Chapter 72: Fried Meatballs p1
One was too few, two were too many, so one and a half eggs it was… Mi Hongdou, striving for the perfect flavor, cracked three eggs into a bowl. Half for the meat mixture, half for egg dumplings. As she calculated, she turned to get some seasonings and almost bumped into Ji Junxin, who had silently entered the kitchen.
Fortunately, Mi Hongdou had a firm grip on the large bowl. Despite the shock, the eggs were safe.
“What’s wrong?” Mi Hongdou, after recovering from the near-collision, looked at Ji Junxin, whose eyes were fixed on her, and asked, puzzled.
Ji Junxin, her hands behind her back, smiled. “Nothing, just looking around.”
What was there to see? … Mi Hongdou glanced at the counter. Ji Junxin had never shown any interest in watching her cook before, she would always wait until the food was almost ready to come and taste… perhaps she was just very hungry today? Impatient? Supervising her? Mi Hongdou thought about it and felt that, with Ji Junxin’s personality, it wasn’t impossible. So, she moved aside to get the seasonings, giving Ji Junxin a better view of the counter.
She added a pinch of salt, MSG, a tiny bit of sugar, and a spoonful of cold water to the eggs and whisked them until smooth. Next, she would pour half of the egg mixture into the bowl of minced meat. As she turned, she almost bumped into Ji Junxin again. She had just been by the counter, how did she get to the other side where the seasonings were? … Mi Hongdou finally realized something was off.
“What’s wrong? Are you that hungry?” She finally asked the question she had been wanting to ask.
“No.” Ji Junxin blinked innocently and shook her head. Still feeling something was amiss, Mi Hongdou walked back to the counter and poured half the egg mixture into the meat mixture. She looked up, and as expected, Ji Junxin had followed, her gaze still fixed on her. Mi Hongdou picked up the bowl of meat mixture, stirred it, walked to the seasoning area, and pretended to add cooking wine and a few drops of oil. She looked up again, and Ji Junxin’s gaze was still on her!
Mi Hongdou finally understood what was wrong… although Ji Junxin said she was just looking around, she seemed to be only looking at her…
“Is there something on my face?” Mi Hongdou tried to remain calm, meeting Ji Junxin’s gaze, and casually wiped her cheek with the back of her hand.
Ji Junxin, not suspecting anything, walked over to Mi Hongdou and carefully examined her face, then shook her head. “No, your face is clean.”
“Then why are you staring at me?” Mi Hongdou pressed the issue. Having noticed something was off, she had to figure it out, or with Ji Junxin’s wild imagination, she wouldn’t be able to keep up.
Mi Hongdou’s sudden question made Ji Junxin freeze.
If someone took more than three seconds to answer, they were thinking of a lie, Mi Hongdou suddenly recalled reading this somewhere. It had been more than three seconds, and Ji Junxin still hadn’t answered. Mi Hongdou felt a sense of unease. She was just watching her casually, but why did she suddenly feel that if she didn’t figure out the reason, there might be trouble later?
“I’m… just looking around,” Ji Junxin mumbled, repeating her earlier words.
Mi Hongdou didn’t believe her. She had been following her around, and now that she asked, Ji Junxin’s gaze shifted to the corner, she wasn’t telling the truth. But Mi Hongdou hesitated. After all, her unease was just a feeling, was it appropriate to keep pressing Ji Junxin about it? … It seemed a bit… deliberate. Mi Hongdou frowned, conflicted.
Ji Junxin, not hearing a response, carefully glanced at Mi Hongdou and saw her frowning, seemingly unhappy. She knew that her attempt to brush it off had failed. She had come to the kitchen because she was curious about how Mi Hongdou looked at her, not to make her unhappy. Come to think of it, having someone stare at you would be uncomfortable… she had been too obvious… Ji Junxin mentally berated herself.
Now the problem was, after brushing off Mi Hongdou, she seemed unhappy. But telling the truth, saying “I just wanted to see how you look at me,” was too strange and embarrassing… So, after some consideration, Ji Junxin chose the most disarming lie, hoping to get away with it.
“Well… it’s because you’re beautiful, so I was looking at you…” Ji Junxin said with a sincere expression, but her slightly guilty tone had an unintentional hint of coquettishness.
Mi Hongdou was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing, pointing at the sofa, “Go read your romance novels, you even sound like you’re reading one. If you speak your lines with that tone tomorrow, Director Pan will have a heart attack.”
What’s wrong with romance novels? You were also appeased by one. Of course, Ji Junxin only dared to think these words. Since she hadn’t been completely exposed, and Mi Hongdou wasn’t angry, she quickly retreated to the sofa.
Hmph. Mi Hongdou snorted inwardly. She didn’t believe that was the real reason. But… even though she knew it was a lie, hearing it from Ji Junxin… still made her heart flutter.
Mi Hongdou turned around, her back to Ji Junxin, and touched her chest. That coquettish tone, those sweet words… Her heart was pounding, and she didn’t have the energy to question the truth of those words.
Although Mi Hongdou had let it go for now, it was only temporary. Ji Junxin, to escape, had said something so provocative, which meant that her real reason was even more important. When it came to Ji Junxin, Mi Hongdou was always persistent. And with that lingering feeling of unease, she wouldn’t let it go so easily.
However, their conversation had ended. If she brought it up again out of the blue, Ji Junxin would be even less likely to tell the truth. It would only make things awkward. Mi Hongdou thought about it and shifted her gaze to the minced meat on the table.
