PNB Chapter 207 Cooking is the process of tempering steel
Chapter 207 Cooking is the process of tempering steel
After a quick cleanup after dinner, Zhao Xiaojing re-projected the kitchen and entered the virtual space to continue practicing.
Today we have enough ingredients, except for the flour that Wang Jiandang specifically specified, everything is available. Moreover, the best solutions have been tested for every detail such as rolling the dough, seasoning, and the proportion of fillings, so we can make the complete water chestnut soup dumplings without having to piece them together.
The old hen Zhao Xiaojing bought in the morning had hard teeth and firm leg meat. It felt like it was two or three years old. She spent nearly 200 yuan on one.
After chopping off the toenails and chicken butt, cut it in half, clean the internal organs and blood clots in the chest cavity, and then clean the large bones in the same way, blanch them in cold water and wash them clean.
Then process the pig skin, scrape off the fat after blanching, cut into strips and wash repeatedly. Boil the water in the middle, then put the cut and washed pig skin, chicken, big bones, and dried shrimp into the pot, add the water and boil over high heat, skim off the oil and slight foam on the surface, and continue to simmer over low heat.
It was still early, and according to previous experience in making the broth, the best taste would be achieved by simmering it on low heat for 6-8 hours. Time flowed slowly in the virtual space anyway, so Zhao Xiaojing was not in a hurry. She entered the learning module on the spot, looked at the pile of carrots, radishes, cucumbers and knives that appeared out of thin air in front of her, and began to practice carving.
The carving course is more complicated than Zhao Xiaojing had imagined. She thought that with the basic knowledge of knife skills, learning carving would be much easier. However, when she actually started learning, she found that there is a big difference between carving knives and kitchen knives. The types and models of carving knives alone are much more complicated than those of kitchen knives.
In the first lesson, Zhao Xiaojing only learned carving knife techniques. It took her several hours to learn about the knife models, not to mention the actual carving. She felt crazy when carving the simplest animals or lines, and she would accidentally scratch her hands. The whole object she carved was full of strange shapes, and her hands were covered with holes, which caused physical injuries.
Fortunately, it is a virtual space. Although it hurts, the wound will no longer exist after I get out.
Zhao Xiaojing concentrated on holding the carving knife and cut the white radish into a pentagonal three-dimensional mound. Then, starting from the top of the mound, she dug out the excess radish flesh bit by bit. After that, a thick petal shape gradually appeared, followed by the second piece, the third piece...
Seven hours later...
Zhao Xiaojing's eyes were a little dull as she looked at the table full of various cherry blossoms, peonies, roses, lotus flowers, pagodas, rabbits, butterflies, etc.
Among this pile of things, simple ones like cherry blossoms, pagodas, and rabbits that Zhao Xiaojing had practiced many times have been carved into pretty good shapes, while the other pile of slightly more complicated ones such as peonies, lotus flowers, dahlias, etc. are so weird that Zhao Xiaojing herself can't even bear to look at them.
Putting down the carving knife, Zhao Xiaojing let out a breath, rubbed her sore fingers, then removed the module and uncovered the soup pot that was already filled with fragrance.
The broth has been cooked to high heat, and after repeatedly skimming off the fat on the surface, the broth turns into a rich yellow-white color.
Zhao Xiaojing then filtered the soup into a container and put it in the refrigerator to freeze.
Then I kneaded the dough, let it rest, and waited for the jelly to freeze and rest before continuing to practice carving...
Another two hours later.
Zhao Xiaojing used the quick module to chop the pork front leg meat, frozen jelly, and water chestnuts into fillings, then mixed them according to the proportions, stirred them evenly, wrapped them up and put them in the steamer.
This time, Zhao Xiaojing was confident and steamed four dumplings in one pot. After eight and a half minutes, Zhao Xiaojing gently opened the steamer and saw four complete dumplings lying round on the paper pad of the steamer. When she lifted the steamer, the four dumplings trembled and shook, like a wave that would break through the thin and fragile skin in the next second.
Zhao Xiaojing stood farther away, stretched out her arms and picked up the soup dumplings one by one with chopsticks, ready to burst them at any time. However, after being picked up, the soup dumplings only fell visibly and continued to shake, with no sign of bursting at all.
Zhao Xiaojing felt relieved. She picked up the small bowl and took a light bite of the soup bag. Then she tilted the soup bag and quickly sucked up the soup.
The soup is a little hot when it enters your mouth, and it quickly fills your entire mouth with high temperature, giving you a thrill the moment it touches your tongue.
The adjusted juice is just the right amount of freshness, with the aroma of soup and meat dissolved in it, and a faint sweetness of water chestnuts, which activates the sensitive taste buds as soon as they come into contact with it.
The moment the soup comes out, the aroma that has been suppressed in the soup dumpling skin for a long time also bursts out, constantly dancing in the air. For a moment, the mouth and nose are all filled with the rich but refreshing meat aroma, making people immersed in the pure world of food and unable to stop.
Zhao Xiaojing drank up the soup with satisfaction, then bit off half of the soup dumpling that was half-shriveled and looked "skin and bones", including the skin and filling, and began to taste it carefully.
After tasting the soup dumplings one by one without realizing it, Zhao Xiaojing clearly felt that the soup dumplings were successful.
The ratio of the filling is strictly based on three parts fat and seven parts lean. After biting it open, the meat filling is tightly held together, and you can vaguely see white water chestnuts mixed in it. After eating it, it is fat and lean in the right way, and it is chewy and tender while also having the crispness of water chestnuts.
The entire filling is not only imbued with the aroma of the soup, but is also permeated with the light sweet taste of water chestnuts, which not only makes the meat filling very delicious, but also adds a freshness to it.
Zhao Xiaojing laughed easily. Cooking skills are indeed a process of tempering steel over time. Even if there are times when you are at a loss, but after continuous attempts and efforts, there will always be a day when it will bear fruit.
【ding~】
[After system evaluation, the current chef level is 22 (beginner, a novice with minor accomplishments, the maximum level is 100). This upgrade will earn you 600 system coins and 5000 cash! ]
While researching soup dumplings, she actually upgraded again. This confirmed that her cooking skills had improved. Zhao Xiaojing couldn't help but secretly praise the system for its effectiveness. Then she jumped to the skill mall in one go and generously bought the next three cooking classes. Suddenly, only 6000 of the more than 260 system coins were left.
Without taking the time to study the new course, Zhao Xiaojing exited the virtual space directly. While it was still early and no one was in the kitchen, she quickly used the shortcut module to process the ingredients.
After coming out and looking at the time, she found that only more than ten minutes had passed. Zhao Xiaojing was secretly happy again. After quickly processing the ingredients using manual and shortcut modules, she put the old hen, leg bones and pig skin directly into the pressure cooker.
Although the soup in the virtual space was suspended for seven hours, it was not possible in the real world. After the soup was suspended, there was no time to make the jelly. Secondly, the difference in the taste of the soup was not obvious after the secondary processing in the soup bag. People who are not gourmets can't really tell the difference.