Chapter 111 Sweet Potato Glutinous Rice Balls
Su Yingxue's eyes lit up, and her fingertips unconsciously rubbed the smooth skin of the sweet potato.
The office is always at its most lethargic at 3 pm; even the sound of typing on the keyboard is a beat slower. If there were a warm, sweet snack, it would definitely cheer everyone up.
She looked up at the wall clock—just enough time to cook a pot.
"Okay, Manager Wang, I'll take these sweet potatoes!" She clapped her hands, stood up, and tied her apron strap.
"Could you go to the break room and boil some water for me? Also, bring a large steamer—and oh, and find a few of the glass food containers left over from last time in the kitchen; we'll use them to store desserts later."
Wang Datou responded and scurried off to the tea room, while Su Yingxue rolled up her sleeves and began sorting the sweet potatoes.
She selected a dozen or so medium-sized sweet potatoes with the smoothest skin and uniform size, intending to make sweet potato glutinous rice balls;
I grabbed another handful of small, round sweet potatoes, intending to steam them, mash them into a paste, and make sweet potato cakes.
The remaining old sweet potatoes with some tough fibers were piled up separately – these are the best for making sweet potato syrup, which is so thick that it can cling to a spoon.
The first step is to steam the sweet potatoes. Su Yingxue washed the selected sweet potatoes and carefully dried them with kitchen paper (she remembered her grandmother saying that drying the sweet potatoes before steaming would make the skin more intact and less likely to crack), and then neatly arranged them in the large steamer.
After the water boiled, turn the heat to medium. The steam quickly blurred the glass lid. Su Yingxue stood by and occasionally lifted a crack to observe. The skin of the sweet potato gradually became transparent. It could be easily pierced with chopsticks, and a pale yellow sugar syrup seeped out.
"Ding-dong!" Wang Datou came in carrying a tray with freshly boiled water and five clear glass food containers on it: "President Su, the water's boiled! Oh, and my cousin also said..."
"Okay, okay," Su Yingxue said with a smile, taking the hot water and slipping a freshly steamed sweet potato into his hand. "Try it, see if it's cooked?"
Wang Datou took a bite, and his eyes widened instantly: "Wow! This is so sweet! It's like honey!"
He mumbled incoherently, sweet potato pulp still clinging to his lips, "Mr. Su, what are you going to do later? I'll help you out!"
"Let's make sweet potato glutinous rice balls first!" Su Yingxue had already put the steamed sweet potatoes into a large bowl and peeled them while they were still hot.
The orange-red sweet potato flesh was steaming hot, and when pressed with a spoon, it turned into a smooth, orange-red puree, its sweet aroma instantly filling the kitchen. She added two spoonfuls of glutinous rice flour to the puree, and poured in half a carton of milk (there was just half a carton of fresh milk left in the refrigerator, perfect for adding a milky flavor), kneading it into a dough of just the right consistency.
Roll the dough into a long strip on the work surface, cut it into small pieces, flatten each piece, wrap a spoonful of sweet potato puree inside, and then roll it into a ball.
Su Yingxue worked quickly and efficiently, wearing gloves and dipping her fingertips in cooked glutinous rice flour to prevent sticking.
Wang Datou, watching with envy, couldn't resist reaching out and pinching one: "President Su, what's this thing called? Can I take a couple home for my daughter?"
"Let's call it Sweet Potato Glutinous Rice Balls!" Su Yingxue smiled and poked the dumpling in his hand. "Bake them in a bit, the outer skin will be slightly charred, and the inside will be soft and juicy. Your daughter will definitely love them!"
As she spoke, she arranged the dumplings on a baking tray, brushed them with a thin layer of honey (to add shine and sweetness), and sprinkled some toasted sesame seeds on top. The oven was preheated to 180 degrees Celsius, and with a "ding," the dumplings lined up and went into the oven.
