Chapter 295: Chapter 294: Epic-Level Dishes
Jiang Feng’s Borscht Soup wasn’t technically Borscht Soup anymore.
The traditional way to make Borscht Soup should be: add water to the pot, and after the water boils, add beef, bay leaves, green onions, ginger, and cook over medium heat for an hour. Once the beef is tender, take it out to cool and dice into thumb-sized pieces, then fry the flour in the pot until it’s slightly yellow and aromatic.
Afterwards, add butter to the pan, heat until melted, and saute onions, ginger, garlic, and bay leaves until fragrant. Then, add ketchup, beef, tomatoes, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and water and bring to a boil. Finally, add a small amount of flour and various seasonings; when the sauce thickens, the soup is ready to serve.
But Jiang Feng’s method was to toss all the ingredients into the pot and stir-fry them over high heat before stewing them together.
So, Jiang Feng’s Borscht Soup could actually be renamed Ukrainian Mixed Stew.
Jiang Feng’s Ukrainian Mixed Stew took more time than the authentic Borscht Soup, because after all, the focus was on the stewing part.
The young man had already taken his white porridge back because of the sultry weather, and there weren’t many people in the small kitchen. Jiang Feng had encountered just a handful of people.
Besides the young man, the rest of the people in the kitchen were veterans in cooking porridge or making soups and didn’t give Jiang Feng the opportunity to proactively help them.
Only when Mrs. Qian’s Beef Stew with Carrots was almost ready and Jiang Feng’s Borscht Soup was about to be served, and the fried pork with sauce had been cooked and plated, did Jiang Feng fail to find a third “victim”…
Taste, to help out.
Seeing that Mrs. Qian’s Beef Stew with Carrots was about to be done, Jiang Feng called Jiang Shoucheng.
“Hey, Second Brother, are you free right now? I made Borscht Soup and fried pork with sauce. If you have time, I can bring it to you now,” Jiang Feng asked. “Ah, Little Brother, you’re still at the hospital?” Jiang Shoucheng was so shocked he even stopped chewing on his cured pig’s trotter.
“Didn’t I tell you yesterday? The shop is quite quiet these days, so I’ll come over to cook for you, right?” Jiang Feng said.
“Ah, did you say that? You didn’t, did you? No worries, I haven’t eaten yet. I just had some appetizers before I bring over the meal, we’re just hanging out here,” Jiang Shoucheng ignored the four servings of cured pig’s trotters and four servings of rice on the table and lied through his teeth.
“Alright, I’ll bring it over now,” Jiang Feng hung up the phone.
“Mrs. Qian, the beef should be ready by now. Please take the lid off and check,” Jiang Feng said.
“Sure.” Qian Lijuan, who had been guarding the beef in the small kitchen as if afraid something might go wrong, excitedly lifted the lid.
As the lid was lifted, the fragrance of Beef Stew with Carrots filled the small kitchen. The beef was tender, and the carrots cut with a rolling knife were sweet and flavorful. Picking up the beef with chopsticks, one could feel it trembling as if about to collapse under its own weight.
“Is this done?” Qian Lijuan couldn’t believe her eyes.
This Beef Stew with Carrots, which looked so delicious, had actually been made by her own hands!
“It’s done, turn off the heat,” Jiang Feng smiled.
Qian Lijuan turned off the heat and tasted a piece of the beef with chopsticks.
“Jiang, you’re amazing. This dish tastes as good as the one my husband makes!” “Ding! One dish completed, task progress (3/100).”
“Ding! Congratulations, player has acquired Qian Lijuan’s recipe: Beef Stew with Carrots.”
Acquired the recipe?! You can get recipes like this without reading them, just by learning through doing?!
Jiang Feng looked at Qian Lijuan, who was brimming with joy and about to carry the clay pot outside, and for a moment, he was filled with mixed emotions.
Had he just witnessed the birth of a recipe?
When Qian Lijuan left, there was only Jiang Feng left in the small kitchen. Without any hesitation, he directly opened his attributes panel.
Another name was now highlighted in the recipe section.
Qian Lijuan (1/1)
[Beef Stew with Carrots D Grade]
Creator: Qian Lijuan
Details of the dish: This is a very famous home-cooked dish, often found on family dinner tables, and holds beautiful memories for many. This dish should originally be called Carrot Beef Stew but has always been known as Beef Stew with Carrots due to Qian Lijuan’s family’s special name. Under Jiang Feng’s guidance, Qian Lijuan independently finished this dish that far exceeded her culinary skill level. Filled with love and concern for Zhuang Lin, along with other indescribable complex emotions, it has become an unforgettable dish in her life. Eating it grants the best luck for seven days within a year.
Number of times it can be made within 100 days (1/1)
Jiang Feng was speechless.
The number of times it could be made had been used up, indicating that the game acknowledged the dishes Qian Lijuan made under Jiang Feng’s verbal guidance also benefited from buff effects.
