Stop pretending, I am the God of Cooking and I am showing off my cards!

Chapter 488 A delicious snack that looks simple but is actually exquisite in every aspect - Jade Shaomai! 【Please subscribe】

If you want green vegetables to taste delicious, just add some lard. This is a consensus that many people know.

But Lin Xu thinks the best example of combining lard and vegetables is Jade Shaomai from Huaiyang cuisine.

The green vegetables are blanched until they are raw, and then mixed with cooked lard, and it turns out to be an unforgettable delicacy. This is simply amazing for the beauty of cooking.

Lin Xu chopped the green vegetables into puree.

This is to cut off the various tendons of the green vegetables and make the stuffing delicious and melt-in-your-mouth.

Putting the vegetable puree on the plate, Lin Xu estimated it and found that the amount of vegetable puree was much worse.

According to a basket of ten shaomai, if one shaomai uses 35 grams of fillings, ten tables will need more than 3,500 grams of fillings. In addition, if someone eats one and wants to eat it, we might as well prepare five kilograms.

He cut some more vegetable leaves and blanched them. He cut nearly forty pounds of green vegetable leaves back and forth to get enough for the filling.

From this we can see that this seemingly ordinary snack is actually anything but ordinary.

The amount of green vegetables alone is beyond imagination.

It’s no wonder that Huaiyang cuisine is not tired of fine meats and fine details. Just a small Shaomai is so particular, and other large dishes are cumbersome and complicated, so it is normal.

"What to do with these vegetable stalks?"

Guo Xinghai came over and watched Lin Xu cut off the stems of the large basket of vegetables, with a somewhat surprised expression.

He didn’t know much about Huaiyang cuisine and didn’t expect to eat it this way.

In fact, dishes that only eat vegetable leaves without the stems are very common in other cuisines, such as hand-shredded cabbage and various cabbage rolls.

Lin Xu said:

"You can use it in cooking later. They are all vegetable stems and are very crispy. They can be minced with garlic or boiled."

"Okay, I'll find a way to use it... Remember to leave two Shaomai for me. I'm going to do some research and get it back in my restaurant."

Other dishes in the store are either not suitable for Yangcheng's eating style, or the restaurant at home already has similar dishes.

Only this Jade Shaomai dish made Guo Xinghai very interested.

I really want to learn it and try it in my own restaurant later.

In Cantonese-style morning tea, siomai is one of the four kings. Now that there are different kinds of siomai, it is worth learning about it both emotionally and rationally.

Lin Xu smiled and said:

"Just keep an eye on it when you pack it later. This thing is indeed troublesome, but as long as you figure out the twists and turns inside, it's not too difficult."

After saying that, he started to mix the stuffing.

Add some lard to the vegetable puree and stir evenly.

Lard can make pureed vegetables oily, tender and fragrant.

The reason why Jade Shaomai tastes soft, tender and fragrant with a dense texture has a lot to do with lard.

In addition, when preparing the stuffing, adding lard first can also allow the vegetable puree to lock in moisture.

If you add salt first, due to the strong water-killing effect of table salt, it is estimated that a lot of water will seep out of the bottom of these vegetable purees quickly, causing the filling to lose its tender texture.

Leave the lard alone and don't rush to season. Let the lard and vegetable puree penetrate each other for a while.

Taking advantage of this time, Lin Xu brought over a piece of Jinhua ham that Wei Gan helped cook, and prepared to cut the ham into 1 mm square ham with a knife.

This step is quite a test of knife skills.

But for Lin Xu, it was not difficult at all.

These minced hams play a role in increasing the freshness of the siomai. After wrapping the siomai, you will usually pinch a pinch of ham crumbs into the sealing position of the siomai as needed.

Doing this will not only increase the appearance of the siomai, but also allow the minced ham to penetrate into the filling of the siu mai with the heat during the steaming process.

Cut the ham into thin slices horizontally, then cut it into thin strips, trim it, and finally cut it into dices.

After everything was cut, Lin Xu grabbed a handful and put it into the vegetable puree, and put the rest in a bowl to use when wrapping the siomai later.

Stir the ham mince, mix well, then sprinkle in a tablespoon of sugar and a little salt for freshness.

There's minced ham and there's already a salty flavor to the filling.

