Food: Starting with Wonton Noodles

Zhou Yu first put the pork bones, soybeans, and a small amount of dried flounder into a soup bag, and then cooked the soup in a clay pot.

While waiting for the soup to simmer, he began to process the mud worms.

Mud worms are a unique type of seafood found along the Lingnan coast. People who are unfamiliar with them may find them particularly frightening when they see them for the first time.

But mud worms are actually a very delicious seafood, rich in various amino acids. The umami flavor they release after cooking is far superior to that of artificially purified MSG.

Moreover, its umami flavor is more complex and its texture is crisp, making it very popular in G City.

Similar to mud worms, there is another type of seafood called sand worms, which are considered to be fresher than mud worms.

However, Wu Hongyu couldn't buy sandworms today, so he only bought some mud worms.

After Zhou Yu washed the mud worms clean, he used a bamboo skewer to turn them over and then used an iron basin to catch their blood.

After dealing with the mud worms, Zhou Yu began to cook the porridge.

After turning the fire up to its highest setting, he poured in the pearl rice and silk rice that had been mixed in the correct proportions.

Some people will wait until the water boils, then take the rice out of the porridge and rinse it with cold water to prevent it from becoming overcooked.

But Zhou Yu didn't need to do that. While keeping the rice boiling over a high flame, he began to stir it constantly to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.

When cooking porridge in a clay pot, it needs to boil over high heat for half an hour the whole time.

As time passed, the rice grains in the clay pot gradually began to crack, but the porridge remained clear.

"Uncle, is it ready?"

Zhou Yu turned his head and looked over. He didn't know when, but his little nephew Linlin had already gotten up.

He was wearing pajamas, tugging at Zhou Yu's sleeve as he stared longingly at the casserole.

Zhou Yu: "Why are you up? Aren't you going to keep sleeping?"

Linlin: "I dreamt that you and Mom were secretly eating crabs, and then I woke up in fright."

Zhou Yu: ......

Linlin: "Uncle, is it ready?"

Zhou Yu: Not so fast. Alright, you go out first, or the rice soup will scald you if it spills out.

Cao Xuezhen also noticed Linlin at this moment and pulled him outside.

After stirring it again, Zhou Yu saw that the time was almost up and began to process the sand crabs.

After cleaning the sand crabs, he took out a second clay pot and started cooking.

Unlike traditional crab congee in a clay pot, sand crabs need to be pan-fried to enhance their flavor.

After briefly frying the ginger shreds in hot oil in the new clay pot, Zhou Yu poured all the sand crabs into it.

After frying the sand crabs until they were fragrant, Zhou Yu kept the heat at maximum and poured in all the porridge that was still cooking on the side.

Then, after filtering out the mud worm blood, it was poured in and cooked together.

Then came the flower shrimp.

After cooking the shrimp for one and a half minutes, turn off the heat.

While the porridge in the clay pot was still bubbling from the residual heat, Zhou Yu poured in the mud worms.

After stirring slightly, sprinkle with chopped green onions.

The sambal shrimp and mudworm porridge is now complete.

Seeing that Zhou Yu had finished cooking the porridge, Cao Xuezhen chased Zhou Yu out of the kitchen.

Even looking at the pile of used kitchen utensils, she still couldn't shake her habit of nagging:

"Honestly, you need so many kitchen utensils to cook porridge. Alright, alright, go out and tell them to prepare dinner. I'll stir-fry some vegetables and cook the rest of the seafood."

When Zhou Yu brought the casserole to the dining table, Linlin was still the first to pick up a bowl and wait for Zhou Yu to serve him porridge.

Huihui rubbed her eyes and saw Zhou Yu carrying a clay pot. She first ran to the fish tank and started counting her crabs: "One, two, three. Uncle, did you secretly cook one of my little crabs?!"

"Your little crab can dig holes and bury itself in the sand."

Huihui banged on the fish tank until the crabs were scared out. After confirming that the number was correct, she left satisfied.

Zhou Meiying picked her up and led her to the dining table: "Alright, go drink your porridge. You need to go home early after you finish eating, you haven't finished your homework yet."

Huihui kept making desperate faces in mid-air.

After Cao Xuezhen brought out the dishes, everyone began to eat.

Although Wu Hongyu had just eaten Zhou Yu's mille-feuille cake, he still felt a little uneasy when he picked up the bowl.

Linlin said to her father, "Dad, this porridge is so sweet."

Zhou Meiying patted his lower back lightly, and he then picked up the bowl, feeling embarrassed.

Hmm? It smells delicious.

He first sniffed it; there was no strange smell at all, only the pure sweetness of seafood and the aroma of rice.

But unlike the congee I usually drink outside, this rice soup was very clear, without a trace of turbidity.

He scooped up a spoonful of porridge; the broth was full of umami flavor, while the rice grains were purely fragrant, making it very refreshing.

Is it undercooked and not flavorful enough?

But the next moment, he felt that this was how it should taste. Although the umami flavor of the mud worms and sand crabs had blended into the rice soup, it didn't feel greasy at all.

On the contrary, it is very clear and transparent, especially when paired with rice porridge that has only the aroma of rice, you can instantly feel the sweet aftertaste.

If we were to use colors to describe it, Cantonese porridge would be like using different colors to create different new colors.

The porridge that Zhou Yu made was like a yin-yang symbol, with black and white clearly distinguished yet complementing each other.

One sip after another, Wu Hongyu felt that the porridge in the bowl was getting tastier and tastier, and he couldn't stop drinking it.

This is actually the characteristic of clay pot congee. Unlike slow-cooked congee, which infuses the flavor of the ingredients into the rice, clay pot congee should be clear and slightly sticky, thus highlighting the original freshness of the seafood.

Therefore, after the congee is cooked, the seafood should only be cooked to a just-cooked state.

However, many congee shops, in order to make the congee sweeter, not only add various seasonings, but also overcook the seafood.

In fact, it completely abandons the characteristics of clay pot congee itself and forcibly incorporates the Cantonese congee method, resulting in something that is neither fish nor fowl.

"Wow, these shrimp are so sweet." Zhou Meiying had already started eating the shrimp in her porridge.

She smiled at Cao Xuezhen and said, "Mom, you might as well give all the shrimp to my brother to make porridge. Your boiled shrimp isn't as good as the shrimp in the clay pot porridge."

"Yes, Grandma, your shrimp are a little overcooked," Huihui commented in a mature and sophisticated manner when she heard her mother say that.

"Okay, then let your brother cook from now on," Cao Xuezhen said without looking up.

"Oh? I think Mom's cooking is pretty good!" Zhou Yu flattered Cao Xuezhen hypocritically, but he hadn't even taken a bite of Cao Xuezhen's cooking.

Cao Xuezhen rolled her eyes at him and said, "Before you say that, could you peel a few of the shrimp I made first?"

Linlin was eating voraciously, completely unaffected by the outside world.

But seeing how he ate, Zhou Meiying felt sorry for him. She wiped the rice grains from the corners of Linlin's mouth and said, "Eat slowly, no one is going to take it from you."

Linlin chuckled sheepishly and said, "Delicious!"

Soon, the seafood congee that Zhou Yu had cooked was all gone.

Looking at the leftover food on the table besides Zhou Yu's porridge, Cao Xuezhen could only say helplessly, "Even if it's not tasty, you shouldn't leave so much."

After glancing at everyone leaning back in their chairs, she said to Wu Hongyu, "Hongyu, you work so hard, you should eat more and replenish your energy."

The whole family is probably shameless, so she had no choice but to "bully" her son-in-law.

Wu Hongyu: ? ? ?