Business was a bit average tonight. After Sparrow and Squirrel finished their meal and left, no new customers showed up.
While waiting, Mingyue simply started practicing cooking vegetarian dishes.
She wants to try making a vegetarian version of braised lion's head.
The key to this dish is using tofu and shiitake mushrooms to simulate the texture and flavor of meatballs.
Mingyue took out fresh tofu and mushrooms from the refrigerator, chopped them finely, then added appropriate amounts of starch, salt, sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil and mixed well.
Starch is added to make the filling sticky enough so that it can be shaped.
Mingyue gently rolls the mixed filling into balls and places them on a plate for later use.
Next comes the frying process.
Mingyue poured the oil into the pot and heated it until bubbles could be seen when chopsticks were put in.
She used a spoon to gently place the vegetarian meatballs into the oil pan, and the pan immediately made a sizzling sound.
While frying, gently turn the meatballs with chopsticks to ensure that they are evenly heated.
As time goes by, the lion's head gradually turns brown and emits an attractive aroma.
Mingyue fried a lot of vegetarian meatballs, after all, they can also be put into oden.
Remove the fried meatballs with a slotted spoon and place them on a kitchen rack to drain the oil.
Of course, as a chef, how can I not taste the food?
So she quickly took two meatballs that had just been cooked from the shelf, put them on a plate to cool, and prepared to let Bian Bao and Xiao Man taste them first.
Then, Mingyue picked up a vegetarian meatball with chopsticks. She blew gently on the meatball a few times to dissipate the heat.
When she felt the temperature was just right, she carefully took a small bite.
Sure enough, frying is happiness!
Mingyue muttered to herself, "Hmm, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, delicious, but it feels like something is missing."
The vegetarian meatballs are delicious, but they are just ordinary delicious. However, they cannot help Mingyue win the cooking competition.
"Cat, try it too!" Bread picked up a meatball from the plate and chewed it, then said with a bitter look, "It's delicious, but it doesn't taste like meat."
"This is made of tofu and mushrooms. It's normal that it doesn't taste like meat." Xiaoman also came over and explained the bread while eating his own piece.
Mingyue said: "It still needs seasoning. It will taste more like meat if it is braised in red sauce."
She heated oil in a pan, poured in sugar, waited for the sugar to caramelize, poured in a few meatballs, stir-fried them for a few times, then added soy sauce and oyster sauce, and simmered for 2 minutes before serving.
The appearance looks exactly like a lion's head and is so real that it can be mistaken for the real thing.
Mingyue tried it again and it was delicious. The meatballs made of tofu and mushrooms were springy and could be mistaken for the real thing.
However, if you want to discuss cooking, you still need to innovate based on ordinary vegetarian dishes.
"Maybe I can try combining vegetarian food with some modern cooking techniques." Mingyue whispered to herself.
She plans to try using molecular gastronomy to make a vegetarian version of "caviar."
"Xiaoman, please buy me some sodium alginate and calcium chloride."
After saying that, Mingyue poured out a bowl of soybeans, put them on a baking tray, and baked them in the oven for 20 minutes. After the beans were roasted until golden brown, she poured the beans into a soy milk maker, added water and made soy milk.
This is a method of making soy milk that does not require soaking the beans in advance. The soy milk produced has a slightly burnt aroma and tastes very good.
Pour the beaten soy milk into a large bowl, then add an appropriate amount of sodium alginate and stir well.
Then, Mingyue used a dropper to add the prepared soy milk drop by drop into the aqueous solution containing calcium chloride, so that small particles like "fish eggs" could be obtained.
This is achieved by utilizing a chemical reaction. Sodium salt dissolved in water forms a viscous liquid, but when it encounters calcium ions, it transforms into a water-insoluble gel. Therefore, the surface of the water droplets that come into contact with calcium chloride will condense, but the inside will not completely solidify, and there will be a "bursting" effect when bitten.
Xiaoman and Mianbao squatted beside, their eyes wide open, watching Mingyue produce fish eggs one by one as if performing magic.
"This is amazing! Is this a dish?!" Bread was stunned.
Mingyue smiled and put two fish eggs on Bianbao and Xiaoman's paws, letting them try.
In order to make the texture of fish roe more suitable, Mingyue specially made the soy milk thicker, so that it is more in line with the texture of fish roe when bitten.
Scoop out the remaining "soy milk caviar" and place it in a small bowl for later use.
Next, Mingyue prepared to make pan-fried asparagus as a accompaniment to the "caviar".
She picked up a few fresh asparagus spears from the chopping board, washed them gently, cut them into even small pieces, then put them into the hot pan and added a piece of butter. The butter slowly melted in the pan, emitting a charming aroma.
The seasoning of the vegetables is very simple, just some sea salt and black pepper are enough. These simple and pure seasonings perfectly bring out the delicious taste of the asparagus itself.
Asparagus cooks quickly and becomes bright green in a short time.
Put the fried asparagus into a plate and sprinkle the "caviar" evenly on it. The small white particles are like twinkling stars in the night sky, dotted among the green asparagus, making this fried asparagus look much more high-end and mouth-watering.
"This looks good," Mingyue clapped her hands, her eyes lighting up, "Ah, I know what I'm going to do!"
——
On the other side, Li Mingzhu was also preparing for the cooking discussion.
She stood in the spacious kitchen. On the counter in front of her were many carefully prepared dishes, each of which was delicious in appearance, aroma and taste. However, Li Mingzhu did not seem satisfied with the results.
She frowned slightly and muttered to herself, "This isn't good enough, it's not good enough, it's far from good enough..."
Anxiety surged into her heart like a tide, and Li Mingzhu began to pace back and forth in the kitchen.
Her hand kept rubbing her chin, and her pace became faster and faster. Her thoughts were like a bird trapped in a cage, eagerly looking for a way out.
These dishes are not good. Although they taste good, they may not necessarily win the prize.
Li Mingzhu never understood why her mother-in-law was so optimistic about a stranger, especially when this stranger was a "savage".
She doesn't belong to any family, any cooking school, or even any faction.
Li Mingzhu could fully imagine how others would frame her if she lost to such a guy.
"She's Mr. Li's granddaughter, and that's all she's capable of."
"The ability does not match the background."
"It's such a waste to not appreciate the blessings you have. Why not give me the opportunity to learn from Master Li?"
Thinking of these words, Li Mingzhu pursed her lips tightly into a line.
I absolutely cannot lose!
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