Chapter 84: Fried Chicken Fillet. (First Update)...
After packing up the sixty-five meals ordered by Tao Yingce and watching Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang push the cart away, Lin Zhi sat down at the table in the main hall, tapping the table lightly with her fingertips, secretly thinking about the food to be used as a warm-up for the newlyweds' New Year's party.
The warm-up activities will be held for five consecutive days, and the location will be set on the Imperial Street where people watch elephant performances during the winter solstice.
The place was already bustling with people coming and going, and with the added traffic attracted by the event, I imagine the number of people arriving would be staggering.
The participants include not only the contestants of this session, but also the best of the previous sessions. To put it bluntly, this is a benefit for each shop and an opportunity to show off.
When the Linzhi family went to the restaurant to find out more about the situation, they learned from the manager that contestants could choose their own dishes and set up stalls, using the huge traffic to showcase their cooking skills. If they were lucky, it was possible for their daily sales to triple or even quintuple.
The restaurant also recommends using the store's hot-selling items for preheating so that diners can get familiar with the taste. However, there is one rule to remember: dishes used for preheating cannot be used in subsequent competitions.
The Linzhi family initially thought their signature roast goose would be the best, but then they realized it had to be roasted in a kiln. While a cast iron oven could be used as an alternative, the time, speed, and flavor would undoubtedly be compromised.
Furthermore, Linzhi didn’t want people to think that the only thing they could do was roast goose, so after much deliberation, they finally gave up the idea.
What made her even more troubled was that there were too many thoughts in her mind and she had no idea what to do.
Fortunately, she didn't dwell on it for too long. She also asked familiar stores about the pre-sale conditions in previous years, and by today she had a general idea.
This dish needs to be quick to prepare and sell well, and it would be best if subsequent diners would come to buy it, and it could also be made quickly and well.
This dish needs to be simple, and it is best to be marinated and prepared in advance. Just leave the final stirring and frying work to a dedicated person.
The dedicated person here can be Lin Sen or a helper hired later. In the end, what Linzhi needs to make is a semi-finished product.
The streets in winter are freezing cold, so things like this have to be held in your hands to keep them warm!
In addition, there were no paper cups at the time, and it was not possible to prepare so many bowls and cups for people to use, so soups were also excluded.
Linzhi regretfully crossed out items like fish ball soup and quickly decided on his goal: fried chicken fillets, of course fried chicken legs, fried chicken wings and even fried chicken racks would also be acceptable.
After a pause, Linzhi crossed out the fried chicken rack.
The price of chicken frames is not cheap at the moment. Rich families often use whole chickens to make soup, while poor families also know how to use chicken bones to make delicious soup. Unless they are left for home use, chicken frames become a "neither good nor bad" item when bought at the market. They are not cheap and require a lot of effort to process.
Once the idea is decided, start implementing it.
However, before frying the food, Linzhi needs to prepare breadcrumbs first.
When Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang came back after delivering the meal, they saw Lin Zhi wearing an apron and kneading dough on the chopping board as soon as they entered the door, and there were several doughs piled in a basin.
"Sister Zhi, why are you kneading the dough?"
"I want to try making something." Lin Zhi didn't even raise her head, and kneaded a dough skillfully with her hands, then placed it in a clean basin and waited for it to ferment.
"Are you going to make the red bean paste buns from last time?" Song Jiaoniang remembered them vividly. They were fragrant, sweet, and soft, and she loved them so much. "That bread is delicious, but it has to be baked in an oven, right? Didn't we say we can't use a kiln?"
"It's not about making bread." Lin Zhi stopped and explained briefly, but the couple was confused. They only roughly understood that bread was also an ingredient? A side dish?
More than two hours later, the aroma of wheat wafted from the kiln. Linzhi, wearing thick cloth gloves, took the golden-baked bread out. She cut the bread into small pieces, then into fine dices, spread them flat on a bamboo sieve, and hung the sieve high under the eaves with a rope. This allowed the natural breeze to dry the bread while preventing the wheat aroma from attracting any small animals.
It was not until the end of lunchtime the next day that Linzhi took down the bread that had been drying for most of the day.
