Is there something wrong with making food a beast?

Chapter 24 Squirrel Mandarin Fish
When it comes to dishes made with mandarin fish, there is one dish that has to be mentioned.

A classic dish among Subang cuisine, squirrel mandarin fish.

The first time Qin Lang got this mandarin fish, it was also what Qin Lang thought of.

Dan Bao had already approached Qin Lang the first time he picked up the kitchen knife, his face was full of curiosity.

The ingredients Qin Lang got were things he had never seen before.

This means that what Qin Lang is going to do now is a new dish!
"Google?"

"This dish is called squirrel mandarin fish." Qin Lang smiled, and began to skillfully remove the scales and guts of the mandarin fish. "After making it, it looks very much like a squirrel."

There are two types of squirrel mandarin fish, one is ingot-shaped and the other is pictographic.

The former is shaped like an ingot, with the head of the fish facing the sky and the body curled up with its tail curled up, implying auspiciousness, while the latter will put the squirrel mandarin fish in the shape of a squirrel, which is vivid and appears more in the restaurant.

Fish made like little squirrels?

And such an interesting dish?

Danbao blinked, with a curious look on her little face.

The kitchen knife ran horizontally against the fish's spine, and Qin Lang skillfully removed the main bone from the fish body and divided it into two parts, and then removed the spines on both sides.

"Dan Bao, help me deal with the onion and ginger." Qin Lang started to cut the two halves of the fish with a flower knife as he spoke.

Slanting first and then straightening can make the strips of fish longer.

If it is in Yuanbao shape, the blade needs to be tilted more, so that each piece of fish can be opened as much as possible. For pictographs, the blade should only be tilted slightly, and the shorter the fish meat, the better the shaping effect can be controlled.

This kind of knife method is also called litchi knife method. After heating, the fish skin is curled up, and the stretched fish flesh is clearly shaped like a litchi, which is particularly beautiful.

On the other side, Danbao has skillfully selected the onion and ginger among the accessories, and started blowing hard.

Both sides are done at the same time.

Put the two halves of the fish body into a bowl, add the chopped green onion, ginger and cooking wine after the water is submerged, and marinate for a while.

With a slight shake, the body of the fish with the flower knife is like a flower blooming, and the slender fish meat trembles in the water, which is quite amazing.

Danbao leaned forward and stared at the fish in the water with wide eyes, feeling a little dazed.

"Danbao, help me with this." Qin Lang handed Danbao a few oranges.

"Gududu!"

Just leave it to me!
Dan Bao took the orange and blew it seriously again.

Taking advantage of Danbao's time handling the oranges, Qin Lang has already started another preparation.

The two halves of the fish form the body and tail of the squirrel respectively, while the head of the squirrel consists of the short fin behind the gill cover of the fish.

The whiskers of the squirrel are made of the ribs of the belly of the fish.

After putting together a squirrel head for later use, the marinating and deodorization of the fish body is almost done.

Drain the water from the two halves of the fish, put them into cornstarch and pat the flour until the root of each fish is fully coated with starch, shake off the excess starch, spread the fish skin down and let it stand for a few minutes.

This step is called raising paste.

During the rest, the dry starch on the surface of the fish absorbs the water in the fish, forming a tight starch layer.

During the frying process, the starch layer quickly hardens and becomes dense, like miniature steamers, which perfectly locks the tenderness of the fish.

Only in this way can the squirrel mandarin fish be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

While feeding, Qin Lang was not idle.

The step of adjusting the juice needs to be prepared in advance.

If you wait until the squirrel mandarin fish is fried and then add the sauce, the fried mandarin fish is already a little cold, and it will not be able to achieve the effect of sizzling when it is served.

The sizzling sound like a squirrel is also the soul of this dish.

After receiving the oranges that Danbao had processed, Qin Lang quickly peeled them and squeezed out the orange juice with a juicer.

What he wants to adjust is sweet and sour sauce, but adding orange juice to it can make the final flavor better.

Add orange juice to the pot, add a little salt, and add sugar and white vinegar one by one.

When the pot is bubbling, add water starch to thicken it, and then turn to the lowest heat to maintain its temperature.

The whole process took only a few minutes, and the fish body on the other side had already been battered.

Heat the oil in a pan, fix the shape of the fish body with a toothpick and slowly lower it into the pan.

In just a moment, with the clear sizzle sound, countless fine bubbles emerged from the fish.

The rich fried aroma burst out rapidly during this process, which made Danbao couldn't help but take a deep breath, with a satisfied expression on his face.

"That's where it is." Qin Lang smiled, scooped up hot oil and poured it on the surface of the fish to make the fish evenly heated, deep-fried until it was set, and then took it out.

The surface of the fish that is fished out has a light yellow color. When the fish skin is heated and curled up, it relaxes. It is as delicate and beautiful as the fluffy fur of a squirrel, and there is a strong fragrance constantly emerging.

The previously prepared squirrel head is slightly coated with starch, fried in the same pan until golden, and then taken out.

At this point the oil temperature rises even higher.

Add the fish body again and fry again, and the rich aroma burst out in the pot in just a moment.

In this aroma, there is not only the unique aroma of fried starch, but also the fresh aroma of fish meat.

The light yellow color of the fish gradually deepens as the frying progresses, eventually turning into a nice golden brown.

Dan Bao couldn't help swallowing.

I want to eat!
It looks delicious at first glance!

After taking out the fish body and arranging the squirrel's head, body and tail, Qin Lang carefully poured the sweet and sour sauce on every inch of the squirrel mandarin fish.

The freshly fried fish is still at high temperature, and there is a crisp sound of "sizzling" when the sweet and sour sauce is poured on it.

Squirrel mandarin fish, success!

...

"Father, I thought you knew Qin Lang, and it would be easier to give him a test." Beside the dining table, Zhou Yun couldn't help but said, "I didn't expect you to give him such a test."

The process of cooking the fish you caught is full of randomness.

The type of fish cannot be determined, and the quality of the fish caught cannot be determined.

So it's more difficult than specifying a particular type of fish to cook.

And the latter was Zhou Qing's way of testing Yuling Chef in the past.

"Try it." Zhou Qing took a sip of tea calmly, "I think he has the potential."

"Okay." Zhou Yun nodded and changed his voice, "Father, what was that special invitation you received two days ago?"

"The Leaping Fish Feast in Ming Jing State." Zhou Qing looked at Zhou Yun, "I went to Ming Jing State once many years ago, and met some old friends there. This time they invited me to have a look."

"There are still two months to go, when the city-level competition is over, it's okay to go and have a look."

"So that's it." Zhou Yun sighed, "It's a pity that I, as a judge of the Food Fighting Association, can't ask for leave at will, otherwise I can go and see it."

A "sizzling" sound interrupted their conversation.

Smelling the strong fragrance that came quickly, surprise flashed in the eyes of Zhou's father and son.

They all turned their heads and looked at Qin Lang who walked out with a fish plate.

Putting the fish plate on the dining table, Qin Lang smiled slightly.

"Squirrel mandarin fish, please taste."
-
Next chapter update time [18:00 today]

Quick entry: [monthly ticket] [recommendation ticket]

Contents of Easter egg chapter at the end of this chapter:

【Yuanbao shaped squirrel mandarin fish】

【Pictograph Squirrel Mandarin Fish】

(End of this chapter)