Not long after, everyone walked out of the room where the dry dishes and dipping sauces were made.
Xie Baomin asked with a smile:
"What about the two river dumplings? Take them out and let Lao Dai show his skills to everyone... Junior brother, watch out, the steaming techniques of Sichuan cuisine and Cantonese cuisine are completely different things."
Cantonese cuisine pays attention to freshness and the cooking method pursues natural flavor.
That’s why steaming sea bass is so simple. Steam it, decant the soup, add shredded green onions and ginger, top with steamed fish soy sauce, a squirt of hot oil, and it’s all done!
No matter street stalls, night markets or ordinary families, you can make this dish delicious.
But Sichuan cuisine is different. Steaming in Sichuan cuisine is a major dish.
Jiangtuan has a delicious taste and has been a tribute since ancient times. Such a rare ingredient naturally needs to be set off with a bunch of precious ingredients to highlight its status.
Dai Jianli said:
"Yes, brother Lin, take a good look at the routines and techniques of steamed dishes, just in case you need them in the future, and you can also accumulate some experience."
He was quite excited.
Because the Liangjiang Tuan "borrowed" from Building No. 15 is excellent in both quality and size.
It's a bit taller than the farmed Jiangtuan that Lao Huang got, which is why he took the risk to "borrow" it this morning.
When Brother Lin comes, you have to eat well.
As the original owner of Jiangtuan, Song Dahai looked at Lao Dai helplessly:
"You bitch, use my Jiang Tuan as a favor."
While he was complaining, Lin Xu asked curiously:
"Chef Song, where did you buy this Jiang Tuan? Is it still available?"
"A few friends bought this by chance while traveling on the Minjiang River. They used an aerator to get it all the way to the capital. I tried hard to get a few pieces, but this bitch stole half of them."
Dai Jianli took the fishing net and said while fishing out Jiang Tuan:
"What you said is wrong, Lao Song. I want to eat alone when I get some delicious food. I want to be like you. Do you have any dipping sauce?"
When the several head chefs nearby heard this, none of them agreed with his words.
You bitch, you even stole so many things from us, and you still put on a show of self-sacrifice. You are as shameless as Xie Baomin.
After the jiangtuan was fished out, everyone came to the kitchen and started to watch Dai Jianli cooking steamed jiangtuan.
The ingredients for making steamed Jiangtuan are already prepared in the kitchen.
The ham has been cooked, the scallops have been soaked until soft, and the fish maw has been cooked.
In addition to these precious ingredients, the kitchen also prepares the best of Xianggu - Xiao Huagu, dried bamboo shoots - Magnolia slices and other ingredients that enhance fragrance and freshness.
Lin Xu was filled with emotion after seeing this.
Jiang Tuan is already delicious enough. If you add these ingredients and cook it together, how delicious will it be?
Dai Jianli asked when he went to clean up Jiang Tuan by the pool:
"Have these two items steamed or should I cook another dish?"
Xie Baomin said:
"It's all steamed. I haven't had the fresh soup of steamed Jiangtuan for a long time. I plan to drink more today because I don't know when I want to drink it again next time."
Basically everyone present can make Steamed Jiangtuan.
But it’s not easy to come across such good ingredients, so if I come across it this time, I’ll eat it to my heart’s content first.
While Dai Jianli was cleaning up, Lin Xu rolled up his sleeves and went to help.
Jiangtuan has small eyes and a long mouth, and looks like a mouse from the front, so in the Yangtze River Delta region, this fish is also called mouse catfish.
This fish has no scales on its surface, is covered in mucus, and feels slippery to the touch.
Lin Xu asked curiously:
"Chef Dai, are these slimes rubbed with salt?"
Dai Jianli shook his head:
"If you don't rub it well with salt, you won't be able to wash it clean. You have to scald the skin of the fish dumplings. Only by scalding the skin can the layer of mucus on the surface be removed, so that the steamed fish meat won't smell fishy."
