Lin Ruifeng a thumbs-up before his elder brother: "Big brother's cooking is delicious."
The eldest son also said: "Brother Feng, your fried rice is really delicious. It tastes better than what my brother and I had over there last night."
Seeing that Zhao Daxia and her two sons liked it, Lin Ruifeng smiled and said, "Thank you for liking it. I asked about your tastes when we were having dinner this morning, and then I made some adjustments when I fried the rice at noon to make it more suitable for your taste."
Fan Chaodong asked curiously, "Ruifeng, how did you adjust them?"
Lin Ruifeng smiled and said, "Aunt Zhao and her two sons are from the north, and their tastes tend to be saltier, so I added a little bit of soup base to their fried rice to increase the saltiness of the fried rice. I didn't expect the effect to be so good."
Zhao Daxia said a little embarrassedly: "I came here, but I can't get used to Su Ji's dishes because I think the taste is too bland, as if there is no taste at all."
Hearing what Zhao Daxia said, Liu Wanhua immediately laughed: "Hahaha, it's true. Many dishes at Su Ji are cooked relatively lightly, so it's normal that you guys from the north can't eat it, Zhao Daxia. In fact, you can tell Yifan about this, and he should be able to adjust it for you."
Zhao Daxia quickly said: "I, I didn't say it, but the boss has already made adjustments."
Lin Ruifeng smiled and said, "Yes, Master later seasoned the food that he gave to Aunt Zhao every day to ensure that she was satisfied with the food."
Shen Qingluo said at this time: "In this case, then you should actually adjust the taste of your fried rice according to the needs of different diners? This way you can ensure that everyone likes the fried rice?"
Hearing this, Fan Chaodong, Wang Cuifeng and Liu Wanhua couldn't help laughing.
Liu Wanhua reached out and pulled Shen Qingluo and said, "Girl, you make it sound so simple. Xiaolin is already very busy setting up the stall, how can he adjust the taste according to everyone's preferences? If so, wouldn't he be exhausted? Don't you feel sorry for him?"
Shen Qingluo's cheeks turned red again in an instant, and then she threw herself into Liu Wanhua's arms like a spoiled child.
"Oh, Grandma Wanhua, why do you say that to me? I am still just friends with Xiaolin. Don't make fun of me all the time."
Liu Wanhua laughed when she saw this, and hugged Shen Qingluo and laughed too.
Wang Cuifeng took the opportunity to say, "Oh, I always thought that you and Xiaolin were a couple. Since you two are just ordinary friends, I will introduce Xiaolin to a girlfriend tomorrow. It just so happens that one of our customers has a girl who is about the same age as Xiaolin."
Hearing Wang Cuifeng say this, Shen Qingluo immediately raised his head from Liu Wanhua's arms.
But after looking up, she suddenly realized that she had been deliberately teased by Wang Cuifeng.
Shen Qingluo felt even more embarrassed and quickly shrank back into Liu Wanhua's arms.
When everyone saw this scene, they couldn't help laughing.
Wang Cuifeng didn't forget to ask, "How is it? How about you go and check on Xiaolin later, Xiao Shen? See if the one I introduced to Xiaolin is suitable?"
Shen Qingluo simply said angrily: "Okay, let's go."
Seeing this situation, Lin Ruifeng could only quickly say, "No, no, Aunt Feng, I already call you Auntie, please don't introduce me to anyone, Qing Luo and I are doing fine now, don't bother."
Wang Cuifeng smiled and said, "Okay, if you start calling me aunt and my husband uncle today, I'll know that you and Xiao Shen are close enough. I'm just saying it casually. How can I break you two up? If I really break you up, won't your master fight me when he comes back?"
When everyone was joking, Fan Chaodong suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, by the way, Ruifeng, you can actually try to add lemon juice to your fried rice."
Almost at the same time when Fan Chaodong said this, Feng Yifan, who was busy in the Feng family's kitchen in the countryside, finally told his wife a method to remove the greasiness of fried rice after much persuasion, and it was a very clever method.
