Soak the starch water twice.
Qin Huai fell into deep thought upon hearing Cao Guixiang say this.
Soaking at in starch water is a very common culinary technique, but it’s rarely used in pastry making because this thod is usually ant to make the texture of the at more tender and smooth, typically used in frying and stir-fry cooking thods.
When Qin Huai makes at-filled snacks, he usually considers how to make the at tighter and better at locking in the juices.
Qin Huai quietly contemplated for a few minutes, and during this ti, Cao Guixiang didn’t speak, just stood by smiling, waiting for him to finish thinking.
"May I ask, how long should each soaking in starch water last?" Qin Huai asked.
"I don’t know," Cao Guixiang shook her head. "I don’t know how to make Four Happiness glutinous rice and can’t precisely tell you the ti and amount. But I think it’s a great way to enhance the texture and flavor of the at, much better than using dried scallop water."
"Dried scallop water is a good ans to enhance freshness, but it’s not suitable for Four Happiness glutinous rice. The at filling in Four Happiness glutinous rice generally plays a role of bridging and combining, not needing to overly emphasize its freshness."
Listening to Cao Guixiang speak, Qin Huai knew that although she couldn’t make Four Happiness glutinous rice, she must be a culinary master.
She really understands Four Happiness glutinous rice.
"Alright, thank you for the reminder, I’ll try it now."
In terms of recipe improvent, Qin Huai is a doer. Once he ntally decided that Cao Guixiang’s suggestion might be useful, he imdiately set aside the freshly prepared at filling and started looking around for any pre-cut at filling.
Today, Aunt Wang wasn’t here; she had gone back to her hotown to celebrate the New Year, so the main person slicing the at was the second son-in-law of the village chief’s house.
The new batch of at filling wasn’t ready yet, so Qin Huai decided to wrap the glutinous rice dough instead. Before wrapping the dough, he went outside to check if Qin Luo was still arguing with Zhang Zhiyun, and if they were done arguing, to send the kid inside to do his assignnts.
The tutor’s assignnts were still unfinished.
Qin Huai went outside, but Cao Guixiang had no intention of leaving. She wandered around the kitchen, observing every finished filling without touching anything, and finally glanced from afar at the assistants chopping at before approaching the big mom slicing preserved fruit with sleeve guards.
"Miss, do you have any spare sleeve guards?" Cao Guixiang asked.
The mom slicing preserved fruit didn’t recognize Cao Guixiang and thought she was a newly arrived helper, soone very close to Qin Huai who could chat before working. She warmly fetched a new pair of floral sleeve guards for her: "Also, we have aprons, I’ll get you one from over there!"
Two minutes later, wearing a red apron and floral sleeve guards, Cao Guixiang had seamlessly integrated into the back kitchen, just like all the household wives who found a position in Qin Family’s big kitchen during the New Year.
When Qin Huai returned to the kitchen after assigning Qin Luo the day’s assignnts, he was shocked to see Cao Guixiang’s attire.
"Cao... Grandma Cao, you..."
"I’m here to help," Cao Guixiang said with a smile, taking a large cleaver from the knife rack and walking to the chopping board.
The helpers in the at chopping group naturally made space for Cao Guixiang. With Aunt Wang absent today, everyone assud she was yet another assistant Qin Huai had recruited to chop at.
The village chief’s second son-in-law enthusiastically briefed Cao Guixiang on the task: "The at needs to be first chopped and then minced, you must use great force, let check if there are any other specific requirents."
The village chief’s second son-in-law started to forget his words and reached for his phone.
Cao Guixiang interjected: "The at should be kept between tight and loose status. The filling doesn’t need to lock in the juices nor be too loose. It shouldn’t have the chewy texture of atballs, nor be as soft and powerless as a crushed at patty."
"Yes, yes, yes! That’s exactly it!" The village chief’s second son-in-law didn’t really rember the specifics but thought what Cao Guixiang said was spot on.
Seeing Qin Huai return, Cao Guixiang smiled at him, "I had nothing else to do, and my husband is still chatting with Qin Zhishu. I saw you’re a bit overwheld here, so I volunteered to help chop at. You don’t mind, do you, Master Qin?"
"I don’t mind, I don’t mind," Qin Huai quickly replied, standing still and watching Cao Guixiang chop at.
Before chopping, Cao Guixiang selected the at.
The benefit of being in the countryside is the assurance of quality and freshness of ingredients. At Huang Ji, Huang An Yao would have to pay extra to get this quality of fresh pork from suppliers. He would need to call ahead to notify suppliers, emphasizing the importance of the banquet that day to ensure the best quality pork. Even then, it depended on the supplier’s inventory, and there was no guarantee of getting the best quality.
But in Qin Family Village, especially during New Year, if Qin Huai wanted, he could choose any pig from the village in the morning, and it would be expertly butchered and appear in Qin Family’s big kitchen by noon. An hour later, the pork would be turned into at-filled glutinous rice and served to the household.
The produce and at appearing in the Qin Family’s kitchen were rigorously selected by the villagers.
Cao Guixiang picked a few cuts of lean at.
There was almost no fat, and the color and texture indicated it was excellent for quick stir-fried dishes.
The at chunks were diced.
Although Cao Guixiang appeared to be an ordinary aging housewife, the mont she wielded the kitchen knife, her whole deanor shifted. Her knife skills were sharp, and every chop was precise and forceful, making the village chief’s second son-in-law look like a lazy, dawdling apprentice.
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