When Su Chen placed the dried tofu on the cutting board, one hand behind his back and the other holding a knife, the smarter people in the room had already taken several steps back. The oblivious ones were still standing foolishly in place.
BANG BANG BANG!
Su Chen’s hand rose and the knife fell, his movements so fast one could occasionally glimpse an afterimage!
He Shuting, who was in charge of filming, jumped back several steps in fright.
"Don’t record this part..."
It wasn’t that Su Chen was afraid people would think he was a monster. It was just that his knife skills were too wild and didn’t quite match his handsome appearance.
The shredded dried tofu was steeped in boiling water three times to remove its raw bean flavor, which southerners call the "taste of swill."
There was nothing unusual about this step. Almost every Huaiyang Cuisine chef did it this way.
But the next step...
Into the pot went a measure of chicken broth, shredded chicken, chicken skin cut into diamond shapes, thinly sliced gizzards and livers, and bamboo shoot slices.
Then, shrimp roe, lard, and the steeped dried tofu were added to the pot as well.
Seeing all these ingredients go into the pot, even Ah Bao was shocked. "Why are you adding gizzards and livers to Braised Dried Tofu?"
The term "gizzard and liver" refers to the offal of fowl; duck gizzards are most commonly used. To get them, Zhan Yang had staked out the slaughterhouse at Brother Fang Chang’s family home and waited for a duck to be freshly killed.
"It’s hard to explain. You’ll know once you taste it."
Su Chen didn’t know how to explain either. It was true that many Huaiyang Cuisine restaurants no longer added this ingredient, though some still did. The inclusion of gizzards and livers was a matter of taste.
After adding these ingredients, he cranked the heat up to high!
The "Braised" part of its name, Braised Dried Tofu, comes from the need to boil it continuously over high heat. This goes on until the dried tofu threads soften enough for the broth’s flavor to seep in.
After fifteen minutes at a rolling boil, the broth began to thicken.
When Su Chen picked up a few more ingredients, Ah Bao was completely dumbfounded.
"Boss, you can’t be serious. You’re adding *that* to the pot? As far as I know, Braised Dried Tofu is supposed to be all about fresh, savory flavors. That stuff... it’s..."
That’s right. What Su Chen was holding were a few pieces of scored kidney!
Pork kidney!
Anyone who’s eaten this stuff knows that smell...
That flavor is a complete mismatch for a dish that’s supposed to be delicate and savory!
Su Chen sighed. "It’s hard to explain. All I can say is that once you remove the white membrane, the kidney has almost no unpleasant odor."
After Su Chen put the scored kidney in and added a few drops of soy sauce, Ah Bao was completely stupefied.
’The main thing is, if you tried to make this dish in a real Huaiyang Cuisine Restaurant, the head chef would probably brain you with a mallet just for adding soy sauce, right?’
After doing all this, Su Chen covered the pot, turned the heat to medium, and simmered it for about two minutes before he began to plate the dish.
Shrimp and pea shoots were placed atop the bed of dried tofu threads, and the whole dish was topped with shredded ham. The initial presentation was a neat and beautiful arrangement of red, yellow, and white.
The chicken broth steeping the tofu threads was a pale yellow—not a transparent broth, but a thick, opaque, pale yellow.
"Send it out..."
Liu Ahbao froze. "Let someone else take it. I’m afraid I’ll get beaten up!"
Sister Shengnan was fearless. "I’ll take it."
Having finished, Su Chen stretched his shoulders and went back to preparing the two Jingzhou dishes.
...
「The Dining Hall. A Private Room.」
In front of each of the six people was a small tureen containing the Stewed Lion’s Head Meatball with Crab Roe that Brother Fang Chang had eaten once before.
The parents from both sides exchanged a few pleasantries, then everyone lifted the lids from their small tureens.
The moment he lifted the lid, Jiang Wensheng saw the crystal-clear chicken broth in the tureen, still simmering. In the center floated a gently trembling Lion’s Head meatball. At first glance, its coarse-grained surface truly resembled a lion’s head!
"Not bad. At least it looks the part. I wonder how it tastes."
’To be able to give a Lion’s Head this texture means the chef has some real understanding of the dish,’ Jiang Wensheng thought. ’But a clear-broth Lion’s Head isn’t like its gaudy cousins, the Four-Joy Wanzi and their ilk.’
The clear broth, in fact, demanded even greater skill in cooking technique and temperature control.
Jiang Wensheng scooped up a piece with his spoon. Seeing that the Lion’s Head didn’t fall apart, he nodded to himself, quite satisfied.
He brought a large spoonful of the meatball to his lips.
"Hmm?"
The savory fragrance of the crab roe hit his palate first, but it was fleeting. Just as his senses registered the flavor, it was immediately followed by the tender succulence of the meatball!
Or rather than merely tender, it was luxuriously tender from the fat!
With just a gentle press of his tongue, the meatball instantly dissolved into a rich, savory broth. The sensation—fatty but not greasy, exquisitely tender—sent a wave of pure bliss through his entire body.
"Hey, Xiaofang." Jiang Wensheng, in a rare move, spoke directly to Brother Fang Chang. "Where is this friend of yours from?"
As far as he was concerned, anyone who could make a Lion’s Head like this must have trained specifically at a Huaiyang Cuisine Restaurant!
In fact, after a second bite, Jiang Wensheng felt that unless the cook had trained under a true master, it would be impossible to achieve this level of skill!
Brother Fang Chang had already downed half of the fist-sized Lion’s Head. He swallowed what was in his mouth and said, "He’s from right here in Jingzhou!"
"A local?" This time it was Jiang Wensheng’s turn to be surprised. "There are locals who can make Huaiyang Cuisine? Then I’ll have to meet him later."
Brother Fang Chang nodded in agreement, saying it would be no problem.
Beside him, Yuan Suzhen was also amazed by the Lion’s Head. "Old Jiang, I think this Lion’s Head is even more delicious than the one from our usual place. It seems more tender, and the coarse-grained texture is more pronounced."
With Lion’s Head meatballs, the coarser the grind, the more flavorful they are. That texture is what makes it feel like you’re actually eating meat.
Without that coarse texture, it’s no different from eating a common meatball!
Although Jiang Wensheng secretly agreed, he stubbornly said, "Each has its own strengths and weaknesses."