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The key to making soup is to simmer slowly over low heat, while frying meatballs requires frying quickly over high heat. This way, the meatballs will be golden in color and have a smooth skin.
Du Heng prepared a bowl of minced meat, adding seasonings such as green onion, ginger, cooking wine and soy sauce. In order to make the meatballs taste more delicate and smooth, he used front leg meat that was 40% fat and 60% lean.
A duck egg is also added to the meat filling to make the fried meatballs more tender and smoother.
After stirring the minced meat until it started to stick to his hands, he lit the fire in the small pot. The pot had just been used to fry chicken crisps for Xiaoxiao, and the oil had not yet completely cooled down.
Du Heng took a pair of long chopsticks and stood by the stove. When he estimated that the oil temperature was about right, he put one end of the chopsticks into the oil pan. The part of the chopsticks that was immersed in the oil pan had small bubbles coming out, and now it was time to put the meatballs in.
But at this time, the meatballs are just a bowl of minced meat. Ordinary people would get their hands greasy if they wanted to make meatballs.
Du Heng had a trick, which was a round wooden spoon. He washed his hands, reached into the bowl with one hand and pressed hard with his palm, and the minced meat in his palm was squeezed out from the base of his thumb to form a uniform round ball.
At this time, you just need to use a spoon to gently scoop up the meat ball and put it into the oil pan to fry it, but Du Heng added an extra step before frying.
He needs to apply a layer of beaten egg white liquid on the meatballs, so that the color of the meatballs will be very beautiful when fried. And a plate of meatballs is put into the pot at the same time, so it is easier to control when taking them out of the pot.
Next to the bowl of minced meat was a large white porcelain bowl with half a bowl of egg white at the bottom. The beaten egg white had a little foam on it and emitted a bit of fishy smell. This was not the egg white of salted duck eggs, but the fresh duck eggs he bought. However, there were not many left in Zhou's shop, and the amount he bought was far less than the salted duck eggs.
The wooden spoon rolled the meatballs in the egg white bowl that had been prepared long ago, and then Du Heng scooped them into a clean plate that had been prepared nearby.
He worked very quickly and soon put nine meatballs of even size and rosy color on the plate.
At this time, the oil temperature in the pot reached the best state for frying. He picked up the shallow plate and poured nine meatballs into the pot.
The calm oil pan suddenly began to boil, and the crackling sound of oil bubbles bursting rang out in the kitchen. White smoke came out of the pan, and the formation in the kitchen began to work, quickly taking away the smoke.
The bubbles in the pan were very large at first, but gradually became smaller. The meatballs sank to the bottom of the pan, but there were splashes of oil around each meatball, so Du Heng could easily find their locations.
Don't flip the meatballs easily when they are put into the frying pan at the beginning, otherwise the outer skin will be broken and the meatballs will not be round. And the oil temperature for frying meatballs must be high, otherwise the oil in the pan will produce a lot of white foam, and the foam may even burn people near the stove.
Du Heng was very cautious. He kept an eye on the pot while making the next plate of meatballs. One bowl of minced meat can make 18 meatballs. Du Heng made them first and let everyone taste them. If everyone didn't like the taste, he could make some improvements.
But he was obviously worrying too much. Before the first pot of meatballs came out, the rich aroma of meat filled the yard.
Xiaoxiao jumped next to Du Heng and almost knocked over the unwashed bowl of minced meat.
Du Heng was shocked: "Xiaoxiao! Next time when I fry something, you must not jump on it. The oil temperature is very high. If you accidentally fall in and get burned, it will be troublesome. You know, burns are very painful!"
Xiaoxiao tilted his head and looked at Du Heng with a perfunctory attitude. He only nodded when Du Heng frowned.
Du Heng carried Xiaoxiao down from the stove: "It can't be eaten yet after frying. It needs to be cooked again. Don't worry, it will be ready soon." Xiaoxiao was anxious. He stretched his neck and looked like he wanted to jump a second time.
