The lotus-leaf buns looked fancy, but the steaming method wasn’t much different from making ordinary steamed buns. Since she had prepared plenty of dough today, Lu Yan made two large batches of lotus-leaf buns, each about the size of regular buns.
Lotus-Leaf Buns
After steaming the buns, she began thinking about making steamed pork with rice flour. Only then did it occur to her that the family didn’t seem to have any rice.
So she ran to Lu Sheng’s room and asked, “Don’t we have any rice at home? Don’t you usually eat rice?”
Lu Sheng was taken aback. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I think we do have some… We eat rice occasionally, but not very often. It’s expensive.”
The Da Yao Mountains didn’t grow rice, so all rice had to be brought in from elsewhere and was much more expensive than flour. Lu Sheng searched around and eventually found a small bag of old rice.
Looking at the mere two bowls’ worth of rice, Lu Yan fell silent. Fortunately, steamed pork with rice flour didn’t require much.
She scooped out half a bowl of rice and heated a pan, then poured the rice in and stir-fried it continuously until it turned golden and the air filled with a rich fragrance of toasted rice. Only then did she remove it from the heat and pour it into a bowl. She added a few peppercorns and crushed them together with the rice using a rolling pin, then set the mixture aside.
She then sliced the remaining pound of pork into moderately thick pieces and marinated them with seasonings, this time adding two extra spoonfuls of ground Sichuan pepper.
There was still plenty of time before Old Lu returned home, so she couldn’t start cooking dinner yet and once again found herself with nothing to do.
She had no idea how to pass the time and thought she might as well draw diagrams of the things she wanted Old Lu to make so he could work on them slowly. Then she realized—
She didn’t know how to use a brush.
Looking outside, she saw several chickens dozing in their coop and suddenly thought of quill pens.
Lu Sheng was reading in his room when a burst of frantic squawking and flapping wings exploded in the courtyard like water splashing into hot oil.
He froze, then hurried outside to look.
The courtyard was in complete chaos. Roosters and hens alike were flapping their wings and scattering in every direction while Lu Yan chased after them, muttering under her breath,
“Be good, little darlings, let me pluck just one feather…”
Lu Sheng: ????
Lu Yan’s mission ended in failure.
She had finally managed to catch a large rooster and carefully examined its tail feathers, only to discover that they were all too short to be useful. The rooster’s cries were pitifully miserable, so she had no choice but to let it go.
Lu Sheng had absolutely no idea what she had been trying to do, and Lu Yan couldn’t explain it either. She could only pretend nothing had happened and calmly return to her room.
Ahhh, this is so annoying! Ancient times are way too boring!
After her little adventure, it was finally time to make dinner, and Lu Yan headed back to the kitchen.
She peeled two potatoes, sliced them, and soaked the slices in water.
The pork had been marinating all afternoon and had fully absorbed the seasonings. Lu Yan coated each slice in the crushed rice flour mixture until every piece was evenly covered. Then she took out a large bowl, lined the bottom with potato slices, arranged the pork on top, and put it on the stove to steam.
While the pork steamed, she peeled a few more potatoes, cut them into thin shreds, and soaked them in the same bowl of water.
Not long after the steamed pork was finished, Old Lu came home.
For the past few days, every time he stepped into the courtyard, he had been greeted by enticing food aromas.
“Yan girl, I’ve made the thing you wanted!” he shouted as soon as he came in.
Lu Yan hurried outside to look.
Old Lu was holding a wooden bucket. At the bottom was a hollow metal cover, and when he lifted it, there was another lidded metal box fixed in the center beneath it.
“It’s based on the same idea as a hand warmer, just much bigger,” Old Lu explained. “You put charcoal inside and close both lids. Then you can place food in it, and it’ll stay warm for at least two hours.”
“That’s more than enough!” Lu Yan said happily. “Dad, hurry and wash your hands. Dinner’s almost ready.”
Old Lu responded and went to the courtyard to wash up.
Lu Yan quickly stir-fried the shredded potatoes, sliced up the menzi, and carried the dishes to the table one by one.
On the table sat a basin of reheated large lotus-leaf buns, a bowl of steamed pork with rice flour, a plate of sliced menzi, and a large platter of stir-fried shredded potatoes.
“This is the food business I’m planning to start.” Lu Yan placed a piece of menzi into each of their bowls. “Try this first and tell me what you think.”
Old Lu and Lu Sheng each took a bite, and their eyes immediately lit up.
“Delicious!”
“What is this? Why does it have such a strong meat flavor?”
“I found bits of meat in it! Is it really made with meat?”
Lu Yan smiled.
“It’s menzi made from meat broth. There’s only one piece of meat in the whole thing, so the cost is very low. What do you think? Can it sell?”
“No problem at all!” Lu Sheng swallowed the bite in his mouth, his eyes sparkling. “The meat flavor is so rich. Lots of people will definitely like it.”
Old Lu nodded in agreement.
“You split open the lotus-leaf bun and stuff it with whatever you want,” Lu Yan said, picking up one to demonstrate. “And try the steamed pork too.”
The steamed pork was incredibly delicious.
The rice grains still had a slight chew to them and were full of rich toasted-rice fragrance. The pork slices inside were tender and flavorful, while the potatoes underneath had absorbed all the meat juices and become soft, sweet, and comforting, refreshing without being greasy.
Old Lu and Lu Sheng praised it endlessly.
Steamed Pork with Rice Flour
Lu Yan also stuffed some of the steamed pork into a lotus-leaf bun and took a big bite, feeling completely satisfied.
But after some thought, she decided that this dish wouldn’t work for selling.
First, rice was expensive and not cost-effective. Second, sliced meat simply wasn’t as satisfying to look at as a whole chunk of meat.
The lotus-leaf bun stuffed with shredded potatoes was also delicious. A bun as large as a steamed bun, filled with plenty of potatoes, was very satisfying.
“Dad, I checked the food prices in town. I want to sell the buns stuffed with potatoes for three copper coins, with menzi for four, and with meat for six. What do you think?” Lu Yan said. “If I braise a pot of meat, one pound can be cut into seven or eight pieces. One piece, chopped up and stuffed into a bun, can sell for six coins, and the meat broth can make a lot of menzi.”
“The prices seem fair. The question is whether they’ll sell,” Old Lu said.
“Dad, make me a hundred or so thin bamboo skewers about an inch long. I’ll cut up a few pieces of menzi and let people sample them,” Lu Yan said. “I’ll test the market first. We won’t make too much—just enough for ten servings of each kind. If they sell, great. If not, we can eat them ourselves.”
Hearing how detailed her plans were, with everything already thought out, Old Lu couldn’t help but nod.
“Then tomorrow I’ll have to go to town and buy more supplies again.”
Lu Yan looked at him eagerly.
Old Lu chuckled and counted out another hundred copper coins.
Lu Yan stuffed all the money into Lu Sheng’s hands.
“Keep it safe. Tomorrow we’re going to town.”