Chapter 91: Date Paste Yam Cake

For a period of time after that, Qin Huai's life was very regular.

Get up early to make breakfast, make dim sum after the morning rush. Get off work on time at 12 o'clock at noon, and work overtime on time at 1 o'clock in the afternoon.

The content of working overtime was to first perform some physical labor (making nian gao), then start online teaching (video with Huang Shengli), interspersed with some fun activities (playing with the oven), and finally taste the results.

Under Huang Shengli's guidance, Qin Huai's cognition of ingredients and control of heat had improved to a certain extent.

He even started boiling duck soup.

It's just that it wasn't boiled very well.

Ouyang frowned for the third time, struggling to drink a small bowl of duck soup with shaobing and date paste yam cake, and protested: "Qin Huai, can we boil beef soup again?"

Since he started drinking duck soup, Ouyang missed the days when he drank beef soup and pork rib soup incomparably.

"Does it still taste weird?" Qin Huai asked.

Ouyang nodded firmly: "More than just weird, it's also very hard to drink. This feeling is like sitting in a duck pen drinking soup, you understand my description, right?"

"Then there is still a problem when processing the duck." Qin Huai frowned.

"Qin Huai, you don't need to be too entangled in this. Your knife work is not good, there must be a problem when processing the duck. Master asked you to boil duck soup for a few days, just to let you adapt to the ingredient of duck meat, not expecting you to boil it well."

"If it really doesn't work, don't you have a savory chef in your shop? Find someone with good knife work to help you process the duck, and try again tomorrow. The soup boiled will definitely be better than the one sitting in the duck pen drinking now," Dong Shi shouted on the video side. "Your friend is quite powerful, your duck soup looks so hard to drink, he can actually drink it."

Qin Huai:...

Dong Shi, your voice is too loud, the sound of our online class is external.

Ouyang stared at Qin Huai with accusing eyes, his eyes full of you listen to the voice of the masses.

Qin Huai was also a bit guilty.

He wasn't very good at processing ducks. He knew clearly that the soup boiled according to the tutorial wasn't processed well and was hard to describe. Ouyang had been biting the bullet and tasting it for two days, which was really embarrassing for him. He was truly a good brother, seeing true feelings in times of trouble!

Thinking so, Qin Huai gave Ouyang another plate of date paste yam cake: "Eat more, I'll make elm bark steamed buns for you tomorrow."

Ouyang could do it again.

"Qin Huai, why do you make date paste yam cake every day recently?" Ouyang asked by the way.

Qin Huai indicated that what other reason could there be, it wasn't because Qu Jing loved to eat it.

Qin Huai felt that Qu Jing's interest in date paste yam cake was far greater than Jiang Mi Nian Gao.

Last time when he sent Jiang Mi Nian Gao to Qu Jing, Qu Jing ate it very gently. After eating, although she gave a high evaluation of Jiang Mi Nian Gao, she didn't take the initiative to come to the canteen to buy it.

Date paste yam cake was different, Qu Jing really loved eating this.

Qin Huai had only made date paste yam cake twice before, also because Qin Luo's Chinese teacher asked students to watch "Dream of the Red Chamber" during the summer vacation. As everyone knows, the dishes in "Dream of the Red Chamber" all look delicious. Qin Luo wanted to eat every dish she saw, but Qin Huai couldn't make any of them.

Later, seeing that Grandmother Jia sent a date paste yam cake to help her daughter-in-law restore her health, Qin Huai found the recipe in the "Complete Guide to Dim Sum" and made it twice for Qin Luo according to the method in the "Complete Guide to Dim Sum".

Qin Luo didn't like it very much.

This child didn't like eating yam.

Because he hadn't made it for many years, Qin Huai practiced for a week before bringing this dim sum to Qu Jing, slightly improved the formula in the "Complete Guide to Dim Sum", increased the proportion of white sugar, and made the date paste yam cake sweeter.

In the process of making it, Qin Huai discovered the irreplaceable advantage of date paste yam cake.

It can use molds!

The method of making date paste yam cake is not complicated, just ensure it is freshly made. The requirements for heat control and finger technique are not high. The date paste filling inside can be the same as Jiang Mi Nian Gao, and the skin outside is made by steaming yam until cooked, mashing it into mud, mixing it with white sugar and glutinous rice flour, and kneading it.

