Chapter 1503 - 582: Four Forms of Crunchy Pork—Have You Mastered Them? It’s Spring—Time for Chives!

Chapter 1503: Chapter 582: Four Forms of Crunchy Pork—Have You Mastered Them? It’s Spring—Time for Chives!

"Mr. Lishan, did you understand?"

Lin Xu moved the oil pot to the side and switched to a new pot to prepare the sugar stir-fry. In the midst of his busy moments, he asked Geng Lishan a question.

No worries about Mr. Lishan’s words being recorded in the video since they’ll be cut during editing anyway.

"I understood, it looks quite simple. I’ll practice more when I get back."

The fried crunchy pork had a golden crust, looking quite tempting.

Lin Xu added half a bowl of water and a bit of edible oil to the pot, then scooped in a ladle of white sugar and began to stir-fry slowly over medium heat.

There are three methods of sugar stir-frying: water stir-fry, oil stir-fry, and a mix of water and oil.

Water stir-fry is easy to master, with noticeable changes at each step, making it suitable for beginners. However, its downside is apparent—it takes longer and is not suitable for dishes that require quick serving.

For example, dishes like Caramelized Foods strictly require the ingredients to be added to the prepared syrup as soon as they are fried. If operated by one person, the wait time using the water stir-fry method is too long.

Oil stir-fry uses oil to fry sugar. The advantage is saving time, but it demands high culinary skill. It’s hard for non-professional chefs to grasp the changes.

Lin Xu originally planned to use the oil stir-fry method today, but considering Geng Lishan was learning beside him and this was a tutorial video, not a show-off video, he switched to the water-oil mix method.

The time is slightly longer than the oil stir-fry method, but still within an acceptable range.

Soon, the white sugar in the pot began to turn transparent, starting to melt.

Once fully melted, it’s the first stage of the sugar stir-fry—accessible even for those without culinary expertise—the sugar syrup.

The so-called sugar syrup is simply melting the sugar, pretty straightforward.

After the sugar syrup stage, the syrup in the pot starts boiling under heat, with dense white bubbles emerging on the surface.

Stir gently with a spoon several times.

Large bubbles soon become smaller, and the sugar syrup turns into a cloudy white liquid, known as frosting.

Later, Lin Xu would make frosty crispy pork, theoretically, also the original form of crispy pork. Initially, it was frosty, and the ’white’ in frosty crispy pork doesn’t solely refer to pork fat but also the layer of white frost on the surface.

However, the first batch shouldn’t be frosty crispy pork but caramelized crispy pork instead.

For frosted dishes, only caramelized ones have temperature requirements for the ingredients. Ideally, they should be added to the sugar pot right out of the oil pot; the higher the temperature of the ingredients, the better the caramelization.

So the first dish should be caramelized crispy pork.

As for frosting and glaze, no strict rules apply; they can be made anytime, especially frosting, which can be done when cool enough to touch.

When preparing multiple dishes, always plan the order ahead, don’t do them all at once.

After simmering for another minute or so, the white sugar syrup in the pot gradually turned golden, indicating the water content in the syrup has evaporated, reaching the third stage of sugar stir-frying, the caramelization stage.

Soon, dense golden bubbles appeared in the pot, indicating it’s ready for caramelization.

Yet, Lin Xu didn’t immediately pour the fried crunchy pork into the pot but instead dipped his hand in clean water before quickly flicking it into the pot.

Only then did he pour the prepared crunchy pork in and started to toss the pan.

Geng Lishan looked on with some surprise; why is there a water flick?

He was about to ask when Lin Xu explained to the camera:

"Flick some water in before adding the ingredients to slightly lower the pot’s temperature, improving the caramelization effect and making the dish look more appealing."

Caramelization demands strict temperature control.

If the temperature is too low, it won’t caramelize; too high, the strands will break, and the dish will turn into sugar-glazed skewers, so using the water flick slightly reduces the temperature without lowering it too much.

After explaining, Lin Xu added a reminder:

"Non-professionals don’t need to do this step; I’m just showing off, no other intention."

Geng Lishan, who was diligently noting Lin Xu’s water flick technique and force: ??????

Lin, are you hoping I’ll send you the ultimate skin prize?

At this moment, you’re here being playful, not staying steady.

Lin Xu used the flipping method to coat the crunchy pork with sugar syrup, and as he flipped, the syrup began to form strands. By the time Lin Xu served it, the crunchy pork was covered in golden fine strands.

"Remember to heat the plate for caramelized dishes to maintain the knotty state longer. Also, brush a layer of sesame oil on the bottom, not too much, mainly to prevent sticking."

Caramelized sugar syrup is highly adhesive; without oil, as the temperature drops, you might pick up the whole plate from the table.

To avoid this awkward situation, it’s better to apply some oil.

"Alright, the caramelization is done. I’ll quickly make other forms of crispy pork so you can fully appreciate the charm of this dish."

Lin Xu washed the pot and started simmering sugar again.

This time, to save time, he used the oil stir-fry method directly.

When dense golden bubbles appeared in the pot, he served a plate of crispy pork.

As soon as he served the crispy pork, the sugar syrup in the pot began to turn amber, reaching the fourth stage of sugar stir-frying—the glaze or amber state.

This state of crispy pork shouldn’t be eaten immediately; it needs to cool down.

Once cooled, the syrup forms a glaze-like glassy texture, giving a sweet and crispy bite.

Lin Xu served it on a tray, set it aside to cool, and when the outer sugar layer began to form a hard shell, he plated it.