Chapter 66 Lychee Shrimp Balls
However, regardless of the circumstances, Jiang Zhi eventually had to start making the cuts.
She first coated the chopped chicken breast with egg white and cornstarch, then poured in cooking wine, washed her hands, and began to mix it well to marinate and lock in the moisture.
Then I blanched the other ingredients in water briefly.
During this time, Jiang Zhi also took the opportunity to use her ingenuity to blanch some peas to enhance the flavor of the dish.
Once the vegetables were blanched, they were considered processed. Jiang Zhi then took a bowl and started preparing the ingredients.
Jiang Zhi considered this dish, "Hibiscus Brocade Chicken," and felt it didn't need a heavy, elaborate seasoning. Instead, she wanted to emphasize the natural flavor of the food. Therefore, she kept the seasoning light, adding only three swirls of soy sauce, a pinch of cornstarch, and enough salt to taste. She then added water and stirred it to create the sauce that could be poured into the pot.
Jiang Zhi planned to make this dish first so that everyone present could try it out and make any necessary improvements.
If there are no other problems, we can start stir-frying using this method at noon.
Because stir-frying isn't particularly slow, but dishes that emphasize the original flavor of the food will likely become extremely unpalatable if left for several hours.
*
With that in mind, Jiang Zhi simply picked out a portion of the dish, grabbed the iron pot, and prepared to start cooking.
First, as usual, the oil was heated in the wok, which is nothing special. The only difference this time was that, in order to avoid the flavors mixing, Jiang Zhi used soybean oil, which has a milder oil flavor than lard.
You won't taste any oiliness when you eat it.
Of course, Jiang Zhi has also encountered negative examples. Her own apprentice presented her with a stir-fried sweet potato vine dish with a strong soybean oil flavor for his first dish. Seriously, Jiang Zhi couldn't understand how the vegetable could have such a strong soybean oil flavor at the time.
Until I saw how much oil the apprentice used...
Jiang Zhi finally understood. Years ago, she gestured with her hands, a hint of disbelief in her eyes, as she looked at her apprentice with a strange expression.
"You mean you put this much in?"
Even though this incident is so outrageous that it has traveled back to ancient times, Jiang Zhi still can't forget it.
That's enough to prove how outrageous the apprentice was at pouring oil back then.
While pouring the oil, Jiang Zhi couldn't help but think of this matter again.
For her, the memories of the past were like shards of glass on the beach, always reflecting a unique brilliance in the sunlight, unconsciously bringing back those fragmented yet beautiful moments...
*
Lost in her thoughts, Jiang Zhi came to her senses and discovered something even more unfortunate.
Great, she was daydreaming just now and accidentally spilled too much.
Jiang Zhi hissed softly and clicked her tongue as she was about to speak, while simultaneously pouring out the oil.
But then, she came up with a brilliant idea!
She first shook the drained vegetables again to make sure there were no water droplets on them. Then she looked at them and saw that the side dishes for this Hibiscus Brocade Chicken, besides the chicken breast, included cucumber, peas, and wood ear mushrooms. In addition, Jiang Zhi had also cut some diamond-shaped sausages herself. That was all.
Jiang Zhi glanced at the side dishes and found that only the wood ear mushrooms seemed unsuitable for deep-frying; the rest, once fried, would be even more... mouthwatering.
So, if the theory holds true, then the practice is to discard the wood ear mushrooms and fry the rest in the oil; the flavor will surely be even better!
Jiang Zhi thought quickly and verified the idea repeatedly. After confirming that her approach was correct, she simply took the funnel with holes punched in it and put the side dishes on it to drain the water before throwing them into the oil.
In an instant, it exploded in the oil.
It wasn't the kind of explosion that launches three feet into the air and makes people back away. Instead, countless tiny, dense oil bubbles slowly rose from the bottom, filling the entire surface of the oil.
The soybean oil, which was originally slightly yellow and translucent, suddenly appeared somewhat white.
It only took two seconds to fry, and Jiang Zhi silently counted in her mind.
The cucumbers naturally had to be taken out first, as they don't hold up well to frying. The peas could be fried a little longer. The sausages could be fried until the skin was slightly charred. While silently calculating in her mind, Jiang Zhi's hands moved without hesitation, like a seasoned fisherman, repeatedly pulling in and out of the oil.
Once all the items were fished out, the entire room was instantly filled with the aroma of fried food, attracting everyone's attention.
