Chapter 91 Preserved Vegetable and Pork Patties, Cheese Chicken and Potato Tarts, ...
Each yam section was about the thickness of two fingers, cut quite short. A bite revealed a soft, powdery texture, the delicate aroma of yam gradually spreading in the mouth with each chew, infused with a hint of meaty flavor. Because it was soaked in soup, you could occasionally taste the savory broth as you bit into it.
After finishing a piece of yam in three or four bites, Zhao Yongnian thought the yam was quite good, being both starchy and glutinous. So he picked up another piece of yam from the bowl and continued eating.
The yam is smooth and delicate. After taking the first bite, you don't even need to use your teeth. Just use your tongue to gently push it down and you can crush it into small pieces, making it easy to swallow.
Because it absorbs some of the broth, this way of eating it doesn't feel dry at all; everything is just right.
After finishing the piece of yam, Zhao Yongnian then picked up some spare ribs to eat.
Having eaten at Gu's Private Kitchen so many times, he had naturally drunk plenty of pork rib soup. He knew that the restaurant always used high-quality pork ribs to make this soup, so he ate it with a sense of appreciation.
Even if the ribs are made with the same ingredients, if the soup is different, the ribs will taste different.
Right now, he's eating pork ribs, which are stewed until very tender and fall off the bone with a single bite. The meat is fresh, savory, and fragrant, with a hint of yam aroma. Even the broth has a sweet yam flavor, making it very delicious.
He savored the food, eating slowly and deliberately.
Zhao Yuanzheng knew from the first sip of the soup that it was excellent, undoubtedly made with high-quality ingredients. The soup was full of the sweetness of yam and the savory aroma of pork ribs. He guessed that the pork ribs had released a lot of oil, but there were not many oil droplets on the surface of the soup. It was not greasy at all, and had a smooth and slightly thick texture. The soup was truly fresh and flavorful.
Zeng Musi also thought the soup was delicious. She loved to make soup during her time off, and the hot and humid weather in Jiang City was perfect for drinking soup to cool down, so it had become a habit for every household.
She knew exactly how many ingredients were needed to make such a rich and flavorful soup. The yam and pork ribs were ingredients that her family would buy at a high price at the market, just so that her family could eat better.
She sipped her soup, savoring the flavor, and then picked up some yam and pork ribs to eat. The yam was soft and delicate, with a smooth and sweet taste, while the pork ribs were tender, savory, and flavorful, without becoming bland because the oil and meat flavor had seeped into the soup.
Normally, after making soup, Zeng Musi would simply drink the soup and eat the soup ingredients until she was full, without asking for more rice or vegetables. So she was also enjoying her meal now, eating whatever was in her bowl without any worries, without thinking about being too full later.
Because his mother often makes soup, Xuanxuan doesn't resist drinking soup before meals. Once he picks up the bowl and tastes the fresh and sweet flavor, he likes it even more and obediently finishes the whole bowl.
After putting down the bowl, Xuanxuan picked up the cola and started drinking. He saw his grandfather eating the yam with his eyes squinting with happiness, and then he saw his parents eating the ribs with great relish. He took another sip of cola, feeling the bubbles rise and dance in his mouth, and swallowed it down along with the sweet aroma.
Xuanxuan was finally tempted. The child, who had always only drunk the soup and never ate the broth, reached out and tugged at his mother's sleeve: "Mom, can you give me a piece of pork rib and some yam too?"
Zeng Musi was a little surprised, and even Zhao Yuanzheng looked at her with surprise. Zhao Yongnian, on the other hand, was very happy: "Xuanxuan knows his stuff. He knows that these yams and ribs are especially delicious and he wants to try them."
So at that time, his son only gave Xuanxuan soup and didn't try to persuade him to eat more. If Xuanxuan saw them eating yam and pork ribs so deliciously and wanted to eat some, that would be great. If he still wasn't tempted, that was fine too, since there were so many delicious meat dishes to come.
