Chapter 113 - Stewed Lion Head’s Meatballs
Chapter 113: Stewed Lion Head’s Meatballs
Translator: Atlas StudiosEditor: Atlas Studios
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The knife was pressed rhythmically on the chopping board. Xu Le raised the blade and slit the Buddha’s Roll open every three centimeters without cutting it off.
Zhang Liang was heating up oil at the side. He said in surprise, “Are you cutting the shape of a finger?”
“That’s right. 1 am going to cut a long strip first, then cut it into pieces after it’s fried, Otherwise, it’ll curl up easily the moment it enters the pot and won’t look good.”
‘When the oil was heated up to 70 to 80 percent hot and started to emit smoke, it would be ready to place the rolls into the pot.
Xu Le used the knife to hold up the Buddha’s Roll that had been cut and said to the camera, “You must use the side of the knife and press it close to the chopping board. If you use your hand directly, it will easily deform. Slide down along the edge of the pot and let it fry slowly.”
After entering the pot of oil, there was no longer any difficulty in cooking the dish. Zhang Liang helped to watch after and flip the sides as he said, “When you add alcohol into the noodles, it usually spoils the taste.”
“That’s right, but if it’s fried in a pot of oil, you can add yellow wine or huadiao wine. After being cooked at a high temperature, the smell of alcohol will be completely dispersed, and the fragrance of the wine will still remain in the ingredients.”
Zhang Liang nodded and said humbly, “Then do you know if the cooking wine can be added if the vegetables were steamed instead?”
“The main purpose of cooking wine is to get rid of the fishiness. If the dish is going to be steamed, you can add vegetable juice to the fillings to enhance the fragrance and also increase the nutritional value.”
After Xu Le finished explaining, he used his finger to poke at the Buddha’s Roll that was still in the pot of oil. Bai Xiaoming, who was looking at them from the side, cried out in shock. He quickly asked in concern, “Are you scalded? Aiyo, why are you so careless! Why did you place your hand into the pot of
oil?”
Xu Le was baffled. He extended his index finger and showed it to him. “It’s not scalded.”
It turned out that he had been practicing day and night in the system. His skills were like an experienced chef who had been practicing for decades. Once he got used to it, he wouldn’t be afraid of the heat and wouldn’t sustain any injuries.
“Ah… that’s good.”
Bai Xiaoming was still in shock as he furrowed his brows and said, “Luckily you didn’t get scalded. I was scared to death. Please don’t put your hand into the pot.”
Zhang Liang also widened his eyes. However, he had some understanding of culinary skills and had seen the experienced chefs do this before, so he was still quite calm. He grinned and joked, “Little Master Chef thinks this dish is too plain and wants to add some meat i
The cameraman was so shocked that he couldn’t breathe. After a long time, he said, “Little Master Chef, be careful. You don’t have to work so hard. You’re still young.”
‘The Buddha’s Rolls inside the pot were fried until both sides were golden brown. After the surface hardened, they could be fished out. After the loud shouting earlier, Zhou Huangya, who was standing outside at the counter, also came in to ask what had happened. Bai Xiaoming could not help but laugh.
Xu Le picked up the last piece of Buddhist’s Roll and demonstrated it.
He gently pressed and exerted force with one finger, fishing out the Buddha’s Roll using the strainer.
“Wow! Wow! Wow!” Zhou Huangya covered her mouth as her eyes narrowed from smiling. She exclaimed, “That’s so amazing! Goodness, is your hand any different from mine? Are there scales on your skin?”
Half joking, she leaned over and said, “What are you doing?”
“Cutting the rolls. The Buddha’s Rolls should be cut into the shape of the hand with five fingers.”
With that said and a crunching sound from the knife, the shape of the Buddha’s Roll appeared. It was golden and crispy.
‘After Xu Le was done, he laid out a plate and called everyone over. “Try it. If the taste is good, we can add this dish to the menu. There are meat stuffing that we bought over there. We should be able serve this dish in large quantities.”