Hot?
Lin Xu immediately remembered how to make catfish.
When stewing catfish in Northeast China, the surface of the catfish will be scalded with hot water to remove the mucus.
"For fish with scales, just scrape off the scales, but it is best to scald fish without scales, because fish without scales basically live under the water and have a strong fishy smell."
While talking, Dai Jianli cut open the belly of the fish.
Jiang Tuan's internal organs were then cleaned out, and the most eye-catching internal organs were the fish maw, which looks to be very thick in texture, which is the fish bubble.
Dai Jianli picked off the fish and put it aside, and said with a smile:
"This is a good thing. It is dried and made into fish maw, which is a tribute from all dynasties. Ancient books record that in the past, Jiang Tuan was huge, and the prepared fish maw was also very impressive. Unlike now, it is not only small but also caught.
It’s almost time to become a protected animal..."
Looking at the fish bubbles, Lin Xu couldn't help but think of the prepared fish maw.
Those fish maws should all be from sea fish. Use sea fish to make freshwater fish, so be careful!
After cleaning up the fish, the fish offal was given to the chef to make pickled fish offal. Dai Jian used a rope to tie up Jiang Tuan's fish head and carried it to the stove.
It’s time to perm your skin.
Guo Weidong said to Lin Xu:
"This type of aquatic skin blanching has requirements for water temperature. It should not be lower than 80 degrees. It cannot be blanched below 80 degrees, but it should not exceed 85 degrees. If it is exceeded, the fish will be burned."
Is it so strict?
Soon, small bubbles began to form at the bottom of the pot, which was a sign that the water temperature reached 80 degrees.
After working in the kitchen for so long, Lin Xu has an idea of how hot the water should be.
For example, if dense bubbles appear on the edge of the pot, the warm water is around 70 degrees, and small bubbles start to appear at the bottom of the pot. When the water temperature is 80 degrees, and big bubbles appear at the bottom of the pot, it is basically above 90 degrees.
Dai Jianli put two pieces of river dumplings on top of the pot, and used a spoon to scoop out the water in the pot and pour it on the fish.
As soon as it was poured on, the mucus on the fish immediately solidified into a film, just like a facial mask.
After scalding it several times, throw the fish into the pot and rinse it again so that the skin of the fish is fully soaked with hot water.
After scalding, take it out immediately, put it under the faucet, quickly clean the mucous membranes on the fish body, and use cold water to cool the fish body to prevent the loss of umami substances.
After doing this, dry the water on the fish, place it on the eucalyptus board and start cutting.
Changing the knife of Jiang Tuan is very simple. Just make a few cuts at intervals of two or three centimeters in the thick fleshy parts on both sides of the spine. The depth should be more than one centimeter so that the seasoning can completely penetrate.
After changing the knife, start adjusting the marinade.
The meat of Jiang Tuan is very tender, so salt cannot be applied directly to the meat for marinating, otherwise the water in the fish will be killed and the quality of the fish will be reduced.
Dai Jianli brought a bowl and put onion and ginger water, pepper, salt, and two small spoons of rice wine into it.
Stir evenly, wait until the salt is completely dissolved, and apply it all over Jiang Tuan's body with your hands.
After smearing, cut some green onion and ginger, flatten it and stuff it into the belly of the fish, then put the fish in a basin, and finally pour the remaining marinade on the fish and start marinating.
Taking advantage of the time of marinating the meat, Dai Jianli began to change the ingredients.
The cooked ham is cut into thin slices. This is the top piece. In Jiangnan cuisine, it is enough to make a honey-glazed fire recipe. However, in Sichuan cuisine, it becomes an embellishment, foil, and condiment.
"In addition to adding umami flavor to the ham, the most important thing is to season the glutinous rice dumplings, so that the glutinous rice dumplings taste more delicious and avoid too much salt causing the ingredients to taste stale."