Xuanxuan chuckled and said, "I saw Grandpa, Dad, and Mom eating so deliciously, so I wanted to try it too."
Zeng Musi had already scooped up a piece of pork rib and a yam for him with a soup spoon, but she didn't dare to scoop up too much, afraid that the child wouldn't be used to it.
Compared to yams, pork ribs are naturally more tempting. The meat-loving child, Xuanxuan, picked up his chopsticks and immediately took a piece of pork ribs to eat. He chewed and nodded, and the three adults watching him instantly knew that he liked and was satisfied.
Sure enough, after Xuanxuan spat out the bone, chewed the meat in his mouth and swallowed it, he immediately said, "This rib is pretty good. The meat is soft and won't get stuck in your teeth. It's salty and a little sweet, just like the soup I drank earlier."
Typical childlike expression.
Zhao Yongnian laughed and said, "I'm glad you like it. You should try the yam."
Zhao Yuanzheng and Zeng Musi smiled and encouraged their son with their eyes to try the yam.
Xuanxuan agreed and then used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of yam from the bowl and eat it.
The taste was different from what he had imagined. It was soft, sweet, and delicate, somewhat like the mashed potatoes he liked to order at KFC, but with the unique fragrance of yam. He quite liked the taste, so he chewed it, swallowed it, and then took another bite, quickly finishing the piece of yam.
He said excitedly, "This yam tastes pretty good! No wonder you guys were eating it so deliciously." Then he pouted and said aggrievedly, "If I hadn't asked you, you wouldn't have told me."
Zeng Musi shrugged helplessly and said, "Who told you to only drink soup at home all the time? Besides, you can ask for what you want to eat. Only by taking the initiative can you seize the opportunity. Who feeds you every day?"
Zhao Yongnian nodded in agreement: "Yes, Xuanxuan, you did a great job just now. You saw us eating so well and wanted to try it, so you started talking about it. Now you like it as soon as you taste it, right? Eat more!"
After hearing what his mother and grandfather said, Xuanxuan was no longer upset. The storm had passed, and he smiled and agreed. He then picked up his bowl and gestured for his mother to scoop some more yam and pork ribs for him to eat.
Seeing him eat so heartily, the three adults also developed a bit of an appetite. They either continued eating the leftover yam and pork ribs in their bowls or drinking the soup, or they would get a small half-bowl of soup to drink again.
Although Xuanxuan accepted the soup made with yam and pork ribs and thought it tasted good, it wasn't as appealing as his usual favorite food. After the waiter brought out a dish of preserved vegetable and pork patties, he didn't even glance at the yam and pork ribs.
He was quite adept with chopsticks. He immediately reached out and poked at the plate of smooth, thick, and large preserved vegetable and pork patties with his chopsticks, picked up a piece and ate it. The next second, he excitedly said, "Dad, Mom, Grandpa, this preserved vegetable and pork patty is delicious, try it!"
The adults smiled and agreed, also looking forward to the preserved vegetable and pork pie.
A large piece of meat patty covered the entire white porcelain plate. Now, because Xuanxuan had picked off a small piece, it looked like a broken piece of jade. The meat was tender and fresh, and the dark brown preserved mustard greens were mixed in with the meat patty without being separated. You could only smell the fragrance of the preserved mustard greens in the air. The edge of the meat patty was connected to some orange-yellow and clear soup in the plate. This kind of steamed soup looked delicious.
Zhao Yongnian was busy finishing the yam in his bowl, which is why he didn't immediately taste the meat dish.
Unlike the younger ones, he wasn't greedy and always looking for more. He casually glanced at the remaining yam in Xuanxuan's bowl and thought to himself, before reaching out with his chopsticks to pick up a piece of preserved vegetable and pork pie and tasting it.
The meat patties are tender and juicy, with the fragrance of preserved mustard greens lingering in the air, and the unique sweet and salty flavor makes this dish very delicious.
