Water shield soup, the full name is Taihu water shield soup.
It is a famous dish in Hangzhou.
There is a long history of growing water shield in West Lake, Hangzhou.
There is a record in the "West Lake Tour Chronicles" of the Qing Dynasty.
According to legend, Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty visited the south of the Yangtze River, and every time he visited Hangzhou, he would eat with a spoon of water shield.
Water shield is also called water shield, water chestnut, and lake vegetable.
An aquatic plant with alternate dark green oval leaves, about 6 to 10 cm long, with 1-2 leaves per node.
Floating on the surface of the water or submerged in the water, there is a gelatinous transparent substance on the back of the young stems and leaves.
Water shield has the effects of clearing away heat, diluting water, reducing swelling, and detoxifying, and can treat heat dysentery, jaundice, carbuncle, and boils. It is a plant with high edible and medicinal value.
A large pot of steaming water shield soup was brought in by the old man who had practiced silent meditation just now.
With a bang, the water shield soup was smashed on the table, and Li Xiao could even see the dishes in front of him bounce up.
He swallowed. He was indeed a master of closed-mouth meditation, and his inner strength was indeed very deep.
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.
The eight soup bowls were thrown out by the old man, forming a posture of eight stars accompanying the moon. Then, the old man turned around, and a white soup spoon flew out and landed accurately in the water shield soup.
When the soup is poured into the soup, it is as smooth as silk, without even a trace of water splashing.
The eight people took a deep breath, this skill was simply amazing.
The portion of water shield soup is really quite large. It is served on a large white plate, so you can make several bowls per person, not to mention one bowl.
Seeing the door being re-closed, it was obvious that no one would be able to help fill the soup.
Li Xiao quickly stood up, grabbed the spoon from Wen Li and Liu Mang and scooped a bowl for everyone.
Looking at the pretty good-looking water shield soup in front of him, Li Xiao felt a little uneasy.
What the hell, having a meal is like a lottery draw.
You never know whether this new dish will be delicious or not.
I lowered my head and smelled it, and the unique fragrance of water shield soup faintly came through.
The smell of water shield itself is not strong. Unless you get close to smell it, you can smell the unique fragrance of water shield.
This fragrance is a bit like the smell of tearing lotus leaves.
There is nothing wrong with the taste and the condition is good.
Water shield contains colloid. After stewing, the colloid in the water shield will precipitate, which will make the water shield soup feel sticky, like soup.
[Building within the building] Because it is right next to the West Lake, we use fresh and green water shield instead of dried water shield.
Water shield, an aquatic plant, requires a very special growth environment, which not only requires altitude, but also water quality.
Apart from West Lake in Hangzhou, only Malan Lake in the Cherry Blossom Country has water shield growing there.
Since water shield is not easy to preserve, you can only eat fresh and green water shield unless you are near West Lake or Malan Lake.
In other places, all we can eat is the light olive green water shield that is dried.
Use a spoon to gently stir the water shield soup, green water shield, white shredded chicken and bamboo shoots, and red Jinhua ham.
Looking at the water shield soup in the white spoon, Li Xiao closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and poured all the soup in the spoon into his mouth.
The fragrance of water shield, the fragrance of chicken soup, and the strong fragrance of Jinhua ham.
Three different flavors enter the taste buds along with the soup.
Use the chicken rack to simmer the stock, shredded chicken, shredded bamboo shoots, and water shield, drain and set aside.
Heat the pan with cold oil, add Jinhua ham and saute until fragrant.
Add the stock, then put the cooked shredded chicken, bamboo shoots, and water shield into the chicken soup, and bring to a boil over low heat.
Don't boil the water shield soup for too long, otherwise, the high fire will cause the colloid in the water shield to change qualitatively and condense into lumps in the water, like a paste-like object.
Wait for the water shield soup to boil, turn off the heat, add a little egg white, and season to complete this simple national dish.
The water shield is smooth and tender in the mouth, and the surface is as smooth as jelly, but the texture is really crisp when you bite it.
The taste is very special, but water shield is very similar to shark fin abalone. Apart from its aroma, it doesn't have much flavor.
The shredded chicken is cut very finely and will melt into the soup when chewed gently.
Putting down the spoon, Li Xiao let out a breath.
The lottery was successful, this pot of water shield soup is amazing.
Although the shredded chicken is a bit old, it does not affect the taste of this water shield soup too much.
If the full score is 100 points, this soup may not get 90 points, but it will definitely get 85 points.
Fresh water shield, maybe even water shield just picked this morning, plus slow-simmered old chicken soup, Jinhua ham and fresh bamboo shoots, make the water shield soup richer in taste.
The seasoning is also just right, just seasoned with sugar and salt.
Even the freshness-enhancing things like chicken essence and MSG are not added. It relies entirely on chicken soup, Jinhua ham, and shredded bamboo shoots as the base flavor of the food.
Wen Li finally had a smile on her face. After all, the three of them were natives of Hangzhou.
Even though it was a century-old famous store in Hangzhou that I stumbled into, locals like them would lose face if all they ate there were unpalatable food.
After all, it is simply a miracle that something so unpalatable can survive here for hundreds of years.
Fortunately, at least the [Longjing Shrimp] and [Taihu Water Shield Soup] at the back are quite impressive.
Everyone drank two large bowls of [Taihu Water Shield Soup], and the fifth and sixth dishes were also served.
The man who served the food was still the man with special skills. He placed two plates firmly on the table and left without saying a word.
【Hangcheng Chicken Roll】,【Boiled Choy Sum】
The boiled cabbage is quite good, although the cooking time is a little longer, which makes the cabbage a little yellow and old.
Although there was a little too much salt, which made the cabbage a bit salty, it wasn't too bad.
After drinking three large gulps of water in a row to suppress the salty taste on his tongue, Li Xiao also completed his mental adjustment and turned his attention to the vegetarian chicken with lingering fear.
I picked up a piece of vegetarian chicken fearfully, but I didn't even have any confidence in my heart.
Because of the boiled cabbage heart just now, the slight impact of the [Longjing Shrimp] and [Taihu Water Shield Soup] was instantly wiped out.
Come on, the simplest boiled cabbage sum, if you can't control the heat properly, the seasoning is even more unpalatable, it's simply outrageous.
Even if there is no money for salt, there is no need to put so much?
[Building Inside the Building] The fluctuating quality of the dishes made Li Xiao feel like vomiting blood.
The food is good, and it does have a bit of the style of a century-old restaurant.
As for the bad dishes, they can't even beat the roadside fly shop.
This gap is no longer something that a serious restaurant can achieve.
It’s no wonder that the rating given by the system to [Lou Nei Lou] is only one star. A restaurant needs to be visited again.
Good product is very important, but stable product is more important than good product.
Even if all the products are only 70 points, it is far better than one product being 50 points and the other product being 90 points.