The dim sum steamed with such ingredients is soft and sticky, sweet and silky, and also has the fragrance of yam. It is clear sweetness, not the sweetness piled up by sugar syrup.

And yam mud and date mud are indeed a good match, and even have health-preserving effects. No wonder it became a gold-medal dim sum that often appeared in palace dramas.

Date paste yam cake is simple to make, has a good taste combination, and can be mass-produced with molds. It is simply the king of cost-effectiveness.

After discovering that there was such a good dim sum as date paste yam cake, Qin Huai also fell deeply in love with it. He steamed a batch in the morning and a batch in the afternoon, freshly steamed and sold, fixedly dropped.

After making more, Qin Huai also developed a new method. Normal date paste yam cake is white, using purple yam makes it purple, and mixing the two yam muds together is another color. Even mixing a little sweet potato mud in the yam mud can not only make the color richer, but the taste will also be a bit different, and it will be sweeter when eaten.

During this period, the guests in the Yunzhong Canteen could be said to have eaten enough date paste yam cake.

Seeing Ouyang eating happily, Qin Huai was also a bit hungry. He packed a small plate of rabbit-shaped ones and sat opposite Ouyang to eat.

Ouyang ate elephant-shaped ones, the elephant's size was large.

While eating, Chen Huihong arrived.

"What soup are you boiling today?" Chen Huihong smelled the smell of the duck soup Ouyang was drinking as soon as she approached. "Duck soup?"

"Sister Hong, it's still your nose that is good." Ouyang appropriately flattered the leader, and then complained with a grimace, "Qin Huai's duck soup is really too hard to drink, and he still doesn't believe in evil, and will boil it tomorrow."

"Xiao Qin is also brave to try." Chen Huihong helped Qin Huai defend a little, and cast her gaze on the dim sum in the plate. "Eating date paste yam cake again today, is there any Jiang Mi Nian Gao?"

"Jiang Mi Nian Gao wasn't made yesterday, but it was made today, and there will be some tomorrow. Sister Hong, if you want it, shall I save half a jin for you?" Qin Huai asked.

"Save two jin, I will go to my brother's house to eat with Huihui tomorrow, and I will bring some for him. He asked his assistant to buy Master Xiao Zheng's pastries in Gusu last time and brought me 10 jin of crispy cakes, so I have to return some to him," Chen Huihong said.

Qin Huai was surprised. There really were people who traveled thousands of miles to buy crispy cakes in Gusu. It was worthy of being a famous big sucker who donated money to the school to renovate the playground after being fooled by his sister for two sentences. "Sister Hong, what is your brother's name?" Qin Huai was a bit curious. Until now, Chen Huihong's brother didn't deserve to have a name.

"Chen Yingjun."

Qin Huai & Ouyang:?

"My mother's naming is very pragmatic. She felt that my brother was too ugly when he was born, fearing that he wouldn't be able to find a wife in the future. She named him Yingjun, hoping that he would be more handsome so he could find a wife."

"Then what about his appearance now..." Ouyang was also curious.

"It wasn't very good when he was thin before, but now that he has gained weight, he can be praised as rich." It could be heard that Chen Huihong's evaluation was very pertinent. "He is always smiling like a Maitreya Buddha, and Huihui likes to go to her uncle's house to play."

"Last time when I went to pick up Huihui, I saw him eating spicy strips with Huihui. He is almost 40 years old, and he is still like a child who loves eating spicy strips, it's simply..." Chen Huihong couldn't stop complaining.

Qin Huai was afraid that Chen Huihong would be thirsty, so he gave her a cup of herbal tea.

It was an improved one, tangerine peel tea with brown sugar and salt.

Chen Huihong drank tea: "This tangerine peel tea is also quite good, Xiao Qin, do you have time to boil it tomorrow afternoon? I'll bring two pots for my brother to let him drink more."

Just as the words fell, Qu Jing arrived.

Yes, Qu Jing came to buy date paste yam cake in person after getting off work.

Before, when Qin Huai made Jiang Mi Nian Gao, Qu Jing wouldn't come to buy it specifically after getting off work. After sending date paste yam cake once, Qu Jing asked Qin Huai on WeChat the next day if the canteen sold date paste yam cake that day, and came as soon as she got off work after getting an affirmative reply.

Since then, she came every day regardless of wind or rain after getting off work.

Thanks to her getting off work early.