The most fragrant item was undoubtedly the fried sausage. Even in modern times, fried sausage is one of the most lucrative items sold at street stalls, let alone a sausage that's just made of starch. This sausage, however, was made by Jiang Zhi, who carefully seasoned and stuffed it with meat bit by bit. When it was fried in oil, the aroma of the meat and the smoky fragrance of the sausage skin wafted to everyone's noses, leaving those who had never experienced such a delicious flavor completely bewildered.
They couldn't help but quietly swallow their saliva.
*
Jiang Zhi, however, did not realize this.
In fact, having experienced the tantalizing aromas of countless delicious treats wafting from modern food streets, Jiang Zhi had a pretty good resistance to fried food. Therefore, she completely missed the hungry stares of the people behind her.
She continues to do it.
Perhaps because the oil in that pot could still be used, she simply switched to another pot, poured in enough oil to coat the pot, and then quickly stir-fried the marinated chicken breast, fried vegetables, and wood ear mushrooms together with the spatula, creating beautiful curves as they were stirred and flipped in the pot.
When the whole pot was almost dry, Jiang Zhi, who was used to cooking, felt that if she didn't add some water, the whole pot would burn.
Jiang Zhi didn't even look up before pouring in the prepared sauce. This sauce wasn't particularly strong in flavor compared to Jiang Zhi's usual taste. It had only one advantage: it brought out the natural flavor of the food. With the help of the fire, the sauce thickened due to the addition of starch, becoming sticky and clinging to the food, forming a coating.
...
After a final stir-fry, this pot of food, the result of countless creative ideas from Jiang Zhi, was finally ready to be served.
Then Jiang Zhi turned around and saw many drooling eyes.
She paused for a moment, slightly taken aback.
*
After Zuo Tianyuan bravely stepped forward and, undeterred by difficulties, used his charm and cuteness to his advantage, Jiang Zhi finally realized: what a devastating blow this modern fried junk food was to ancient people!
She simply let everyone pick up their chopsticks and take two or three pieces to taste, while also seeing if they had any suggestions.
As Jiang Zhi expected, the sausages were the first to be devoured.
Moreover, several people who picked up the sausages only chewed a few times before their faces immediately showed a look of enjoyment. Some even finished eating but still felt a lingering fragrance in their mouths, savoring the taste with great relish.
Even Zuo Tianyuan was no exception. Before he could even swallow his food completely, he raised his head and looked at Jiang Zhi with a pleading look, trying to soften her heart so he could get another bite.
However, the cold and heartless Jiang Zhi completely ignored that look.
There was only one plate, and not many sausages; there wasn't enough for everyone else to share!
However, when she met the boy's puppy-dog eyes, she softened for a moment and quickly picked up her chopsticks to give the child the cucumber slice that was left on the side.
Zuo Tianyuan is not a picky child. Although he was a little disappointed that there were no sausage slices for the next round, the cucumbers that Sister Jiang picked up seemed to be tastier than the cucumbers he usually pointed to on CCTV. Therefore, he ate them with great relish.
*
And just like that, the whole plate was completely devoured.
While everyone was enjoying themselves and feeling incredibly energetic while working, only one person did not get what he wanted.
Who else could it be?
Of course, it has to be ginger!
When she saw how hungry this group of people looked, she realized that without experiencing the bombardment of modern fried food, this era would be unable to resist fried sausages.
Therefore, it is estimated that in the minds of those who have eaten this dish, the points gained by fried sausage far outweigh the points lost by other ingredients that may not have been prepared well.
Therefore, trying to test this method in advance by getting information from these people is pointless.
However, Jiang Zhi tried to comfort herself, after all, her boss had never experienced the bombardment of modern fried food, so he should be able to be attracted by this fried sausage!
She pondered and pondered, and finally found some peace of mind!
*
After the dish was initially decided, Jiang Zhi went to check on the sous chef's side. They had more people on staff, but that was because the dish was more difficult to make.
That's right. The three people over there ordered two dishes in total: lychee shrimp balls and salted egg yolk tofu casserole.
Although Jiang Zhi listed out every step as clearly as possible, but—
Cooking is a craft; if you don't know it, you don't know it; if you don't understand it, you don't understand it. The difficulty of converting speech into practice is doubled.
In short, neither of these two dishes has been made yet.
Jiang Zhi remained silent, simply pushing the three bewildered bits of paste behind her, taking the spatula, and preparing to begin.
*
On the cutting board in front of Jiang Zhi, she saw that the shrimp had already been shelled by the quick-handed waiter. Jiang Zhi simply took the knife next to her, made a slight cut, and the black line on the back was pulled out.
