At this moment, Zhang Nuo was still lying on his bed, staring blankly with lifeless eyes.
It wasn't that he wanted to sleep in, but he had no clothes to wear.
The consequences of his sudden weight gain meant that as soon as the sun rose, Mr. Fang and Xiao Mei rushed out to purchase clothing for Zhang Nuo, including daily home wear, outerwear for going out, and hunting clothes.
Some of which had to be custom made according to his measurements.
Moreover, since they needed to buy all the clothing, including winter wear for warmth, the workload was quite large.
Zhang Nuo didn't want to wear the "tight-fitting clothes" like he did last night, so he had to be pressed down on the bed by Xiao Mei, waiting for Mr. Fang and Xiao Mei to return from the shopping.
He would occasionally squint and doze off, or lie on the bed and stare blankly out the window.
Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore, so he reluctantly put on the tight-fitting clothes from yesterday and got up.
He planned to get some snacks. It was too painful to come to the Tang Dynasty without cigarettes to smoke and with very few snacks.
Fortunately, there was still a lot of Osmanthus honey used for making cocktails at home. It was already October, and it would be perfect to make some Osmanthus cakes.
It was easy to make some snacks when running a restaurant at home.
Yesterday, he soaked a large tub of glutinous rice in cold water. He had originally planned to make rice cakes and rice pudding, but now it was perfect for making snacks.
Zhang Nuo immediately called the two brothers Da Zhuang to come and help. As soon as they heard that they were going to make some food that was not available in Chang'an City, they rushed over.
Now that Zhang Nuo had some subordinates, he naturally had to order them around. It not only saved time and effort, but also earned him a good reputation for attentive teaching.
He took the glutinous rice out of the water tank, rinsed it again, and then began to steam it in a large pot.
At the same time, Zhang Nuo began to explain to Da Zhuang the easiest way to make Osmanthus cakes according to his memory.
While speaking, he brought a large handful of sesame seeds and started frying them on low heat.
The Osmanthus cakes tasted incredibly fragrant when paired with these fried sesame seeds.
Soon, the glutinous rice was cooked. Zhang Nuo took a clean, large bowl, poured the glutinous rice, Osmanthus honey, powdered sugar, and freshly fried sesame seeds into it, and mixed them evenly.
Then, he brought two rolling pins and handed them to the two brothers, saying, "Just knead it until it becomes a big sticky lump."
The two brothers were simple and honest. Since the host had clearly explained what to do, they just got to work.
Just then, the two boys, with their ample strength, began to pound rhythmically around the large bowl.
It was enjoyable to be commanded by someone else. Before Zhang Nuo could even satisfy his urge to order people around, the ingredients in the large bowl were already thoroughly mixed.
Zhang Nuo asked the two brothers to carry the large bowl directly to the backyard, where he found a clean wooden frame and a large piece of clean white cloth, and poured the mixture onto the cloth.
After the ceramic mold had solidified, they took a small brush and brushed a layer of osmanthus honey on top, then sprinkled some sesame seeds and rolled it with a rolling pin to finish it off.
Zhang Nuo demonstrated the process, and then the two brothers took over, claiming to learn by doing. Soon, there were about ten small wooden frames in the backyard room.
The whole room was filled with a strong fragrance of osmanthus, and anyone who didn't know might have thought it was a young lady's boudoir.
At this point, the basic work was done, and all that was left was to let the osmanthus cake cool and then cut it into pieces.
In the future, there would be all kinds of ways to make osmanthus cake, with cream, condensed milk, and water chestnut flour, among others.
But Zhang Nuo didn't have those Western ingredients, and he was just making a snack for himself. Rather than calling it osmanthus cake, it was more appropriate to call it osmanthus-flavored nian gao.
Anyway, Zhang Nuo didn't care, and he officially named it osmanthus cake!
When the osmanthus cakes were ready, Mr. Fang and Xiao Mei came back, and Zhang Nuo finally didn't have to wear the tight-fitting clothes that made him worry about bursting open when he bent over.
Mr. Fang had specially made him a straight-sleeved Yanju outfit according to his request, which was a bit like a modern windbreaker.
This Yanju outfit didn't have the wide sleeves and large hem that reflected the owner's elegance and luxury for going out, but it was perfect for wearing at home.
And Zhang Nuo liked this kind of clothes that were similar to modern ones the most, the kind with wide sleeves and large hems were handsome, but he always felt the wind in his sleeves.
With suitable clothing on, Zhang Nuo could finally open the door.
There was no way he could open the door when he was wearing that tight-fitting clothes before, running back and forth at home was no big deal, but doing business while wearing it was not very presentable.
Now that everything was in order, he could finally get busy with making some dishes that he liked to eat since Li was coming to bring money today.
Steamed pork ribs, steamed meat, sweet and sour pork ribs, braised pork belly...
The recipes for meat lovers were that simple and straightforward.
While Li had not arrived yet, Zhang Nuo pulled the two brothers to start working in the kitchen again.
Actually, dishes like steamed meat were so simple that it was ridiculous, and it was part of the famous "lazy kitchen" series in the future.
Of course, the main reason was the highly developed commodity supply system in the future, which allowed seasoning rice flour to be purchased as a finished product.
What to do now?
It's simple, just do it yourself. It's not a big deal, it's not something complicated.
Perfect, we can make more of this dish at once and use it as a signature dish in the store. It will definitely be impressive.
Commanding his two brothers to start cutting the meat, they sliced the fat and lean lamb that was delivered today into pieces, then boiled it in cold water. After the water boiled, they removed the floating oil.
Then, they added ginger, cinnamon, star anise, salt, and boiled it for about ten minutes. The gamy flavor of the lamb was mostly eliminated by now and it was well-seasoned.
They also ground the rice that had been fried on the side with a rolling pin, added salt and five-spice powder, stirred it evenly, and the meat rice noodles were basically ready.
Later, they just needed to mix the processed lamb with the rice noodles, put them in a steamer, and steam them. When they were done, they could be served.
Actually, he preferred to eat pork, but unfortunately, pork wasn't very popular at the moment, and the breed of pigs might not be right. Also, there was no habit of castration farming, so the few times he had bought pork before, the taste was not quite right.
However, as a top chef, and more importantly, a top foodie, he had already reserved dozens of castrated pigs. He would try them later and if successful, his store would have more specialty dishes.
A good restaurant not only serves delicious food, but also unique dishes that cannot be found elsewhere.