"Doctor Qu is here." Qin Huai immediately got up. "Today there are white yam, purple yam, white yam mixed with sweet potato, there are 6 kinds of mold shapes, which ones do you want?"

"Half a jin for each, I'm going to the orphanage to volunteer tomorrow, just to bring some for the children," Qu Jing said.

"When is Doctor Qu going to the orphanage to volunteer tomorrow?" Qin Huai asked.

"10 am to 2 pm tomorrow," Qu Jing answered honestly. "I usually do this time, the orphanage is short of manpower, I go to help wash and cut vegetables."

Qin Huai thought for a moment: "I happen not to make dim sum tomorrow, do you mind if there is an extra volunteer in the orphanage?"

"I often sent dim sum to the orphanage when I was in my hometown before. It's been a long time since I made ordinary baozi and steamed buns, and my hands are raw, so I want to practice."

Although Qu Jing didn't quite understand why Qin Huai, who made dim sum every day, would have raw hands. But she was happy that someone was willing to volunteer, of course she wouldn't refuse.

"Then I'll go back and tell the orphanage mother later, and reply to you on WeChat. You have experience in volunteering, the orphanage mother will definitely be very happy."

Qu Jing left with the dim sum.

Ouyang gnawed on the date paste yam cake and asked Chen Huihong somewhat blankly: "Sister Hong, did I have auditory hallucinations just now? Qin Huai said he wouldn't make dim sum tomorrow. Didn't he just say he would make Jiang Mi Nian Gao tomorrow?"

"Jiang Mi Nian Gao can be finished before 10 o'clock," Qin Huai said lightly. "Get to work early, that's it, get to the shop at 3 o'clock, can't I finish the basic dim sum?"

Ouyang gasped.

Could it be that what the grandpas and grandmas said was true?

Qin Huai is chasing Doctor Qu?!

Oh my god, he is even willing to get up at 3 o'clock to make dim sum!

"Sister Hong." Ouyang looked at Chen Huihong for help.

Chen Huihong was very calm: "Then it's the same for me to come and get Jiang Mi Nian Gao tomorrow morning. By the way, Xiao Qin, I have something I want to tell you about Luo Luo's school, is it convenient to talk alone..."

Qin Huai heard the string song and knew the elegance, nodded, and pointed to the warehouse direction: "If you don't mind, let's talk in the warehouse. It's quieter there, and there are chairs to sit on."

The two left Ouyang, who was still blank, and went to the warehouse to talk alone.

As soon as the door closed, Chen Huihong asked directly: "Is there something wrong with Qu Jing's task? Why suddenly go to the orphanage."

Qin Huai nodded: "There is something wrong, I feel that the dim sum I made is already very suitable for Qu Jing's taste. She has also been eating it for a period of time, and I have been hinting that Jiang Mi Nian Gao and date paste yam cake will become regular dim sum sold in the canteen every day, but the side quest has been delayed and not completed."

"Then why?" Chen Huihong frowned. "Xiao Qu's mouth is not picky, she eats very simply, and her three meals a day are just dealing with it."

"I think the problem lies in long-term provision," Qin Huai said. "My relationship with Doctor Qu is not good enough, not good enough to make her willing to come to the canteen to buy dim sum after getting off work for a long time."

"After chatting for this period of time, I discovered that Doctor Qu doesn't like to go out much. She has no friends, no social life, and no entertainment hobbies."

"Our canteen is a bit far from where she lives. For her, going out to buy dim sum is a burden. She is willing to come and buy it after getting off work now because date paste yam cake is still a fresh dim sum for her. After a while, she will get tired of eating it and won't come specifically to buy it, so my provision is not long-term."

"But the number of date-type dim sum and nian gao-type dim sum I know is not large, even if I make them in various ways, it is impossible to maintain them for a long time."

"So what should I do?" Chen Huihong listened carefully.

"So, we need to make friends with Doctor Qu," Qin Huai said solemnly. "Sister Hong, you, me, and Luo Jun, the three of us are already people Doctor Qu is relatively familiar with."

"I think what we need to do now is to get along better with her, become friends, and let Doctor Qu be willing to go out to consume and buy dim sum in a friend's shop, so that we can achieve the long-term goal."

Chen Huihong suddenly realized: "Understood, I will also go to volunteer tomorrow."

"To tell the truth, I am best at volunteering!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 92 =====