Chapter 771, Rolling Out

Translator: Silavin

 

Yu Ying followed several maids, carrying a large pile of ingredients that had all been thoroughly cleaned.

 

Yu Ying placed the ingredients on the table, along with glass jars that had been prepared in advance.

 

These glass jars were not temporary creations. Su Bai had previously provided the blueprints to the glass workshop. They were small simple bottles and jars, intended for storing things in the future, which was why he had the glass workshop make them ahead of time.

 

Yu Ying had simply taken them to be washed and dried in the Sun, ensuring the insides of the jars remained dry.

 

“Shaman, I’ve prepared all the ingredients. Can you check if anything is missing?” Yu Ying asked expectantly, clasping her hands behind her back.

 

The scene made her look like a well-behaved child waiting in place to receive sweets.

 

Su Bai gave a general inspection and smiled. “Nothing’s missing. We can start making it now.”

 

The ingredients he had asked Yu Ying to prepare included meat, chilli peppers, garlic, mushrooms, and various vegetables. A luxurious rice sauce naturally required abundant materials, otherwise the flavour profile would be lacking in its richness.

 

“Shaman, how should we prepare these ingredients?” Yu Ying kept swishing her pink fox tail.

 

“First chop the meat into small pieces, then mince it into a paste. Only then can it mix properly with the other materials.”

 

Su Bai picked up a piece of meat and began cutting while explaining. “The same goes for the other ingredients. You can start as well.”

 

“Yes.” Yu Ying nodded emphatically and began chopping the mushrooms, chilli peppers, and garlic.

 

*Chop chop…* The rhythmic sound of knives striking cutting boards rang out continuously, particularly loud in the quiet living room of the Yong’an Building.

 

“That’s about right. Put the iron pot on the hearth and pour in some oil to heat it up. We’ll begin the next step.” Su Bai instructed.

 

“Okay.” Yu Ying brushed off her hands, turned, and ran into the kitchen to fetch the wild boar fat.

 

Recently, all the food at the Yong’an Building had been cooked with wild boar fat, used specifically for heating the pot.

 

*Crackle pop pop…*

 

When a piece of wild boar fat was placed in the heated iron pot, it immediately began melting with crackling sounds.

 

“Shaman, what do we do next?” Yu Ying asked curiously, her face full of anticipation.

 

“Put the chopped ingredients in to cook through. This will bring out the fragrance of the ingredients.” Su Bai explained.

 

“I understand. We fry these ingredients first so that when we make the rice sauce later, the flavour will be even better, right?” Yu Ying guessed.

 

“Exactly. Once these ingredients are fried in wild boar fat, the overall flavour improves.” Su Bai nodded.

 

Yu Ying excitedly swished her pink fox tail and began preparing the ingredients on the cutting board.

 

*Crackle pop pop…*

 

When the ingredients were placed in the pot, another series of crackling sounds rang out. However, this time, along with the sounds came waves of fragrance that made one want to keep inhaling.

 

“Shaman, it smells so good.” Yu Ying took a deep sniff through her nose.

 

Although she had cooked many dishes, this was the first time she had smelt such a fragrance. This aroma was even more intense than before.

 

“Because we cut the ingredients into very small pieces, they become more fragrant when fried, so the released aroma is quite strong.” Su Bai explained.

 

“Shaman, what do we do after these ingredients are cooked?” Yu Ying had already sorted the ingredients by category into separate wooden bowls.

 

Su Bai picked up each wooden bowl and smelt the ingredients inside, ensuring every ingredient had a good aroma.

 

If even one ingredient’s smell was problematic, the final rice sauce would be affected.

 

“Re-fry the garlic. This time don’t overcook it, or it will taste slightly bitter.” Su Bai instructed.

 

He saw that the minced garlic had already been fried black. If mixed with other ingredients, the texture would be disgusting. Over-fried garlic tasted bitter, unlike properly fried garlic which was fragrant.

 

“Yes.” Yu Ying immediately remade a portion.

 

Su Bai checked all the ingredients again. This time, none of them had any issues.

 

He took out a large wooden bowl, poured all the ingredients together, and said, “First, we need to combine all the ingredients and mix them thoroughly.”

 

“Yes.” Yu Ying watched especially attentively, her little face round and adorable.

 

“Do you know why I asked you to add extra oil while stir-frying?” Su Bai asked while mixing.

 

Yu Ying twitched her pink fox ears and shook her head. “Shaman, why is that? Is it to make these ingredients tastier?”

 

“That’s one reason, but the main reason is to extend the preservation time of the ingredients.”

 

Su Bai stopped mixing and explained. “If we add more oil, this jar of rice sauce can be stored for longer, so we won’t need to rush to eat it immediately.”

 

“I see. I understand now.” Yu Ying nodded with sudden comprehension.

 

Su Bai added some cumin, chilli powder, and other seasonings to the large wooden bowl, enriching the rice sauce’s flavour profile.

 

He mixed again for a while and said, “That’s about right. We can now pour everything into the glass jars and seal them.”

 

“So making rice sauce is this simple. I thought it would be more complicated.” Yu Ying had already memorised the preparation steps.

 

“The process itself isn’t difficult. The difficulty lies in preparing the ingredients and the storage method.” Su Bai said gently.

 

Yu Ying nodded repeatedly and began helping to transfer the thoroughly mixed rice sauce into the glass jars.

 

She secretly scooped a bit of rice sauce with her finger to taste, exclaiming in delight, “Shaman, this rice sauce tastes wonderful!”

 

Yu Ying was so happy she kept swishing her pink fox tail, with a thoroughly satisfied expression.

 

“Let it sit for a while first, allowing the flavour to fully permeate. It will taste even better.” Su Bai smiled.

 

He knew she definitely could not resist trying the flavour. Honestly, he could barely resist himself. However, seeing Yu Ying’s reaction, he knew this rice sauce had been successfully created.

 

“Shaman, we can take it to the Central Market to trade. Many people will definitely love this.” Yu Ying’s first thought was of the Central Market.

 

“Wait first. Wait till tonight, to see if the rice sauce succeeds. If it does, we’ll naturally put it up for sale as well.” Su Bai smiled lightly. He had originally planned for this as well.

 

“Alright.” Yu Ying’s soft, adorable voice rang out.