Punch: From third-rate anchor to top chef

Chapter 568 549
"That place is relatively remote. Although it is considered to be in Jiuquan territory, the surrounding area can be said to be a deserted place." Compared with Li Xiao, who didn't know anything about it, Mo Jie knew the key because someone was there. "It will take a lot of time on the road once you go back and forth."

"Tomorrow, after I discuss it with my uncle, I will ask him to arrange a route or a shuttle bus."

"If that's the case, it's better for us to search for delicious food here in Jiuquan before setting off." After understanding the meaning of Mo Jie's words, Li Xiao temporarily let go of the idea of ​​going to the rocket launch center to see for himself.

When the two came out, it was close to noon, full of food and drink. According to the audience's thinking, now is a good time to go to Jinta Populus euphratica Forest.

Li Xiao went back to the hotel and drove the car out, and drove directly to Jinta Populus euphratica Forest with one person and one bear.

The weather was just right when we came, and it was a sunny day with the sun shining on the earth.

After buying the ticket, you can drive directly into the scenic spot, which is very convenient.

Li Xiao lowered the car window, and the surrounding air was filled with the unique faint woody aroma of Populus euphratica.

There are only two colors in the scenic area: golden yellow and blue.

Large stretches of golden Populus euphratica lined up in rows, growing densely on both sides of the road, almost covering the sky and the sun.

The car drove for a certain distance on the road, and Li Xiao found that there were not many cars coming in by self-driving, most of them were sightseeing cars moving slowly, and a few pedestrians took selfies with the scenery around them.

"It is said that Populus euphratica will not die for a thousand years, will not fall for a thousand years after death, and will not rot for a thousand years after falling." Affected by the surrounding environment, Li Xiao's driving speed gradually slowed down, "I don't know how many years the Populus euphratica forest in front of us will live."

As the road widened, a wide field of vision appeared in front of the two of them.

A "mirror" appeared in front of them.

The golden reflection on the water is reflected with the color of the sky, the water and the sky meet, and the bright clothes of the tourists add a lot of color to the vast lake.

This is the core scenic spot of Jinta Populus euphratica Forest: Jinbo Lake.

To be honest, from the perspective of modern people, Populus euphratica does not seem to have many characteristics.

All barren soil and Populus euphratica, the only foil is probably the blue sky and the occasional passing birds.

But precisely because of its unique sense of desolation, what it brought to Li Xiao was an epic hymn.

Now is the time when the lake is full of water, and many Populus euphratica trees near the lake are covered by the lake water over their roots, as if growing directly in the water.

The lake water ripples softly due to the breeze, causing the treetops to fluctuate. On the loess all over the sky, it seems that Populus euphratica and the lake water suddenly appear in the field of vision, with an inexplicable sadness and grandeur.

The deeper you go into the Populus euphratica forest, the more you feel that you have broken into a golden ocean, and the rushing gold almost drowns Li Xiao—the dense Populus euphratica in the distance has all kinds of strange postures: either standing upright, or twisted, There is even a tendency to hang upside down; closer, it is a poplar tree that is still in the shape of a seedling, with long and narrow leaves and slender branches, at first glance it looks like a willow tree in autumn.

The Populus euphratica inside is getting denser and denser, and the original open road is getting narrower and narrower until it can only accommodate the next car.

At the end of a path closed by Populus euphratica, Li Xiao half-jokingly said to Mo Jie, looking at the dense Populus euphratica that completely blocked the sunlight, "Does it seem like we have stumbled into some kind of tree by mistake?" Fairytale world? Just like Alice."

The road ahead was not completely blocked by Populus euphratica, but if Li Xiao's car went any further, there was a risk of getting stuck.

At first glance, the trail looks like a gateway to some kind of mysterious world.

Driving slowly in the scenic spot, the original two-hour journey took more than three hours to complete the tour under Li Xiao's slow speed.

After leaving the Jinta Populus euphratica forest, it was almost five o'clock in the afternoon.

"Is there anything you want to eat?" Li Xiao asked Mo Jie who was sitting in the car with staring eyes.

"I don't really want to eat staple food for the time being, how about looking for a delicious snack bar?" Mo Jie is not sure, "But it's almost time for dinner at this point, if Brother Li has any ideas, go directly It’s okay to find staple food.”

"It's no problem, who doesn't want to eat the staple food." Li Xiao waved his hand, and after being suggested by Mo Jie, he also thought of making snacks for dinner.