Next up were the sweet potato pancakes. Su Yingxue steamed the small round sweet potatoes until cooked, mashed them, added a little white sugar (she specifically chose rock sugar powder, which was purely sweet), a small spoonful of cornstarch (to increase stickiness), and chopped raisins (to increase chewiness).
Divide the kneaded dough into small portions, roll them into round cakes, brush a thin layer of oil in a frying pan, and fry over low heat. With a sizzling sound, the edges of the sweet potato cakes gradually curl up, and fine bubbles rise to the golden surface. The sweet aroma of raisins mixed with the rich flavor of sweet potatoes fills the kitchen.
"President Su! Xiao Zhao and Mengmeng are asking if we have any snacks!" Ada shouted from the kitchen window.
"Wait a little longer!" Su Yingxue was busy making sweet potato soup—she cut the old sweet potatoes into chunks, added ginger slices and brown sugar, and simmered it over low heat. The sweet potato chunks rolled in the pot, gradually becoming soft and glutinous, and the soup turned into a thick amber color, with a sweet aroma and a hint of ginger spiciness. One sip would definitely warm your stomach.
Twenty minutes later, the first batch of sweet potato glutinous rice balls was ready. The golden-yellow outer skin was slightly cracked, revealing the orange-red sweet potato puree inside. One bite revealed a crispy outer skin and a soft, sweet, and chewy interior, like a cloud bursting with flavor.
Wang Datou eagerly grabbed one, his breath coming in hot gasps as he exclaimed, "Hiss—President Su, your cooking...it's even better than dessert shops!"
Su Yingxue didn't have time to talk. She put the sweet potato cakes into a food storage container, filled several bowls with sweet potato syrup, and finally rolled the remaining sweet potato puree into several small balls, coated them with coconut flakes (a common snack ingredient in the office break room), and made simple sweet potato coconut balls.
When she carried three large platters of desserts into the common lounge area, the entire office erupted in excitement.
The young women in charge of planning crowded around, grabbing the sweet potato cakes. Ada, who was in charge of going out, held up a sweet potato glutinous rice ball and exclaimed, "It's so sweet it warms my heart!" Even Linda, who was usually the most picky, held up a bowl of sweet potato soup, squinting her eyes and saying, "President Su, this is much better than the cakes we order."
Wang Datou stood to the side, grinning, "My cousin said he'll send over another batch of fresh produce next week! If you need anything else, Mr. Su, just let me know!"
Su Yingxue wiped her hands and watched everyone laughing and joking while holding sweet potato desserts.
Suddenly, I realized that this was more delicious than any fancy dessert—after all, it wasn't just the sweet potato that was sweet, but also the lively, down-to-earth atmosphere of everyday life.
As Su Yingxue watched everyone gathered around, praising the sweet potato dessert, a smile unconsciously crept onto her lips.
She handed out desserts to everyone one by one, and listened to the waves of thanks, feeling a great sense of accomplishment.
However, she had something else on her mind. While everyone was enjoying the meal...
She quietly picked up the canvas bag that was placed to the side, waved to her colleagues around her, and said softly, "You guys take your time eating. I'm going out for a bit. I have something to do. You can all leave when it's time!"
Her colleagues were too busy enjoying the delicious sweet potato dessert to pay much attention to her; they simply said goodbye casually. Su Yingxue hurriedly left the company building.
Actually, she was thinking about the afternoon discounts at the nearby farmers' market.
The company's accounts have been tight lately, and she's been doing everything she can to cut costs so everyone can have hot meals. Seeing this, she's deeply concerned. She understands the difficulties of being a boss and knows the company's current situation.
So I thought I'd take advantage of the afternoon market discounts to buy some cheap and fresh ingredients to save the company money.
She jogged to the market. It wasn't crowded, but the stalls were still laden with all sorts of vegetables. Su Yingxue skillfully selected vegetables from each stall, carefully checking their freshness and haggling with the vendors.
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