Such a divine dish that directly granted a luck buff, let alone being restricted to once every 100 days, even once a year would be enough to make people yearn.
Qian Lijuan said her husband had terrible luck, and it hadn’t been good for 50 years.
Eating this dish would be the luckiest moment he had in those 50 years.
Zhuang Lin, who was very lucky, had no idea he was about to eat the dish that would change his life.
Qian Lijuan carried the beef into the hospital room, where her mother-in-law was still there, peeling apples for Zhuang Lin.
“Mom, did you give all of yesterdays’ beef to the doctors and nurses?” Qian Lijuan asked.
“All of it. You made so much again today, oh, and I have something to tell you, come out for a sec,” her mother-in-law called her out.
Qian Lijuan followed her out of the room and made sure to close the door behind her.
“Lijuan, tell me the truth, how is my son really doing?” Qian Lijuan’s mother-in-law asked.
Qian Lijuan’s gaze shifted evasively, “Mom, why are you suddenly asking this? Isn’t Zhuang Lin just recovering slowly?”
“I just heard outside, the doctor was telling the patient in the next bed that his condition is very pessimistic, something about an infection of the wound or whatever; I didn’t really understand. He came in after Zhuang Lin, and he’s recovering better than Zhuang Lin. If his situation is so pessimistic, what about Zhuang Lin?”
“Lijuan, tell me the truth. I’ve been psychologically prepared since the three of them had that car accident. I am his mother; even if my son is going to pass away, I should know in advance,” Qian Lijuan’s mother-in-law’s voice choked.
“The doctor said whether Zhuang Lin can make it through these few days. As long as the infection doesn’t worsen in the next few days, he’ll be fine.”
“What if it worsens?”
“If it worsens, we’ll have to prepare for his funeral. It’s all up to his luck,” Qian Lijuan said softly.
Qian Lijuan’s mother-in-law wiped away tears, “I’ll go next door. You should wipe your tears, wash your face, and don’t let him see.”
Following her mother-in-law’s advice, Qian Lijuan washed her face and went back into the hospital room.
Zhuang Lin was already holding the bowl and had begun to eat by himself.
Qian Lijuan got anxious as soon as she saw him and scolded, “I told you, don’t move, don’t move. How many pieces have you eaten?”
“Just two pieces of carrot.”
Looking into his bowl, she indeed saw only carrots, no meat. She snatched the bowl and chopsticks from his hands and picked out two very tender pieces of beef from the clay pot.
“Did you make this Beef Stew with Carrots by yourself today?” Zhuang Lin asked.
“Yes, I did it all by myself. Jiang only gave me a few verbal pointers on the side!”
“Then this Jiang you’re talking about must be a very skilled chef, just a few pointers and this Beef Stew with Carrots is almost on par with mine,” Zhuang Lin said with a laugh.
“Have you had your porridge?” Qian Lijuan asked.
“Yes, Mom went to the cafeteria and bought some for me over half an hour ago. Darling, you make porridge for me tomorrow; the plain porridge from the cafeteria has no taste.”
“My plain porridge has taste? Cheeky! Fine, I’ll make it for you tomorrow,” a smile played at the corner of Qian Lijuan’s eyes.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Qian, may I ask about this Jiang you mentioned, is he your nephew or something?” A family member from the next bed inquired.
The patient in the next bed was surnamed Qin, who everyone called Qin. His daughter, a working professional, rarely had time to visit him, leaving him mostly in the care of a nurse. His daughter had a pretty name, Qin Weiwei.
“He’s Dr. Jiang’s cousin, the very robust Dr. Jiang. Jiang is a professional chef; it seems he’s off these days, so he came to cook for Dr. Jiang,” Qian Lijuan said. “Could you, perhaps, ask him to give me some guidance as well?” Qin Weiwei asked shyly, “I can’t cook, and seeing you make that Beef Stew with Carrots for Uncle Zhuang these past days, he got a bit jealous. He acts like a child when he’s ill, so I also want to cook something for him.”
Qian Lijuan thought about what her mother-in-law had said just outside the door; she could guess that Qin Weiwei wanting to cook for Qin wasn’t because of Qin throwing a tantrum, but because she knew Qin might not have much time left.
“Sure, I’ll take you to him tonight. If you’re too shy to ask, I’ll ask Jiang for you. He should be there this evening,” Qian Lijuan said.
“Thankyou, Mrs. Qian!”
“Oh, and can your dad eat beef? If so, I can also get some for your dad. The Beef Stew with Carrots I made today is really delicious, right, old Zhuang?” Qian Lijuan said.
“Yes, yes, yes, very delicious, just like what Uncle Zhuang would make!” Zhuang Lin enthusiastically agreed.
“Thank you, Mrs. Qian,” Weiwei said as she went to get some beef in her bowl..