But you should also add some salt, because salt not only has a salty taste, but also has a very good freshness-enhancing effect, which other seasonings do not have at all.

Continue stirring until the sugar and salt are completely mixed, then cover the mouth of the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator to let the filling relax for a while.

All fillings, whether meat fillings or vegetarian fillings, should be allowed to relax for a while after mixing well to allow the flavors of the various ingredients in the fillings to penetrate each other. This will make the dish more delicious and delicious.

"This stuffing looks pretty simple."

Ma Zhiqiang originally thought it would be very difficult, but after reading it, he discovered that all he had to do was chop the vegetable leaves into puree, add lard, minced ham, sugar and a little salt for freshness.

It looks easier than filling ordinary dumplings and steamed buns.

Lin Xu smiled and said:

"This is really not difficult, but some details need to be paid attention to. For example, the vegetable leaves should be squeezed out before chopping. If necessary, you can even dry them with kitchen paper. You cannot chop them and then squeeze out the water, which will destroy the nutrients inside the leaves and Loss of umami substances is a wrong approach.”

Ma Zhiqiang asked curiously:

“Can soft white sugar be replaced with white granulated sugar?”

Guo Xinghai, who had been observing, said:

"It's best not to use it, because the soft white sugar not only plays a sweet role, but also melts easily and turns into sugar juice that completely blends into the filling, adding to the silky texture of the filling."

Lin Xu nodded:

"You are observing very carefully. In fact, the most important point is that the steaming time of Jade Shaomai is only five minutes. Within five minutes, so much white sugar may not melt, but the soft white sugar is different. It will be slightly hot. It can be dissolved."

They discussed for a while, and Lin Xu kneaded the loosened dough again, using the tiger's mouth position to push and spread the dough little by little.

This allows the dough to bind to the moisture better and also makes the dough more malleable.

After doing this, put the dough into the basin and rest it for the second time.

Another ten minutes passed.

The engagement party in the banquet hall upstairs had already begun, and various cold dishes began to be served. Lin Xu took out the dough, rolled it into long strips, and divided it into small dough pieces of about 7 grams.

This kind of dough is smaller than the dumpling wrapper, and when rolled out it is basically a piece of paper.

The snack Jade Shaomai requires this effect. The green cabbage inside must be completely visible through the dough. Only such a Shaomai can be called Jade Shaomai.

Many people try to make this dish, thinking that just using spinach juice to mix the noodles will do.

That's wrong. Dying the dough green is inferior. The best way is to roll the dough thin enough to reveal the filling. This is the essence of Jade Shaomai.

After dividing the dough, Lin Xu sprinkled some dry starch, kneaded it, and pressed the dough into a round shape. Then he picked up the jujube core rolling pin with two pointed ends and started rolling out the dough.

A date core rolling pin is a kitchen item that is easy to use for those who know how to use it, but can easily drive people crazy if they don’t know how to use it.

When rolling out the dough, you need to use your left and right hands alternately so that the dough can automatically rotate during the rolling process and the rolled out dough will become more and more round.

Lin Xu tried to make dumplings at home several times in the past, but all ended in failure.

Mrs. Lin also specially comforted him and said:

"My grandson is doing big things and he can't play with a rolling pin."

Lin Xu thought so too at the time. He always felt that if he studied finance, he would be able to find a job in the financial industry after graduation, and he would go in and out of high-end office buildings in suits and leather shoes every day.

However, the reality is completely the opposite.

Instead of finding a job in finance, he became a chef who relied on a rolling pin to make a living.

The first pot of gold in opening a store was given by the rolling pin.

Now using the rolling pin again, Lin Xu felt a lot of emotion.

Unlike a few years ago when the whole family was making dumplings together and he was clumsily rolling the dumpling wrappers into a rectangular shape, now he is not only able to use various rolling pins skillfully, but can even do some flower work.

For example, now, after he rolls out the dough, he presses the rolling pin with his left hand and presses hard on the dough with the rolling pin with his right hand.

Soon, a slightly wrinkled ruffle appeared on the dough.

These ruffles are the symbol of shaomai dough. Regardless of whether it is from the south or the north, whether it is pure meat or vegetarian, all siomai skins need to be wrapped in this kind of dough with lotus leaf folds.