The main reason is Jiuquan. No matter how you look at it, there seems to be no overly famous food. It’s better to go to a snack bar and look at the menu. Maybe you can eat something different.

Together, the two drove the car out of the scenic spot and headed back to the hotel.

In order to find food, Li Xiao deliberately took another path.

The lights are on, and the night is dim.

The road in Jiuquan is always inexplicably more desolate than other places.

Halfway through the car, a small snack bar passed by.

At the critical moment, Li Xiao turned the car around and returned to the place just now when the "Gourmet Radar" started to work.

"What's the matter? Brother Li, did you drop something?" Mo Jie didn't know why, until he saw Li Xiao pointing at a shop outside the window.

A few gold-plated characters are engraved on a black wooden plaque. Because of the distance, it is not clear what is written on it, but it looks quite artistic from a distance.

"This store looks quite small." If it weren't for Li Xiao's gesture, Mo Jie wouldn't be able to tell there was another store there at first glance.

There are many parking spaces on the side of the road, Li Xiao asked Mo Jie to get out of the car first, found a place to stop the car, and the two walked in together.

【Desert juice】

"It is said that Heju is a special snack in the Northwest, and we can find out today." Li Xiao walked inside while talking, and Mo Jie behind him was even more interested.

Walking into the store, a faint mutton smell wafts in the air.

The first floor was already full of people, and the two of them walked up to the second floor, only to realize that there was something hidden inside.

This shop only rented a storefront on the first floor, but the rented area on the second floor is fully twice that of the first floor, which looks quite spacious.

This approach not only allows the store to have a suitable appearance, but also saves a lot of rent and can rent more places. From the perspective of a businessman, it is really the best use of everything.

I just don't know how the food tastes here.

Li Xiao took the beautiful menu in the waiter's hand, and the first signature snack on it was mutton soup.

Behind it are various mutton snacks such as stewed cakes and roasted mutton.

There are some drinks at the end, and the one above that interests Li Xiao is the drink named "Reminiscence of Childhood".

"What is this memory of childhood?" Li Xiao asked the waiter.

"You'll know this customer as soon as you order one, and you won't lose money anyway." Hearing Li Xiao's question, the waiter gave him a comprehensible look.

Li Xiao became interested: "Then let me have a mutton sauce with a pancake, and a special oil tea."

As for recalling childhood, let's talk about it later after eating to see if there is still room in my stomach.

According to the usual practice, Mo Jie ordered a copy according to Li Xiao's order.

After placing the order, a thin flatbread was presented quickly.

The palm-sized round pancake is slightly browned on the outside, and it smells faintly of the charred aroma unique to pancakes.

This pancake is in the northwest, which is equivalent to rice in the hearts of southerners, and it belongs to the staple food category.

"Brother Li, you won't be staying in Jiuquan for long this time, will you?" Among other things, this Jiuquan has very little to eat.

Except for a rocket launch center, there seems to be nothing famous about it.

"Maybe I have seen the launch center, prepared some supplies on the way, and then looked at the delicious food to eat, and then I was almost ready to go." Li Xiao also had a premonition that he would stay in Jiuquan soon, probably in these two days Kung Fu will continue on the road.

"Then I may not be able to stay with Brother Li for long." Mo Jie felt a little regretful. As a dead house boy, the experience he had with Li Xiao in the past few days was much richer than his experience in the past twenty years.

"This kind of thing depends on fate. I'm still waiting to be your first volunteer to test the software." Li Xiao didn't feel too much emotion.

Walking and eating all the way, I saw too many people and things of all kinds, each of them was a guest on his journey.

"We still focus on the delicious food in front of us."

Li Xiao waved his palm in front of Mo Jie's eyes, in exchange for his lost mind.

A bowl of brightly colored soup vermicelli was brought up by the waiter.

This is mutton soup.

Mutton Heju, the so-called He, means rich ingredients, and Juice means mutton stew.

The selected mutton is very particular. It must be fat and strong, so that the stewed broth can be delicious enough.

First use the lamb bones to hang the broth, and the broth that is stewed for three hours can completely squeeze out the essence of the lamb bones.

After the mutton is fully beaten, it is used to chop into minced meat, add egg white, soy sauce, cooking wine, flour, chopped green onion and ginger, stir evenly, tan it into balls, boil it thoroughly in the pot, and take it out for later use.

