Chapter 60 New Steamed Fish
Ye Shuyi fried the carp until both sides were golden brown, then took it out and added peppercorns and star anise to the pot and fried it over low heat until fragrant.
Add dried chilies and stir-fry until red oil comes out, then pour in a spoonful of broad bean paste to neutralize the spiciness and add fragrance.
Then, Ye Shuyi put the carp into the pot, added cooking wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar, and then stewed it.
Cook until there is very little water left, that is, the sauce is reduced. Then Ye Shuyi puts it on a plate, places it on a rack, and steams it with perilla.
After a while, the fish was ready.
Because the fish was fried, it didn't lose its shape or become overcooked even after being stewed. Steaming it afterward actually neutralized the toughness of the fried fish, making it even more tender.
The fish was served on a plate covered with perilla leaves and topped with chopped green onions, ginger, and garlic. The fish itself was also bright red, mixed with fermented black bean paste.
"This is the first time I've seen this method of cooking. It smells nice and looks good, but you've steamed and fried it at the same time. How can it be delicious? It's just a random combination." Shopkeeper Pan was very puzzled.
How should I put it? He looked at Ye Shuyi's method of cooking fish and felt that it was like fitting a bicycle to the fish.
baffling.
"Whether it tastes good or not, you'll know if you try it, Manager Pan!" Ye Shuyi invited.
Shopkeeper Pan picked up the chopsticks doubtfully.
He picked up a piece and saw that the fish meat was very tender, with a hint of bean paste and a fried color, a little red, similar to the red of braised spareribs.
Unexpectedly delicious.
Unlike simply fried fish, this steamed fried fish is more flavorful.
The fish retains its original freshness while fully absorbing the flavors of the ingredients. The scallion, ginger, and cooking wine remove all the fishy smell, leaving only the delicious flavor.
"Miss Ye, your fish is extraordinary!" He opened his eyes wide and concluded.
Ye Shuyi asked, "How is it unusual?"
"It's very tasty." Shopkeeper Pan said, picked up another pair of chopsticks, picked out the meat from the center of the fish and ate it.
It was also very tasty, just as he had guessed.
"How did you do that?" He had been cooking for over thirty years and eating for over forty years, but he had never tasted fish that was so perfectly cooked.
This is not a question of giving more material.
When cooking any dish, you should not rely on the side dishes. Side dishes are used to complement the main ingredients. If there are too many side dishes, the taste of the main ingredients will be overwhelmed.
The same goes for steaming fish. To make it tasty, you must use the method of cooking the fish, not just adding a lot of ingredients.
"Shopkeeper Pan, weren't you just watching the fish I made?" Ye Shuyi said with a smile.
The other person was just making hand-shredded chicken, but he would sneak a peek every time Ye Shuyi took a key step.
Shopkeeper Pan smiled awkwardly, he had indeed looked at it.
But I didn't understand.
This dish was so ridiculously delicious that he almost started to wonder if he was seeing things.
Did Ye Shuyi change it midway?
"Ms. Ye, why did you fry it first and then steam it? I have never seen this method before!" He couldn't guess, so he asked directly, which was more convenient.
"If steamed, what kind of fish is more suitable?" Ye Shuyi asked instead of answering directly.
"Well... of course it's grouper, Anhui fish is also good. Grouper is delicious, Anhui fish has few bones and big roots, so you don't have to spit it out." Shopkeeper Pan thought for a while and came up with the answer.
"That's it. But, even if the fish has few bones, you still have to spit them out! What fish has no bones?" Ye Shuyi asked.
"Ah?" Shopkeeper Pan had never heard of boneless fish.
Could it be a squid?
Well, it’s also fish.
"Squid," he said.
"Wrong." Ye Shuyi denied.
"What is that?" He couldn't figure it out.
“Dace with black beans.”
“…” Shopkeeper Pan didn’t expect it to be this!
You don’t need to spit out the bones of dace with fermented black beans because the bones are soft and can be eaten directly. It is very delicious.
Feeling like... collagen?
"Miss Ye, stop joking and just say it directly!" Shopkeeper Pan felt that his understanding of cooking over the years might not be as good as this little girl's!
"Okay. You just said that you need to spit out the bones when steaming fish. So, if I make the bones crispy and soft, can we eat it directly? It saves the work of spitting out the bones. If you don't believe me, you can pick up the bones again and see if they are crispy and soft. Because I just fried it over high heat, stewed it over medium heat, and finally steamed it, the bones have been softened. The bones are soft, but the fish meat is not rotten or loose. When we fry fish, the fish body will be harder. If we fry it over low heat, it will not be crispy. If we can add ingredients, fry it, and collect the sauce, then the fish will be tasty, right?" Ye Shuyi explained in detail.
"But, in this case, the fish will lose its freshness, won't it?" Shopkeeper Pan asked.
"No. Where does the fish get its delicious flavor? It comes from the fish itself. If we steam it, the fish's own flavor will be released from the inside out." Ye Shuyi talked freely.
Shopkeeper Pan clapped his hands: "Brilliant!"
Why hadn't he thought of that?
For all ingredients, good taste comes first from the source itself.
Ye Shuyi's clever ideas made him admire her very much.
"Ms. Ye, I will communicate with you more in the future. You will be the future leader of Hong Kong's culinary arts." Shopkeeper Pan praised without hesitation.
Maybe it already is.
He had eaten all kinds of delicious food, but the food made by Ye Shuyi was unique and delicious.
"I'll have to learn from Shopkeeper Pan in the future!" Ye Shuyi said, "I think Shopkeeper Pan's hand-shredded chicken is pretty good too."
"Hahaha, come and try it!" Shopkeeper Pan made way and said expectantly.
"good."
Ye Shuyi looked at the hand-shredded chicken, which was a traditional salt-baked hand-shredded chicken, topped with coriander and green onions, as well as sesame seeds, star anise, ginger, and peanuts.
It smells very nice, it should contain oyster sauce, cooking wine and peanut oil.
Ye Shuyi picked it up and tried it. It was fresh, tender and tasty. The hand-shredded chicken had a unique taste, leaving a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth, and was tender, smooth and juicy.
"Shopkeeper Pan, you did a great job!" Ye Shuyi praised.
"Hahaha, Miss Ye can tell the difference between it and ordinary hand-shredded chicken?" asked Shopkeeper Pan.
His seemingly ordinary hand-shredded chicken is also innovative.
After all, compared with innovative culinary stars like Ye Shuyi, he can't be too old-fashioned.
Otherwise, what if people don’t take him to practice next time?
He had a sudden inspiration and came up with this hand-shredded chicken.
Ye Shuyi tasted and swallowed carefully, and had the answer in her heart.
"Shopkeeper Pan, your shredded chicken is a little sweeter than usual. Does it have lemonade, sugar, Sichuan peppercorn oil, or Sichuan peppercorn oil?"
The former stimulates the taste buds, white sugar enhances the taste, and pepper oil and Sichuan pepper oil make the shredded chicken more refreshing.
It's not too spicy, just a small amount added to the traditional flavor.
But this small action can elevate the taste of the original hand-shredded chicken to a higher level!
A good chef can know the recipe after eating one bite. Ye Shuyi is one of them.
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