Chapter 207: Cooking is a process of tempering steel
After a quick cleanup after dinner, Zhao Xiaojing re-projected the kitchen and entered the virtual space to continue practicing.
Today we have enough ingredients, everything except the flour that Wang Jiandang specifically specified is available. Moreover, we have already tested the best solutions for every detail such as rolling the dough, seasoning, and the proportion of fillings, so we can make the complete water chestnut soup dumplings without having to piece them together.
The old hen Zhao Xiaojing bought in the morning had hard teeth and firm leg meat. It felt like a two or three-year-old chicken. She spent nearly 200 yuan on one.
After chopping off the toenails and chicken butt, cut it in half, clean the internal organs and blood clots in the chest cavity, and then clean the large bones in the same way, blanch them in cold water and wash them clean.
Next, prepare the pig skin. After blanching, scrape off the fat, cut into strips and scrub repeatedly. In the meantime, boil the water. Then put the cut and scrubbed pig skin, chicken, large bones, and dried shrimp into the pot. Add the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim off the fat and slight foam on the surface, and continue to simmer over low heat.
It was still early, and according to her previous experience in making broth, the best taste would be achieved by simmering it on low heat for 6-8 hours. Since time flowed slowly in the virtual space anyway, Zhao Xiaojing was not in a hurry. She entered the learning module on the spot, looked at the pile of carrots, radishes, cucumbers and knives that appeared out of thin air in front of her, and began to practice carving.
The carving course was more complicated than Zhao Xiaojing had imagined. She had thought that with a solid foundation in knife skills, learning carving would be much easier. However, when she actually started learning, she discovered that carving knives are very different from kitchen knives. The types and models of carving knives alone are much more complicated than those of kitchen knives.
In her first lesson, Zhao Xiaojing only learned carving knife techniques. It took her several hours to learn the knife models, not to mention the actual carving. She felt crazy when carving the simplest animals or lines, and she would accidentally scratch her hands. The whole object she carved turned out to be all kinds of strange, and her hands were covered with holes, resulting in physical injuries.
Fortunately, it is a virtual space. Although the pain is real, the wound will no longer exist after I get out.
Zhao Xiaojing concentrated intently with her carving knife, first carving the white radish into a pentagonal three-dimensional mound. Then, starting from the top of the mound, she scooped out the excess radish flesh bit by bit. Then, a thick petal shape gradually emerged, followed by the second, the third...
Seven hours later...
Zhao Xiaojing looked at the table full of cherry blossoms, peonies, roses, lotus flowers, pagodas, rabbits, butterflies, etc., and her eyes were a little dull.
Among this pile of things, simple ones like cherry blossoms, pagodas, and rabbits that she had practiced many times have been carved into pretty good shapes, while the other pile of slightly more complicated ones such as peonies, lotus flowers, dahlias are so weird that Zhao Xiaojing herself can't even bear to look at them.
Putting down the carving knife, Zhao Xiaojing let out a breath, rubbed her sore fingers, removed the module, and uncovered the soup pot that was already emitting a fragrant aroma.
The broth has been cooked to high heat, and after repeatedly skimming off the fat on the surface, the broth turns into a rich yellow-white color.
Zhao Xiaojing then filtered the soup into a container and put it in the refrigerator to freeze.
Then I kneaded the dough, let it rest, and waited for the jelly to freeze and rest before continuing to practice carving...
Another two hours later.
Zhao Xiaojing used the quick module to chop the pork front leg meat, frozen jelly, and water chestnuts into fillings, then mixed them according to the proportions, stirred them evenly, wrapped them, and put them in the steamer.
This time, Zhao Xiaojing was confident and steamed four dumplings in one pot. After eight and a half minutes, Zhao Xiaojing gently opened the steamer to reveal four complete dumplings, plump and complete, lying on the paper mat of the steamer. As she lifted the steamer, the dumplings trembled and swayed, like waves about to burst through their thin, delicate skin.
Zhao Xiaojing stood further away, stretched out her arms and picked up the soup dumplings one by one with chopsticks, ready to burst at any time. However, after picking up the soup dumplings, they only fell visibly and continued to shake, with no sign of bursting.
Zhao Xiaojing felt relieved, picked up the small bowl, took a light bite of the soup dumpling, and then tilted the soup dumpling and quickly sucked in the soup.
The soup is a little hot when it enters your mouth, and it quickly fills your entire mouth with high temperature, giving you a thrill the moment it touches your tongue.
The adjusted juice is just the right amount of freshness, with the rich aroma of soup and meat dissolved in it, and a faint sweetness of water chestnuts, which activates the sensitive taste buds as soon as they come into contact with it.
The moment the soup comes out, the aroma that has been suppressed in the soup dumpling skin for a long time also bursts out, dancing continuously in the air. For a moment, the mouth and nose are all filled with the rich but refreshing meat aroma, making people immersed in the pure world of food and unable to stop.
Zhao Xiaojing drank up the soup with satisfaction, then bit off half of the soup dumpling that was half shriveled and looked "skin and bones", including the skin and filling, and began to taste it carefully.
After tasting the soup dumplings one by one without realizing it, Zhao Xiaojing clearly felt that the soup dumplings were a success.
The proportion of the filling is strictly adjusted according to three fat and seven lean. After biting it, the meat filling is tightly held together, and you can vaguely see white water chestnuts mixed in it. After eating it, it is fat and lean in the right way, chewy and tender, while also having the crispness of water chestnuts.
The entire filling is not only imbued with the aroma of the soup, but is also permeated with the light sweet taste of water chestnuts. It not only makes the meat filling look very delicious, but also adds a freshness while being delicious.
Zhao Xiaojing smiled easily. Cooking skills are indeed a process of tempering steel over time. Even if there are times when you are puzzled, but after continuous attempts and efforts, there will always be a day when it will bear fruit.
Ding~
[After system evaluation, the current chef level is: 22 (beginner, a relatively newbie with limited success, the maximum level is 100). This upgrade will receive 600 system coins and 5000 cash!]
Zhao Xiaojing was able to upgrade her soup dumplings after researching them. This was proof that her cooking skills had improved. She couldn't help but secretly praise the system for its effectiveness. She then jumped to the skill mall in one go and generously bought the next three cooking classes. Out of the more than 6,000 system coins, only 260 were left.
Without taking the time to study the new course, Zhao Xiaojing exited the virtual space directly. While it was still early and no one was in the kitchen, she quickly used the shortcut module to process the ingredients.
After coming out, she looked up at the time and found that only more than ten minutes had passed. Zhao Xiaojing was secretly happy again. After quickly processing the ingredients using manual labor and the quick module, she put the old hen, leg bones and pig skin directly into the pressure cooker.
While the virtual soup was suspended for seven hours, that's not possible in real life. After the broth is suspended, there's no time to make the jelly. The difference in flavor is not noticeable after the soup is wrapped in the dumplings, and even those without a serious taste for it can't really tell the difference.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
