Chapter 104 - Crispy Yam Duck
Chapter 104: Crispy Yam Duck
Translator: Atlas StudiosEditor: Atlas Studios
The main purpose of Xu Le joining was to bring back the lost traditional cuisine to the screen and it would be best if it could become popular as a household dish again.
More than a dozen ducks were placed into the air-fryer coated with sauce. When the yam was almost grilled, they were taken out, and their skin were removed before being mashed.
Xu Le wore a pair of gloves and added the condiments one by one. He explained, “These are salt, white sugar, Five Fragrance Powder, as well as some baking powder. After adding them in and mixing them evenly, you can put them aside.”
“Now, let’s get into the most important step – frying the ducks.”
The duck, which had been air dried, was placed into the pot for deep-frying. The camera zoomed in as Xu Le used a spoon to pour some hot oil over the duck meat to make it fry more evenly. As he did this, he said, “Everyone, take a look. The surface of the duck meat is golden with a hint of brown. When it
has a crispy texture and looks glistening, you can fish it out, then repeat the same steps for the other ducks.”
“Although it has been fried, the taste has not seeped into the meat yet, so we still need to season it and continuing cooking it. I’ve added some huadiao wine here. At home, you can replace it with white wine or yellow wine.”
“Now, put these spices – onions, ginger, fragrant leaves, cloves, aniseed – in a pot that only has a small amount of oil and stir-fry until a fragrance is produced. Then, you can put them all in a pressure cooker to stew.”
Xu Le opened the pressure cooker and placed the duck inside. “The pressure cooker should have white sugar, dark soya sauce, salt, MSG, chicken essence, and the spices that were just stir-fried inside. Just cover the lid and add some boiling water. It’ll be fine after you start cooking the duck inside.”
Xu Le said each step very clearly. After the lid of the pressure cooker was closed, he reminded, “The first part is quite simple. At the very least, the steps from air-frying to stewing the duck would normally not go wrong, It will also taste delicious once it is cooked, but the main difficulty is the yam ring
outside.”
“Bring over the yam paste that was evenly distributed just now. Separate the wheat starch and com starch evenly in a ratio of 4: 3 and add boiling water over it before kneading it into a ball. When the surface is smooth, mix it evenly with the yam paste and add some lard.”
After finishing these steps, Xu Le wrapped the melted yam into a plastic wrap and put it into the refrigerator to be frozen.
Half an hour later.
‘The duck meat in the pressure cooker was stewed until it was soft and tender, and the juices were rich. Just looking at it, it looked very appetizing.
Zhou Huangya let out a “wow” and swallowed her saliva as she looked at the crisp and alluring duck meat.
Xu Le cut the braised whole duck from the back. His sharp blade cut along the spine, trying to remove a large piece of intact duck skin.
He removed the bones and took out the flesh.
Xu Le said, “Now, we need to put on gloves and tear the duck meat apart. It has become very soft and mushy in the pot and can be torn into pieces with just a slight tear. Which one of you would like to do it?”
“TI do it!”
Zhou Huangya raised her hand in high spirits. While the camera was not focusing on her, she “openly” took a bite.
‘When the duck meat entered her mouth, there was no meat stench at all. The salty and fresh duck meat was overflowing with juice. It was tender and fresh. She widened her eyes and exclaimed, “I think just stewing it to this extent allows it to be directly served. It’s too delicious!”
The guests who thought that Xu Le couldn’t cook were all embarrassed, especially after tasting the duck meat.
“Oh my god, it smells so good!”
“The duck meat is not only soft but also chewy. How did he do that? That’s amazin,
Zhou Huangya reminded everyone, “This is only a semi-finished product. I’m really looking forward to what its final taste would be!”
As everyone savored the meat, Xu Le and Zhang Liang were glad that they had prepared several ducks. Otherwise, at the rate they were “tasting” the meat, half a duck would be gone.
After tearing the duck meat into pieces and pouring some gravy into it, it was time for the assembly.
The kneaded yam paste was also called yam ring, It was rolled into a rectangular shape that was thin in the middle and thicker at both sides. Them, a soaked bean skin was placed on top.
The bean skin could preserve the juice of the duck meat, so that it would not leak out during the deep-frying.
He then placed some shredded duck meat on top, covered it with duck skin, and wrapped it tightly with the yam ring, He used a little strength so as to not leave any gaps.
After everything was done, Xu Le reminded, “If you want to fry a crispy yam ring, you have to pay attention to the oil temperature. You have to maintain it at about 175 degrees Celsius. If it exceeds or falls below that, you will definitely fail.”
This was a precise number that he had studied many times in the system. Now, he was imparting it without reservation.
Zhang Liang said in surprise, “Does it have to be so accurate? I don’t think we have any tools that can measure the temperature here.”
Xu Le said calmly, “There’s no need. I can more or less guess it.”
The moment he said that, everyone was shocked, especially Zhou Huangya. He grinned and said, “Are you a walking thermometer? Do you want to help me measure my temperature?”
With a pair of gloves on, Xu Le waved his hand in front of her and joked, “36.5 degrees, normal temperature, don’t worry.”
“Hahaha, my god, little kid, you’re so funny!”
Zhou Huangya was shocked by Xu Le’s EQ and immediately praised him. She took two steps back as she looked at the boiling oil.
Xu Le placed the duck meat wrapped in the rectangular yam into the pot of oil and said, “If you slide it down carefully like this, it won’t fall out easily and you’ll still be able to maintain its shape. The oil temperature must be maintained at 175 degrees Celsius the whole time. You can’t be careless about that.
It will only be done after the yam ring are also fried.”
After dozens of seconds, the surface gradually began to turn golden. The sizzling sounds of the oil could be heard in the pot. It was healing and terrifying.
‘The few guests retreated a few meters away in an exaggerated manner. They watched as Xu Le scooped out the fried duck wrapped in yam and placed it on the white porcelain plate. The bamboo filtering net could not only act as a display but also filter the excess oil.
“It’s already done. Would everyone like to come and have a taste?”
‘As soon as Xu Le finished speaking, a few guests rushed over and stared at the Crispy Yam Duck.
“Wow, it looks delicious.”
“How do I cut this? Should I cut it horizontally or vertically?”
Xu Le held the knife and said, “Basically, cut it two fingers wide from the horizontal side. This way, it’s easier to eat. But there are no fixed standards.”
Acrisp sound could be heard when the blade cut through. It made people swallow their saliva.
Zhou Huangya was the first to receive it eagerly. She took a small sip of the crispy and fragrant yam ring, and her eyes lit up. The fluffy yam was like a string that filled her mouth, and the fragrance of the deep-fried oil skipepd on her taste buds.
This was only the first layer of taste. She continued to bite down on it. The soft and sticky yam was between the duck meat and the yam ring, giving off a refreshing salty sweetness.
She took another big bite. The duck meat had a meaty fragrance and the texture was soft like cotton. It was wrapped in the sweet taste of the yam and the yam ring was filled with the fluffyness of air. A few layers of taste bloomed in her mouth one after another, lingering for a long time..