The meat in the steamed preserved vegetable and pork patty is minced meat with a ratio of three parts fat to seven parts lean. You can even clearly see the fat particles on the patty. When you bite into it, you can feel the oil seeping out. It's fatty but not greasy, and lean but not dry, which adds a touch of aroma.
After taking a few bites to finish the preserved vegetable and pork pie, the sweet and salty aroma of the preserved vegetables and the fresh flavor of the pork lingered in my mouth, leaving a lasting impression.
Zeng Musi also picked up a piece of preserved vegetable and pork pie and ate it.
She doesn't usually order meat patties when she eats out, because she always feels that either the proportion of fat is too high and makes them too greasy, or too much starch is added to shape them and they lose the texture of meat.
At home, I do steam meat patties, but I try to use lean minced meat to avoid making them too greasy. Today, I came over because I didn't want to spoil my father-in-law's mood, and I also trusted Gu's Private Kitchen, so I ordered this preserved vegetable and meat patty.
I hesitated a bit when I first saw the bits of fatty meat in the preserved vegetable and pork patty on the plate, but as I tasted it, that hesitation was long gone, leaving only pure enjoyment and satisfaction.
The unique sweet and salty aroma of the preserved mustard greens was very strong, yet it didn't mask the tenderness of the meat patty. When you bit into it, you could taste some juice, and for a moment you couldn't tell whether it was the clear orange-yellow sauce you had just seen on the plate or the oil seeping out from the fatty bits of meat in the patty.
All she knew was that these meat patties with some bits of fat didn't taste as greasy as she had imagined. On the contrary, because of the extra fat, the meat patties had a soft and moderate texture, unlike the dry ones she usually steamed.
Zhao Yuanzheng ate the preserved vegetable and pork pie and thought it tasted pretty good, savory and flavorful, and went well with rice.
Before the old man could even bring up the matter of serving rice, Xuanxuan spoke up first: "This preserved vegetable and pork pie is quite salty, it will definitely taste good with rice, Grandpa, Dad, Mom, shall we order some rice?"
The children were very polite and didn't leave anyone out; when they wanted to ask for opinions, they asked everyone.
Zhao Yongnian was the first to nod: "I think it's a good idea."
Zhao Yuanzheng laughed and said, "I was just thinking that this preserved vegetable and pork pie would be good with rice. I was asking if you wanted it or not."
Zeng Mu thought for a moment and nodded, "Then Xuanxuan and I will just share one bowl of rice. I'll just eat a little bit." She knew that the portion of rice ordered separately at restaurants was usually quite large.
Zhao Yuanzheng agreed: "Okay, then three bowls of rice, and we'll add more if it's not enough."
After saying that, he waved to the waiter and signaled that he wanted three bowls of rice. The rice served was indeed a large portion. The bowls themselves were not small, and the rice was piled up in small round mounds, filling them to the brim.
Zhao Yongnian and Zhao Yuanzheng each pulled out a bowl of rice and picked up a piece of preserved vegetable and pork pie to eat.
Zeng Musi shoveled the small mound of rice from the remaining bowl into her own bowl, and handed the rest to Xuanxuan.
She picked up a piece of preserved vegetable and pork patty and put it in her mouth, savoring the sweet and salty flavor of the preserved vegetables mixed with the savory aroma of the minced meat. When she had almost finished chewing, she ate a mouthful of rice and continued to bite into it. The combination of carbohydrates and protein produced a great sense of satisfaction, and she was still savoring the taste long after swallowing it.
Xuanxuan also ate with gusto, picking up a piece of preserved vegetable and pork patty to eat with white rice, and occasionally exclaiming, "It smells so good!"
The three adults and one child devoured the preserved vegetable and pork pie, and soon two-thirds of the large plate of thick preserved vegetable and pork pie was gone.