Only this kind of dough can make delicious shaomai like flowers.

"Holy shit, this Shaomai dough is rolled out like a work of art, and it's so thin. I'm worthy of being a hand-rolled noodle maker. This skill is amazing!"

Lin Xu was busy when Dai Jianli's praise rang in his ears.

He raised his head and realized that his senior brothers Dai Jianli and Qiu Zhenhua had walked into the kitchen.

Seeing the Shaomai skin as thin as paper on the chopping board, Qiu Zhenhua asked curiously:

"Are you preparing to make shaomai?"

Lin Xu nodded:

"The elders are here today, and I plan to make some Jade Shaomai."

Upon hearing this name, Qiu Zhentao's eyes suddenly lit up:

"Has the filling been mixed? Where is it? Let me see."

Lin Xucheng winked at Ma Zhiqiang, and Ma Zhiqiang immediately opened the door of the refrigerator next to him and took out the wheat-roasted stuffing that was being refrigerated inside.

Qiu Zhenhua took it, took off the plastic wrap, picked up a pair of clean chopsticks from the side, dipped it in the filling, then took a sip in his mouth, tasted it briefly, and gave a thumbs up:

"The flavor is well adjusted. Many people think that if you add diced ham, you don't need to add salt. This is wrong. The umami flavor produced by salt and diced ham is different, especially in vegetables. If it is made locally in Yangzhou, The amount of sugar should be increased by one-third, but northerners can't tolerate that sweetness, so you adjusted it well."

Tasting stuffing is a normal thing for a chef.

Not to mention this kind of vegetable stuffing, even minced meat stuffing and other ingredients, you have to taste it like this when you are not sure about the amount of salt.

Not only will novices try when they can't grasp it, but master chefs will check their apprentices' work and taste the fillings without hesitation. Only in this way can they intuitively find out the shortcomings and straighten out their ideas.

Xie Baomin said with a smile:

"Since Qiu Qiu said so, I won't taste it. What are you going to cook later? If it's not difficult, we'll go up to the banquet."

Today is a gift, after all, everyone is now a co-anchor of Happy Media in name only.

Lin Xu said:

"I'm going to make Huaiyang-style mandarin fish braised in vinegar later."

As soon as he said this, Dai Jianli's originally boring face showed a smile of surprise, while Xie Baomin had an expression on his face that said, "You can always come up with new tricks for me."

Only Qiu Zhenhua, who had never been to Linji Food recently, was shocked by these words:

"I didn't expect that Master Lin would still be able to cook this dish. You two go up and eat, and I'll stay here to see how good Master Lin is at making vinegar-braised mandarin fish."

Darling, you actually learned how to cook mandarin fish with vinegar secretly. Master Lin has been making up for it in private.

Braised mandarin fish in vinegar is so unpopular that not only can you not see this dish in daily life, but you can’t even find many related tutorials on the Internet.

You probably have to go to Yangzhou or Huai'an to get it.

Lin Xu said:

"I was just asking Chef Qiu to give me some advice... By the way, when will the apprenticeship banquet be held? I thought it would start in the next few days, but I never believed it."

Being the introducer for the first time, Lin Xu was somewhat excited.

But when Tongtong's birthday came, her sister-in-law's engagement came, and Qi Siming's apprenticeship banquet came, there was still no news.

Xie Baomin and Dai Jianli were not polite and went directly upstairs to have a meal.

With Qiu Zhenhua here, even if Lin Xu can't make mandarin fish with vinegar, at least he won't fall over.

After the two left, Qiu Zhenhua said:

"Qi Zhentao's master Bohe Jiashun wants to take this opportunity to reorganize his sect and officially kick out Lao Meng and the others, so the preparation time is a little longer, probably until the 12th of the twelfth lunar month, which is January 3rd. It will be held on that day, and He Jiashun may invite you to be a witness."

witness?

Lin Xu asked while rolling out the dough:

"Why me?"

So many highly respected people were not invited, but a young man like himself was invited. I always felt that Lao He's purpose was not that simple.

Qiu Zhenhua cleaned the chopsticks he had just used under the faucet, then washed his hands, dried them with kitchen paper, wrapped them in Shaomai skins and said:

"This is not to curry favor with your master. Being a witness is a good thing. You don't have to think too much about it. If it is really harmful or damaging to your reputation, we will not agree to it."