Because the time was not enough, the biscuits still had some moisture, so Linzhi put them into the kiln and baked them for a while.
The originally off-white biscuits gradually turned light yellow, the moisture was completely dried out, and the wheat aroma became stronger.
She poured the baked biscuits into the stone mortar, held the pestle with both hands and gently pressed hard to crush the biscuits, then sifted it carefully twice. The powder sifted out was fine and fluffy, which was the most basic breadcrumbs.
With the breadcrumbs ready, Linzhi finally began preparing the main ingredients. She first took the spices—pork jelly, ginger, angelica root, and tsaoko—from the cupboard and dumped them all into the grinding trough. With both hands, she gripped the grinding wheel, rolling it back and forth to grind the spices into a fine powder. She then sieved it again until the powder was so fine it practically floated on the wind.
Next, she mixed the freshly prepared spice powder with sugar, salt, chicken powder and pepper, and stirred it clockwise with chopsticks.
At the same time, Lin Zhi also called Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang to help peel garlic.
As the couple entered and exited the kitchen, they were greeted by a wonderful aroma. They glanced at the complex mixture of spices, then at the fragrant breadcrumbs, and while quietly discussing what their daughter was cooking, they deftly peeled a basket of garlic, leaving only the cloves in the basin.
Next, Lin Sen cut the garlic into minced garlic, put it into a stone mortar, added some water, pounded it into garlic paste, and filtered out the garlic water.
After everything was ready, Linzhi finally took out the main ingredient of the day: the raw chicken. Her movements were skillful, and in the blink of an eye, she had cut the two chickens into eight pieces and sorted them according to their uses.
"Since we're going to make it, we might as well make a few more." Lin Zhi looked at the chicken on the chopping board and thought: "Fry the chicken legs, wings, and fillets. The remaining chicken racks can be braised, and the chicken giblets can be stir-fried into a hot and sour dish. This way it won't be a waste."
She first picked out the chicken wings and chicken legs and put them aside, then cut the chicken breast into long strips as thick as fingers, put them into a large bowl, sprinkled the prepared powder on it, and added garlic water to the bowl little by little, stirring it with her hands as she added.
She didn't stop until all the garlic juice had been absorbed by the meat strips and no more powder was visible on the surface. She also marinated the chicken wings and drumsticks in the same way, then covered them with cheesecloth and set them aside for half an hour.
When the marinating was complete and the oil pan on the stove was heated, Linzhi placed all the marinated chicken fillets in the breadcrumbs, holding the breadcrumbs in both hands and sprinkled them on top again and again, shaking and pressing them, and the originally sticky chicken fillets gradually separated.
With a twist of her wrist, the breaded chicken fillet slid into the frying pan.
With a sizzling sound, golden waves suddenly appeared in the oil pan. The golden chicken fillets were surrounded by countless bubbles, floating up and down in the oil pan.
In just a few breaths, the surface of the chicken fillet was set. Lin Zhi quickly picked up the long chopsticks and gently stirred the chicken fillets in the oil pan, quickly separating the chicken fillets that were stuck together.
When the chicken fillets were fried until golden and crispy, she took them out with a colander, drained off excess oil, placed them in a large bowl, sprinkled spicy cumin powder on them, and then held the bowl with both hands and shook it gently to evenly coat the chicken fillets with the powder.
"It smells so good!" Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang had already smelled the fragrance and came to the kitchen door. Looking at the fried chicken strips in the basin, their mouths were watering.
The two of them didn't care about the heat. They each picked up one, blew on it twice, and put it in their mouths.
The first bite you take is crispy.
The couple watched Linzhi making breadcrumbs the whole time. They never expected that this humble powder would be so fragrant after being fried. The crispy texture made them both squint their eyes.
When you bite through the skin, you will find the chicken inside is full of juice. It is obviously chicken breast with very little fat, but it is not dry at all. The gravy is mixed with the aroma of the seasoning powder, which is so delicious that it almost melts your tongue.
Eat one, two, three.
Just when Lin Sen and his wife were enjoying their meal, Chen Yan and Tao Yingce pushed the door open and walked in together.
