Chapter 409: Wanfu Meat
Until the dishes they ordered were served one after another, Lao Liang seemed to be in low spirits.
What's the point of not being able to eat the chicken tofu pudding that he had been thinking about for a long time? Oh no, even if he ate the chicken tofu pudding in Yongnianlou, it was not the chicken tofu pudding he expected! Lao Liang sighed deeply, he really didn't know what he was doing in Yongnianlou today, it was just a waste of time...
"Oh my god! Lao Liang, try this fried double crispy dish!"
The old friend's eyes sparkled as he pointed at the deep-fried crispy buns that were right in front of Lao Liang, and he was shaking with excitement!
Lao Liang: "Calm down. You look like you have never seen the world."
The old friend was not annoyed, he just laughed and was ready to laugh at Lao Liang's joke.
Lao Liang slowly picked up the chopsticks, but without moving, he observed the fried crispy food first.
As a true gourmet, he certainly understands that this is a dish that tests the ultimate control of heat. Raw and cooked only take a moment, and it all depends on the chef's ability to control the heat.
As for the fried double crispy dish in front of you, first of all, all the oil is coated on the ingredients, there is no residual juice at the bottom of the plate, only a shallow bottom of oil.
From this point of view alone, it is qualified and has reached the standard of stir-fried dishes. Unlike some chefs nowadays, they don’t even understand the technique of "stir-frying" and the stir-fried dishes they make look like they are soaked in oil.
This barely improved Lao Liang's impression of the dish. He became interested in the taste of the dish and took a bite.
"tasty!"
Lao Liang blurted out!
I even forgot my initial plan to hold back from bragging! My friend was so amused:
"How is it? It's delicious, right? And you still say I haven't seen the world... This fried double crispy is really authentic. The chicken gizzards and pork stomach don't have any strange smell, only the crispness of the ingredients themselves. And the thickening is just right, not too thick or too thin, not too hard or too soft."
Anyone who can deal with a gourmet like Lao Liang is naturally a fellow gourmet.
For example, this old friend of mine is a food writer. He used to contribute to "Exquisite Food and Beverages". Later, he compiled his manuscripts and published them as an independent book, which sold 200,000 copies. This sales volume definitely makes him a best-selling author!
So his comments are also well-reasoned.
Lao Liang nodded in agreement: "Such a sophisticated skill in controlling the heat must be from an older and experienced master. I didn't expect Yongnian Tower to invite such a person!"
My writer friend asked with a smile: "How is it? After eating such perfect fried tofu, does it make you feel less regretful about not being able to eat chicken tofu pudding?"
Lao Liang shook his head decisively: "That's not the case."
Fried tofu is good, but it has a limit and is still a long way from chicken tofu pudding.
My writer friend laughed and shook his head:
"Old Zheng, what's wrong... Hey? You bastard!"
He turned around and pointed at another friend, who had already picked up a piece of Wanfu meat and started to devour it!
After the writer friend criticized me for making a few remarks about being careless in making friends, he also picked up a piece of Wanfu meat and put it into his bowl with a smile.
Next is Lao Liang.
The dish of Wanfu Rou comes from a famous empress dowager in the Qing Palace. It is cooked by a chef from Shandong Province. The raw material is pork belly, and he uses multiple processes to squeeze out the fat in the meat to achieve a fatty but not greasy taste, which was deeply loved by the empress dowager.
Because of its good meaning, this dish is very suitable for banquets and is widely circulated in various places.
However, just like many famous dishes that are not as good as they seem, many restaurants even drain the blood from the meat and then stew it, which doesn’t taste like what it should taste like! But the Wanfu meat in front of you is the most authentic way to cook it.
There are six steps, none of which can be ignored.
First, roast the pork belly over high heat until the skin is browned and the fat slightly drips out.
Then scrape it, soak the pork belly in edible alkaline water, and scrape off the yellow skin and impurities.
Then, put the pork belly into cold water, add onion, ginger and rice wine, and cook over medium heat until half done.
Then fry the meat. After the meat has cooled down, dry the surface moisture, brush it with maltose, and fry it in 80% hot oil until golden brown.
There is a step here that tests the knife skills, which is to cut the pork belly into squares and then cut it into a swastika shape by rotating it. The thickness of the pork belly must be even, and it must be kept continuous and restored to its original shape.
Then, heat the wok, add onion, ginger, sweet bean curd, soy sauce, rock sugar, rice wine and water, add the meat and cook over low heat for 40 minutes until it is well-seasoned.
Steam for the final step: place the pork belly skin side down in a bowl, add golden thread dates, West Lake lotus seeds and Huairou chestnuts, pour in a little original juice, and steam over high heat for 30 minutes.
In this way, the Wanfu meat was tightly clustered together like a flower cluster on the plate! Lao Liang took a deep breath and was inevitably a little intoxicated.
As a gourmet who has eaten many top-notch delicacies, he is rarely impressed by the pure aroma of food.
Especially such a simple aroma - in addition to the meat aroma, there is only the aroma of dates and chestnuts, which are independent of each other and yet wonderfully mixed, without a trace of redundant and complex taste.
It reminded him of the pot of braised pork his mother cooked for him on his birthday when he was young. In those days of food and clothing shortages, she spent almost all of the family’s savings, and it was full of love. The simple ingredients did not affect the taste. Instead, the pure meaty aroma made it the most delicious braised pork in his heart!
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
At this moment, this piece of blessed meat gave him such a feeling.
There is no mixed taste, only the original aroma of pork restored after multiple processes.
When you put the Wanfu meat in your mouth, you don’t need to bite it hard. It will automatically crack with a slight touch of your teeth.
The pork belly is juicy but not greasy at all. The fat flows on the tip of your tongue like nectar, slides through the esophagus and flows into the stomach. It is an enjoyment every step of the way.
The brain is occupied by the ultimate aroma, and for a moment I feel ecstatic, as if life has achieved ultimate satisfaction!
Lao Liang sighed deeply for the second time.
But this time, I was ashamed of my previous shallow thoughts.
So what if you can’t have the chicken tofu pudding? This Wanfu meat is still worthy of being a signature dish.
As for the little regret in his heart...
It has long since dispersed like the wind, leaving no trace.
At this time, the third friend had already finished a whole piece of Wanfu meat.
If you eat a whole piece of pork belly that is as wide as a finger, you will inevitably feel sick of it.
But he didn't have that feeling at all. He just felt unsatisfied and wanted to eat a second piece.
"This Wanfu meat is so delicious, better than any I've ever had before! If I hadn't been diagnosed with three highs a while ago, I would have really wanted to show off this whole plate... So it's always okay to show off half a plate, right?"
“Hey hey hey!”
The writer friend stopped him and objected immediately, "What do you mean by half plate or not? There are six pieces of Wanfu meat in total. There are three of us, two pieces each. Don't even think about eating more!"
If we are true friends, we should make clear distinctions! The friend snorted unhappily: "At worst, I can just order another portion!"
“That’s a good idea.”
The person who spoke this time was actually Lao Liang!