The next step is to make sanded pork: put the washed pork into the pot, add cooking wine and ginger slices, cook and remove, crush the cooked sesame seeds and crushed peanuts, add salt, sugar and a little sesame oil and stir well, the pork The slices are wrapped in the filling and closed.

The remaining side dishes are vermicelli, tofu and fungus.

Add seasoning to the broth, bring to a boil, add the long-cooked mutton slices and cubed vermicelli, and the previously prepared side dishes, cook on high heat for 5 minutes, sprinkle coriander, green onions, and minced peppers on the pan, and a mutton dish The juice is done.

The bowl of mutton sauce placed in front of Li Xiao is red and white, with a little green dotted in it, which looks quite pleasing to the eye.

Move the camera closer, and the audience in the live broadcast room can clearly see that the milky white soup is still steaming.

"It smells delicious."

Li Xiao scooped out a mouthful of hot soup with a spoon, blew it lightly, and put it into his mouth.

As soon as I took it in, every cell in the mouth seemed to be exploded, soaked thoroughly by the spicy taste of ginger and chili in it.

Once the spicy taste was over, the rich aroma from the stewed lamb bones immediately invaded Li Xiao's mouth.

"As soon as this soup came in, it immediately captured my tongue."

This sentence is a bit exaggerated, but it is not false.

Afterwards, Li Xiao scooped out a mutton ball with a spoon.

The meatballs are deep-fried, and there is a layer of golden flour on top. After being soaked in the soup, the skin becomes softer, and it looks like it has absorbed the juice.

Li Xiao took a sip of the soup first, and then took a bite.

After the skin is soaked in the soup, it feels semi-soft and semi-crispy, but the meatballs inside still have a burnt aroma after frying.

He bit his teeth again, and the hot soup caught Li Xiao's tongue unexpectedly.

As soon as he let go, the spoon, the balls and the soup fell directly back into the bowl, splashing a small splash.

"hiss……"

Li Xiao picked up the meatballs and put them in front of the camera. The audience could clearly see that the meatballs were still filled with soup, and the broken meatballs were still oozing juice after being caught by chopsticks. The colored soup dripped into the bowl, staining the bottom part of the soup.

"To be honest, I'm so surprised."

Li Xiao has never seen anyone add soup to the fried meatballs. Normal people will only experience its crispy taste when eating fried snacks, and they would never expect the chef to add the soup to the meatballs. Fill it in.

Li Xiao, who had his tongue burned, remembered the reminder to be careful about burning his mouth just now that the waiter casually said, and his expression was inexplicable for a while.

"I didn't expect that I would be scalded by fried meatballs filled with soup one day after all my battles."

Li Xiao pursed her lips and began to savor the soup that exploded in her mouth just now.

"This soup is not the same type as the mutton soup in the bowl. It tastes like marinade."

"The meatballs made in this way taste amazing."

"It tastes like a mediocre deep-fried meatball skin dipped in water, with a crispy meatball in the middle, but a mouthful of hot marinade when you bite into it. The whole meatball brings you several different tastes. The idea is ingenious."

The two finished off the fried meatballs that were still dripping with juice, and Li Xiao continued to move towards the meat with sand in the bowl.

This time, Li Xiao carefully picked up the sandwiched meat, fiddled with it on the spoon, and found that it was not as plump and round as meatballs, so he carefully put it in his mouth and chewed it carefully.

The fragrant sesame seeds and crushed peanuts that have been refined with sesame oil, half dense and half crispy fillings, each mouthful has a different taste, which makes Li Xiao inexplicably feel like opening a blind box.

The meat used for Gaza is the first-class pork belly that has been deep-fried.

But because of the blending of the fillings, the whole piece of meat tastes fat but not greasy, smooth and chewy.

"This piece of pork belly is also very good." Li Xiao opened the pork belly, revealing the thick and fine fillings inside: "The thickness of the meat selected for a piece of pork belly is very particular."

"If it is too thick, because of the characteristics of pork belly, the taste of fatty meat will be overwhelming, and it will cover the fillings inside. If it is too thin, it will not be able to bear so many fillings, and it is easy to fall from the If it leaks out from the side, it will lose the overall taste of the sandwiched meat.”

Although the piece of meat in the shot was taken out of the soaking of the mutton juice, the stuffing inside has not been invaded by the soup at all.

(End of this chapter)