The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

"Malatang?" This was the first time Li Xiaoyu had ever heard of it.

Shen Cao first washed the prepared seasonings and set them aside.

Then I heated a small pot of rapeseed oil.

Add the sliced ​​onions, chopped scallions, and washed cilantro with roots to the oil in the pan.

Once the onions turn translucent, add sliced ​​ginger and various spices.

Simmer the flavored oil over low heat.

After about an incense stick's time, when the onions inside turn golden brown, remove all the ingredients.

The seasoned oil is now ready.

Shen Cao prepared a large basin and put the previously pressed non-spicy chili powder into it.

The chili powder has a layer of white sesame seeds on the surface and a little salt.

Use a spoon to scoop a spoonful of the seasoned oil into the bowl containing the chili powder.

As soon as the hot oil comes into contact with the chili powder, the high temperature of the oil immediately brings out the aroma of the chili.

Shen Cao said, "You have to be careful in this step. You have to pour the oil on while stirring to prevent the chili powder from burning."

I scooped about five or six spoonfuls of the seasoned oil into the chili powder, and the originally dry chili powder became incredibly shiny.

Even the yellow cooking oil turned into bright red oil.

The surface of the chili oil is covered with white sesame seeds, which looks very appetizing.

"This is chili oil."

"Master, what is chili pepper?"

Shen Cao almost forgot that chili powder is not yet widely available, and she had to ask the village chief and others to grow it for her.

She immediately began to explain to Li Xiaoyu.

"Chili peppers are a type of vegetable that came from a vassal state."

"It's green when it first ripens and can be used in cooking."

"Once they are fully ripe, they will turn red. After drying, they can be ground with a millstone to make chili powder."

"You'll understand as you see more of this in the future."

"There are spicy and non-spicy chili peppers. I'll teach you how to tell the difference when they're ripe next year."

"The chili oil we make is made from non-spicy chilies."

"It looks bright red, but it's not spicy at all; it mainly serves to enhance the aroma."

Li Xiaoyu nodded, seemingly understanding.

"You just need to remember the purpose of this chili oil."

"You can add a little bit when making cold dishes to enhance the flavor."

"You can add a little bit when you eat to enhance the flavor of the food."

"Master, can I add some when I mix the noodles?"

"This is an upgraded version of the chili oil used in oil-splashed noodles."

"I feel this one will smell even better, since it's made by drizzling oil over the ingredients."

Shen Cao tapped Li Xiaoyu's nose and praised, "Xiaoyu is really smart, that's right."

After making the chili oil, Shen Cao put away the remaining oil, leaving some oil at the bottom of the pot.

Then I scooped a few spoonfuls of hot pot base from the jar.

To prevent others from discovering her storage space, Shen Cao had already packed everything in the storage space into bottles and jars and put them in the kitchen's storeroom.

"This is the base material, which is usually kept in the warehouse."

"You can go to the warehouse when you have free time. I've put a name on every item there."

"If you have any questions or don't know anything, you can ask me."

"The base sauce was also prepared in advance," Shen Cao said without batting an eye.

"This base sauce is used to enhance the flavor; I'll teach you its uses later."

"The broth here is used to make the soup base for hot pot."

"The stock we made before only had umami flavor and no other flavors. That's why we added base ingredients to enhance the flavors."

"As for the taste, you'll find out once you try it."

Shen Cao first heated the oil and then added plenty of scallions, ginger, and garlic to the pot.

Once the aroma is released, add the hot pot base.

After stir-frying until the aroma of the hot pot base is fully released, add the previously cooked broth to the pot.

A layer of bright red oil floats on the surface of the milky orange broth, giving the originally savory broth a slightly pungent and irritating aroma.

Li Xiaoyu heard her master say that it tasted spicy.

She knew it was numb.

She used to eat Sichuan peppercorns and green peppers, which made her tongue numb.

As for spiciness, she didn't know.

Her master told her to savor the spiciness in a little while, saying that people who like spicy food really enjoy it, while those who don't can't eat any at all.

Shen Cao prepared two pots of soup base for making mala tang (a type of spicy hot pot).

One pot is spicy, and the other is not spicy.

"Malatang is simply cooking the ingredients you like to eat."

"Take a bowl and pick out some vegetables and ingredients you like from the table."

Shen Cao had already prepared the ingredients she wanted.

It's radish season now, so she peeled the radish, cut it into two-finger-wide chunks, and put it in the pot to cook.

The longer the radish chunks are cooked, the better they taste, just like the radish in oden.

Shen Cao cooked herself some meatballs, spinach, vermicelli, dried bean curd sticks, dried bamboo shoots, tofu, bean curd sheets, bean sprouts, and so on.

I cooked a little bit of all the ingredients she likes to eat.

After it was cooked, she realized that she had cooked a whole big bowl.

Li Xiaoyu also selected some of her favorite dishes, and she added some noodles.

The soup base was seasoned with salt and herbs, and it could have been eaten directly after cooking, but what she liked best was the sticky and gooey spicy hot pot.

Since we've already started, we'll definitely need to prepare some sticky sesame paste.

She made both the sesame paste and peanut butter herself.

She had already prepared sesame paste and minced garlic.

Add a large spoonful of diluted 28 sauce to the surface of the cooked mala tang, then add a spoonful of minced garlic, and finally a large spoonful of freshly made chili oil.

"That's it! I've been craving mala tang for so long, and I finally got to eat it."

Shen Cao was very satisfied.

After Li Xiaoyu's bowl was cooked, she asked Li Xiaoyu to add some sesame paste, minced garlic, and chili oil first, and to mix it well and add more if needed.

She was worried that Li Xiaoyu wouldn't be used to sesame paste.

After settling Li Xiaoyu in, Shen Cao was about to take her spicy hot pot to the dining table to enjoy it when something suddenly stopped her.

She looked down and saw Lai Cai standing in the middle of the road, looking aggrieved and grumbling, holding his rice bowl.

Oh! I forgot to feed Laicai.

After washing her hands, Shen Cao finally sat down at the dining table.

She looked at the spicy hot pot in front of her.

Stir it well with chopsticks, and the already appetizing hot pot looks even more delicious.

Pick up a piece of spinach with your chopsticks. The green spinach is coated with thick sesame sauce, with a few minced garlic pieces on top, and bright red chili oil.

Shen Cao stomped her feet excitedly as she put the food in her mouth.

That's the taste.

The familiar taste immediately brought tears to her eyes.

I finally got to taste the flavor I'd been dreaming of.

Who can understand how she felt at that moment? She was absolutely content!