In this case, Lin Xu felt relieved.

While rolling out the dough, he secretly watched Qiu Zhenhua making Shaomai, intending to learn from it.

He didn't have the skills to bake wheat, so he originally wanted to wrap it randomly, but now that Qiu Zhenhua is here, he naturally has to learn it.

When she completed the task of making clear soup noodles for Shen Jiayue, the system rewarded her with a cooking learning card.

It has to be used, even if I keep saving it, I can’t cash it out.

Qiu Zhenhua holds the siomai skin with his left hand, scoops out a dollop of filling from the filling with a small spoon in his right hand, and gently spreads it in the middle of the dough. When it is enough, he turns the dough upwards to form a bucket shape and wraps up the filling. .

Then, the palm of the left hand continues to hold the bottom of the siomai, and the right hand holds the dough and rolls it up.

When you reach the folds of the dough, tighten the dough to form a treasure vase shape, and the filling inside will be squeezed to the mouth.

Pinch some minced ham into the mouth, and a beautiful jade siomai is completed.

The moment he wrapped it up, Lin Xu silently muttered in his heart:

“Use the cooking study cards!”

Soon, the system prompt sounded in my mind:

"The learning subject is Qiu Zhenhua. The current skill is: General techniques for making Shaomai. Do you want to learn it?"

Let me go, is there such a good thing?

"study!"

Lin Xu immediately gave the instruction to study.

"Consume a perfect level cooking learning card and obtain perfect level shaomai making general techniques. Congratulations to the host."

ha!

From now on, all types of siomai can be made.

However, compared to other Shaomai, Lin Xu is actually most interested in Jade Shaomai.

Because this is a typical Shaomai made with vegetarian and meat dishes.

It seems to be vegetarian, and the ingredients used are relatively vegetarian, but the taste is as plump as meat.

The texture and taste are really fascinating.

Even great figures from the Republic of China like Zhu Ziqing were obsessed with Jade Shaomai, and even wrote about it in articles.

After mastering the technique, Lin Xu increased the frequency of rolling the dough.

All the shaomai dough was rolled out. He picked up the dough and wrapped it too.

Qiu Zhenhua looked at Lin Xu's technique of wrapping Shaomai and couldn't help but admire in his heart. He was worthy of being held in God's arms and fed. This technique looked as skilled as Master Bai An's.

Wrap all the shaomai, put them one by one into small steamers lined with silicone cage cloth, and then send the steamers one by one to the steaming cabinet.

The reason why I use a steamer basket instead of a steaming plate is because it will be steamed later and can be served directly.

Jade Shaomai must be eaten as soon as it comes out of the pot. You can't wait. Once the temperature drops, the lard inside will become greasy.

All the siomai was put into the steaming cabinet, and Lin Xu started making mandarin fish braised in vinegar.

This dish has high requirements for mandarin fish. It needs to be killed and cooked freshly to ensure the freshness and tenderness of the fish to the greatest extent.

Once stale mandarin fish is used, the dish will be a disaster.

Remove the scales, gills and internal organs of ten mandarin fish weighing about two pounds each, and cut off the fins at the same time. This can effectively prevent the fins from frying when repeatedly oiled, causing the fish to taste bitter.

While packing up, the five-minute countdown of the steam cabinet has ended.

Lin Xuchong said to Ma Zhiqiang:

"Master Ma, take out the shaomai from the steaming cabinet and send ten baskets to upstairs. We'll see if any relatives want the rest later. If no one wants it, we'll eat it ourselves."

"OK!"

Ma Zhiqiang opened the steam cabinet and immediately smelled the aroma of lard mixed with green vegetables.

There is also a faint ham aroma.

The aroma of Jinhua ham cut into small pieces is not so strong, and it smells light and elegant.

"The boss's craftsmanship is really incredible. The smell makes people salivate."

Wei Gan smiled and said:

"That's a craft that even Chef Qiu praises. It's definitely not simple..."

The two of them took out the Jade Shaomai steamer together and covered it with the matching lid, which can preserve the heat of the steamer and is more hygienic during the serving process.

By the time the baskets of Shaomai were delivered upstairs, Lin Xu had already packed up all the mandarin fish and started changing the knife.

