Under the urging of the cubs in Class B, Cheng Shiqin decided to make lunch for Class A and Class B with Lu Mingming.
Morian and Xue Gao did not appear before Lu Mingming together. Instead, the former directly contacted Lu Mingming online, saying that Xue Gao had been sent back to the dormitory.
Therefore, Lu Mingming asked a cub in Class B, who shared a dormitory with Tangyuan, to send Tangyuan back to the rest area.
The little one understood Lu Mingming's busyness and obediently left with the Class B cub without any resistance, albeit reluctantly.
However, before leaving, he asked Lu Mingming for another kiss before he would be willing to go.
In fact, the cubs' meals were not prepared by the childcare teachers themselves. Usually, childcare teachers would provide recipes to the chefs and then return to their dormitories to rest, saving more energy for the chefs to work with.
But this time was different.
None of the chefs knew how to make the dishes in the recipe Lu Mingming provided, and the steps could not be found online. In their helplessness, they asked Lu Mingming to teach them.
Her trip not only involved teaching Cheng Shiqin how to make candied strawberries but also teaching the chefs in the cafeteria how to make lunch for the day.
This was indeed a very tiring task, especially since she was responsible for the meals of the 7 cubs in Class A, which significantly increased the workload.
Tonight, the intern childcare teachers were assigned the task of grooming, ensuring that the little ones had clean and tidy fur.
Therefore, Lu Mingming did not have much time. The original plan to make crystal shrimp and pork bone stew with radishes had to be abandoned, and they opted for the more time-saving and effort-saving dish of stir-fried eggplant with minced pork.
If there was any extra time, a dessert would be made to cleanse the palate.
Cheng Shiqin, unaware of the lunch Lu Mingming was preparing, came over and asked, "Are we making fish today?"
"How did you know I was making fish? Don't people in the interstellar era dislike eating it?"
Lu Mingming looked at him with surprise.
Cheng Shiqin grinned and shook his head, "You didn't know, did you? The video of you making fish went viral on the star network. It was also my first time learning how to make fish."
Lu Mingming then realized that her previous fish-making video had become popular without her realizing it.
She recalled carefully; it should have been uploaded by her intern little chef who was helping her.
Fortunately, she hadn't messed up that milky white sturgeon, or she would have been greatly embarrassed.
"Heh heh, I believe in your cooking skills. Why don't you teach me how to make today's lunch together?"
Cheng Shiqin scratched his head, revealing his true intention.
"You'll have to do it yourself. I'm too busy with 14 cubs."
Lu Mingming agreed casually.
She had known Cheng Shiqin since they first met during the competition, and he had always been a reliable person who had never lost her trust.
Seeing that Lu Mingming didn't hesitate at all, Cheng Shiqin felt a warmth in his heart. He laughed heartily and patted Lu Mingming on the shoulder, causing her to bend over and cough lightly.
"Knowing you as a friend is truly worth this trip!"
"Cough... Alright, quickly go and boil the brown sugar. Aren't we making candied strawberries?"
Before the next heavy pat could come, Lu Mingming quickly dodged and busied herself giving instructions.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot."
Cheng Shiqin remembered the real purpose of his visit and quickly put the brown sugar into the pot to boil.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lu Mingming began teaching the chefs how to make stir-fried eggplant with minced pork.
Stir-fried eggplant with minced pork is also known as braised minced pork eggplant.
When Lu Mingming had a poor appetite in the past, this dish alone could help her eat two bowls of rice.
The fragrant eggplant and minced pork mixed with rice were delicious. A large pot could be eaten for two meals. Most importantly, it was very simple to make, time-saving, and healthy, bringing immense satisfaction.
Lu Mingming prepared about seven eggplants and one and a half pounds of pork according to the number of children.
She selected the tenderest black pork tenderloin from the ingredient pantry.
If tenderloin was considered the best of the best, then black pork tenderloin was the pinnacle of the pinnacle, being both fatty and tender, suitable for various cooking methods such as boiling, pan-frying, roasting, braising, and stir-frying.
The fresh pork had a good balance of fat and lean meat, its surface was bright red, and the meat was juicy and elastic. Lu Mingming minced the black pork tenderloin and set it aside.
She chose to wash the eggplants clean, cut them into cubes, and coat them thickly with starch, forming a cluster of snow-white pieces.
