Chapter 142 Lotus Pod Wrapped Fish
The cook brought over the cleaned and drained lotus pods and asked, "Miss Wen, what should we do next?"
Wen Zhenyi asked her to cut off one-fifth of the length of the back of the lotus pod, then use a very small spoon to clean the inside of the lotus pod, and then use a small bamboo stick to push the lotus seeds in from the outside.
Finally, use a small spoon to clean the pulp inside again to ensure that the lotus pod is clean.
The cook was very careful, fearing that she would break the lotus pod if she used too much force.
When Wen Zhen saw that she had handled it well, he took the drained mandarin fish and pushed the knife close to the fish bones to remove the meat from the fish.
Then start to remove the fine thorns, which is also a delicate job that requires a lot of patience.
When Cheng Lesheng brought in the cleaned chicken innards, he was originally furious, but when he saw her carefully picking out the fish bones, it was as if everything around her was still at that moment, and nothing could disturb him.
For some reason, the anger in his heart seemed to slowly dissipate without a trace.
Wen Zhenyi picked out the last thorn and saw him standing opposite him: "Is it clean?"
Cheng Lesheng raised his head and said, "You can still stump me."
Wen Zhenyi pointed to the cooked mugwort beside him and said, "Master Cheng, please help me pound the mugwort leaves into a paste."
Cheng Lesheng didn't hear any praise, so he was angrily holding a basin of mugwort and pulling the servant to pound the mugwort paste.
Wen Zhenyi smiled and shook his head, then turned to the cook and said, "Could you please find me some of the tea leaves in your house?"
"Okay, Miss Wen, wait a moment."
Wen Zhenyi asked another cook to find some fruit and cut it into small pieces of appropriate size.
There is no plastic wrap here, so she used kraft paper to make Chunshuisheng. She doesn’t know if it will work, so she can only give it a try.
If that doesn't work, you can only use a mold like a cup. The shape may not look good, but it can be used.
While thinking about what Chun Shuisheng would need, she did not stop moving her hands and cut the fish meat, after removing the bones, into bean-sized cubes.
Add rice wine, soy sauce, pepper, salt and other seasonings and mix well.
After marinating for a while, slowly stuff it into the lotus pod. This process should be completed in several times to ensure that every corner is filled.
Do not press too hard during the stuffing process, otherwise the steamed fish meat will swell. If you stuff it too full, it will overflow from the lotus pod. It is fine as long as it is just level with the opening.
Wen Zhenyi also cut round leaves from lotus leaves and placed them under the lotus pods. In order to prevent the lotus leaves from shrinking during the steaming process, a little water was put in the plate.
While she was making lotus-filled fish, the cook who had gone to get the tea had already returned: "Miss Wen, this is all the tea we have in our house."
Wen Zhenyi brought back a large number of tea cans of various sizes, all neatly arranged on the work table, with each lid already opened, revealing the tea leaves inside.
She washed her hands, walked to the jars, picked them up one by one and checked them. There were white tea, green tea, Pu'er, Dahongpao... There were really many types of tea.
Finally she found the tea she wanted, jasmine tea.
"You can send the rest back, just keep the jasmine tea."
Wen Zhenyi took out the jasmine tea and put it in a large bowl. Instead of using boiling water, he chose to brew it with boiled water.
She stirred the tea in the large bowl for a moment, then set it aside.
The cook looked at her in confusion: "Miss Wen, why are you making tea with cold water?"
“It’s called cold brew tea.”
“It’s slightly different from tea brewed with boiling water.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen tea brewed this way.”
"This is tea, but it's also a dessert."
After Wen Zhenyi made the lotus pod wrapped fish, he put it aside and steamed it directly in a pot later. It would be ready in no time.
She began to knead the dough, preparing to make fried dumplings.
Today's filling is beef. I asked the cook to help chop the beef and she prepared a celery beef filling.
"Miss Wen, you don't have any requirements for dumplings, right?"
"No, just wrap it normally." When Wen Zhenyi came today, he also brought her toolbox and the freshly made frying pan.
She found that every time she had a new tool, it was used at the Cheng family's banquet.
Cheng Lesheng brought in the pounded mugwort paste and placed it on the table: "I have pounded the mugwort paste you asked for."
"Master Cheng is really becoming more and more capable."
"That's right, don't you see who I am? Tell me, what do you want me to do?"
Wen Zhenyi thought for a moment and asked, "Do you know how to boil quail eggs?"
"Quail eggs?"
"right."
“No, but I can learn.”
Wen Zhenyi looked at him with a smile: "Then please help me boil those quail eggs, Master Cheng. After they are cooked, peel the skins to avoid damaging the quail eggs inside."
Cheng Lesheng's mouth twitched. This damn girl was really rude when she ordered people around.
Wen Zhenyi mixed mugwort paste and flour together and asked the cook to help knead it into dough.
She started making ramen on the side. The noodles she wanted were thin, and hand-rolled noodles could not achieve the effect she wanted.
The cooks found that every time they cooked with her, they could learn a variety of cooking methods, and they really hoped to have more such opportunities.
Wen Zhenyi looked and saw that the cold brew tea had come out, so he filtered out the tea leaves and only left the tea soup.
She boiled some water, melted the white jelly and sugar, and poured them into the cold brew tea.
In order to prevent accidents with the kraft paper, she deliberately made some extra portions, some using small cups and some using kraft paper.
Place the cut fruit in the brown paper and cup, then pour the tea into it.
The cup is fine, there won't be any problem.
She carefully poured it into the kraft paper and found that the kraft paper was seeping through. Sure enough, it still didn't work.
She had no choice but to give up using kraft paper to make spring water. She poured the remaining tea into the teacup and waited for it to cool before taking it out.
The cook saw the torn brown paper and asked, "Miss Wen, can't we use it?"
"It doesn't work. It's not waterproof."
"How about tung oil cloth?"
"That's even worse. Tung oil contains some harmful substances to the human body. It's absolutely not suitable for food."
"I see, but can I use a cup?"
"It's okay, but the shape will be a little worse." Wen Zhenyi thought about asking someone to make some molds when he goes back, so that he can use them to make popsicles, or other things with unique shapes.
Before the tea cooled completely, she poured the tea into the cup. In the brown tea, she could see the fruit underneath.
After she finished her work here, the kneaded dough was ready to be used to make chrysanthemum and mugwort two-color steamed buns.
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Little knowledge: Lotus pod wrapped fish is recorded in "Shan Jia Qing Gong" by Lin Hong of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Holding family banquets was a popular activity among the upper class in the Southern Song Dynasty. This lotus-shaped fish dish originated from Li Chunfang's family banquet. Lin Hong also composed a poem about this dish, pointing out that the fish enters the lotus pod in order to "cross the Huachi Lake and transform into a dragon."
It implies that Li Chunfang will surely be able to "leap over the dragon gate" and pass the imperial examination in the future.
The Song Dynasty-style dish "Lotus Pod Fish Bun" was developed by Bagualou in Hangzhou in the 1980s. It uses mature lotus pods as the shell.
The preparation method is to dig out the lotus seeds, chop the fish meat and lotus seeds, add seasonings and roll them into lotus seed-sized particles, and then stuff them into the round hole of the lotus pod.
After steaming, pick out with a toothpick and dip in sauce to eat.
The "Lotus Pod Fish Bun" displayed in the Hangzhou Cuisine Museum is made using this method.
The above knowledge comes from "Song Yan".
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