“Let me try.”
Zhou Huangya took a piece first. After the egg rolls and flour were fried, they emitted the unique aroma of carbonhydrates. They were dry and crispy. Although they were just fished out from the pot, there was not a single drop of excess oil.
“Mmm, the meat filling inside smells so good. I only tasted salt and oil, but it’s so delicious!”
Bai Xiaoming said, “When the meat stuffing is fried, there’s only the fragrance of the meat. There’s no greasy taste of the pork at all. How did you do it?”
Zhang Liang explained, “It’s filled with onion grains and ginger grains, which are onions and gingers chopped into the size of millet. When added in, it naturally has the effect of removing the fishy smell.”
Xu Le nodded in agreement and said, “This is an ancient imperial dish. At that time, there were no seasonings such as chicken extract, so they used the simplest cooking method to preserve the original taste and freshness of the ingredients.”
‘The Buddha’s Roll was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Although it was fried, it gave off a refreshing taste when eaten. It was especially delicious.
Bai Xiaoming immediately said, “On top of that, this dish is really superb! The taste is plain, but it’s especially fragrant.”
“Even the ancient people would like to eat it!”
After a round of discussion, everyone immediately added this dish to the menu. At that moment, they were about to open for business that day.
Customers swarmed into the restaurant. Many of them were here for the Crucian Carp Soup and the West Lake Vinegar Fish. They held the menu and asked which dish was prepared by Xu Le.
Zhou Huangya, who was at the front desk, could not help but exclaim, “Xu Le has become a huge star here. No, he’s a money tree. Haha, many people are here for his dishes.”
In the kitchen, Xu Le was busy cutting the vegetables and putting them into the pot. The dishes were served in a simple order and everyone was busy with their own tasks.
‘When it reached around three o’clock in the afternoon, the weather was hot. There were gradually fewer people in the restaurant. Bai Xiaoming slumped onto the sofa and closed his eyes to sleep.
Zhang Liang sat on the stool and asked with a face full of doubt, “You’ve been busy all afternoon, why are you still so energetic? How about you sit down and rest?”
“It’s alright.”
To be honest, Xu Le wasn’t tired at all. He took out some fine pork belly from the fridge and said, “I’m going to make stewed lion’s head meatballs for dinner. I’ll stew it in the pot first, since it’ll take more than two hours.”
Zhang Liang moved closer to the stool and crossed his arms as he suggested, “Lion’s head meatballs taste better when braised. The taste after stewing it is too bland. What do you think?”
“No, each has its own advantages, but the stewed one I am making definitely does not lose out to the braised version.” Xu Le cut the meat into slices and explained, “This dish of Huaiyang Cuisine used to be called the Sunflower Chopped Pork. It has a long history and is served frequently at state banquets.”
“know.” Zhang Liang beamed with joy and said excitedly, “I think it’s Duke Si Han of the Tang Dynasty who saw the giant meatball and thought it looked like a lion’s head. The guests in the manor tried to persuade him while drinking wine and said that he…”
Xu Le continued unhurriedly, “They said that he was a soldier with illustrious military achievements, and that he should be worthy of the title of a commanding lion. Duke Si Han took advantage of the situation to change the name of the Sunflower Chopped Pork into Lion Head’s Meatballs, and the
cooking method was passed down from then on.”
“Cooking the Lion’s Head Meatballs requires 60 percent lean meat and 40 percent fatty meat, or at least 70 and 30 percent respectively. You have to add fatty meat in it, or else the taste will be very dry. Even before serving it, there’s only a pot of lean meat soup left.”
Xu Le cut the meat into slices and said, “First cut the meat into slices, then into cubes. Cut them into the size of pomegranate seeds. If you use a meat grinder directly, it will lose its elasticity. Then mince the meat while maintaining its granular shape.”
After Xu Le chopped the meat with two knives for a few minutes, the meat started to become sticky.