Lin Xu was surprised by the senior brother's words.
It's so extravagant that ham is used as salt. No wonder everyone is looking forward to this dish. The taste is enough to make people want to eat.
After cutting the ham, cut the other ingredients one by one.
Then add half a pot of stock into the pot, bring to a boil, put the xianggu, magnolia slices, scallops and fish maw into the pot one by one and blanch them.
Use the fresh aroma of the stock to remove the odor in the ingredients, and at the same time let the heat in the stock awaken the umami substances in the ingredients.
There must be an order when blanching, first blanch the fish maw, then the scallops, and finally the magnolia slices and incense sticks. Putting the incense sticks at the end can effectively prevent the incense sticks from odor.
After all the ingredients are boiled, bring the broth in the pot to a boil again over high heat.
Then put two pieces of pork net oil in them and blanch them in soup stock for one minute.
When steaming later, the pork net oil will be wrapped on the fish, so blanch it in advance to prevent the fishy and peculiar smell of the pork net oil from contaminating the fish.
These ingredients have been prepared and the Jiang Tuan is almost marinated.
Take the Jiang Tuan out of the basin, remove the green onion and ginger, and then place it in a basin according to the shape of Yin and Yang Pisces.
After arranging it, insert the thinly sliced Jinhua ham into the fish where the knife was cut, and then cover it with pork net oil.
Finally, put all the excess ham and other ingredients into a basin, and then add half a basin of clear soup for boiling cabbage.
Seeing this, Lin Xu felt that let alone Jiang Tuan, just pick two leaves and cook them, and the taste would not be any worse.
After adding the clear soup, cover it with plastic wrap to prevent condensation from dripping in.
Dai Jian used a toothpick to poke a few holes in the plastic wrap to facilitate ventilation, then picked up the soup basin and put it into the steaming cabinet to start steaming.
"This approach... is really classy!"
Lin Xu sighed, it was the first time he had seen this kind of practice.
However, this kind of high-end cuisine pays attention to the harmony of aroma and umami. In this dish, there are obviously more umami ingredients than aromatic ingredients. Can the aroma be matched?
Although there is a lot of fat in the two slices of pork ribs, it is somewhat thin compared to ingredients such as ham.
In line with the principle of finding someone to answer your questions, Lin Xu asked this question.
As a result, the several head chefs present all showed expressions as if they had never eaten Jiangtuan before, making Lin Xu even more confused.
"Junior brother, Jiang Tuan is different from other fish. The meat of Jiang Tuan contains a lot of fat and has a rich flavor, so this dish only uses pork net oil."
As soon as Xie Baomin finished speaking, Song Dahai also said:
"Among the eight major cuisines, Sichuan cuisine is the one that likes to use lard the most. The reason why Lao Dai uses it so restrainedly is because the glutinous rice dumplings are greasy and rich in oil."
Oh...got it!
Lin Xu felt happy for a while. Fortunately, he hadn't pretended to eat Jiang Tuan before.
Otherwise, I would definitely be able to dig out half of the community with my feet right now in the kitchen.
Next, in order to express his welcome to Lin Xu and his love for Song Dahai's contribution of ingredients, Dai Jianli made several more representative dishes.
For example, unpopular dishes not seen in ordinary Sichuan restaurants, such as fat intestines in clear soup, white oil loofah, magnolia chicken slices, garlic tripe strips, and ginkgo stewed chicken, really opened Lin Xu's eyes.
Forty minutes later.
When lunch is almost ready, the Jiang Tuan in the steaming cabinet has also been steamed.
Open the cabinet, take out the basin of steamed glutinous rice dumplings, peel off the plastic wrap, and a rich aroma wafts out from the basin.
The soup in the basin still remains clear, but there is an extra layer of grease on the surface.
This should be steamed from pork net fat, ham and fish.
The soup is clear in color and the fish meat is intact, making it look quite appetizing.
