Chapter 1412 - 552: A Cooking Tip a Day! Who Could Resist Such Pork Knuckle?

Chapter 1412: Chapter 552: A Cooking Tip a Day! Who Could Resist Such Pork Knuckle?

"No, it still needs to be soaked in brine. Soak for two hours, take out and let dry, then soak for another two hours, continue to dry. After three soaks and three dries, it can be put into the pot and slowly cooked at low temperature."

The preparation of Salt Water Duck is meticulous, with emphasis on rubbing with cooked salt, soaking in old brine, drying well, and cooking thoroughly.

The so-called old brine soaking means repeatedly soaking in brine.

To cook thoroughly requires the duck meat to be fully cooked in low-temperature water. This not only draws out excess salt but also ensures the meat is tender while retaining its firmness.

The reason Jinling people can’t forget this delicacy, even when abroad wanting to bring two ducks, is because this tedious method completely unleashes the ultimate deliciousness of the duck meat.

After not eating it for a few days, the craving becomes intense.

Shen Jiayue didn’t expect it to take so long, and sighed helplessly. It’ll be at least the day after tomorrow or even later before she can eat it.

Lin Xu wiped his hands dry, raised his hand to pinch this girl’s cheek:

"We can’t eat Salt Water Duck for now, but I can let you taste the elbow flower first."

This made Shen Jiayue’s eyes light up:

"Oh yes, there’s elbow flower to eat... So what will we eat tomorrow?"

The elbow flower hasn’t even been tasted yet, and she’s already craving something else?

Lin Xu said:

"Tomorrow we’ll make dumplings with wild vegetables, and I’ll make a top-grade Kongfu dish that you can’t find nowadays for money—the Top-grade Tofu."

Shen Jiayue blinked:

"Top-grade Tofu? I had it at a popular restaurant—it wraps stir-fried sea cucumber shrimp and other ingredients in tofu and steams it, garnished with mushrooms and carrots made into plum blossoms... It wasn’t tasty."

"That kind isn’t considered top-grade. Wait until I make it tomorrow, then you’ll know what it means to be an official of top-grade, what the true king of tofu is."

There are actually many high-end tofu dishes.

Famous worldwide are Wensi Tofu, known for knife skills, Pingqiao Tofu, and Mirror Box Tofu with stuffed meat in tofu blocks, among many others.

To break through among these famous tofu dishes and be named Top-grade Tofu, it’s not just confidence but also a display of skill.

If the taste and texture don’t reach perfection, it wouldn’t be named that.

After hearing Lin Xu’s description, Shen Jiayue was filled with anticipation for tomorrow’s lunch.

At eight o’clock in the evening, Lin Xu used a slotted spoon to take out the elbow flower wrapped tighter than zongzi from the brine, placing them on a tray.

Shen Guofu, who had just lost miserably at mahjong, followed the scent to the kitchen and asked excitedly upon seeing the elbow flower:

"Can we eat now, Xiao Xu?"

"Yes, I’ll cut a plate for you to try later."

Actually, it’s not ready to eat at this point; the elbow flower still needs to be shaped.

After cooking, the meat shrinks in volume, so while it’s still hot, the strings need to be untied, wrapped tightly with muslin cloth again, and then re-tied with strings.

This time, the wrapping doesn’t have to be too tight; leaving some gaps can speed up cooling.

Once cooled, the elbow flower naturally sets in shape.

Upon hearing this, Shen Guofu immediately said:

"Then I’ll wait to eat."

All the elbow flowers were taken out. Lin Xu put two in the freezer and then began re-wrapping the rest.

After finishing, he took out the two from the freezer; they were still warm but not hot to touch.

Lin Xu snipped the strings and opened the muslin cloth, revealing the red-tinged skinned elbow flowers to everyone.

"Wow, so beautiful!"

"The aroma is quite strong; I wonder how the meat inside tastes."

With the temperature dropped, the skin has set and solidified.

Lin Xu took a kitchen knife to cut them open, revealing moist pork fibers and connective tissue around the meat, with spaces originally vacant now filled with jelly.

Shen Jiayue was a bit surprised, couldn’t help but say:

"It really looks like flowers, no wonder it’s called elbow flower."

Lin Xu sliced the elbow flower piece by piece, but since it’s not completely cooled, he didn’t dare slice it too thin.

But this suits Shen Guofu’s request; for meat, it should be thickly cut to enjoy hefty bites.

Shen Jiayue picked up a piece to taste:

"Delicious, delicious, this flavor is really good."

Shen Guofu initially intended to wait for it to be sliced, but seeing his daughter picking it up with her hand, he couldn’t resist grabbing a piece to put into his mouth too.

The skin, lean meat, and connective tissue—these three chewy textures together felt incredibly satisfying to chew.

Though all are chewy in feel, the distinction in each is quite clear; the skin is bouncy, lean meat dense, connective tissue resilient.

One bite, the texture is truly explosively delightful.

On top of that, the brine’s unique savory and rich flavor made it extremely tasty.

Shen Guofu initially said he wouldn’t drink today, but upon tasting the elbow flower, he felt two glasses of liquor would do justice to his son-in-law’s efforts.

Lin Xu said to Shen Jiayue:

"Don’t you know how to make garlic sauce? Make a little, this is better dipped in garlic sauce."

Upon hearing, Shen Jiayue immediately washed the peeled garlic cloves, put them in a mineral water bottle, started smashing against the wall, then added Light Soy Sauce, scented vinegar, salt, mixed well and poured out, drizzling a bit of sesame oil to complete a plate of garlic paste dip.

At this point, Lin Xu had just about finished with the elbow flower, arranging them on a plate with a garnish of cilantro leaves.

After finishing, Shen Guofu took it directly to the dining room.

Inside, the mahjong game was still ongoing, with bets not in money but corn kernels.