Chapter 193 - Spicy Fried Vermicelli
Chapter 193: Spicy Fried Vermicelli
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Xu Le glanced at the news on the screen without any expression.
Lu Yuxi was not satisfied with his reaction and asked curiously, “Are you unhappy?”
“There’s no need to argue with a robot who has no feelings or thoughts about cooking.” Xu Le continued to explain, “All his programming is copied from me, Zhang Tong, Li Qing, Chen Xian, and many professional people in the industry who have competition videos and cooking tutorials. It can’t come up with anything innovative, so there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“Hmph.” Lu Yuxi nodded in agreement. “That makes sense.”
As they spoke, she saw the vermicelli that Xu Le had soaked in warm water. Her eyes widened as she asked, “What are we eating tonight? Vermicelli? Mixed noodles?”
“Xinjiang spicy fried vermicelli. You’ve always wanted to eat it. I was busy a while ago and didn’t have time to make it.”
As Xu Le spoke, he instructed Lu Yuxi to make handmade noodles.
“Tiantian can’t eat anything too spicy. I’ll make her a bowl of mixed meat noodles later. The vermicelli are especially easy to absorb and digest. You can eat two mouthfuls of noodles later. Otherwise, you’ll be so hungry that you’ll get up in the middle of the night to find something to eat.”
“Alright.”
Lu Yuxi happily rolled up her sleeves and washed her hands to make noodles.
On the other side, Xu Le took out 100 grams of dried chilli and added 600 grams of dried millet peppers. He placed the two into the basin and heated them with hot water.
Not only could this step stimulate the spicy fragrance of the chili, but it could also remove the dust on the surface. When the chili was swollen and foaming, to the extent that it could be crushed with a touch, it could be scooped out and squeezed dry before being placed in the blender.
After crushing it once, Xu Le opened the lid and felt that the chili paste was not smooth enough, so he covered the lid and blended again.
Lu Yuxi rolled the noodles while saying, “Have you thought about opening a new branch?”
“Definitely.” Xu Le put the blended chili into a bowl aside. “But it has to wait first. I’ve arranged a time with Zhang Heng to try releasing a brand.”
“A packaged product?”
Lu Yuxi immediately guessed what he meant and asked in confusion, “Don’t I remember that you’re very particular about food? Can you accept adding preservatives into vacuum bags and sell them in large quantities?”
“Of course I have to study the process carefully. However, I’ve thought about it seriously. Even if I keep opening more branches, I can’t let all my customers eat my dish. It’s a good idea to operate like the Giant Crab.”
“That’s true!” Lu Yuxi said happily, “You’re finally enlightened! When the time comes, you can focus on the quality and choose the ingredients and taste well. Then, you’ll be more than half successful.”
After all, with Xu Le’s current popularity and influence, it would not be a problem to sell hundreds of thousands of packets a month.
However, the more popular and influential they were, the more cautious they had to be.
Xu Le naturally knew this in his heart. He nodded and added 500 grams of bean oil, 200 grams of red oil, 5 grams of white oil, and 200 grams of clear water to the chili paste he had just blended. He mixed it with a wooden spoon evenly.
At this point, the spicy sauce for stir-fried vermicelli was prepared.
“How well can you eat spicy food?”
“Don’t worry, I’m absolutely OK.”
Lu Yuxi winked at him playfully. “Don’t underestimate me.”
“Alright, don’t cry later.”
As Xu Le spoke, after stirring the chili sauce evenly, he added 80 grams of Minxian bean paste, 50 grams of ketchup, 45 grams of sweet noodle sauce, 20 grams of sweet chilli sauce, 15 grams of peanut sauce, and 20 grams of yellow beans sauce to the bowl. Finally, he added the dark soya sauce, white sugar, chicken essence, salt, and white pepper to season it.
He added all the seasonings and water into the blended and crushed them again. When the texture was fine and granular, he would be able to use them.
After Lu Yuxi kneaded the dough until it was smooth and without cracks, she placed it aside and wrapped it in plastic wrap to allow it to rise. She saw that Xu Le had yet to process the onions, ginger, and garlic.
She asked, “Let me cut these for you. How much do you want?”
“One onion, one piece of ginger, two large onions, and half a garlic. Process all of them by cutting them as fine as you can, then put it in the blender to crush them.”
Lu Yuxi did as she was told. She blended twice in the machine and crushed all the ingredients before putting them into a bowl.
Immediately after, Xu Le began to simmer the sauce. He poured the chili sauce that he had made at the beginning into the steel pot. After the fire was set, he turned it to low heat and used a steel spoon to press the bottom and stir-fry. After about 20 minutes, the fragrance would be produced. Then, he poured the chopped green onion and ginger into the pot and continued to press the ingredients. During this period, the two ingredients would slowly fuse together. The spicy fragrance of the chili gradually turned into a mellow spicy fragrance.
Ten minutes later, he added the various sauces that had just been blended and seasoned into the steel pot. At this time, the sauce in the pot was not only spicy, but also mixed with various flavors of composite sauce, emitting a thick fragrance.
When the sauce in the pot was thick, bright, and fragrant, 100 grams of pepper powder could be poured in five minutes before it was taken out.
While the color was being produced, the hanging sauce was also added. This was so that when it was used to stir-fry with the vermicelli, it would be easier to stir-fry evenly and stick the sauce to the surface.
After the sauce was stir-fried, it was placed aside to cool naturally. Those that could not be finished were placed in a vacuum jar without water or oil and placed in the refrigerator to be refrigerated.
When the seasoning was ready and the vermicelli were soaked, the vermicelli would be boiled in hot water for 5 to 8 minutes before being soaked in cold water.
Cold water could make the vermicelli more chewy and smooth.
“What ingredients do you want? Bean skin, tenderloin, beef or eggs.”
Lu Yuxi said, “I eat it stir-fried with beef. I see that that’s what they do in professional stores.”
“Yeah.”
Xu Le placed the fresh and tender beef into a bowl and added a gram of baking soda, half an egg white, and soybean oil. This way, the beef would be more smooth and soft, and the moisture would be locked in.
Then, he used light soya sauce, cooking wine, oyster sauce, and seasoning to remove the fishy smell.
He put on the kitchen gloves and kept stirring and beating it with his hand until the beef absorbed all the ingredients and the flavor was fused in the marination.
He added oil to the pot. In order to enhance the color, Xu Le found half a celery and cut it off. After the beef was placed in the pot and had changed color, he could add the celery and then pour in a large spoonful of the sauce that he had just made.
Lu Yuxi could not help but salivate just by watching from the side. After the spicy sauce was heated up and stir-fried, the smell was completely released. It was spicy and fragrant!
Xu Le poured in half a bowl of hot water and placed the soaked vermicelli into the pot. Finally, he added salt, chicken essence, pepper, and seasoning. He stir-fried it over high heat and evaporated the liquid.
When the sauce in the pot was almost evaporated and every strand of vermicelli was evenly wrapped in the sauce, it could be placed on the plate.
Lu Yuxi was stunned as she watched the production process.
As soon as it was served on the plate, she took out her chopsticks and said impatiently, “Let me taste it! I wasn’t hungry just now. But after you stir-fried this vermicelli, my stomach was rumbling!”