Chapter 1406 - 550: Still No Lunch Plans Today? Shen Jiayue: No Problem, I’ll Handle It!

Chapter 1406: Chapter 550: Still No Lunch Plans Today? Shen Jiayue: No Problem, I’ll Handle It!

There are two methods to make elbow flower, one involves separating the meat and skin of the elbow, then rolling the meat up, braising it, slicing it, and then dipping it in sauce. Because the cross-section resembles a flower, it is called elbow flower.

However, a drawback of elbow flower made from elbow is that it’s too fatty, making it easy to get tired of eating it. So, some chefs in certain regions have improved this dish by using pork skin to wrap tendon meat instead.

Tendon meat consists of lean meat and fascia, offering more texture and is fat-free, providing a more chewy experience and pairing well with alcohol, making it a top-ranked dish for many people.

In the past, elbow flower was often seen at banquets in Northern Zhongyuan.

But nowadays, tendon meat is relatively hard to buy, so this dish has become less common.

Apart from the ingredients, the complexity of the preparation has also caused this dish to lose its original king of pairing position.

After buying pork tendon, Lin Xu also bought around ten pounds of pork skin.

Once everything was settled, the two headed to the checkout counter and left.

Originally, they just wanted to buy a few ducks to make some salt water duck, but unexpectedly ended up with two full shopping carts, and Shen Jiayue hadn’t even started buying freely yet.

Driving back to the scenic area, they realized everyone was gone.

After making a phone call, they found out everyone had gone to dig wild vegetables.

Actually, digging wild vegetables wasn’t the main goal; it provided a reason for a walk, some activity, instead of constantly sitting around the charcoal stove doing nothing.

Moreover, after yesterday’s activities, everyone found not only their appetite increased but they also slept better.

So after breakfast this morning, they went again, whether they could gather wild vegetables didn’t matter, as long as they exercised their bodies.

Lin Xu moved the bought stuff to the kitchen, opened a cardboard box, and placed all the white-feathered ducks into water to soak.

To make salt water duck, this step is indispensable. Only after soaking can the duck skin become white and tender, and the gamey smell thoroughly soaked out.

Shen Jiayue stood nearby, watching the ducks soaking in the basin, curiously asked:

"How long do they need to soak? Can we eat them by noon today?"

Lin Xu chuckled:

"Not today nor tomorrow noon, the salt water duck preparation takes a long time, and if you shorten the time, the result won’t be perfect."

Good salt water duck requires white skin, pink meat, and emerald green bones. Not achieving these standards means cutting corners in preparation.

Originally, Shen Jiayue was hoping for a treat, but hearing they couldn’t eat by noon today, shifted her focus onto the chicken wings:

"Do these chicken wings need soaking too?"

"Yes, soak them, the texture will be better when cooked."

Upon hearing this, Shen Jiayue happily took a stainless steel basin, poured in the chicken wings bought, and started soaking them after adding water. She then took the opportunity of tasting salinity to open a bottle each of Sprite and Coke for a sip.

"What’s the most important seasoning for cola chicken wings?"

"Sprite."

Lin Xu’s answer made Shen Jiayue puzzled:

"Sprite in cola chicken wings?"

"Yes, a little Sprite makes the taste better and the meat more tender; you can try it later."

While talking, Lin Xu had already soaked the bought pork skin in clean water, as for those pork tendon, they can’t be soaked, just rinse them with clean water, then drain and start marinating.

Making elbow flower, soaking the meat too long makes it hard to marinate with flavor, so a slight wash suffices.

After washing, repeatedly squeeze to expel water, then put it in a basin, add smashed scallion and ginger, light soy sauce, pepper, five-spice powder, star anise powder, and repeatedly knead to let the meat blend thoroughly with the marinade.

Then cover with cling film, place in the fridge for over four hours.

When making elbow flower, the tendon meat needs to be fully wrapped with pork skin, while outside the pork skin, wrap a layer of clean white cloth to prevent the pork skin from bursting during braising.

Wrapped so tightly, it’s hard for the marinade to seep in, so the meat must be pre-marinated.

Also, the marinade shouldn’t include salt, to prevent the water-depleting property of salt from dehydrating the meat, causing the fibers to dry and harden, affecting texture.

"Seems like this elbow flower is quite complex."

Shen Jiayue watched for a while, realizing the dish wouldn’t be ready for lunch either.

Could it be today’s lunch must be handled by the head chef herself?

With delight, Shen Jiayue started picking scallions and skillfully peeled old ginger using a piece of sharp-cornered iron sheet.

This was a trick taught by Chen Meijuan. The tough-to-peel skin of old ginger is difficult to peel with a knife and may hurt your hand, but using an iron sheet made peeling easy.

"Besides cola chicken wings, what else should we make?"

She looked around, grabbed the soy sauce duck brought from Beijing to prepare steaming a duck, but her method was slightly different from Lin Xu’s.

This girl planned to put some baby cabbage and vermicelli under the duck while steaming.

Once the duck was steamed, the flavors of the baby cabbage and vermicelli should be perfect as well.

After hearing this idea, Lin Xu laughed and said:

"My Baobao can create new recipes already, might truly become a master chef later."

Shen Jiayue proudly smiled:

"No choice, I married a super chef."

The couple exchanged compliments and started preparing lunch.

Lin Xu took a soy sauce duck and chopped it with a kitchen knife. Once Shen Jiayue prepared the baby cabbage and vermicelli, the cut duck meat was neatly arranged on a plate.

However, it’s not time to steam yet, need to wait a bit longer.