"Yeah, it's been a long time since I've cooked with snails, I'm really looking forward to it!"
Li Qi said with great interest while washing his hands. Speaking of this snail, he spent a lot of effort on it, but it was not something he actively wanted to study. Because of the bird flu that year, the food of poultry and livestock
His style plummeted, and his father-in-law cried, fussed, and hung himself in front of him, asking him to immediately think of a solution. Only then did he think of using snails, so he developed a whole-cow banquet, which kept the hotel's business from declining during the bird flu period.
Instead, it flourished.
"Just don't let people down." Liu Yunxi stood aside and poured cold water on her.
Li Qi chuckled and said, "Is there only one person in the world who has ever been disappointed with the food I cook?"
Liu Yunxi said with a hint of curiosity: "Who?"
"My father."
"Your father is truly a wise man."
These words were really poisonous. He used Li Qi's father to suppress Li Qi, leaving Li Qi with no way to refute. He couldn't say that his father was a fool, so he simply kept silent and used the tools with hot water.
The water was boiled once, and after all the preparations were completed, he stretched out his habitual hand to the side and said: "Snail."
Snail? What do you mean? Do you think that I am his disciple? This is really unreasonable. Liu Yunxi glanced at Li Qi in surprise, and saw that his face was serious, and he did not seem to mean to tease her at all. He snorted lightly, but still handed the snail over.
.
Li Qi in the kitchen was exactly the same as usual. He was meticulous in his work. He took the snail and said, "Be more agile next time."
Liu Yunxi opened her eyes wide and glared at Li Qi. But Li Qi ignored her at all and didn't even look at her. This made Liu Yunxi think to herself, this person is really strange. He saw Li Qi dumping the snail again.
He entered the wooden basin filled with warm water and looked at it carefully again.
But seeing the fifteen snails fall into the warm water, Li Qi immediately stretched out his whole body. Li Qi held the smallest knife in his hand. He spotted one and immediately reached into the basin. The knife rotated rapidly in the water without splashing a drop of water.
Flower, in the blink of an eye, the snail's body and shell were separated.
After removing the shells, Li Qi placed the snail bodies in a small dish on the side, and then continued to remove the shells for the remaining fourteen snails.
Although this was not the first time for Liu Yunxi to see Li Qi cooking, he used to make soup in a very ordinary way. What was important was the ability to control fire. This was the first time that Liu Yunxi saw Li Qi's knife skills. He was secretly surprised and ashamed, so he casually
He picked up a shell and looked at it, but saw that it was clean inside. There was no trace of meat foam on it. He sighed inwardly, seeing how young he was, yet he had practiced such knife skills. He looked at Li Qi again, and saw that he had already
Cleaning out the snail's guts.
How big is this snail? Just listen to the internal organs of the snail. I'm afraid some chefs will have to stay away.
But to Li Qi, this was nothing to mention. The knife in his hand was like the scalpel in the doctor's hand. He cut open the snail's abdomen very accurately, removed the internal organs, and cut off the snail's round teeth.
cut off.
All of this was done in one go, without a moment's pause. Liu Yunxi on the side couldn't help but stare at it. The cooking skills had reached such a level that it could really be said to be a feast for the eyes. At the same time, she was even more looking forward to this dish.
Li Qi then let out a breath and suddenly said: "Didn't you ask why you had to starve them for three days and why you said the stench of snails is hard to get rid of?"
Liu Yunxi looked at it very intently and couldn't help but be startled and said: "What did you just say?"
What are you doing! The King of Golden Knife Chefs demonstrated with his own hands, and you actually deserted your job. You really don’t know what is good or bad. Li Qi never thought that Liu Yunxi was too absorbed in watching and did not listen carefully to what he said, but he still said it again because he wanted to convey this
He taught Liu Yunxi how to make snails as a reward for catching snails.
Liu Yunxi pondered for a moment and said, "Is it just to get rid of the fishy smell?"
Li Qi nodded and said: "Exactly, snail is a very special material. Its meat is very delicious, better than chicken, duck and fish, but at the same time it is also very difficult to process, especially to remove the fishy smell. If there is a trace of fishy smell left, then
It is a failure, and the deodorization of snails must be started three days ago. I ask you to starve them for three days. The purpose is to allow them to empty the waste and dirty fluids in the stomach on their own. Otherwise, the dirty fluids will easily penetrate during processing.
Once inside the meat, it is difficult to clean it, but this is only the first step to remove the fishy smell. The second step is to remove the internal organs, which I won’t go into too much. There is also the third step, which is an extremely important step.”
He said and picked up the dustpan beside him.
Liu Yunxi took a look and said in surprise: "Rice bran?"
Li Qi nodded and said: "Yes, if you want to completely remove the fishy smell from the snails, the only way is to scrub them with rice bran."
Liu Yunxi nodded and said: "That's it."
Li Qi smiled and began to wash the snail meat carefully with rice bran. The snail meat was very soft and the action had to be very gentle, otherwise it would easily break into pieces.
Liu Yunxi felt itchy and said, "Can you let me try it?"
"No." Li Qi said decisively.
"Why?"
"I don't have any extra preparations." Li Qi said simply and clearly: "I am trying the dishes now, and I don't want to have to try them again."
Boss Liu Yunxi was unhappy. Such words should always come from her.
In this regard, Li Qike ignored the mood of others and began to wash the snail's shell with rice bran again. The snail's shell was also very important. Losing it would be a waste. After handling the snail, he began to deal with it again.