Cheng Shiqin, who was waiting for the brown sugar to be boiled, came over and cut the eggplant into strips. The chefs at other stations followed suit and learned.
To ensure the original flavor of the braised minced pork eggplant, Lu Mingming added a small amount of garlic juice for flavor.
The next step was to sprinkle salt for marination.
Lu Mingming reminded them, "Everyone, remember to squeeze out all the water from the eggplant after marinating it."
Cheng Shiqin was puzzled, "What's the point of doing this? I usually eat dressed eggplant in salads."
"That's different."
The chefs listened attentively as Lu Mingming explained.
"If you marinate and squeeze out the moisture inside the eggplant, the texture won't be watery. You'll understand once you make a portion of the dish."
Cheng Shiqin nodded, as if he understood.
"Alright, I'll do it your way then."
Lu Mingming was not entirely at ease. She observed all the chefs and, after confirming that everyone was doing it correctly, returned to her station to proceed with the next step.
The remaining steps were simple.
Lu Mingming prepared the sauce with a small amount of seasonings and then added half a bowl of water, stirring until well combined.
"You can add a little seasoning, but the children don't need to eat anything too heavy."
She instructed verbally while brushing a thin layer of oil at the bottom of the pot, preparing to stir-fry the minced pork.
As the minced pork was added to the pot, it immediately sizzled in the hot oil. The originally pinkish-white pork began to turn a reddish-brown color as it was stir-fried.
Lu Mingming's special sauce made the minced pork emit a rich, savory aroma during the stir-frying process.
The tenderloin merged with the simmering sauce in the steaming heat. The minced pork mixed with the rich aroma wafted towards everyone's noses, stimulating their taste buds, whetting their appetites, and making them feel immersed and enchanted.
Cheng Shiqin couldn't stand the smell and quickly added the plate of minced pork he had just prepared to the pot, stir-frying it with a look of anticipation.
He was sure he would be the first to finish this dish.
Next, Lu Mingming added the marinated eggplant to the pot and poured in some water to braise it.
All they had to do was wait for the sauce to thicken and meld with the minced pork and eggplant, and this pot of braised minced pork eggplant would be ready.
Lu Mingming did not add too much salt because the eggplant had already been seasoned during the marination process. Adding more salt would make the entire dish of stir-fried eggplant with minced pork very salty.
She reminded Cheng Shiqin and the chefs, who were making it for the first time.
Ten minutes later, Cheng Shiqin was the first to finish the minced pork eggplant.
He brought the dish over, subconsciously swallowed, and eagerly watched as Lu Mingming picked up a piece to taste.
After tasting it, Lu Mingming nodded and praised him.
"It tastes good. You can go back to boiling the sugar. Remember to wash the strawberries and wipe them dry; there should be no water on the surface."
Cheng Shiqin responded with an "En" and went back to work on his candied strawberries.
The other chefs finished the dish one after another and excitedly handed them to Lu Mingming for "grading."
Except for a few that were slightly too seasoned, they were surprisingly good.
This was the first time the chefs had learned from a top childcare teacher during a competition, and there was so much to learn. They could make this dish for their families when they went back!
Lu Mingming looked at the electronic clock on the wall and saw that there was still some time left.
She asked, "There's still one dessert left. Would you all like to make it with me?"
How could the chefs refuse such a good opportunity?
Seeing that no one objected, Lu Mingming quickly arranged for someone to get the ingredients from the pantry.
Usually, milk candy and small cookies were just simple affairs, but today she was going to make a highly challenging matcha pudding.
To be honest, Lu Mingming wasn't very confident, but having the experience of making double-skin milk, she wanted to try it out.
She took a deep breath and introduced, "The second dessert we are making today is called matcha pudding. It tastes even better when frozen in the summer."
"Matcha flavor? What is tea?"
Cheng Shiqin was confused. The word "tea" seemed to be appearing in interstellar vocabulary for the first time.
"You haven't drunk tea before?"
Lu Mingming was greatly shocked.
"No, I believe none of us here have!"
Cheng Shiqin pointed around him with a bewildered expression.
As expected, all the chefs had a look of confusion on their faces.
Oh my god, in this interstellar world, no one knew about the existence of tea!
Her hometown was the birthplace of tea culture since ancient times!
Seeing that no one truly knew, Lu Mingming felt a surge of encouragement. She would spread tea culture in the interstellar world!