Chapter 133 - Stir-fried onion crab
Chapter 133 Stir-fried onion crab
He was actually trying to give Xu Le a way out. After all, the palmier was a complicated dish and the failure rate was extremely high. It was
front of the cameras, it would definitely ruin his reputation.
“Palmier?”
Xu Le thought about it seriously. He seemed to have learned it in the system when he was in a daze before falling asleep. “Do you know?”
Zhou Huangya’s eyes lit up like a gluttony cat. “I can try.”
“You even know how to make such complicated dessert?” Zhang Liang drew a cold breath and counted with his fingers. “After you came here, excluding the national banquet dishes that you made, you have already made Sichuan, Lu, Cantonese and Huaiyang dishes. You can even make desserts now?”
“A little.”
“What do you mean by ‘a little’? Don’t be so humble!”
Zhang Liang wailed. He was even more certain that his title of “Little Master Chef” was well-deserved.
After the blood was squeezed out of the marinated meat, Xu Le put it into the dryer and said, “The marinated meat should be sprinkled with salt and soaked in water. It will only become hard after two weeks or so, but I don’t have the time to wait for that, so I’ll just put it in the dryer. The texture won’t be too difference once it’s ready.” After processing the marinated meat, he started cutting the crabs.
“Today, I am using an orchid crab. I am using a kitchen knife to cut open the crab’s abdomen and remove the lung inside. That’s the crab’s gasket.”
“Remove the impurities and wash them clean. Then chop away the crab’s sharp pincers and pat the crab’s legs a little so that it will be more flavorful during the cooking process.”
“The processed crabs will then be marinated with salt for ten minutes.”
“The condiments I just prepared are diced ginger, a large onion and its green section. Then we shall begin to mix the sauce, in the ratio of 1 oyster sauce to 5 yellow wine, and stir evenly.”
“The process of cooking this dish is very simple. Everyone only needs to pick the best quality and fresh orchid crabs, and you won’t fail. Add dry starch to the marinated crab at the incision area, then bring them to the ceramic pot. After pouring in some oil and heating it up, place the side with the starch into the pot, same goes for the crab legs.”
As Xu Le spoke, he demonstrated. Zhang Liang looked as the crab legs in the pot stretched outwards. He could not help but tease, “chaotic dancing.” “Haha, it doesn’t look good. But it will be delicious later.”
He sprinkled the chopped scallions and ginger grains. “Close the lid and let the small fire simmer for five to six minutes. During the process, to prevent the pot from getting burnt, you can be pour some edible oil in from the edge of the
pot.”
“When the time is up, remove the lid and stir-fry it to prevent it from sticking to the pot. Now, you can sprinkle the sauce that was prepared just now into the pot and add a suitable amount of salt. Then, stew it for three minutes. When it is ready to be served, sprinkle some green onions, ginger and the stir-fried onion crab will be complete.”
The dishes were ready and the rice was almost soaked.
Xu Le placed the spring bamboo shoots into the boiling water and blanched it, while saying,
be blanched in advance. The pork belly must be marinated with rice wine for a few minutes to remove the fishy smell.”
After the pork belly was marinated, Xu Le cut it into smaller pieces and said, “The fresh meat needs to be cut a little bigger because it will shrink during the frying process… Before adding the meat into the pot, sprinkle some salt and season it. After it’s pan-fried, the pot will be full of essence.”
He scooped out a piece of meat and added fresh water. He rinsed the essence in the pot before pouring out the stewed rice. “This is the best way to let the meat fragrance permeate the rice. I learned it from an old chef.”
It was Zhang Tong from the Heavenly Restaurant. Earlier, when he came to the Eight-year-old canteen to eat, the two of them had unintentionally started to chat, and he revealed the secret that made the pickled cabbage rice become the Heavenly Restaurant’s signature dish.
“Pour out the water that used for soaking in the cermaic pot just now and pour in the rice that has been soaked. Then add this bowl of essence water and use chopsticks to scatter the rice grains.”
“When steaming rice, the water level needs to be about two centimeters above the surface of the rice. Use chopsticks to disperse the rice, so that the heat from the lower layer can rush to the upper layer. There’s also a name for the water that was added in just now. It sounds especially high-end, called the Melard Soup. If the soup isn’t enough, some fresh water can be added. Otherwise, the rice may be undercooked.”
At this moment, the rice grains had already absorbed enough water. Each grain was round and plump. He covered the pot lid and cooked the rice.
Xu Le stood by the stove while waiting the whole time.
After Zhang Liang finished making the crayfish, he scooped a few small plates of his precious pickled vegetables and turned to look at him. “Are you tired? Sit down and rest.”
“It’s okay, I have to keep an eye on it. Once the water dries up, I have to immediately add some side ingredients, otherwise the bottom will immediately become burnt.”
“You want to make… pickled cabbage soup?”
“No, it’s an improved rice version,” Xu Le explained. “Although the soup has a long history, the taste of the ingredients is too overwhelming. In order to cater to the tastes of the masses, the restaurants have all already modified it to making pickled vegetable rice.”
“I see.” Zhang Liang said, “How are you going to make your palmiers? Let me secretly learn from you.”
“Wait a moment, I can’t be distracted while cooking the rice.”
Xu Le had a serious look on his face. It was as if the rice in the ceramic pot was not just a simple dish, but a piece of art that was being carved.
Once the soup had evaporated, he immediately placed the small pieces of marinated meat, fried fresh meat with oil, tender bamboo shoots, and lettuce inside. Finally, he placed the bean skin roll on top.
Then, he put some flour and starch into the bowl, added water, and kneaded to form a smooth dough. He kneaded it into a long strip that could wrap around the lid of the pot. After he pressed it down, he didn’t forget to pull out the air vent.
“Place the side ingredients neatly and seal the pot with dough. Now, you need to turn the pot. Remember to use a cloth to cover it and be careful not to scald your hands. Turn it to the four corners of the pot. Each time, count in your heart for 30 seconds. When it’s up, turn it again. Remember to listen out for the sizzling sound in the pot. This is the rice crust being produced.”
Xu Le repeated in a clockwise fashion for about eight minutes. Zhang Liang, who was watching from behind, felt his teeth ache. He said, “This is so troublesome…”
The inside of the pot was tightly sealed. The meat fragrance and the sweet fragrance of the vegetables interweaved with each other. In the end, all of them integrated into the rice. In addition to the rice that was evenly fried due to the heat, it was also scorched and crisp. When the lid was lifted, the fragrance overflowed.
The salted meat that had been marinated, the spring bamboo shoots and fresh meat when stewed were oozing with oil and glistening. Zhang Liang could not help but salivate.
He said, “It looks really good.”
The lettuce and tender bamboo shoots were green and yellow. The pork belly was not too fat nor lean, and the bean skin roll was fragrant. After adding a handful of green onions, the dish would be ready.
Just as they were calling for everyone to eat, a bell sounded at the door. Everyone looked outside at the same time, only to see Alex wearing a leather jacket and sunglasses striding over. “Everyone, long time no see ~~~” In the face of his warm greeting, Zhang Liang’s lips twitched. Helplessly, he asked, “Did you arrive just in time for lunch?”
“Haha, all visitors are guests. Let’s sit down and eat together.”