Walnuts and other materials. Compared with snails, these materials are really simple.
The most difficult part of killing snails is the process of killing and cleaning them, which is very tedious. Although Li Qi seems to be relaxed, there are already dense beads of sweat on his forehead. He would like Liu Yunxi to wipe him, but he is afraid of Liu Yunxi.
Get some awning needles and stick them in.
What Li Qi is going to make today is walnut and snail soup. This soup is different from ordinary soups. Ordinary soups put the main ingredients first and then the ingredients, but this dish puts the snail shells first and then the toppings.
Walnuts, wait until the end to add snail meat.
"call---!"
When Li Qi put the small stew pot on the fire, he finally let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Liu Yunxi: "Being defeated in the field that you are best at is indeed a very painful thing, but it is a pity that I have never tried it.
I don’t know how to comfort you.”
Liu Yunxi was stunned for a moment, and then he realized it. He was itching his teeth and said, "My best skill is medicine."
"Ah? This---."
Li Qi broke into a cold sweat and couldn't answer anything. When it came to talking about medical skills, Li Qi admired Liu Yunxi with all his heart.
After a while, Li Qi took down the stew pot. Liu Yunxi couldn't wait to taste it, but Li Qi hurriedly stopped her and said: "Don't be so anxious, my woman still lives in this house, let's take it outside first."
Go ahead."
Li Qi first selected the snail shell, then came to the living room with the stew pot and called Feng Yinu down.
Feng Yinu had long heard from his servants that Li Qi was here. He originally wanted to go find him, but heard that he had gone to the kitchen, so he went up to accompany Li Shishi again.
"Where's Miss Shishi?"
"Just fell asleep."
As Feng Yinu spoke, his tall nose suddenly twitched a few times, and he said in surprise: "Wow! It smells so good."
Li Qi took her hand and said with a smile: "You are in for a treat, I just made walnut-beef tendon soup."
Liu Yunxi was stunned when she heard this. Beef tendon soup? But she is not a talkative person.
Feng Yinu's stomach had long been captured by Li Qi, and he said with a hint of regret: "You really should have said it earlier, but it's a pity that my sister has already fallen asleep."
Li Qi chuckled and said: "Miss Shishi is ill and should not drink this soup. It's Shi Niang's fault. Don't you think so?"
Liu Yunxi said calmly: "If it's walnut and beef tendon soup, that's fine."
"Um?"
Feng Yinu looked at Liu Yunxi curiously.
This woman is trying to take revenge on me. Li Qi laughed and said, "What she means is that with her here, Miss Shishi has no taboos."
Feng Yinu nodded and said, "But if it's not good for your sister's health, it's better not to be subtle."
"That's right, that's right. I'll help you scoop a bowl."
Li Qi immediately scooped up a bowl for Feng Yinu and handed it over. The soup was milky white, just like soy milk, steaming slightly, but the aroma was pleasant.
Feng Yinu took it and said with a sweet smile: "Thank you."
Liu Yunxi said: "Shall I do it myself?"
Li Qi let out a cry, looked at Liu Yunxi in surprise, and said to himself, when did I say I would help you scoop it out? It's so shameless.
But at this moment, someone outside suddenly said: "What kind of fragrance is this?"
No, is it such a coincidence? Damn it! I forgot that there is a secret door behind this. When Li Qi heard this voice, he was very depressed.
After a while, I saw three people walking in. The first one was a middle-aged handsome man, and behind him were two fair-skinned young followers.
This man is none other than the current emperor, Song Huizong.
"Li Qi (Feng Yinu) has met high-ranking officials."
Except for Liu Yunxi, everyone else saluted.
"No gifts, no gifts."
Song Huizong laughed and turned a blind eye to Liu Yunxi's rude behavior. He smelled the fragrance, looked at it, and pointed with his hand: "What is this?"
Li Qidao: "This is my latest development of walnut and beef tendon soup."
“Walnut and beef tendon soup?”
Song Huizong was stunned and said: "I have never heard of it."
Don't you just want to try it? Is there any need to talk in such a roundabout way? Li Qidao: "It's such a coincidence that the official came here to help me give it a try."
Song Huizong laughed and said: "I have always been very fond of food." After saying this, he sat down majestically. With a wave of his hand, the entourage behind him immediately filled a bowl for him. He picked up a spoon and scooped out a bowl.
He took a spoon, smelled it first, and said with emotion: "The aroma is really refreshing." He took another sip, and after a moment, he closed his eyes and sighed: "Hmm ---, this soup is rich and moist, but not strong at all.
It is greasy and very sweet. It looks like silk running across the tip of the tongue, but tastes like clear spring. Well, it is really delicious. However, the walnut flavor in this soup is still light, and there is a special fragrance. This is the first time I have tasted it.
.Li Qi, if I guess correctly, there must be special ingredients added to your soup."
Liu Yunxi said: "It's Snail---."
Li Qi didn't wait for her to finish her words and immediately said: "It's fish maw."
"Fish maw?" Song Huizong asked doubtfully: "I eat a lot of fish maw, but it definitely doesn't taste like this."
Li Qi was sweating profusely and said: "Master, when different materials are combined together, the taste will be very different, and this is made by my own hands, so it will be even more different."
Song Huizong didn't know how to cook. He nodded slightly, scooped up another gourd, drank it, chewed it a few times, and said, "What kind of meat is this? It's so delicate and delicious."
Liu Yunxi now also sees some tricks, and secretly chuckles, let's see how you get around it now.