Zhao Yongnian was already used to the prices of Gu's Private Kitchen dishes, and even felt that the restaurant was being fair by not making much money. After all, with such fresh and high-quality ingredients and superb culinary skills, it was only right to charge 88 or 108 yuan for such delicious dishes.
Zeng Musi and Zhao Yuanzheng didn't say it aloud, but they actually had some objections to the price of 58 yuan for this preserved vegetable and pork patty. After all, it's really just seasoned minced meat and preserved vegetables mixed together, plated and steamed. There's not much skill involved, and the ingredients themselves aren't expensive.
There will be no doubts left. People will feel that the restaurant's pricing is reasonable, and the fact that so many customers are willing to eat there proves the appeal of the preserved vegetable and pork pie. They will feel that the 58 yuan is well worth the price.
Only after the staff served the cheese chicken and potato tower did they leave the remaining braised pork with preserved mustard greens.
This cheese chicken and potato tart looks golden and at first glance, it seems no different from an egg tart. But upon closer inspection, it's quite novel. The outer crust, which resembles an egg tart, is made of mashed potatoes, while the filling is covered with melted, stringy cheese. You can vaguely see the stringy chicken pieces, and there are also green and red peppers scattered throughout, making it look colorful and very tempting.
There were eight cheese, chicken, and potato tarts on a white porcelain plate, so full that they were almost overflowing. The clever little Xuanxuan had already started dividing them up: "Just enough for each of us to have one."
Zhao Yongnian was the first to nod in agreement: "Xuanxuan is right, eat up, it looks delicious."
After saying that, he didn't even think about giving it to his grandson first. Instead, he used his chopsticks to pick up a cheese chicken and potato tart and ate it from the top of the bowl, so as not to spill any crumbs on the table. He didn't want to waste any of the delicious food.
The potato tart was just as crispy as I had imagined. When you bite into it, you can instantly taste the soft, fluffy texture of the potato, and it's full of savory flavor.
The cheese, which I rarely eat, is soft and sticky. The chicken pieces mixed in are savory and delicious with a hint of sweet and sour flavor and a touch of spiciness. When you chew it, you can also taste the milky aroma of the cheese. As you bite into it, you'll find that the cheese stretches.
Then you taste the green and red chili peppers mixed in. They're not spicy; they just add flavor and color. But the extra spiciness really makes the chicken pieces taste even better.
Zhao Yongnian found the taste novel and quite delicious. The sweet, sour, salty, and savory flavors of the chicken, mixed with the spiciness, rich cheese aroma, and potato flavor, made him feel very satisfied with each bite.
He thought to himself that he was finally keeping up with the times and eating the food that young people liked.
Xuanxuan was really looking forward to this cheese chicken potato tart. He had wiped his hands with disinfectant wipes when he came into the restaurant, and now he just held the potato tart in his little hands, took a bite, and fell in love with it immediately.
He took bite after bite, his eyes squinting happily. Since he hadn't started elementary school yet, he didn't have any fancy words to express himself, but he said his most honest thoughts: "This crust is so crispy and fragrant, even more fragrant than the mashed potatoes I have at KFC. The chicken is sweet and sour, and a little spicy, but I can handle it. There's so much cheese, it smells so good, and it even stretches!"
Zeng Musi and Zhao Fangzheng don't usually like desserts, but they found this meat dish with a dessert flavor quite delicious.
The potato tower is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with sweet and sour chicken pieces and a rich cheese flavor. When you bite into it, you can even pull out some soft white cheese strands. It's really delicious.
Zeng Musi: "This potato tart is delicious. Whether it's the crispy crust, the rich cheese pull, or the sweet, sour, salty, and slightly spicy flavor of the chicken pieces and green and red peppers, everything is just right."
Zhao Yuanzheng's praise was rather concise: "It's really good, it tastes even better than egg tarts."
