Chapter 306 Egg Mushroom
Zhao Xiaojing quickly beat the eggs, added two spoonfuls of starch, and stirred it together with the remaining starch paste in the bowl. Soon, a thick yellow egg paste took shape.
There was some lean meat on one side that was nicely sliced, but it wasn't quite the right size.
"Master Huang, I remember there's a small piece of the braised pig's ear from this morning that's still uncut?"
"Yes, what do you want it for?"
"Yeah, what do you want that for? At the very least you'll have to use pork belly, right?"
"Don't worry, Master Fan, I won't waste your lychee flesh! You will know soon." Zhao Xiaojing laughed.
Chef Huang looked at the porridge in the bowl in confusion. Although he didn't understand what Zhao Xiaojing was up to, he still went out and took out a few small pieces of leftover braised pig ears.
The pig ears served at the banquet are usually the part with crispy bones at the front end of the pig ear, which is thin and looks good when displayed. Therefore, the rest are the fat part at the base of the ear, which is basically not considered an ear, but rather a pig head with a little crispy bones.
Zhao Xiaojing took a look, simply trimmed the edges of the remaining braised pork head, cut it into half-centimeter thick squares, and then rolled it in egg batter.
"It's better to add a spoonful of oil to make it smoother," said Chef Fan. He and Chef Huang had stopped bickering and were folding their arms to watch the fun.
"That's right." Zhao Xiaojing thought about it and realized that it was indeed the case. She immediately added a spoonful of oil to the egg batter and stirred it again. The egg batter indeed became more compliant and smoother.
After evenly dipping the three square pieces of braised pork head in egg batter, put the pig ears into the frying pan.
"Girl, is this your innovative dish? Pig ear chops?" Chef Huang looked at it for a long time and couldn't help asking again. These square braised pig ears with a coating on them looked just like fried pork chops or chicken chops.
"Haha, no. I was thinking of a dish I had eaten before, and I have been wondering how to make its thick paste. I just tasted the crispier lychee meat, and suddenly I had an idea, so I hurried to try it out." When the pig's head meat was put into the pot, Zhao Xiaojing was expectant and did not keep it a secret any longer.
She'd been thinking about the pot-roasted pork knuckle she'd made several times in virtual practice over the past few days, but she'd never quite gotten the hang of the crucial egg paste. Just now, she'd tasted Chef Huang's starch paste, which used beer instead of water, and she suddenly had some ideas.
The egg batter I used to make was not fluffy or crispy enough, and it always felt heavy. So what if I follow Chef Huang’s method and replace the water with beer?
When the pig head meat covered with thick egg batter changes from light to dark, turning into a golden and slightly burnt color under the temperature of the oil pan, Zhao Xiaojing takes it out to drain the oil and sprinkles simply prepared pepper and salt on the surface of the "pig ear steak".
"Try it." The three of them each had a piece. As soon as Zhao Xiaojing put down the plate, the two of them started eating.
"Your dish may be strange, but it tastes pretty good, with a lot of layers. Two more eggs would make it even more fragrant. But what kind of dish are you thinking about that you're so obsessed with?"
"I think the batter could use two more grams of salt. It's crispy and fragrant, but after a few more bites, the flavor is a bit lacking."
"It's pot-roasted pork elbow. This dish is supposed to be dipped in tiger sauce, but it doesn't taste good without it." Zhao Xiaojing nodded, her eyes shining as she ate the hot "pig ear steak". This time, the thick egg batter should be the closest to passing the test.
Just as Chef Huang and Chef Fan said, the egg batter this time was much more crispy, fragrant and fluffy, but only one egg was beaten, so the egg aroma was not as strong. In addition, the Wei family kitchen lacked seasoning, and the simple pepper and salt made the taste not very prominent.
But this time, the rewards had already exceeded her expectations. She had a hunch that she was on the right track. She'd go back to the virtual space tonight to polish it up, and she should be able to get it up to par and buy a recipe. Zhao Xiaojing was filled with anticipation. Three cobblers are better than Zhuge Liang.
"Bozi, is this enough?" the second son asked, standing at the door, holding a basket of washed green peppers.
"That's enough, go ahead! Come on, Lao Huang, girl, today I'm going to make you guys convinced! I've eaten more salt than you two have cooked!"
Chef Fan took the green pepper, turned around, and continued his taunting mode. A new round of competition between the three of them began...
…
Zhao Xiaojing didn't leave the Wei family's house until five in the afternoon. Since she started setting up her stall, this was the first time she'd heard such a heated exchange of ideas about cooking. She'd even resorted to shouting instead of talking, feeling like her head was spinning from the whole afternoon's noise. Now that she was outside, the world felt much quieter.
But despite the quarrel, no one got angry, so it was still quite interesting.
"You're back! How's it going? Did you learn how to make lychee meat?"
"Oh, you're just thinking about eating. Let Xiaojing take a break. She's been busy all day and hasn't had a break yet!
Xiao Jing, are you hungry? If you are hungry, I will cook now. You can go upstairs and take a nap. I will call you when the meal is ready!
People in the countryside eat early, and generally Su's mother would have cooked by this time. However, she and Su's father had lunch at noon. After tasting all the dishes made by Zhao Xiaojing one by one, she started to eat them all in one go, and she still felt full until now.
"I'm not hungry. I've been cooking and tasting food all afternoon, so I'm still full now. I've learned how to make lychee meat, but I still need to practice more. Is uncle out?"
Zhao Xiaojing also sat on the sofa with the two of them. When she looked up, she found that the TV was broadcasting a replay of the Spring Festival Gala.
Zhao Xiaojing has been brainwashed by the replays played by Su's parents more than a dozen times. Every time, it's the part where the popular young actor sings loudly, with sharp and strong effects. I wonder if Su's parents can get used to it.
"He went to my second aunt's house to ask for fish." Su Yuchen winked.
Zhao Xiaojing opened her eyes wide and looked over, expressing her gossip with her eyes.
"Mom, let's have some porridge tonight? You guys can't eat, right?"
"You only know how to eat! I'll cook it right away."
"Hey, sit down. What you cooked is not tasty. Let's go. Sit down, sit down. Let's go to the kitchen to talk in private! What will we say if you go there?" Su Yuchen held down his mother who was about to get up, and put on a happy face under the roll of his eyes from his mother.
"What's going on, uncle?" Zhao Xiaojing started gossiping as soon as she got out of the door.
"Hehe, it's because I met my second aunt at the banquet today. My second aunt usually doesn't attend these banquets, but the old lady of the Wei family once asked my second aunt to help take care of her great-granddaughter, so she went when the Wei family invited her. I took the opportunity to explain this to my dad, and my dad saw that my second aunt was indeed chatting and laughing with me, so he went to copy homework."
"You're so naughty." Zhao Xiaojing laughed.
"Yeah, we have to come clean." Su Yuchen quickly glanced back toward the main hall, then lowered his voice as he pulled Zhao Xiaojing along. "Remember that food variety show Sister Qing filmed at our restaurant last time? It was previewed on TV today, and it's airing on the same satellite TV station my mom watches! She saw it, too!"
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