Is the beginning of a catastrophe? The little farm cook is raising a family with a full warehouse.

Seeing that she couldn't get any useful information, Cheng Yuntao simply stopped thinking about it and just cooked a table of standard dishes. She didn't ask for anything fancy, just to make sure there were no mistakes.

Although she won by chance last time with down-to-earth dishes like Wild Vegetable Wo Wo, she did not think that was a long-term solution.

There are two people dining at today's dinner. It is obvious that Boss Ji has invited guests, but he dare not be clever or take shortcuts at this time. He also needs to spend more time on the selection of ingredients and the presentation of various dishes.

It's still early, so Cheng Yuntao plans to make cold dishes first.

Leaving cold dishes for a while after they are made will not affect the taste. On the contrary, it will make some pickled cold dishes more flavorful. It can also save time for the preparation of subsequent hot dishes, soups, etc.

For the cold dishes for tonight's dinner, she has tentatively decided on crystal sashimi, snow-white soup, and fine-grained steamed buns.

Crystal sashimi is made with pork rind or fish, simmered for a long time to dissolve the collagen, then cooled and solidified into a jelly-like texture. The resulting dish is translucent, like crystal, with a smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture. It's often served with ginger vinegar for a refreshing and refreshing alternative.

Xuexia soup is based on hibiscus flowers and tofu. The hibiscus petals, with their elegant pink or white color, complement the pure white tofu with a refreshing color. Cooking the hibiscus flowers together, the fragrance of the flowers blends into the tofu, giving the dish a unique flavor with the tenderness of the tofu and the delicate fragrance of the flowers.

Xiliao xiaomao (fine-grained xiaomao) is a dish similar to wontons, but more elaborately prepared. A delicate filling is wrapped in a thin, chewy dough wrapper, resulting in a small, delicate shape. The filling is typically a blend of various meats and spices, resulting in a rich, flavorful dish. Once cooked, xiaomao can be served cold, topped with a special sauce, and sprinkled with chopped green onions, sesame seeds, and other ingredients for a fragrant and delicious dish.

Seeing her start to work, Erya followed her like a little tail, waiting to be ordered at any time. As long as Cheng Yuntao turned around, she could accurately meet a pair of bright eyes, which made people laugh.

"Miss Cheng, what should I do now? Should I wash the vegetables first or burn the firewood first?"

After thinking for a moment, Cheng Yuntao pointed to a piece of fresh pig skin and said to Erya, "First, clean the hair off this piece of pork skin carefully, and then use a knife to scrape off the fat inside."

Erya nodded quickly, picked up the pork skin, and began to clean it with full concentration. Her hands were busy and her mouth was busy too. "Miss Cheng, when it comes to making delicious dishes, which is more important, the ingredients or the seasoning?"

"Ingredients and seasonings are like a person's two legs; both are important and neither can be missing. Good ingredients are the foundation; their texture, taste, and flavor determine the bottom line of the dish."

Cheng Yuntao wanted to tell Erya more about the secrets, so she continued to talk about it using this topic.

"Everything in the world, whether it's birds or beasts, or plants or flowers, has its own unique qualities. Just as a person's intelligence or stupidity is largely determined by innate talent, some are born dull, and even the personal instruction of a sage is unlikely to lead to significant improvement. It's like cooking: if the ingredients are of poor quality, even the chef's meticulous preparation will still yield a bland dish."

"There are many tricks to choosing ingredients in daily life. Take pork, for example: thin-skinned pork is often more tender and is ideal for cooking. If pork has a strong fishy smell, even the most skilled chef will find it difficult to transform it into a mouth-watering delicacy. Choosing chicken is also very important. Fat, tender, and castrated chickens are the best choice, as they are tender, juicy, and have an excellent taste. Over-old chickens have tough, coarse fibers that make them difficult to chew; and under-sized chickens lack meat and are not as satisfying to eat, making them unsuitable for cooking."

While carefully scraping the pork skin, Erya pricked up her ears and listened attentively, nodding from time to time, her eyes full of curiosity and concentration, afraid of missing any word.

"Maw fish are best when they are long and flat with a white belly. Black-backed crucian carp, on the other hand, have thick spines that look stiff on the plate, making them unattractive and taste poor. Eels from lakes and streams are the best, with firm and chewy texture. Eels from the Yangtze River have a spine as complex as a tree branch, and their taste and quality are slightly inferior."

"Ducks carefully fed with grains usually grow plump and strong, with flesh as white as jade. Soups made with this kind of duck meat are rich and flavorful, and dishes are tender and tasty. Among bamboo shoots, the whip-shaped bamboo shoots, grown in fertile soil, are truly exceptional. Their short internodes and sweet, fresh flavor bring out the natural flavor of the ingredient, making them an excellent choice for cooking, whether stir-fried, stewed, or served cold."

"Even the same ingredient can vary greatly in quality. Take ham, for example. High-quality ham has a firm texture, distinct lines, and a fragrant, intoxicating aroma when cut. Low-quality ham, on the other hand, has a loose texture, a bland aroma, and a vastly different taste. Even fish beetles, also produced in Taizhou, vary greatly in quality. Some are tender and juicy, melting in your mouth, while others are rough and taste like chewing wax."

Cheng Yuntao pointed at the pork skin in Erya's hand and said, "Look at this piece of pork skin you cleaned. If it's not clean and has hair and fat on it, the crystal minced meat you make will definitely have a strange taste."

Erya nodded thoughtfully, cleaning the pork skin more carefully. "Miss Cheng, where's the seasoning?"

Cheng Yuntao neatly placed the prepared dishes in porcelain bowls beside them and continued, "Seasonings are like the soul of a dish. The right seasoning can bring out the flavors of the ingredients themselves and add new flavors. The key to cooking is to flexibly apply seasoning and cooking methods based on the characteristics of the ingredients."

"Different ingredients require different ways to add water and wine. Some dishes are best cooked with both wine and water, allowing the blend to enhance the aroma and flavor of the ingredients. Others require only wine, using its richness to remove any fishy odors and add a unique flavor. Still others require only water to preserve the ingredients' original freshness."

"When it comes to seasoning with salt and soy sauce, there are many options. Some dishes are best suited to using both salt and soy sauce, allowing the salty and soy sauce flavors to blend together and add a rich layer of flavor. Others require only soy sauce, leveraging its color and rich flavor to enhance the dish. Still others use only salt to highlight the natural flavors of the ingredients, allowing the saltiness to perfectly enhance the umami flavor of the ingredients."

Erya was so fascinated by what she heard that her hand movements unconsciously slowed down.