But the most attractive thing is the rich fragrance and umami. The two flavors are intertwined, and just smelling it makes the pores of the body feel comfortable.
Lin Xu couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Oh my god! This is so sexy.
"Is this Jiang Tuan ready to be steamed?"
He couldn't wait to try it, but the answer he got was:
"Not yet, wait a minute."
Dai Jianli brought a basin, carefully poured out the soup from the steamed glutinous rice dumplings, and then picked out the pork net fat that had not completely melted and threw it away.
Then he rearranged the fish in the basin to make the presentation more perfect.
The ham slices and other things in the basin have also been rearranged.
Then pour the poured soup into the pot, bring to a boil over high heat, and then add a small spoonful of sugar and a small spoonful of pepper to bring out all the delicious flavor of the soup.
After mixing, pour the soup back into the basin containing the glutinous rice balls.
When the hot soup is put into the basin, the fish meat that has cooled down slightly is stirred up by the hot soup, and the rich and delicious aroma wafts out again.
The delicious flavor has become rich again, even more delicious than when it was just taken out of the steamer.
"Let's go, let's start eating!"
Dai Jianli carried the basin and walked to the private room. When he was about to leave the kitchen door, he turned around and ordered the head chef:
"Don't forget to give us some ginger vinegar. This is indispensable for eating Jiangtuan."
Ginger vinegar?
Isn’t this a dipping sauce when eating meat or hairy crabs?
Is this the best way to dip your glutinous rice dumplings in this?
Seeing Lin Xu's doubtful eyes, Guo Weidong said:
"The meat of Jiang Tuan is already fatty. When steamed with this fragrant ingredient and thick soup, the fat feeling will be more obvious. So when eating it, you should dip it in ginger vinegar like you would eat crabs and meat.
, this will not only relieve the tiredness, but also bring out the freshness in the fish to the maximum extent."
Learned another trick!
Arriving at the private room, Xie Baomin couldn't wait to pick up a piece of fish fin and taste it:
"It has to be Jiangtuan. The taste and texture are simply amazing."
Everyone picked up their spoons and took a bowl of soup to taste. The soup was very rich in umami, but not greasy at all. It tasted not only of the unique fresh taste of river fresh food, but also of the fresh aroma of other ingredients.
And the layer of oily flowers floating on top gives this delicious soup a plump taste.
This taste is really amazing.
Lin Xu finished a small bowl of fish soup with emotion, and the waiter brought ginger vinegar.
Beat the ginger into minced ginger, marinate it in balsamic vinegar, let the spiciness of the ginger and the sour aroma of the balsamic vinegar blend together, then add a little bit of sugar and a little bit of salt, and it becomes the ginger vinegar that is indispensable for eating crabs.
.
Lin Xu watched the others start eating, and then used his kuaizi to pick up a steamed and trembling piece of belly meat from the fish belly, dipped it in the ginger vinegar, and then put it into his mouth.
The plump glutinous rice dumpling meat and ginger vinegar have a perfect encounter in your mouth.
The meat on Jiang Tuan's belly has a jelly-like texture, which makes it easy to get greasy after eating too much. The presence of ginger vinegar not only dilutes the greasiness, but also brings out the delicious taste of the fish.
"How about Brother Lin? Doesn't this Jiangtuan taste good?"
Dai Jianli asked with a smile.
Lin Xu gave him a thumbs up:
"It is worthy of being one of the top ten famous dishes in Sichuan cuisine. The taste is simply wonderful. Thank you to Chef Dai for letting me experience such a delicious dish."
"Harm! This is all a trivial matter. Let's talk about it later, Lao Song... If anyone among you has good ingredients, I will borrow them for you. Then we will taste them together. Anyway, Director Liao said that you will be a distinguished guest of Diaoyutai from now on. Let me borrow them for you."
We have a good relationship with you."
Tsk tsk tsk, no wonder he stole fish under his own banner early in the morning.