It was late, and she had originally planned to make plain meatballs with vegetables and mushrooms in a clear broth. Then, with the extra egg mixture, she decided to add some egg dumplings. But now… Mi Hongdou looked at the minced meat and smiled.
She peeled and minced the ginger, squeezed out the juice, and added it to the seasoned meat mixture with the egg. She stirred it until it became sticky, then set it aside.
Mi Hongdou rummaged through the cabinets, found the largest stainless steel ladle, washed and scalded it with boiling water, then dried it. Then, as she turned on the stove, she realized… it was an induction cooktop… Ji Junxin had really addled her brain. Mi Hongdou chuckled and put the ladle back.
She was used to using a ladle over an open flame to make egg dumplings. Now, without a gas stove, she had to use a pan…
She heated the pan, then turned the heat to low, added a small amount of oil, swirled it around to coat the bottom, and then added two or three spoonfuls of egg mixture, gently swirling the pan to spread it evenly, forming a thin crepe.
Although the range hood was on, the aroma of fried eggs still filled the room. Mi Hongdou listened carefully, there didn’t seem to be any movement from the sofa. Perhaps the temptation wasn’t strong enough yet. Mi Hongdou, unfazed, continued making the egg dumplings. Without her usual ladle, using a pan wasn’t as easy, and she had to be more focused.
The egg crepe in the pan had set. Next, the filling. She scooped some meat mixture with chopsticks and placed it in the center of the crepe, then used another pair of clean chopsticks to fold the edges of the crepe over the filling, enveloping it. Then came the crucial step: carefully flipping the dumpling to cook the other side. After a few more flips, when both sides were golden brown, one egg dumpling was done.
Mi Hongdou worked efficiently, quickly finishing one. The color was even, the aroma enticing, and it wasn’t broken, just… the shape was a bit strange, like a plump rectangle. As expected, without a ladle, the dumplings didn’t have the shape of dumplings… Mi Hongdou looked at the rectangular dumpling with a slightly regretful expression and started on the next one.
The aroma of fried eggs and meat filled the air. Ji Junxin, curled up on the sofa, sniffed repeatedly, feeling that the chips she had just eaten were already digested. Her stomach was rumbling. Normally, she would have rushed over to Mi Hongdou and begged for food. But today, having just lied to Mi Hongdou, she was too embarrassed. So, she could only stay on the sofa, occasionally glancing at Mi Hongdou, hoping that if she was lucky, Mi Hongdou would notice and call her over to taste the food.
Unfortunately, even with her longing gaze, it was useless. One egg dumpling after another was finished, golden brown and delicious-looking, but Mi Hongdou didn’t smile and invite her to try them, nor did she even look back.
Hmm… was she still minding the fact that she had been staring at her? Ji Junxin curled up even tighter, as if that would make her less hungry.
It was because of the extra eggs that Mi Hongdou had decided to make egg dumplings. But the egg mixture, one and a half eggs worth, was used up after just five dumplings. It was a good thing it was used up, making one dumpling at a time with a pan was too time-consuming.
After setting the finished dumplings aside, it was time for the meatballs.
She washed and dried her hands, greased her palms with a little oil, took a portion of the meat mixture, slapped it between her hands a few times to remove excess air, then rolled it into a ball and placed it on a plate. This was much faster than making egg dumplings, and soon, a plate of raw meatballs was ready.
She heated a large wok, dried it, and added a generous amount of oil. As she dropped the meatballs into the hot oil, the sizzling sound and the intensified aroma of frying meat, many times stronger than the egg dumplings earlier, reached Ji Junxin.
How could a hungry foodie resist the aroma of fried meatballs in the middle of the night?
Ji Junxin’s actions answered the question: don’t resist, knowing when to surrender was also a form of wisdom!
As Mi Hongdou had expected, even if Ji Junxin could resist the egg dumplings, she would succumb to the fried meatballs. The sizzling sound of meatballs in hot oil, followed by the rustling sound of a certain little foodie approaching, Mi Hongdou didn’t move or turn around, but the smile in her eyes betrayed her good mood.
Ji Junxin, still feeling awkward after their earlier interaction, hesitated. But her instincts were too strong, and she was drawn to the stove by the aroma of meatballs.
A wok full of golden-brown meatballs, their color deepening. Almost ready… Ji Junxin gulped slightly and glanced at Mi Hongdou, who was intently watching the wok, seemingly oblivious to everything else. She looked so serious while cooking… Ji Junxin took a step back. She didn’t know why, perhaps because she felt guilty, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask for a taste like she usually did…
Ji Junxin hesitantly retreated further, thinking she might as well go back to the sofa and wait. It wouldn’t be much longer.
Just then, Mi Hongdou lifted the slotted spoon, and the fried meatballs were out of the wok!
One by one, the golden-brown, fragrant meatballs rolled onto the plate lined with paper towels, forming a neat little pile.
They looked… so delicious… the outside must be crispy, the inside firm… Ji Junxin’s gaze was fixed on the meatballs, and she couldn’t move.
Mi Hongdou, seeing this from the corner of her eye, breathed a sigh of relief. The prey almost escaped before the bait was ready. Fortunately, the timing was perfect. As for frying them a second time… she would skip it today. After the final high-heat sear, the flavor should be good enough. Catching the prey was the priority.
Although Ji Junxin was captivated by the fried meatballs, she didn’t speak.
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