After finishing a cheese chicken and potato tart, Zhao Yongnian exclaimed, "This is my first time eating cheese. No wonder you young people love it. This cheese chicken and potato tart is really delicious."
The whole family loves this dish. A plate of eight potato towers looks like a lot, but we can eat half of them in one round. Then everyone reaches out their hands and opens their mouths, and they've finished them all.
It seemed like we ate for quite a while, but it only took a few minutes. Fortunately, the staff brought over another dish of Thai-style crispy shrimp cakes, and everyone's chopsticks kept going.
Just like the previous preserved vegetable and pork patty that filled the entire plate, this Thai crispy shrimp pancake also filled the white porcelain plate. However, it was cut into eight pieces from the center outwards, just like a regular pizza. Each piece was a golden, crispy fan-shaped pancake.
This time, without much explanation, and without the little rascal offering to divide the food, the three adults and the child almost simultaneously reached for a piece of Thai crispy shrimp cake with their chopsticks. Fortunately, everyone had their own target, so there was no clinking of chopsticks, and they all happily ate theirs.
Zhao Yongnian took a bite of the Thai-style crispy shrimp cake, which made a crunching sound. The aroma of oil wafted out first, followed by the fresh, sweet, and savory flavor of the shrimp meat.
The crust is very thin and translucent, allowing you to see the orange-red shrimp meat inside. It's like making shrimp cakes directly from minced shrimp paste. However, unlike the seamless texture of shrimp paste, you can still taste the texture of the shrimp meat when you eat these shrimp cakes. They are bouncy, tender, and delicious.
He chewed and swallowed, then took another bite of the shrimp cake. It was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and the texture of the shrimp meat added to the flavor. It was fresh, sweet, salty and savory.
Zhao Yongnian is a person who loves to eat food in its original flavor. He rarely dips his dumplings in sauce. While other people might dip their dumplings in vinegar, soy sauce, or sesame oil, he eats them directly to savor the various flavors of the filling.
When the Thai-style crispy shrimp cakes were served, the staff also brought two small dishes of orange-red sauce, saying it was some kind of Thai sweet chili sauce, to be used as a dip for the shrimp cakes.
Having tasted the original, fresh and fragrant Thai-style crispy shrimp cake, Zhao Yongnian hesitated for a moment, then dipped the remaining half of the shrimp cake into the sauce dish with the sweet and spicy sauce. As a result, the edge of the already orange-red shrimp cake instantly turned an even brighter orange-red.
He put it to his mouth and took a bite. This time, the first taste he got from the crispiness was the sweet, sour, and spicy flavor of the sauce, followed by the fresh, sweet, and bouncy texture of the shrimp meat.
I have to say, the shrimp cakes taste even better after being dipped in this sweet and spicy sauce. It also seems to have an appetite-stimulating effect. They're quite delicious.
Thai-style crispy shrimp cakes dipped in sweet chili sauce and shrimp cakes without any sauce each have their own unique flavor, and Zhao Yongnian likes them both.
After chewing and swallowing the shrimp cake, the sweet, sour, and spicy flavor lingered in his mouth, mixed with the fresh aroma of shrimp meat, which was quite memorable. However, looking at the remaining shrimp cake on his chopsticks, he decided to eat it directly, preferring to savor its original flavor and leave his mouth full of fresh, sweet, and fragrant taste.
No child can resist something crispy. Xuanxuan picked up a thin, crispy shrimp cake with his chopsticks and ate it with a crunching sound. Sometimes he chewed it directly and swallowed it, and sometimes he dipped it in sweet and spicy sauce before eating it. He had his own way of praising it.
After taking a bite of the shrimp cake and finishing it, she exclaimed, "This shrimp cake is so delicious! It's especially crispy, and there's so much shrimp meat inside, it smells so good!"
After trying the sweet and spicy sauce and eating the shrimp cakes, she changed her praise, saying, "This sauce is delicious! It has a sweet and sour taste with a hint of spiciness, and the shrimp cakes are still so delicious!"