Qiu Zhenhua saw that Lin Xu was no stranger to this dish and wanted to test it, so he asked:

"Master Lin, what kind of knife is suitable for cutting the mandarin fish in this dish?"

"Peony Flower Knife!"

After Lin Xu finished speaking, he used the knife to tilt slightly and cut into the fish. When it reached the depth of the backbone, he sliced ​​it forward and horizontally, so that the fish could be opened to the maximum extent and the depth of the fish could be deep fried.

The delicious mandarin fish braised in vinegar, even the bones are crispy. The reason is that when changing the knife, you have to cut deeper, so that the bones can be exposed to the maximum extent, and the hot oil can fry the bones.

Upstairs, when the engagement banquet was being held in full swing, the waiter came in carrying baskets of Shaomai.

Shen Jiayue was eating lamb chops. When she saw the steamer, she said:

"Grandma, this is the Jade Shaomai made by Xu Bao for you. It is said to be very delicious. Please try it!"

When Mrs. Shen heard that her grandson-in-law did it, she smiled and said:

"Try it. If it tastes good, ask Xiaoxu to make more for me..."

While talking, the steamer basket was placed on the dining table.

The waiter opened the lid, and the unique aroma of Jade Shaomai wafted out.

"Wow, it smells so good!"

Shen Jiayue basically rushed to eat the previous dishes, but when this dish was served, she didn't grab it. After all, it was specially arranged for grandma and she couldn't grab it randomly.

Mrs. Shen looked at the Shaomai in the steamer and said with some surprise:

"It's the same as the transparent one. Is it made of dough?"

She picked one and put it on the plate. The more she looked at it, the more amazing she felt:

"This is simply a work of art. You can clearly see the filling inside. No wonder it's called Jade Shaomai... Yueyue, Shuzhen, you should hurry up and eat it while it's hot."

After saying that, the old lady picked up the shaomai in front of her again and took a bite.

As soon as I bit into it, the unique aroma of green vegetables rushed into my mouth. The filling was warm and full of lard aroma, but it didn't feel greasy at all.

The taste is sweet and salty, a mixture of salty and sweet, and coupled with the dense texture of the green vegetable stuffing, the old lady couldn't help but praise:

"To be able to make green vegetables so delicious, my grandson-in-law's craftsmanship is truly amazing!"

At the table next to him, Geng Lishan tasted this delicacy and looked at Cui Qingyuan, a self-proclaimed foodie, with expressions of surprise and even surprise.

Lin Ji actually still has this delicacy, what a blessing it will be in the future!

"Mr. Tateyama, Boss Lin is hiding something from you again."

"Yes, you have such good skills but don't show them off. Listening to Lele, it was only yesterday that Yan Yatou asked Lin Xiaoyou to do it and he agreed... This boy is getting better and better at covering up."

Geng Lishan ate the delicious Jade Shaomai, his face filled with the satisfaction of eating delicious food.

So comfortable, elegant and dense, warm and fragrant.

Other shaomai are either fragrant or sweet, but only Jade Shaomai is fragrant and fresh, fresh and sweet, and the sweetness is mixed with salty taste and the delicious taste of ham.

This kind of siomai can be eaten one basket at a time.

It was so delicious. The only pity was that there was only one for each person, which was not enough to eat.

When little friend Lin comes up later, he must be put into another cage, preferably one cage per person. It is so delicious, and if everyone tastes one, how can it be enough?

Geng Lele, who was sitting next to him, ate his Shaomai. Seeing that his grandfather looked unsatisfied, he smiled and asked:

"Old man, don't wait for Jade Shaomai. There will be something more delicious later."

"Better tasting? Is it better than Jade Shaomai?"

Geng Lele said with a smile:

"I don't know if it's better than Jade Shaomai. I just know that the dish is called vinegar-braised mandarin fish. Old man, have you heard of this dish?"

Geng Lishan: "!!!!!!!!"

What? Mandarin fish braised in vinegar?

I won’t say anything anymore, I’ll take two more bites later even if I grab it!

————————

I accidentally wrote 6,000 words. The more I wrote, the more greedy I became. It felt like self-abuse... This chapter has 6,000 words. Please vote for me, brothers!