Chapter 62: Eight-Treasure Pumpkin Stuffed with Rice, Mellow Like Aged Wine
Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Eight-Treasure Pumpkin Stuffed with Rice, Mellow Like Aged Wine
That’s right, it was just so... supple!
Lu Yongliang also felt it was strange to use "supple" to describe a slice of steamed pork, but he couldn’t think of any other way to put it.
Because when that bite of meat hit his tongue, the texture was a bit... reminiscent of his new bride, fifty years ago on the night they were married.
The layer of rice flour coating the pork had absorbed all the rendered fat, giving it a slightly firm and chewy texture. But with that one bite, the entire slice of pork within melted away!
The fatty part didn’t seem like meat at all, but like water. It was like a new bride who melts at a single touch!
The lean meat was dense and smooth, retaining its pork flavor while also being saturated with the clean fragrance of the rice flour.
Besides "supple," there was simply no other word to describe this feeling!
Su Chen thought for a moment.
To be honest, he didn’t know what the old man meant by ’how did you make this’. The process for this dish was actually very simple.
Marinate the pork, toast the rice, coat with rice flour, steam the pork.
It was just those four steps.
The difference between delicious and not-so-delicious usually came down to the choice of ingredients.
Nowadays, when you buy pork belly at many supermarkets, they often include a less-desirable piece of meat attached to the end.
At first glance, it looks like a perfect cut with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, but after you buy it, you realize there’s this extra piece on the end.
Su Chen had picked this cut himself at a butcher shop in the big market. At the time, Su Chen had pointed to a specific spot and told the butcher where to cut, and the butcher stopped the moment he said so.
Of course...
For pork that usually cost 16 yuan per jin, the butcher had charged Su Chen a hefty 20 yuan per jin!
In the butcher’s words, "We usually have to sell the good cuts with some of the other parts. If you buy it like this, I won’t be able to sell the rest."
Su Chen said, "Maybe it was the choice of ingredients?"
Lu Yongliang immediately shook his head. "Absolutely not. I’ve been cooking for decades. There’s no kind of meat I haven’t worked with. It’s definitely not that!"
Su Chen racked his brain but still couldn’t figure out what the old man was referring to.
For him, he had simply perfected the dish to an A Level rating in the Gourmet Practice Room by constantly adjusting things like the marinating time, the coarseness of the rice flour, the heat of the steamer, and the cooking duration.
It really wasn’t any different from the standard method.
Su Chen wasn’t an old hand who had been immersed in the kitchen for years. At this moment, he was like a student who knew the exam questions in advance.
He had countless opportunities for trial and error, which was why he could turn in a perfect answer sheet.
But if you were to ask him about the principles behind the question, Su Chen really was a bit out of his depth.
Seeing Su Chen look so troubled, Lu Yongliang gave a dry laugh. "No matter. I’m lucky enough just to have eaten such a special steamed pork. Come on, eat, eat!"
Having navigated the culinary world for a lifetime, Lu Yongliang also understood one thing.
Whether it was taught by a master or self-learned.
Every chef has a few tricks up their sleeve. These aren’t things you can casually share with outsiders, especially for a young chef. For them, it’s the foundation of their livelihood.
Pestering him would just make him seem like an old man pulling rank.
Shang Mingke and Ling Shuyu couldn’t understand a word of Su Chen and Lu Yongliang’s conversation.
The usually composed President Shang couldn’t be bothered with all that; he just picked up a big slice of pork and wolfed it down!
Seeing how happily everyone was eating, Ling Shuyu wanted to reach out with her chopsticks several times, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it when she saw the glistening, oily slices of meat.
Hesitation is defeat!
Just as Ling Shuyu finally worked up the courage to try a piece, the last slice of steamed pork on the plate was snatched away by Shang Mingke, who also nabbed the last piece of old lotus root for good measure.
’Damn it! All that mental preparation for nothing!’
The two distinguished guests licked their lips in satisfaction.
Shang Mingke took a sip of water. "Pardon me, I’ve made a bit of a fool of myself."
In truth, at his level, unless he was dining with leaders even more senior than himself, most meals were quite casual.
