Sweet Nostalgia of the 80s-Chapter 89: A Display of Culinary Skills

She was speaking when the voice of Chief Zhang came from the outer room, "Can’t you change it up a bit? All you ever make is clear-broiled fish and tofu soup. I’m sick of it!"

Zhang Lanxiang, upon hearing this, placed her hands on her hips and walked out of the kitchen, glared at Zhang Jianguo, and said, "What do you think we should eat then? Spring is the time when nothing’s quite in season. What other vegetables do we have? Isn’t it enough to have tofu, fish, and meat?"

Jianguo, always a doter of his wife, saw that his wife was about to lose her patience and smiled as he said, "What I meant was that you could try different cooking methods! After all, we must always learn to innovate!"

"I can’t do it!" Zhang Lanxiang glared at him fiercely, "The few dishes I make are presentable, but I can’t say the same for the rest! Even if you want innovation, it won’t be today! What if it doesn’t turn out tasty and Qin Jian and An Hao are left hungry?"

"Okay, okay, okay! Wife, you’re right! Whatever you cook, we’ll eat," said Jianguo, conceding defeat. Watching Zhang Lanxiang turn around and leave, he said to Qin Jian with a smile, "That’s just how your sister-in-law is! It’s all my fault for spoiling her!"

Qin Jian’s lips twitched slightly, a smile lingering in his eyes.

In the kitchen, An Hao overheard the commotion outside. Thinking that since Chief Zhang didn’t want to eat the same old dishes, she could change up the menu.

In her previous life, she hadn’t exactly been a novice at cooking. Having the ingredients made switching things up easy!

Zhang Lanxiang started steaming the rice in the pot.

An Hao skillfully prepared the fish, with green onions, ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise all ready. She planned to make sweet and sour carp; the sweet-and-sour flavor would be rich and make for a perfect accompaniment to rice.

After marinating the fish briefly, she used less oil than usual to fry it in the pan. Normally, sweet and sour fish would be deep-fried, but in these times of scarcity, a twenty-pound bucket of peanut oil was what an average household would use for half to a full year, so she needed to conserve.

After frying the fish, she poured the pre-mixed sauce into the pot and started to simmer it slowly.

When the sauce had almost reduced completely, she added a bit of water mixed with cornstarch, locking in the remaining flavor of the sauce, and the sweet-and-sour aroma instantly filled the air.

Zhang Lanxiang, standing by, found the scent irresistible and moved in closer to see that the fish’s appearance and aroma were both incredibly tempting.

"An Hao, you’re really something! This could compete with dishes from big restaurants," she said.

"You flatter me, sister-in-law!" An Hao said with a smile, as she neatly placed the fish onto a plate and began to prepare the next dish.

The tofu was made into a mildly spicy minced meat tofu dish, she stir-fried some green onion and egg, and the shredded potatoes were dressed with vinegar. In no time, An Hao had all the dishes expertly prepared. She added some water to the pot and made a radish and meat soup.

Watching from behind, Zhang Lanxiang was struck dumb; despite her lifetime spent cooking, she found herself outclassed by a young girl.

The aroma of the food from the kitchen wafted out, causing the two men playing chess in the living room to pause.

"Your sister-in-law must be cooking up a storm today, that smell alone tells me that today’s meal will be delicious," Jianguo was saying when Zhang Lanxiang cheerfully came out carrying the dishes.

Qin Jian rose to set the table, as four dishes and a soup were brought to the table.

An Hao brought out four bowls of white rice and placed them in front of everyone, sitting down with a bright smile.

"Sister-in-law, the meal looks great today." Qin Jian had eaten at her house many times but had never seen her showcase such a high level of culinary skill.

"Yes, these potato strips are cut really well." Chief Zhang picked up a strip with his chopsticks, noting that each cut was perfectly even. Without proper knife skills, such precision was impossible.

Having lived with Zhang Lanxiang for half a lifetime, he had never seen her cutting with much finesse on a regular day.

As Chief Zhang pondered this, his wife began to giggle, pointing at An Hao, "It was all An Hao’s doing, I just stood by watching with my own two eyes for a while."