It turns out that it was Director Liao from the catering department who spoke.
Lin Xu helped Diaoyutai win a cooking competition championship, repelled the malicious attacks of other foreign-related hotels in Yanjing City, and used his own connections to turn Diaoyutai into a cooperative unit of "Food World".
Now Liao Jinming reciprocates and provides Lin Xu with preferential treatment, which is considered reasonable and reasonable.
As for Dai Jianli stealing fish...
Who could have imagined this?
The taste of Jiangtuan was unforgettable. While eating, Lin Xu made up his mind to find a way to buy two Jiangtuan when he was not busy and steam them in this way so that his family could have a try.
While eating, Xie Baomin said:
"The braised food here at Lao Dai is pretty good. Junior brother, please bring some back later."
Guo Weidong answered:
"Lao Dai's sweet-skinned ducks are really good, don't forget to bring a few."
Qiu Zhenhua echoed:
“The braised oil in Sichuan cuisine is a must-have. Take more with you when you go. It’s delicious with wine and rice.”
He Baoqing nodded:
"There is also Dengying beef, which is a great drink."
Song Dahai put a Jiangtuan head into his bowl:
"There are also spicy rabbit heads. You have to eat five or six of those at a time to feel satisfied. Try more. Building No. 18 is full of treasures."
Lin Xu felt happy after hearing this.
Chef Dai’s popularity in Diaoyutai is really good.
Look how enthusiastic everyone is in praising you.
Dai Jianli was not annoyed and said with a smile:
"Brother Lin, just tell me whatever you like, and I'll pack more for you later."
You can try your best to persuade Brother Lin to take the things here. As much as he takes away today, I will "borrow" it from your kitchen later.
After finishing Jiang Tuan, Lin Xu tried other dishes.
Every dish is exquisite yet delicious, making people want to eat it again.
After lunch, he loaded twenty pounds of dipping sauce, six sweet-skinned ducks, a whole box of various braised duck products, and a bag of spicy rabbit heads into the car, said goodbye to everyone, and drove back.
Come to Yingchun Street.
It's dinner time now.
After Lin Xu parked the car, he called Chezi, and the two of them moved the things in the car to the kitchen upstairs.
As soon as he put it down, Chen Yan came over:
"Didn't you go to Diaoyutai to learn how to make dipping sauce for dry dishes? How do you feel that you have bought something special?"
"Chef Dai is so enthusiastic that he insisted on giving me food, but I couldn't resist, so I brought some over for you to try... This box is full of all kinds of braised duck products, and that bag is full of spicy rabbit heads."
What?
Spicy rabbit head?
Chen Yan, who was ready to go back to the company after eating and drinking, suddenly became interested:
"Brother-in-law, give me two quickly... instead of four, I'll help you taste the salty soup."
Lin Xu:??????
Do you just like cute little rabbits so much?
He nodded and immediately gave instructions to the driver:
"Get some beef bones and use a pressure cooker to make some beef bone soup. It will be useful for dinner tonight."
When he heard that beef bone soup was going to be used, Che Zi asked curiously:
"Boss, are you making any new dishes?"
Chen Yan was also looking forward to it. She didn't expect that her brother-in-law would not forget to learn new dishes when he went to purchase goods. This was so efficient.
Lin Xu said:
"I'm going to make a dish that doesn't use tofu... Mapo tofu!"
————————
For all the dishes that appear in this book, regardless of whether I know how to cook them or not, I habitually search for recipes on the Internet to try to make them more perfect. But when I searched for Jiang Tuan recipes last night, I felt a little sad because there was so much information about Steamed Jiang Tuan on the Internet.
The tutorials on making dumplings are basically all about how to make Cantonese dishes. After looking through it for a long time, I found an ancient-quality video. I finally found a relatively traditional method. Maybe in a few years, the orthodox steamed dumpling recipe will be completely forgotten.
……
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