However, Shang Mingke himself knew that his table manners today had been a bit unsightly!
"I went abroad when I was very young and haven’t been back for many years. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a proper meal from my hometown. Boss Su’s cooking today was excellent. It has the taste of my memories."
Su Chen laughed to himself.
’Of course it’s good. So many people worked for so long just so you could eat your fill!’
"Hah, if the food is good, you should eat more! Ah, Boss Su, I won’t be polite with this pumpkin lid, then!" Lu Yongliang said, rubbing his hands together. He’d had his eye on the Eight-Treasure Pumpkin Stuffed with Rice for a while now.
Lu Yongliang was already very pleasantly surprised by the first two dishes. For this pumpkin dish, Su Chen had added many ingredients that Lu Yongliang would never have expected.
Especially the char siu and diced squid—those were things he hadn’t anticipated.
Heedless of the still-scalding pumpkin lid, Lu Yongliang used his hands to lift it open.
A cloud of steam billowed out from the opening.
The old man leaned in, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "Fresh, fragrant, and mellow. I’ll have the first taste!"
That single breath had a quality similar to sniffing a vintage wine. The aroma that rushed into his nostrils was rich and mellow, with a sense of profound, rustic depth.
He plunged his spoon deep into the pumpkin. The entire filling had been sautéed in lard before being simmered in chicken stock. After steaming for a full half-hour, the chicken stock had become incredibly thick and rich. Although there were no rice or beans, what he scooped onto his spoon had the consistency of a thick congee.
"Phew... phew... SLURP~"
Lu Yongliang blew on the spoonful twice before slurping it all in one go. Even so, the high temperature of the filling’s interior still scalded him, making him suck in sharp breaths of air!
The old man could only tilt his head back, sucking in air while frantically fanning his mouth with his hand.
The others watching him all felt anxious on his behalf.
’It’s burning your mouth, just spit it out! You’re not going to let yourself get scalded to death by some filling, are you?’
But how could they know? It wasn’t that Lu Yongliang didn’t know he could spit it out—he simply couldn’t bear to!
The moment it entered his mouth, the scalding sensation was thrilling. The sweet, mellow flavor that filled his mouth had a magical Magic Power that brought joy to his body and soul. After fanning for a long time, the temperature finally dropped a bit, and Lu Yongliang swallowed the contents of his mouth without even bothering to chew.
"Fresh, fragrant, sweet, and mellow on the palate, with a clean, lingering aftertaste and the complex aroma of multiple ingredients... Tsk, I was too reckless just now. I’ll have another bite."
This time, Lu Yongliang was smarter. He used the spoon to serve himself half a bowl.
He wanted to take more, but the pumpkin was only so big. Divided up, it was about half a bowl for each person.
Logically speaking, if ten people were eating this dish, it would basically be just one bite per person.
He took another bite.
Lu Yongliang savored it, swallowing the broth before carefully chewing the filling.
"Tsk!"
The crispness of the diced squid, the dense smoothness of the diced char siu... the combination of various ingredients created a symphony of nearly every texture imaginable!
Even more amazingly... Lu Yongliang’s occupational hazard kicked in. As he savored it, he would utter a sentence every few chews.
"The bamboo shoots are elegant and crisp, the cored lotus seeds are sweet and soft."
"The ham melts with a light bite... eh? What’s this incredibly chewy thing?"
All the other ingredients were gone, but there was still one very tough ingredient left in his mouth. He had to chew it repeatedly for a long time before it was gone.
"Want to take a guess?" Su Chen said with a smile.
Since all the ingredients were diced and mixed in with the rest of the filling, it was hard to tell what it was just by looking.
Lu Yongliang smacked his lips a couple more times. "Tendon? No, there’s no beef flavor. It’s not cartilage either... what in the world is this..."
Su Chen chuckled. "Pig tongue."
"PFFT!"
Ling Shuyu, who had been chewing with great relish, couldn’t hold it in. She covered her mouth. "Excuse me, excuse me!"
Ahhh!
’How could it be pig tongue!’
’Is that even something people can eat?!’
’It’s something that sounds so scary just thinking about it!’
’Why...’
’is it kind of delicious?’