Du Heng had no choice but to pick up the long chopsticks and wave them at Xiaoxiao: "If you jump up again, I will have to beat you." Xiaoxiao shrank her neck pitifully and rolled to the chair next to the dining table and squatted.
Du Heng finally had some time to himself. He used a strainer to scoop out the first plate of nine meatballs. The fried meatballs exuded a strong meaty aroma, and Du Heng couldn't help but take a deep breath. It's been a long time since I last tasted fried meat!
The second plate of meatballs was quickly fried out of the pan. Eighteen golden round meatballs were piled on the plate. They smelled delicious and looked delicious.
Du Heng collected the excess oil in the pot in a can. The oil used to fry the meatballs can be used to stir-fry vegetarian dishes or spring rolls in the future, which will taste great.
Du Heng left a little oil in the pot, and poured the meatballs back into the pot. This time he added seasonings, sugar and soy sauce, as well as wine and boiling water.
Xiaoxiao made a dissatisfied sound, and Du Heng knew what she meant. Xiaoxiao was saying that the meatballs were not as fragrant as when they were just fried. Du Heng explained: "Just now the meatballs were only cooked on the surface, and the inside was still raw. If you want to fry the inside, it will be burnt. Don't worry, I will let you eat delicious meatballs later."
Du Heng covered the pot, took out the kelp soaked in the pool, cut it into long strips, and then carried the seaweed to the corridor.
The casserole in the corridor had been boiling for a while. Du Heng opened the lid of the casserole and took a look. He exclaimed in confusion. In the past, when stewing bone soup, there would always be blood foam floating on the soup. Why didn't I see any blood foam on the spareribs this time?
However, the soup looked normal, so Du Heng poured the kelp into the casserole without any worries. The slightly boiling soup cooled down when it met the cold kelp. Du Heng used a spoon to stir the kelp evenly and then covered the casserole with the lid.
At this time, a dog barked outside the door. Du Heng walked outside the yard and looked to the west. He saw a big yellow dog running towards Jing Nan's door: "Woof woof woof——"
Seeing Da Huang, Du Heng knew that there was one more person eating lunch today. Da Huang quickly ran to Du Heng, wagging its curly tail, stretching its two front paws forward and its buttocks raised, as if it was saluting Du Heng.
Du Heng touched Da Huang's head and said, "You came at the right time. We will have big bones for lunch today." Da Huang jumped up happily when he heard it: "Woof woof woof——"
Du Heng smiled and asked, "Where is Lao Dao?" Da Huang looked in the direction of Feng Gui Palace.
Du Heng nodded: "I understand. You and Lao Dao stay for lunch. I'll add one more dish." Da Huang was very happy and jumped around Du Heng.
Du Heng touched Da Huang's head and said, "Go find Lao Dao first, and come over for dinner later." Da Huang ran towards Feng Gui Palace. Du Heng smiled and said, "The village is very spiritual, and the animals raised here are so smart."
Du Heng washed the spiritual rice and put it in the pot. He wanted to stew a pot of spiritual rice and steam salted egg white meat patties on top.
The minced meat for meat patties and meatballs were chopped together, and Du Heng kept half of it to make steamed meat patties.
There was too much egg white from the salted duck eggs. If all of it was added, it would be too salty. Du Heng only scooped out a spoonful. The remaining egg white was carefully collected by Du Heng. Maybe it could be used to make other dishes in the future.
The method of making meat patties is not complicated, and is similar to making meatballs. Du Heng poured the egg white that was not used in making meatballs into the minced meat, and then added the salted egg white.
Salted egg white is very salty, so there is no need to add salt. In addition, seasonings such as soy sauce that will make the food even saltier should not be added.
Du Heng mixed the egg white and minced meat together. He was afraid that he couldn't control the saltiness well, so after stirring for a while, Du Heng licked the skin on the back of his hand that was accidentally stuck with minced meat.
The skin will be stained with the taste of the seasonings in the minced meat. The taste is not very good at this time, but this trick allows Du Heng to taste the saltiness and whether any seasoning is missing.
After confirming that the saltiness was okay, Du Heng found a deep plate.
