For Xiaobai, a novice who has just opened a store, when making the first pot of brine, he can't help but feel a little "nervous" due to his lack of experience. It's like going to school for the first time in life, getting married for the first time, becoming a father for the first time...

Brine is so important, how should the first pot of brine in a braised vegetable restaurant be prepared? Today we will take 40 pounds of brine as an example to see how the stewed vegetables are made in a physical store.

1. Production of soup stock. High-quality brine is inseparable from good stock. Materials needed to prepare the soup stock: 10 kilograms of pork leg bones, a cleaned hen, 3 kilograms of chicken feet or pig feet. Blanch all the above ingredients and put them into 50 kilograms of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, and at the same time add 250 grams of ginger, 20 grams each of Sichuan peppercorns and pepper, 200 grams of cooking wine, and 250 grams of green onions. Turn to low heat and simmer for about 5 hours to complete the broth.

2. Production of brine oil. Braised oil plays an important role in adding aroma and flavor to braised vegetables. Since the new brine has not brine ingredients, there will be a lack of brine oil. Therefore, we can use three pounds each of lard and chicken fat, boil them and pour them into the soup stock as brine oil.

3. Treatment of spices. Before putting the spices into the soup stock, you need to soak the spices in hot water for half an hour, and then wash them with clean water several times to remove the odor and impurities in the spices. This can prevent the spices from being overly medicinal and damaging the quality of the brine. Finally, put the spices into the soup stock and simmer over low heat for about an hour until the aroma is released.

4. Seasoning of brine. Adding condiments into the brine is also essential. For 40 pounds of brine, you need 300 grams of salt, 200 grams of chicken essence, 50 grams of rock sugar, and 10 grams of dried chili. One thing to note is that it is fine if the stewed dishes are a little salty, but if there is not enough salt, the stewed dishes will taste tasteless and the stewed dishes will be unpalatable.

5. Color matching of brine. The commonly used coloring method is to stir-fry rock sugar to produce sugar color. Don't use soy sauce or dark soy sauce to adjust the color just to save trouble, as this will only make the stewed dishes darker and darker in color. Stir-frying method for sugar color: 100 grams of vegetable oil and 500 grams of rock sugar. After frying the rock sugar over medium heat, turn on low heat and stir-fry slowly. Stir continuously and evenly in the middle. When the sugar juice turns brown-red and has small bubbles, you can pour 500 grams of boiling water, bring to a boil and simmer slowly over low heat for about 10 minutes, and it is complete.

Add the brine oil, spices, condiments and sugar to the soup stock in sequence, and the brine is completed. The next step is the daily maintenance of brine. For novices who open a store, they can prepare the brine about five days before the official opening of the store. After a few days of curing, the fragrance of the brine will be more mellow. There are many ways to raise brine. You can brine some chicken feet, duck necks, duck wings, pig trotters, etc. every day to try. It can not only increase the flavor of the brine, but also allow relatives and friends to try it and give their opinions. However, be careful not to have more water and less meat, as this will not be conducive to the maintenance of the brine.