Chapter 125 - Garlic Chicken Wings
Chapter 125 Garlic Chicken Wings
“Okay, okay.” The woman shook his hand gratefully. “Thank you.”
Xu Le sat there with his eyes closed and his consciousness entered the system.
He found the recipe for Snowflake Peach Paste and started practicing. Among the recipes passed down, there were quite a few cooking methods. He wanted to choose the method with the best taste and was the fastest.
He tried the first method more than 50 times with corn starch. The starch was easily sticky and easily burnt. If he failed the first time, he would not be able to recook it in the pot.
This was the troublesome part of this dish. Once there was a mistake in a step, it would directly affect the follow-up process. After experimenting dozens of times and succeeding, Xu Le picked up a piece and put it into his mouth. There was a soft and sweet taste, but it was a pity that there wasn’t enough sugar. The starch produced would more or less be affected and had a more rigid texture.
He started to try the second method again. Time passed unknowingly. When Xu Le opened his eyes, the clock on the wall showed that 15 minutes had already passed.
It was a dish that he had been studying for quite some time. Just as he was about to stand up, Zhou Huangya brought over the sliced green mangoes and said, “You are so tired that you can fall asleep sitting down? I saw that you were too tired and didn’t have the nerve to wake you up. Come and eat some mangoes.” “MMhmm.”
Xu Le did not explain and reached out to pick a piece. “Thank you.”
Walking over to the table, he heard that Alex had bragged something that made Zhang Liang, who always had a good temper, roll his eyes. Zhang Liang tilted his head and said, “Nonsense.”
“What nonsense did I say? If I had stayed in the country, I will definitely be more popular than you.”
Alex looked at Xu Le and invited him over, “Come over and have some sauce. Have you tried this before? They don’t dare to try it, hehe.”
“MMhmm.”
Xu Le calmly dipped into the soy sauce and then wrapped the chili powder on the plate next to him. “I saw that on the streets, you can wrap with salt, sugar or chilli sauce.”
“Eh?” Zhang Liang frowned and said, “Is this really edible?”
“You’ll know when you try it.”
“It’s some nasty cuisine.”
After the green mango had been dipped in the condiments, he put it into his mouth. It covered the sweet and sour taste of the green mango. When he bit it, it tasted like cheese. It was smooth and fragrant with a hint of saltiness. It did not taste bad and instead had a unique flavor.
“You’ve been here for such a long time, and our budget is tight. We haven’t treated you well.”
The store manager, Bai Xiaoming, walked out and placed his hands on the table. After thinking for a while, he said, “Tomorrow will be your last day here. Our turnover for this week has already exceeded our quota. Why don’t we bring everyone out to play?” “Oh.” Zhou Huangya pouted and said a little embarrassedly, “The food outside is not as delicious as Xu Le’s food. We might as well buy more food and eat in the restaurant.”
“He’s a guest and has been cooking for a week. Can’t you let him rest?”
“I’m fine with that.”
After Xu Le finished chewing the last piece of green mango, he looked up at the clock and said, “Let’s make dinner now. Do any of you want to eat any dish?”
“Me, me, me, me!”
Zhou Huangya raised her hand and said, “I want to eat hibiscus chicken slices.”
Zhang Liang teased, “Hey, you really know how to order the dishes served at the national banquet.”
Bai Xiaoming said, “Is stir-fried beef okay? I am fine with anything. I’ll eat whatever you cook. There seems to be prawns in the fridge. They were just delivered this afternoon.”
“Yes, anything is fine. I’ll prepare myself then.”
Xu Le rolled up his sleeves, put on his apron and started preparing dinner.
Fresh prawns had just been placed in the fridge, and all of them were jumping around in the icy water.
“I’ll make stir-fried prawns.”
Zhou Huangya nodded repeatedly. “Alright, you definitely won’t fail when cooking this dish.”