The three adults chuckled and shook their heads, knowing he was just happy because he had eaten shrimp cakes. His mouth was still covered in sweet and spicy sauce, and he was talking non-stop. After he finished speaking, he immediately buried his head in eating shrimp cakes again.
This was Zhao Yuanzheng's first time eating Thai-style food, but unlike curry pork chop rice, this dish allowed him to choose whether or not to dip it in sauce.
Like the old man, he first ate the shrimp cakes to taste the fresh, sweet, salty, and juicy shrimp meat, and then tasted the sweet and spicy Thai-style shrimp cakes with the sweet and spicy sauce.
Zeng Musi also really enjoys these shrimp cakes; she always seems to have a soft spot for dishes made with shrimp. She prefers to eat them dipped in sweet chili sauce rather than plain, as it adds a richer flavor.
I ate a shrimp cake until only a small piece was left. Thinking I should try the original flavor, I ate it without dipping it in sweet chili sauce. And that's when I noticed something different.
These shrimp cakes don't seem to be made purely of shrimp meat. Besides the crust, the filling inside tastes not only of the fresh, sweet, and savory flavor of shrimp, but also of meat, with a subtle hint of oil.
Zeng Musi tasted it carefully, and only after chewing and swallowing did she say, "Did you guys notice that there should be some bits of fatty meat mixed in for seasoning in this shrimp cake?"
Fatty meat has many uses in cooking. Many people don't like to eat meat dishes containing fatty meat, but in fact, lard made by frying fatty meat makes stir-fries especially fragrant. Occasionally, you can mix pork cracklings directly into green vegetables and stir-fry them together. The green vegetables will be shiny with oil and taste particularly smooth and meaty.
As far as I know, authentic shrimp balls are made by mixing bits of fatty pork with shrimp meat during the process. The oil released from the fatty pork helps the shrimp meat to gel better, making the shrimp balls more elastic and chewy.
Moreover, the oily aroma of the fatty meat adds a richer texture to the shrimp balls, making them sweeter and more mellow in flavor.
Just moments ago, I realized the aroma of adding some fatty bits to the preserved vegetable and pork patty and steaming it. The oozing oil made the whole patty incredibly flavorful and savory, not dry at all, with a perfect balance of sweet and salty. Now, I'm quite accepting of the addition of fatty bits to the Thai-style crispy shrimp cake.
Hearing her say that, Zhao Yuanzheng took a bite of the remaining small piece of shrimp cake he was holding with his chopsticks, chewed it a few times, swallowed it, and then said, "It tastes a bit like pork."
The savory aroma of pork blends subtly with the sweet and savory flavor of shrimp, but the two are perfectly combined, with the aroma even surpassing that of either ingredient alone. It requires careful appreciation to discover.
Zhao Yongnian also reminisced: "It seems to have the taste of fatty meat. The tender and juicy shrimp meat that you feel when you bite into it is probably the oil that seeps out of the fatty meat. It's not greasy at all, and the taste is just right, which makes this shrimp cake taste a bit more oily."
He secretly marveled at himself, realizing that even with his meticulous eating, he hadn't noticed the fatty meat added to the shrimp cakes; young people really know how to eat!
Xuanxuan was confused. He liked to eat all kinds of food, but he wasn't observant enough and didn't know how to distinguish the flavors.
She picked up another piece of Thai crispy shrimp cake with her chopsticks, took a bite, chewed it a few times to savor it, swallowed it, shook her head and said, "Mom, I don't know. I can't tell. Anyway, it's delicious!"
After saying that, he continued eating bite by bite.
Seeing this, the adults chuckled and shook their heads, realizing that whether or not fatty meat was added was unimportant, as long as it tasted good. So they all reached out their chopsticks and picked up another piece of Thai crispy shrimp cake, and in no time, the whole dish was completely devoured.
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