Chapter 210 No chicken, no freshness; no bones, no fragrance
After Wang Jiandang finished speaking, he bit the skin of the soup dumpling swiftly, gasped for breath, stared with his eyes wide open, and sucked the juice into his mouth.
As the soup dumplings gradually shriveled up, Wang Jiandang's expression changed from curiosity to enjoyment.
Seeing this, everyone at the table started drinking the soup in the same way as Wang Jiandang. As soon as the soup entered their mouths, everyone's expressions were surprisingly consistent with Wang Jiandang's.
The soup you want to drink is the fresh taste of the hot soup right out of the pot. Only the full heat can make the soup reach the best taste.
The small soup dumpling in my hand completely exceeded my expectations. The moment I bit into it, the soup gushed out and filled my entire mouth in the blink of an eye.
The soup is so fragrant that it is indescribable. It does not have too much seasoning taste, but the original freshness of the ingredients defeats the magic of all seasonings.
Especially when the rich meat aroma invades the entire taste buds, making people feel that it is delicious enough, a hint of sweetness slowly wraps around the tip of the tongue, giving people a sense of freshness and relief in the world of heavy meat aroma, and once again elevating the already delicious soup to the extreme.
"This soup tastes so good! The flavor of water chestnuts is blended just right, so fresh! So fresh!" After drinking the soup in one breath, Wang Jiandang praised it with satisfaction, and then buried his head to continue chewing the skin and filling of the soup dumplings.
This bite was quite a surprise.
He had recommended this flour, and he could tell it was chewy and firm—needless to say, the hallmarks of the flour from his hometown.
However, the skin of this soup dumpling is not only chewy, but also soft, tough and thin to the extreme. It is as thin as a cicada's wing, and the color of the filling can be seen from the outside, while it still retains its toughness and fragrance.
The filling is also very tender and juicy. When you take a bite, you can feel the crispness of the water chestnuts, the wheat aroma of the dough, and the tenderness of the pork. Wang Jiandang, who used to think that the soul of soup dumplings is in the soup, was amazed.
It felt like a pig that was carefully raised, fed water chestnuts every day, ran ten kilometers after eating, had a massage from time to time, and listened to chicken soup for the soul. It voluntarily walked into the slaughterhouse, and the moment after it was cut into pieces, it was sent here to be chopped into stuffing, then steamed and put into his mouth.
"Oh my god, why isn't Sister Jingzi selling soup dumplings?"
"Woo woo woo, my sister Jing is the coolest!"
"Dandan is right!"
"The chicken's death was worth it. I bought the mirror this morning."
"Indeed, it's worthy of being a soup made from an old hen. Junior Sister, the way you cook it is quite particular."
While Wang Jiandang was still savoring the aftertaste of the food, several young people had already started chattering and praising it, and while praising it, they picked up the second soup dumpling.
"Here, shredded ginger and vinegar. I almost forgot. What did Senior Brother Yun say about my particularity?"
Zhao Xiaojing hurried out of the kitchen, took out eight small plates, a bowl of finely chopped ginger, a large bowl of prepared vinegar, and a small spoon from the tray, and placed them in front of everyone.
"Xiao Zhao, you are so particular about the details of matching shredded ginger and vinegar!" Chen Huiping said with a smile.
"Oh, soup dumplings must be eaten with vinegar! Sister Jingzi made them so delicious that I forgot about it!" Lu Hongwen quickly stood up and distributed the small plates in front of him to everyone.
Yun Yongyuan waited until everyone had divided their plates before he smiled and spoke again. "I didn't see how this soup was originally prepared, but it's nothing more than adding scallions, ginger, and cooking wine.
I was a little confused when I saw you put some soy sauce in the soup when you cooked it at noon, but when I first tasted it, I found it was quite delicious. It took me a long time to figure it out."
"Oh, what do you understand?" Wang Jiandang asked with interest after hearing it.
"When we were learning to cook, our chef often said, 'No chicken, no freshness; no bones, no fragrance; no elbow, no richness; no water, no purity.'
In other words, using chicken to make the broth enhances the freshness, and using bones enhances the flavor. The pork elbow has thick skin fat and rich collagen, which can increase the richness. The same applies to my junior sister using pig skin.
In addition, fish and mutton are fresh, and mutton and seafood have a special freshness. The broth can enhance the freshness. The mutton has too strong a smell, and the dried shrimp added by the junior sister is just right.
With these ingredients, MSG and chicken essence can be replaced. Once the soy sauce is boiled, the natural flavor of the ingredients is fully brought out. Adding more seasoning would be counterproductive, so I think my junior sister’s method is quite particular.”
Everyone was a foodie, and they were eating soup dumplings around the table while staring at Yun Yongyuan intently. Upon hearing this, the soup dumplings in their hands seemed to smell even more delicious.
"Xiao Zhao is awesome! Xiao Yun is pretty good too!" As Wang Jiandang was speaking, he had already finished the second shepherd's purse soup dumpling and took the time to look up and compliment him.
“Brother Yun is indeed a formally trained culinary artist. I still have a lot to learn from you.
The second pot is almost ready, I'll go serve it, everyone feel free to eat, there's still plenty!"
Zhao Xiaojing said this and hurried to the kitchen. Yun Yongyuan, who was sitting at the table, scratched his head embarrassedly. Before he could even try to be humble, Zhao Xiaojing had disappeared.
Zhao Xiaojing walked, lost in thought. Although she was a decent cook, and even after her rebirth, she had a system that assisted her in her development, she still fell far short of someone who had truly learned cooking through proper methods, just like this soup.
The reason why her soup is so delicious is that she has experimented with it countless times in the virtual space. In addition, she has some experience in making broth for braised pork trotter rice, so she subconsciously stews it around a few ingredients, and the seasonings are also added and reduced one by one through trial and error.
But she didn't understand why it was so delicious just by adding soy sauce, nor did she understand why the soup tasted best when cooked in this way. She just went by her feeling.
But with a little thought, Yun Yongyuan was able to break down the logic and explain it thoroughly, and he could understand why this soup was a good one.
Besides constant practice, experimentation, and systematic culinary courses, what other methods can be used to bridge this gap and become a truly well-rounded chef? Zhao Xiaojing pondered as she stared at the clock.
After a while, Zhao Xiaojing opened the pot, took out another basket of steamed soup dumplings, and then steamed a new basket of soup dumplings next to it.
The steamer in the kitchen is large and there are three steaming trays. In fact, you can also steam the soup dumplings in two or even three steaming trays at the same time, but if you steam them all at once, the soup dumplings will be left for too long and will slowly collapse after losing the high temperature, and the taste will also deteriorate.
"The soup dumplings are here." Zhao Xiaojing shouted, and Su Yuchen quickly put away the empty steamer on the table from which the last soup dumpling had just been taken, and Zhao Xiaojing put a new steamer on it.
"Xiao Zhao, you should sit down and eat something too." Chen Huiping waved to Zhao Xiaojing.
Everyone had already cleared Zhao Xiaojing's seat and put the chopsticks and plates in place. It would take a while for the new soup dumplings to be steamed, so Zhao Xiaojing smiled and sat down.
"Aunt Chen, Uncle Wang, how is it?" Zhao Xiaojing asked with a smile as she added shredded ginger and vinegar to the dish according to her own needs.
Su Yuchen on the side raised her head when she heard this. Others may not know, but she knew that these soup dumplings were made for the two of them from the beginning.
Although Wang Jiandang has praised the deliciousness of the soup, he wonders if it is any different from the water chestnut soup dumplings he really wants to eat?
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