"Brother Lu, have you found out where this tea master lives?" Li Ying asked softly. Lu Xunguang nodded and replied, "This Master Ge is currently living in seclusion in the mountains north of the city. However, he never likes being disturbed by strangers. My men went there several times but were all turned away and returned empty-handed."
Li Ying didn't mind. She simply tidied up a few common pots and bowls neatly, then said to Lu Xunguang with a smile, "We're free now. Let's go and pay this old tea master a visit in person. We should always show some sincerity when cooperating with others."
In a short while, the two of them arrived outside the thatched cottage where Master Ge lived in seclusion.
Master Ge was sipping tea in the small courtyard. When he saw the two of them from afar, a look of caution flashed across his face. Before Lu Xunguang could say a word, he stood up and snorted coldly.
"You've really got a lot of nerve to bother me again and again."
He put away his tea cup, waved his sleeve away angrily, and slammed the courtyard gate shut. His extreme disgust and eagerness to avoid them made it seem as if they were some annoying and inauspicious things, which was really embarrassing.
Lu Xunguang was afraid that Miss Li Ying might be too shy. Just as he was about to comfort her, Li Ying waved her hand. She seemed not to care at all. She calmly found an open space upwind and leisurely set up a stove.
Looking at the sun, it was already time for lunch. She thought for a moment and then made up her mind.
She always carried the coastal tea with her. She boiled a pot of boiling water, brewed a cup of clear and pleasant tea soup, dried the strained tea leaves, and fried them until crispy over a low heat. Then she set them aside for later use.
She took a piece of good-quality pork belly with skin, blanched it with ginger slices, washed off the blood foam, drained it, and then fried it until it had a golden tiger-skin-like crust. At this time, she boiled another pot of strong tea, seasoned it with soy sauce and oyster sauce, added yellow rice wine, bay leaves, and cinnamon to remove the fishy smell, and then stewed it over a low heat for half an hour.
When the tea scent had permeated every fiber of the meat and the greasiness of the pork belly had been stewed away by the strong tea, leaving only a smooth and non-greasy taste, she fished out the meat, let it cool, and then cut it into thick slices as big as her palm.
What Li Ying was going to make was a dish called tea-scented braised pork. In the ordinary way of cooking, most people would put soft taro or sweet red bean paste between the two layers of the braised pork.
The taro and red bean paste absorbed the fat from the pork and became extremely fragrant and soft. However, if you ate too much, you would inevitably feel a bit greasy.
Li Ying was innovative. She took two fresh hedgehog mushrooms, removed the old roots, blanched them to remove the faint bitterness, squeezed them dry, and then cut them into thick slices. She sandwiched them between the layers of the braised pork.
Mushrooms are naturally absorbent. The fine filaments of the hedgehog mushroom were like sponges, soaking up all the meat juice. The originally plain mushroom became delicious.
The braised pork was soft, and the hedgehog mushroom was fragrant and sticky. She stuffed them tightly into a bowl, filled the corners with stir-fried dried plums, poured the pre-brewed tea soup over it, and then steamed it in a pot for a full hour.
She spread a layer of fried and crispy tea leaves on the bottom of a plate, and then quickly inverted the pork belly onto the plate.
The tiger-skin-like crust had absorbed all the soup and turned into a shiny jujube-red color. The fat part of the pork had been steamed until it was as transparent as crystal and melted in the mouth. The slight bitterness of the tea soup neutralized the greasiness, leaving only the fragrance of the meat and a touch of elegant flavor.
The dish was rich in color, sweet, and not greasy. The unique freshness of the hedgehog mushroom added a thick texture to the braised pork. Paired with the slightly bitter and sweet tea leaves, it made people taste a kind of heaviness as if all the glory had faded away and all the honor and disgrace had been forgotten.
In addition to this dish of hedgehog mushroom and tea-scented braised pork, Li Ying also made a dish of tea-scented lotus leaf chicken, fried a plate of tea-scented stir-fried shrimps, and finally boiled a pot of tea eggs.
She deliberately raised her voice and called out to Lu Xunguang, "Brother Lu, come and have lunch quickly!"
Master Ge's thatched cottage was downwind. The aroma of the dishes and the tea inevitably wafted over. Sure enough, not long after, they heard the courtyard gate creak open. Master Ge walked out with a cold face, took two steps forward, and there was a hint of anger on his face.
"Where did you two vulgar people come from? How dare you act recklessly in front of my thatched cottage?"
He blew his beard and stared, looking extremely annoyed. But Li Ying was secretly delighted.
This Master Ge was unmoved by anything. As long as he gritted his teeth and stayed behind closed doors, no one could do anything to him.
But now he had opened the courtyard gate and took the initiative to argue with them. It was obvious that he had softened his attitude and given her a chance.
Li Ying quickly put on a look of fear and respect and bowed politely to apologize.
"Senior, we have absolutely no intention of offending you. We're just so hungry that we had no choice but to cook some food to fill our stomachs."
She continued, "We're really sorry for disturbing your peace. If you don't mind, please sit down and join us for this simple meal. Consider it our apology."
These dishes were fragrant, delicious, and colorful. The strong tea scent had already whetted Master Ge's appetite. Now that Li Ying had invited him, he didn't decline anymore. He pretended to be cold and said, "You girl are quite humble. I'll give you this face!"
He took the chopsticks and bowl that Lu Xunguang respectfully handed over, sat down carelessly and boldly, and looked at the dishes on the table. Then he reached for the tea-scented braised pork with his bamboo chopsticks.
Since Li Ying and Lu Xunguang returned to the capital, they had been very high-profile, and the common people had been talking about them. Although Master Ge lived in seclusion in the barren mountains, he had also heard a little about them.
He had originally thought that Li Ying was just a country woman and couldn't cook any novel dishes.
But when he took a bite of the braised pork, he was really surprised. The greasiness and heaviness of the pork belly were perfectly combined with the freshness and sweetness of the tea.
Li Ying smiled and served him the dishes. The tea-scented shrimps were fried until the shells were crispy and the shrimp meat was sweet. With the aftertaste of the coastal tea, the aroma was extremely rich.
The tea-scented smoked chicken was infused with the burnt aroma of the roasted tea in every piece of its skin and meat, adding a touch of gentle flavor.
Master Ge ate with great enjoyment and couldn't stop praising. Finally, his gaze fell on the plate of tea eggs.
These eggs looked ordinary and not as eye-catching as the other dishes. He couldn't help but feel a bit uninterested.
But Li Ying smiled slightly, rolled up her sleeves, picked up an egg, carefully peeled it, and respectfully presented it to him.
"Senior Ge, this tea egg is the dish I most want you to taste today."
When she marinated the tea eggs, she had carefully cracked the eggshells. The strong tea soup and marinade had seeped into the eggs through the cracks in the eggshells, leaving a vivid mark on the egg white.
The egg white was smooth and tender, dotted with crisscrossed tea-colored cracks. It looked like a high-quality Ge Kiln porcelain with the veins of "golden wire and iron wire," showing a kind of simple and rustic charm.
Master Ge became a bit interested. He took a bite and found that the tea scent and the flavors of various spices were surprisingly harmonious. Although the taste was not earth-shattering, it had a kind of reassuring and solid taste.
Master Ge had tasted all the dishes on the table without showing any emotion. But now, after eating this tea egg, he pondered for a long time and finally let out a long sigh and praised, "Good!"
Li Ying smiled slightly. She was already 90% sure in her heart.