Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Three Slow Fire Balls
Once the meat filling of the eggplant box is done, it means that more than half of the fried eggplant box has been completed.
Even though the name of the eggplant box seems to be the same as the lotus root box, and the production method is similar, due to the material, eggplant is much easier to handle than lotus root.
It seems that lotus root is made of harder material, which makes it easier to cut. However, because it is hard and brittle at the same time, it is more difficult for ordinary cooks to cut lotus root.
If the cutting technique is not good enough, even if the lotus root is not cut when cutting with the butterfly knife, the lotus root may be broken due to the brittle texture of the lotus root during the subsequent cutting.
So many times when making lotus root boxes, novices simply cut the lotus root slices first, and then put the slices together to make the lotus root box.
Although there is not much difference in taste, the difference in taste is huge.
But eggplant is different from lotus root. Although it is much softer, it is also much tougher. When cutting with a butterfly knife, you usually don't have to worry too much.
When practicing as a novice, if you are afraid of cutting, place a chopstick on each side of the eggplant. When cutting diagonally with the knife, the cut will be just deep enough without breaking on the chopsticks.
But this is unnecessary for Zhao Youqian.
Even though there were a lot of eggplants, he cut them faster. In almost a blink of an eye, one eggplant was cut into eggplant slices. If you look closely, there is a thin strip in the middle of the approximately three centimeter eggplant slices. The gap goes deep inside and looks like a pocket.
This is where the meat filling is stuffed at the back.
Making eggplant boxes is a relatively simple quick dish. Zhao Youqian saw that there were many diners, so he made a dish for them to eat for a while, or to accompany wine.
After the eggplant and meat stuffing are done, Zhao Yougan doesn't have to do the stuffing work himself. Naturally, Zhang Xiaofan, who is doing the job, will do it for him.
Because stuffing meat is different from the previous tasks, stuffing more or less does not actually affect the taste of the eggplant box.
Although some people say that the meat filling should be just right, everyone has different requirements for the meat filling. How do you find this average value?
This is just something everyone has their own preferences. As long as the eggplant can be kept from being stuffed with meat, it is actually the right amount of meat.
Therefore, Zhao Youqian can rest assured and leave this step to Zhang Xiaofan.
He then began to deal with another key point of the eggplant!
Batter.
As for fried things, Zhao Youqian has also made it several times in Zhutian Xiaoguan, but there are some subtle differences every time. The difference lies in the choice of flour for the batter.
This time Zhao Youqian used a starch that is less likely to appear in northern cuisine. It is not ordinary corn starch or potato starch, but sweet potato starch.
The advantage of sweet potato starch is that as long as you mix it with a little low-gluten flour, it can be crispy and not soft, even if it is cold.
What's more important is that the texture of the fried batter is crispy but light.
For fried dishes, this can reduce a lot of greasiness.
70% sweet potato flour, 30% low-gluten flour, no need to add eggs, just add ice water little by little and stir slowly until there are no particles, then sift it into a liquid state, but when the chopsticks are inserted into the batter, lift it up. You can see a thin white line falling.
This kind of batter is just right.
It can be peeled off and attached to the fried food, but it will not accumulate too much on the fried food. It is the best level for fried food.
Once the batter is ready, you should add a little salt and black pepper, otherwise the outer layer of batter will have no flavor, and the eggplant itself will have no flavor. If only the meat filling has flavor, the greasy feeling of frying will be particularly prominent. .
After everything was completed, Zhao Youqian turned his head and looked at Zhang Xiaofan, who was handling the stuffing, to see that it was not so easy for him to finish.
He simply heated up the oil pan first, then turned his head and started cutting green onions and ginger slices on another cutting board. However, this time he did not use them directly. Instead, he added some water and cooking wine, and then used his hands to cut them. Pinch it a few times and squeeze out the green onion and ginger juice for use.
Six-point lean meat filling has more fat and a stronger meat flavor. Although adding green onion and ginger directly is good, it will still affect the meat flavor. Adding green onion and ginger juice will make it much better.
In addition, Zhao Youqian also chopped some minced water chestnuts and added in minced fresh shiitake mushrooms.
Stir the meat filling continuously until the onion, ginger juice and cooking wine are completely absorbed into the meat filling, then add the minced water chestnuts and shiitake mushrooms.
Only then do you start adding seasonings.
White pepper, salt, light soy sauce, and finally some starch are added to help the meat filling form later.
In this way, the meat filling of the meatballs is also completed.
After Zhao Youqian finished cooking, he found that Zhang Xiaofan was still a little behind, so he simply started cooking the meatballs first.
Pour directly into the large iron pot, without stock, just water. Then turn on the fire and turn it to the lowest setting. Then take a teaspoon, add a little water to it, grab the meat filling with your left hand, and put your index finger and thumb together to leave a circle. Then, squeeze the meat filling upwards with the fingers below.
Soon a meatball was formed, and then it was put into the water in the iron pot with a small teaspoon.
Because the low heat is used at this time, even if it is put into the iron pot, the meatballs will not cook apart because the water boils. Instead, because the heat is always the lowest, the entire iron pot will be filled with meatballs.
There won’t be much difference in maturity between the first meatball and the last meatball.
And using such a slow fire to heat the meatballs until they are cooked can also retain the maximum meat flavor and juice.
Even the meat stock can be cooked in one go. You only need to boil the upper layer of the iron pot over low heat and clean away the floating impurities.
After the meatballs are cooked, it will naturally not be Zhao You's job to clean up the impurities on the boiling water.
After Zhang Xiaofan stuffed all the eggplants with meat, Zhao Youqian had already made all the meat fillings into meatballs and put them into the iron pot. The smallest flame at this time was just to let the water in the iron pot simmer slightly. It's just a little bit of heat, and even the clear water inside just appears a faint layer of white.
"Keep the fire on low and watch it until it boils, then clean up the scum on the upper layer. When the meatballs have changed color and the scum stops coming out, just pour out the meatballs and soup."
Zhao Youqian gently ordered Zhang Xiaofan's next work. Although these were just chores, once involved, Zhang Xiaofan would know some of the processes of these dishes by heart.
It is also good for his cooking skills, otherwise Zhao Youqian would not send him so casually.
"To make this kind of meatball soup, using stock is actually on the lower level. Use the original soup of the meatballs directly, so that the soup is clear and delicious. And remember, if the meatballs are boiled, they must be cooked over slow fire. Use high heat directly. , no matter how good the meat filling you make is, it will be cooked to pieces in no time!”
After briefly explaining some meatball making methods to Zhang Xiaofan, Zhao Youqian focused on the oil pan.
Although he was making meatballs and putting them in an iron pot to cook, it was not certain whether the oil in that pot could reach a sufficient temperature...