"In fact, there are many ways to reduce the greasiness. The simplest way is to crush the orange peel and add it to the fried rice. This will reduce the greasiness of the fried rice. Pairing it with sour plums while cooking the rice will definitely have a good effect."
Su Ruoxi was a little surprised when she heard this: "Is it that simple?"
Feng Yifan smiled and nodded: "It's that simple, but you must use fresh orange peels, not tangerine peels. You can't use that directly, it will have a very strong bitter taste. And when using orange peels, you must clean the white part."
Su Ruoxi asked again: "Is there any other way?"
Feng Yifan went on to say: "There is another way, which is to make some changes to the meat. Since barbecued pork, roast goose, and roast duck are added to the fried rice, when the barbecued pork, roast goose, and roast duck are placed on the plate, add some lemon juice. A little bit can neutralize the greasiness of the meat."
After hearing her husband's method, Su Ruoxi was also surprised: "It turns out to be so simple?"
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "It's actually that simple. Every time I cook meat for you, I always add a little lemon juice to neutralize the greasiness."
Hearing her husband say this, Su Ruoxi recalled that every time her husband made dishes that were obviously greasy, they did not taste very greasy.
After her husband revealed the answer, Su Ruoxi finally understood that it was so simple.
But before Su Ruoxi was ready to go out and make the phone call, Feng Yifan grabbed his wife, held her in his arms and said, "You know the solution, but you can't tell it to Ruifeng. Let him study it himself and find a solution himself."
Su Ruoxi leaned in her husband's arms and said, "You are such a jerk. That person is your apprentice. Why can't you tell him?"
Feng Yifan sighed helplessly: "This is a test for him. If he can't even pass such a small test and still needs you to tell him the way, then he may not be suitable for the profession of chef. He needs to make some bold and creative attempts."
After hearing what her husband said, Su Ruoxi had no choice but to nod: "Okay, I'll listen to you and won't tell Xiaolin."
Seeing that his wife was not very willing to agree, Feng Yifan smiled and leaned over, intending to kiss his wife.
As a result, just as the couple was about to kiss, their daughter's voice suddenly rang out: "Mom and Dad, what are you doing? Oh, how can you do this in the kitchen? You don't even cook properly, you just kiss in the kitchen, Ruoruo is hungry."
Being bumped into by their daughter, the couple had to separate quickly.
Su Ruoxi walked over and hugged her daughter and said, "Okay, let's go out and let Dad cook well. We must let Dad make delicious food to compensate our Ruoruo."
Feng Ruoruo hugged her mother's neck and said to her father with a smile, "Dad, cook well."
Feng Yifan naturally smiled and nodded to his daughter and agreed: "Okay, Dad will definitely cook well."
Watching the mother and daughter leave, Feng Yifan felt helpless. His good relationship with his wife was ruined by his daughter. He could only cook well.
On the other side, in the Lin family shop, Lin Ruifeng also had an epiphany after hearing what Fan Chaodong said.
"Yes, yes, you can use lemon juice. Master once said that lemon juice is very good at neutralizing grease. Master also said that when you eat top-quality barbecue in foreign countries, it is often served with some lemon slices to dissolve the grease in the meat."
Fan Chaodong smiled and said, "Yes, that's the way. This is what Lao Yang made for me when I was having barbecue at his house before."
At this point, Wang Cuifeng suddenly said with a bit of sadness: "I wonder how Yang Zhigang is doing now?"
After hearing this, Liu Wanhua and Fan Chaodong also thought of Yang Zhigang.
It must be said that in this old street, there are only a few families with the best relationships, and Yang Zhigang is a very righteous person, so he has always had a good relationship with everyone. Even before Feng Yifan came back, the shop owners on the east side of the ancient street had always been headed by Yang Zhigang.
However, Feng Yifan's return changed everything, and Yang Zhigang was gradually no longer needed by everyone as before.
Now, Yang Zhigang has left the old street, which makes Fan Chaodong and Wang Cuifeng miss him very much.