Gourmets of the Heavens - Chapter 527 Flavor of Four Seasons
Spring like drizzle, hot summer, harvest autumn, bitter winter.
To be able to integrate the characteristics of the four seasons, when making the skin of Xiaolongtangbao, it must be extraordinarily different.
Fortunately, Zhao Youqian never forgot about the way of kneading dough.
Just when the broth was being boiled separately, Zhao Youqian’s kneading technique of Xiejia kneading noodles, which was integrated with Bai Luo’s family, once again showed his amazing side.
The dough of four completely different ingredients was kneaded by his hands constantly.
Four small whirlpools were constantly rotating on the chopping board. Just relying on the strength of human hands, all the dough had been kneaded to a very smooth level in a short period of time.
The dough scalded with 80-degree hot water can ensure the toughness so that the dough will not be melted and punctured by the melting soup inside during the steaming process.
Dough with different proportions, some are mainly medium-gluten flour, and some are added with other flours such as Chengfen or sweet potato flour.
It is also to cope with the difference in addition to hot water, the juice that is added to add flavor and color.
Guaranteed uniformity in taste.
For example, when making small steamed buns in winter, Zhao Youqian added some yam puree into the dough. Different tastes will produce completely different effects.
The golden ones are autumn pastries with pumpkin juice, the green ones are spring pastries with asparagus juice, and the red ones are summer pastries dyed with red bell pepper juice.
Not only in terms of taste, but also in terms of color, what Zhao Youqian pursued was the distinct seasons.
It may seem very common, and the shape is not too fresh. In fact, this kind of production method is also common in Yaozhou, and you can see similar techniques in some big restaurants.
But it’s not good if it’s not common. On the contrary, sometimes the ordinary appearance with a little surprise will give people an unexpected sense of freshness.
This method was often used by Zhao Youqian before.
In addition, for ingredients such as jelly soup, it would be difficult for Zhao Youqian to find a better way if he wanted to be creative in a short period of time.
If it is also made of cold solid soup, it is difficult to express the difference in taste. For Zhao Youqian, there is no need to make such a dish.
After all four types of dough are kneaded, set them aside and all that remains is to prepare the filling.
Pork stuffing, bamboo shoots, fungus, hairy crab, chicken stuffing, and even some mutton stuffing, it’s hard to imagine what kind of stuffing Zhao Yougan will make.
But Zhao Youqian’s cooking has always been so unusual.
The diced bamboo shoots represent spring, combined with pork fillings, adding onion and ginger juice, pepper, an egg, salt, sugar, and then stirring desperately until all the meat fillings are in a line-like state, which will stick The level on the wall of the bowl means that the meat filling has been reconciled.
The same is true for hairy crabs. Add a little pork stuffing to make the taste better blend. After steaming the hairy crabs, add all the meat of crab legs, crab claws and crab body and crab roe to the meat stuffing, Huadiao wine, onion and ginger juice, Add a little white pepper and salt, and continue to stir until the crab meat and crab roe are blended with the meat filling.
The flavor of autumn is complete.
On the contrary, the choice of stuffing in summer was quite unexpected for Nakiri Senzaemon who was watching.
Instead of using any meat stuffing, the spiral green peppers produced in Xiangzhou, Yaozhou were grilled with charcoal fire until the surface was wrinkled and blackened, and then the completely burnt part was removed with clean water, and the rest was a Hunan pepper. A cold dish with provincial characteristics, roasted chili.
The chili dishes made in this way will have a strong charcoal fire flavor and will be extra crisp. Adding preserved eggs is a famous Hunan dish “burned pepper preserved eggs”.
And Zhao Youqian seems to follow this direction in making the stuffing of summer steamed buns. After processing the peppers, he takes out the preserved eggs, peels and chops them, and then puts them together with the peppers in a mortar and beats them continuously until they are two They are all mixed together, and only the fibers of the pepper can be faintly seen.
Then add some sugar, mature vinegar, salt, light soy sauce, continue to stir until the flavors are combined, then set aside to marinate, so that the two ingredients can release their flavors separately.
The refreshing but exciting Xiaolongbao fillings that are unique to summer are complete.
No one knows what kind of flavor this kind of filling will look like if it is added with crucian carp soup jelly.
But what is certain is that this taste is definitely a great surprise.
The last winter stuffing, unexpectedly combined with the mutton is not the traditional supporting role of fish, which forms the word “xian”, but some skinless chicken legs that have been cut out separately.
In fact, many people don’t know that the combination of mutton and chicken is also very delicious.
The only thing is to deal with the special flavors of the two. In this regard, Zhao Youqian is very confident. On the one hand, it is because the taste of lamb itself is not heavy, and on the other hand, he is confident in the use of spices.
And what he wants to make is more curry-flavored minced meat.
Some fennel powder, turmeric powder, red pepper powder, pepper powder, and even a little bit of cumin powder are all ways to get rid of the little smell of lamb, and it will also bring a more intense aroma to the meat filling.
In the winter season, don’t you all yearn for a strong taste to warm your body and mind?
Then add scallion and ginger water, white wine, a little salt and light soy sauce.
The rich fat of the lamb is mixed with the leaner but more tender chicken, forming a special meaty feeling.
In particular, these two kinds of meat really match the taste of curry spices, forming a particularly strong taste.
Four kinds of fillings and four flavors were quickly formed one by one under Zhao Youqian’s arrangement. It can be said that this kind of meat filling method alone is enough to become a class.
If it spreads out, it will be a finishing touch for many cooks.
It is a pity that only a few people can see such cooking skills nowadays.
As for Zhao Youqian’s handling of some of the small details inside, even Nakiri Senzaemon, the Demon King of Food, can see his eyes bright.
For example, the processing of crab, because it is combined with the meat filling, you should not use special force when stirring, otherwise the crab meat and crab roe will be too loose, lacking surprises in taste, and Hua Diao wine can increase the aroma of crabs instead of cooking wine.
These seemingly unimportant actions are actually the biggest factor that distinguishes your taste from others after cooking.
It can be seen that Zhao Youqian’s cognition of cooking has been further deepened just by these processing tasks.
It can also be seen that Zhao Youqian’s culinary skills are still improving.
So Senzaemon’s eyes are getting brighter and brighter. After all, at Zhao Yougan’s step, it is a miracle that he can still make continuous progress.
He also wanted to dissect the reasons for such a miracle.
At least what he sees now has made him understand why Zhao Youqian is still making progress now.
Improve the parts you are not good at, even if it may be a waste of time at first, but in the long run, only you will know your progress.
Being able to do things with ease is not something you say, but something you do yourself.