The chicken wings were cut into two parts from the middle. This made it easier for cooking it and so that it could be more flavorful. After Xu Le chopped the chicken wings, he said, “This dish has an important ingredient that can enhance its fragrance. This is it.”
He took a glass can and was about to open it when Bai Xiaoming, who was beside him, hurriedly stopped him. “You can’t open that thing!”
“That’s right, it’s black garlic.”
With a crack, the lid opened and fell onto the table. An indescribable, strange smell wafted out. Xu Le couldn’t help but frown and say, “Black garlic smells smelly, but it’s the same principle as stinky tofu and durian. It smells smelly but tastes good.”
The guests beside him took a few steps back, and Alex stepped forward curiously. “What is this? It smells quite strange. It’s smelly but fragrant…”
“Have one.”
Xu Le was joking and egging him on. But Alex actually reached out and took one and put it in his mouth. “I have seen all kinds of food in the world. In the past, I even had cow soup on the prairie. Just black garlic alone… Ugh! Black garlic…”
Alex violently retched, almost choking on his tears. He went to the side, holding the trash can and hurriedly spat out the black garlic. He stood rooted to the ground, unable to recover from the piercing smell.
The texture of the black garlic was soft. It was sweet, and not stimulating, but once it was bitten open, it immediately made people doubt life.
It was not bad, but he was not used to it.
“You, can you cook with this?”
After rinsing his mouth, Alex asked him suspiciously.
Xu Le shrugged his shoulders and said, “Black garlic is used to make chicken wings stew. In the end, only the fragrance of garlic will be left behind. There won’t be any other smell.”
In view of his deep understanding of Xu Le’s cooking skills, Alex’s lips quivered, but he eventually swallowed his harsh words.
“Smash the scallions and ginger with the back of the knife and add salt and yellow wine to it. Then, use your hands to remove the moisture and pour it on the chicken wings. This step is to remove the stench. Then, sprinkle a suitable amount of pepper powder on it.”
“Sprinkle a small amount of starch evenly to seal the moisture so that the chicken wings that are cooked will be even more tender. Remember to coat with a thin layer of syrup. It cannot be too thick, or it will fall off during the process of grilling.” As Xu Le spoke, he lifted the chicken wing and demonstrated it in front of the camera. The pink chicken wing had a thin white liquid hanging on it as it slowly dripped down.
“Peel the black garlic. Prepare green and red peppers, chopped onions, white garlic, ginger and chili sauce. Chili sauce is bought directly from the supermarket. If everyone is preparing the dish at home, it’s better to have green pepper sauce or millet sauce.”
“Fill the pan with oil. When it’s 60 percent hot, pour the chicken wings into the frying pan to solidify the shape.”
Xu Le said, “If you are cooking at home, you can replace this deep-frying step to grilling. The fire should be moderate, and it must be fried until both sides are golden. When it’s almost cooked, we can fish it out.”
“I still have to cook it later, so there’s no need to repeat the frying to obtain a crispy texture.”
The golden chicken wings were poured out of the pot to degrease. A small amount of oil was poured into the hot pot. First, the garlic was poured into the pot and exploded into a golden yellow color. Then, pour in ginger and onion strands. After that, half a spoonful of black bean sauce, half a spoonful of chili sauce, and stir-fry over low heat.
The fragrance seeped out, and the various spices in the pot stimulated the spiciness of the garlic to the greatest extent. At this time, the fried chicken wings could be added and a circle of yellow wine would be poured over the pot.
After a few sizzling sounds, the fragrance of the wine assailed his nostrils. Xu Le then poured the black garlic in, adding an appropriate amount of dark soya sauce to produce the color. After stir-frying for a while, he added the green and red peppers to provide a greater variety of colors.
He spread onions on the bottom of the clay pot and poured fragrant oil into it. He said, “The gravy can’t be too thin. If you don’t control it well in the early stage, you can pour a small amount of starch into it to thicken the sauce.”