As Jiang Zhi sat there, she gestured to the three people. After confirming that although they looked a little confused, they were determined to learn the technique, she prepared to move on to the next step.
There was nothing Jiang Zhi could do; she was trying her best to adapt to the new era in every other way, but she couldn't keep up with some of the modern people's hygiene habits.
For example, there's a rule that you must remove the shrimp vein when eating shrimp.
Speaking of this, she couldn't help but think of how her family didn't care about food when she was little, and how when she grew up and found out what kind of food it contained, Jiang Zhi's face turned ashen, as if she had fallen into a toilet.
Although it was later clarified that the shrimp vein is a digestive tract, mainly consisting of food residue and mud, and not that disgusting, Jiang Zhi still couldn't bear to look at shrimp without the vein removed.
*
Once the shrimp veins were removed, the shrimp were considered mostly processed. Jiang Zhi didn't find the subsequent steps difficult, so she didn't bother with the meticulous process of removing the shrimp veins, ensuring everyone saw everything clearly.
Not only that, but probably to save time, she also quietly sped up her typing speed.
Jiang Zhi first picked up a knife, blade upwards, and used the back of the knife to finely and repeatedly mince the shrimp meat and the little bit of pork fat mixed in. Then she put it into a bowl, poured in a circle of wine, pepper, and salt, and stirred it until it was no longer granular to the touch. That was about it.
The purpose of this step is simple: to knead the shrimp meat until it becomes firm and remove any fishy smell.
Then, there's the so-called lychee shrimp ball part.
Jiang Zhi skillfully used both hands to squeeze the shrimp paste that had just been stirred into a ball shape. She then gently pinched it to keep it in the shape of a lychee before brushing a layer of red yeast rice water on top.
In this way, the lychee shrimp ball, with its slightly pinkish-white interior and deep red exterior, is gradually completed.
*
"If it were just this step and that were the end of it, then this dish couldn't be said to have reached the pinnacle of flavor."
Just as the three people behind her were about to lose focus, Jiang Zhi suddenly gave them this timely reminder.
In that instant, all three people's attention was drawn to it.
Even so, the three of them were still a little confused. Shouldn't they just put it directly into the steamer and sprinkle some sauce on top?
Jiang Zhi hadn't taught the recipe completely from the beginning, and these words suited her perfectly, so she didn't explain and just continued cooking on her own.
She first took a pot from the stove, poured in enough oil, and waited until the oil was heated to about 40% of its maximum temperature. When she could see the faint steam rising from the pot, she put the shrimp balls into the pot and stir-fried them in the warm oil until they were set. Then she took out the shrimp balls, which had been slightly fried and pan-fried and looked particularly bright red.
Then leave a little oil in the pan, add scallions, ginger, and garlic to sauté until fragrant, then discard the scallions, ginger, and garlic. The main purpose is to remove the spiciness and leave a fragrant aroma.
Then, the shrimp balls are rolled in the sesame oil along with the sweet and sour sauce made with sugar water, vinegar, and soy sauce, until the shrimp balls are fully coated with the sauce. Only then is the dish considered complete.
Jiang Zhi herself also took a small bite. The shrimp meat was chewy and springy, the sauce was sweet and sour, and the shrimp looked pretty and cute.
good!
She quietly added this dish to her list of dishes she wanted to eat again.
*
After finishing the lychee shrimp balls, the remaining salted egg yolk tofu casserole seemed so much more welcoming and approachable.
Before making it, Jiang Zhi took a look and saw that the Zhang family had put a lot of effort into preparing the ingredients this time. Even the salted egg yolks (anciently known as "salted egg yolks") were carefully selected, and the ones selected were all yellow and oily!
It looks delicious!
That's all that's needed to say.
Jiang Zhi doesn't even need to review how the recipe was written; she can just create whatever she wants.
First, put in the lard, then fry the ginger slices for two minutes. When they are almost done, take them out and put in the salted egg yolks. Use a spatula to crush them repeatedly, and then stir-fry them until they become sandy. Then, put the tofu in as well.
Then fry it again.
Once the tofu is golden brown on both sides, pour boiling water along the edge of the pan. Instantly, the umami flavor, along with the slowly rising thick white broth, will tantalize your taste buds.
Finally, leave a few things in the soup.
That means we've accomplished our mission!
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Author's note: I'll take a break tonight and continue updating tomorrow morning!
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