"Wow, what does that smell like? What did Sister Zhi do?"
The fragrance that hit them made their eyes light up. They leaned over to look into the basin, but saw only an empty basin. They were stunned: "..."
Lin Sen looked down at the empty bowl, then looked at the two of them, scratching his head awkwardly: "You came at an inopportune time, we just finished eating."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Zhi came out from the kitchen again, holding a plate in her hand: "There are also fried chicken legs and fried chicken wings, freshly cooked as well."
The chicken legs and wings on the plate were shiny and greasy, with a little cumin on the golden skin, and the aroma went straight into people's noses.
Tao Yingce was the first to pick up a fried chicken leg. He bit it lightly with his teeth. With a crisp "crunch", the skin broke into pieces, and it was surprisingly crispy.
The chicken thigh meat inside is so tender that juice can be squeezed out of it. The rich aroma of oil mixed with the fragrance of the seasoning powder makes people unable to help but speed up their chewing.
"This chicken leg is so delicious!" Lin Sen had just eaten a lot of fried chicken strips and was worried that eating chicken legs would start to feel greasy.
But after taking a bite, his eyes lit up and he was completely immersed in the delicious taste. He picked up another chicken wing and started to eat it.
"This chicken wing is delicious, just suck it like this." Song Jiaoniang pushed the fried wings in her hand, held one, and sucked it gently. The crispy skin and the fat and lean chicken meat slid into her mouth, filling her mouth with the aroma of oil and meat.
Chen Yan picked up a wing tip. The small wing tip was fried until golden brown. He put it in his mouth and chewed it. Even the bones were broken. The burnt aroma was mixed with the aroma of meat. The more he chewed, the more delicious it became: "The wing tip is also delicious!"
Lin Zhi also came out and picked up a chicken leg to savor, secretly pondering the pros and cons. She wanted to be lazy, so she used the recipe for marinated chicken fillets, but the chicken leg meat was obviously thick, and after using this recipe, the taste was only acceptable, far from excellent.
If you want to sell it at the pre-sale event, you have to make some changes.
Although Lin Zhi thought it was just average, everyone present was very satisfied. Soon, the chicken legs and wings on the plate were eaten up by everyone.
A few people wiped their mouths with a look of unsatisfied satisfaction. Tao Yingce took the lead and asked, "Sister Zhi, are you planning to sell this at the pre-event?"
Linzhi smiled and nodded, washed her hands, and then wiped the water stains on her hands with a clean towel. "I thought I should eat something warm in winter, so I thought of this."
"Wrap it in breadcrumbs, doesn't it smell good?" she said, pointing to the remaining chicken racks and giblets on the counter. "The extra giblets can be cut up and stir-fried for a spicy and sour dish, and the chicken racks can also be grilled."
"Roasted chicken rack?" Tao Yingce and Shen Yan's eyes lit up, remembering the delicious food they had eaten on the way to Bianjing. Unfortunately, roasted chicken racks were not something they could eat in the wealthy families. Although they missed that delicious dish, they had not had access to it for several months.
"You guys want to eat? Should I make it now?"
"Great!" Chen Yan's face lit up with joy, his ears tinged with red as he spoke. Facing the mocking gazes of the others, he forcibly changed the subject: "I think your breadcrumbs are a novelty, something most people haven't seen before. Perhaps it could become a hit, but we'd have to explain this to our customers beforehand, lest anyone think it's something weird and be afraid to buy it."
Lin Sen also nodded. "Chen Lang is right. Last time we sold roast goose, someone asked what the oven-roasting method was. This time we should put up a wooden sign in front of the stall and simply write down the ingredients and cooking methods to save us from explaining them over and over again."
"Then write 'steamed bread bran' so that others won't be confused about what bread is."
"Yes, yes, there's more." Song Jiaoniang began to worry about the quantity. "We'll have five days of pre-heating, and the number of customers varies from day to day, so we have to estimate the amount of ingredients we'll need. If we don't have enough chickens, we'll have to order them in advance from the chicken farmers in the suburbs, so we don't sell out and make customers come in vain."
The most important thing is to be on guard against people like Manager Xie.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
