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

As soon as Shen Cao entered the kitchen, she saw a small bowl of shredded potatoes on the table, which was thoughtfully soaking in water.

The busiest time at noon has passed, and the kitchen has been cleaned up and is spotless.

The washed dishes were neatly arranged on the table to dry.

Since Li Xiaoyu and Grandma Zhang came, she hasn't had to worry about the kitchen much.

Li Xiaoyu only asks her for help when she encounters a dish she doesn't know how to cook or when she's unsure about the amount of seasoning.

When she came in, Li Xiaoyu was helping Grandma Zhang make wontons for Shen's mother.

Now Li Xiaoyu has completely mastered how to make wonton filling.

All three knew that Shen Cao had been invited out by Wan Yue, and now that they saw her enter the kitchen, Shen's mother was somewhat puzzled.

"Didn't you eat out?"

"Wanyue doesn't like the food outside, and the food I want to eat today can't be made outside, so I might as well come back to eat."

"Mother, is there any rice left at home?"

Mrs. Shen nodded. "Yes."

"Okay, then I'll just cook a couple of simple dishes."

"Xiaoyu, come here, I'll teach you two more delicious vegetarian dishes today."

Shen Cao beckoned Li Xiaoyu over.

Shen Cao took out the pickled peppers that she had specially pickled in the summer from the kitchen storeroom.

When the village chief brought the chili peppers over after planting them, she was initially worried about the considerable amount of small chili peppers.

This was originally just a side dish; there's way too much chili to finish.

She had a sudden inspiration and pickled the peppers. Compared to fresh peppers, pickled peppers have undergone the double baptism of time and fermentation.

Not only did the spiciness not decrease, but it also gained a unique fermented sourness and umami flavor.

She also soaked some ginger in it.

"Master, is this the pickled chili pepper you told me about before?"

“Yes. Smell it.” Shen Cao brought the bowl containing pickled chili peppers and ginger to Li Xiaoyu.

Li Xiaoyu leaned over and smelled it. "It's sour, and has a hint of spiciness."

"This thing has many uses; I'll teach you how to use it later."

Shen Cao cut the pickled ginger into shreds and the pickled chili peppers into large pieces.

I also prepared some chopped green onions and garlic.

Shen Cao poured an appropriate amount of rapeseed oil into the pot, and after the oil was hot, he added chopped green onions and sautéed them until fragrant.

Before long, the oil temperature brought out the aroma of scallions.

The whole kitchen was filled with the aroma of scallions.

She then poured the pickled ginger and pickled chili peppers into the pot, and immediately a distinct sour smell, along with a hint of spiciness, wafted from it.

"Cough cough!!" Li Xiaoyu, who was standing to the side and had no time to react, coughed a few times because of the steam rising from the pot mixed with the spiciness of the pickled chili peppers.

"Xiaoyu, move away a bit, or you'll choke."

After all the ingredients in the pot were stir-fried evenly, she poured half of the shredded potatoes from the bowl into the pot.

Seeing the perfectly evenly cut potato shreds in the pot, Shen Cao praised, "Xiao Yu, you cut these potato shreds very well, they're very even."

"Not bad, your knife skills have improved a lot."

Li Xiaoyu smiled happily when she heard Shen Cao's praise.

Every day she would go home and practice with sweet potatoes and potatoes from her family, cutting her hands countless times, but thankfully, hard work pays off.

Stir-fry the potato shreds until they change color, then add some minced garlic, salt, and other seasonings to taste.

A dish of tangy, spicy, and crunchy shredded potatoes is ready.

One whiff and it's sour and spicy, with pickled chili flakes and pickled ginger mixed in with the shredded potatoes, it looks so appetizing.

Besides loving crispy and sour shredded potatoes, Shen Cao also especially loved the soft shredded potatoes that her mother used to make in her previous life.

She washed the pot clean, poured oil into it, and when the oil was at the right temperature, added a little Sichuan peppercorn. After the peppercorn changed color, she removed it and then added chopped green onions.

After sautéing the chopped scallions until fragrant, add the remaining half of the shredded potatoes.

This time she cooked it for a little longer.

Once the shredded potatoes could be easily mashed with a spatula, a swirl of aged vinegar was poured around the edge of the pan.

Then add some salt, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce for seasoning.

Finally, add some minced garlic before taking it off the heat, and Mom's version of stir-fried shredded potatoes with vinegar is ready.

Then Shen Cao simply stir-fried some scallion eggs with lard.

Just as the stir-fried eggs with scallions were ready, Wanyue walked in.

"It smells so good, Sister Grass, is it ready yet?"

"Alright, wash your hands and get ready to eat. Take those two dishes out."

After washing her hands, Wanyue took out the shredded potatoes that Shen Cao had previously stir-fried.

Shen Cao, carrying a plate of scrambled eggs with scallions and two pairs of chopsticks, followed Wan Yue to the dining table.

Just as the two of them finished setting out their things, Li Xiaoyu came in carrying two bowls of rice.

"Xiaoyu, would you like to sit down and have something to eat with us?" Shen Cao invited.

"Okay, I'll have some." She had just been helping her master prepare these dishes the whole time.

Those two plates of shredded potatoes smelled incredibly appetizing.

She had a big lunch, but she still couldn't resist the temptation of the sour and spicy flavor to have a little more.

She put down the two bowls of rice and quickly went to the kitchen to get herself half a bowl of rice.

Wanyue looked at the colorless hot and sour shredded potatoes in front of her and asked, "Sister Cao'er, is this the hot and sour shredded potatoes you were talking about?"

"It doesn't look spicy?"

Aren't chili peppers supposed to be red?

Shen Cao smiled and said, "You'll know once you try it. The color isn't a sign of how spicy it is."

Wanyue was somewhat expectant. She believed what Sister Cao'er said, but she was also curious about the difference between the colorless spiciness and the red spiciness.

She picked up a piece of hot and sour shredded potato and put it in her mouth.

Shen Cao peeked over and saw that there were several pieces of pickled chili pepper mixed in with the shredded potatoes on the chopsticks. She figured that one bite would be too spicy for her.

Sure enough, a hissing sound immediately came from the other side.

"So spicy!!" Wanyue stuck out her tongue, inhaling and fanning herself with her hand.

"Hurry up and eat some rice."

Wanyue quickly ate a big mouthful of rice and drank a large glass of water before she felt a little better.

Shen Cao picked up a piece of pickled chili pepper, "This is it, it's extremely spicy."

"It's made with a very spicy chili pepper. Although it has a slightly sour taste, it's still very spicy."

"I don't even dare to eat it on its own, and you ate so much, it must be spicy."

As she spoke, Shen Cao picked up a spoonful of hot and sour shredded potatoes and put it in her bowl, then ate it along with a mouthful of rice.

"It's delicious, the sour and spicy flavor goes very well with rice."

Wanyue also took a bite, just like Shen Cao, and said, "Delicious."

"Actually, you can pick out the pickled chili flakes so you can eat it plain."

"I deliberately cut them a bit bigger so they would be easier to pick out."

"Try this stir-fried shredded potatoes with vinegar. It's not spicy at all, but I cooked it for a bit too long, so the shredded potatoes aren't crisp anymore."

"Try it and see if you like it."

Wanyue picked up a piece of stir-fried shredded potatoes with vinegar and took a bite. It was true that the texture wasn't as crisp as before, and the potatoes were all mushy. However, it tasted salty and savory with a hint of sourness and a garlicky flavor, which was still quite delicious.

"Delicious, the two kinds are delicious in different ways."

"I like."