Chapter 1394 - 546: Ten Pounds of Cat, Nine Pounds of Rebellion! Five-colored Chicken Porridge Ready, and Unexpected Surprises?

Chapter 1394: Chapter 546: Ten Pounds of Cat, Nine Pounds of Rebellion! Five-colored Chicken Porridge Ready, and Unexpected Surprises?

As for the color red, Lin Xu chose the simplest method—mixing red rice flour with water.

There are many ways to achieve the color red, such as beet juice or caramel, but none are as straightforward as red rice flour, and it remains stable without changing color at high temperatures.

For green, let’s use spinach juice. The family has a lot of spinach, and Shi Wenming has grown plenty in the small vegetable plot outside the restaurant, which is more than enough.

For black, there are also many choices, such as black sesame, nori, and hair moss, all of which can produce a pure black.

But there’s no hair moss at home, and the flavor of black sesame is too strong, so Lin Xu chose nori.

First, soak it in cold water until it’s completely soft, then blend it into a paste. This not only enhances the color but also adds a rich, savory taste to the chicken porridge. ℯℯ𝑙.

Besides these colors, you can also add purple and blue.

These two colors can be achieved using black wolfberry.

Soak black wolfberry in different types of water, and you’ll get different colors.

Soaking in tap water turns it blue, while using purified water makes it a true purple.

The reason is that the anthocyanins in black wolfberry can display blue and purple based on the water’s pH, and both colors are quite vibrant.

Besides black wolfberry, in Western and Southeast Asian cuisine, butterfly pea flowers are also used to dye food blue.

The anthocyanins in butterfly pea flowers are stable, and in places like Thailand and Malaysia, they even use butterfly pea flowers to make blue noodles.

However, whenever Lin Xu thinks of blue noodles, he always feels like he’s in a poisoned state in an online game.

While busy, Shi Wenming’s voice sounded from outside:

"Why is it so quiet today? Where is everyone?"

Then came the sound of Shi Moli greeting Dundun:

"Dundun, why are you playing all by yourself? Where are your cousins?"

Lin Xu came out of the kitchen and said with a smile:

"Everyone went to the valley on the mountain side to dig for wild vegetables. It’s just Dundun and me at home."

He didn’t expect the second aunt’s family to visit this early; it wasn’t even nine o’clock yet.

Shi Wenming held a large cardboard box and headed to the kitchen:

"My uncle’s family grows lotus root. Yesterday, I had nothing to do, so I dug some up and brought them over for our family to try. These are floury roots, suitable for stewing meat and soup, not for cold dishes."

Floury roots?

That’s good; I can make some sweets later.

At the wedding banquet, we made osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root, but since we prepared too little, it was finished that day. Shen Jiayue and Chen Yuanyuan said they didn’t have enough.

Since there’s floury lotus root now, I’ll make some more later.

Just in time, Yuanyuan is going to Beijing tomorrow, so today we’ll use glutinous rice lotus root to give her a farewell meal.

Second aunt Lin Hongxia also brought a large cardboard box filled with fresh beef cuts: tenderloin, brisket, and a piece of chest fat suitable for grilling.

"The village slaughtered a cow, and your uncle helped out, so they gave us some beef. Moli’s grandparents have bad teeth and can’t chew it, so we brought it over for you."

Lin Xu was just thinking about making some grilled meat. Since we have beef, we can start today.

Shi Wenming rolled up his sleeves:

"Your big aunt will be here soon, too. Her son Xiaoxun watched the video of Shaokang setting off fireworks on WeChat the other night and almost ran over, but we didn’t let him because it was snowing."

The two of them began preparing lunch.

Seeing the chicken Lin Xu was soaking, Shi Wenming curiously asked:

"What are you planning to make with this?"

"My master made chicken porridge last time. I’m planning to make it again for everyone to enjoy."

"Wow, that chicken porridge left a deep impression on me last time. I need to watch closely so that maybe I can learn it and make it for my Moli. She lived in the countryside with her grandparents as a child and developed a preference for porridge over meat."

That’s not a good habit; one should eat meat, as it makes you healthier.

Westerners love meat, eggs, and dairy because they make you stronger and boost your immunity.

Lin Xu said with a smile:

"It’s really easy. As long as you pay attention to the details, there’s nothing difficult about it."

There was still some time before lunch, so Lin Xu first sliced the beef tenderloin thinly, then added some scallion and ginger water to the meat, and marinated it with light soy sauce, coating it with egg white, starch, and peanut oil to lock in the moisture.

During the Spring Festival, you have to eat dishes that stimulate the appetite, and stir-fried spicy beef is one of the classics.

Besides this dish, Lin Xu also cleaned the giblets from the freshly slaughtered rooster, planning to make pickled pepper chicken giblets, using the sour and spicy aroma to whet everyone’s appetite.

However, these are just appetizers. Today’s main dishes are still the two large pig heads.

The braised whole pig’s head on the stove was still simmering, and the aroma made Shi Wenming look over repeatedly. He wanted to lift the lid a few times but, being a chef, he knew better than to open the lid blindly.

To stew a piece of meat until it melts in your mouth, scientifically speaking, it’s a protein decomposition process.

Protein decomposition requires a stable pressure and temperature. Once you open the lid, the temperature drops, the pressure lowers, protein decomposition halts, and the meat’s texture declines.

Many novice chefs follow the right steps, but because they frequently lift the lid to check, it ultimately affects the dish’s texture significantly.

Shi Wenming skillfully organized the ingredients for the day.

Celery, leek, cilantro, green pepper, spinach, broccoli, purple cabbage...

Lin Xu, meanwhile, fished out a silver carp from the sink, planning to make chopped pepper fish head and dry pot fish fillets. As for the fish tail and bones, they wouldn’t be wasted and would be stewed with tofu into a soup later.