Originally, when making steamed meat patties, the meat patties were pressed into a round shape, and a salted duck egg yolk was placed on top. However, the duck egg yolk was used up when making chicken crisps, so Du Heng prepared to make a simplified version of whole meat patties. He brushed a layer of oil on the bottom of the plate, and then evenly spread a layer of minced meat on it.
He took out the steaming rack, cleaned it, and then opened the lid of the rice cooker. The steaming rack was in a well shape, with eight legs supporting the four sides of the iron pot. Even if three or four dishes were steamed on it, it would still be stable.
Du Heng placed the plate on the side of the steaming rack, leaving space for the meatballs. The meatballs steamed in the rice pot would have the aroma of rice grains, but the meatballs just out of the pot lacked this flavor and always tasted like something was missing.
After preparing the meat patties, Du Heng opened the pot and looked at the meatballs. He saw the meatballs piled up at the bottom of the pot, and the soup next to them covered half of the meatballs.
The moment the lid of the pot was opened, Xiaoxiao jumped onto the stove with a chirp. This time, Du Heng couldn't pull her away. Xiaoxiao stretched her neck and took a meatball in one bite.
Du Heng: ! !
He was almost scared to death. How could this kid be so careless? Eating such hot meatballs would burn his skin off!
Xiaoxiao grabbed the meatball and squatted on the stove with it in his mouth, laughing. Du Heng saw the meatball in his tender yellow mouth, and he patted Xiaoxiao's butt helplessly twice: "Is it hot? Don't do it next time! I'm not stopping you from eating it, do you have to?"
After hearing this, Xiaoxiao jumped off the stove and ran straight towards the courtyard gate.
Du Heng followed Xiaoxiao and asked, "Where are you going?" Xiaoxiao stood at the door, raised her wings, pointed at Feng Gui's palace, and chirped twice vaguely.
Du Heng immediately understood what Xiaoxiao meant: "You want Fenggui to be the first to taste this, right?"
Xiaoxiao nodded, and Du Heng smiled and waved his hand: "Go, and ask them to come for dinner later." Xiaoxiao flapped her wings and dived into the grass.
Du Heng thought that if he had time, he would like to clear the weeds at the door. The weeds were taller than him.
Du Heng returned to the kitchen, scooped up the meatballs and put them in the rice cooker to steam. Hun Yidao would have dinner here today, Du Heng thought, let's add some braised pork. They were all grown men, even if each person could only eat two bowls, there wouldn't be much left over from the dishes he made.
Du Heng took out the mountain jelly meat, and he took out a piece of pork belly. Mountain jelly is not like the pork belly raised by feed. Du Heng counted and found that the piece of meat he took out had seven layers of skin. Such meat must be delicious when made into braised pork!
His favorite dish is the braised pork made by his father. The rich sauce is sweet but not greasy. No matter where he goes, he thinks the food cooked by his father is the most delicious.
His father would tie straw on the braised pork he made. Each piece of meat would weigh two taels. It was big and delicious, with crispy skin and tender meat that would linger in your mouth.
Du Heng estimated the piece of meat in his hand. It was such a big piece of meat that he could probably only cut it into a dozen pieces. However, braised pork was time-consuming to make, so they might have to wait until halfway through the meal before they could enjoy this delicacy.
But good things never come to an end. Du Heng felt that if he could have a taste of authentic braised pork, he would be willing to wait for an hour.
The author has something to say: I have to say two more things: when frying things, the oil temperature must be reached, otherwise the oil will bubble up and overflow from the pan. I have flipped over twice in my life. The first time was when I fried tiger skin eggs. I watched the oil ooze out and was in a panic. The second time was when I fried bullfrogs. Holding a bowl of cold bullfrogs left a traumatic impression on me. I decided not to eat bullfrogs for the time being.
By the way, I will post a clip tomorrow. If there is no update in the morning, don’t wait. Wait until the evening, I will leave a surprise for you~~
Some people may say that Du Heng’s cooking is not authentic, but I think that there is no distinction between authentic and authentic cooking. The taste of home is the most authentic and irreplaceable~~
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