Food starts with Mapo Tofu

Chapter 363 Puffs
"What is it?" Hearing what Chen Nian said, Li Zhaodun was curious.

"This still needs to be kept secret, but even if it is done, it won't take too long." Chen Nian put it off, "But you will know in a few days."

Li Zhao hasn't revealed his identity yet. Although Chen Nian has already guessed the general idea, but the other party doesn't say anything, Chen Nian pretends to be confused.

Li Zhao didn't get the answer he wanted, but he didn't continue to ask, because he knew that the more delicious the food, the more time it takes to polish it.

And the aging performance is so mysterious, so the new dim sum must be very exciting.

"Okay, then I'll wait for the good news. When the time comes, you must save some for me, and don't sell it so quickly."

"Don't worry, I'll send it to Fu Xin's residence when the time comes." Chen Nian patted his chest and promised.

Then Li Zhao went back with the Thousand Fruit Cake that Chen Nian had prepared for him a long time ago.

This time Li Zhao paid the money normally, he was not short of the money, and Chen Nian couldn't always refuse the other party.

Although they are friends, sometimes friends still have to give money.

As friends, we should still take care of each other, instead of taking gifts from friends for granted.

As for the fact that Chen Nian didn't need money at the beginning, it was because he wanted to gain the other party's friendship through this method, which was a way and method of asking for directions.

Just after Li Zhao left, Lu Ke looked at Chen Nian curiously: "Xiao Nian, what snacks are you going to make?"

Chen Nian thought for a while and replied, "Puffs."

"?what is that?"

"It's a kind of dessert. It may be a little troublesome to make, but if it can be made, it will definitely make the name of Lu Wanxing Dim Sum Shop famous again, and this thing must not be learned by outsiders." Chen Nian is very confident about this. .

Because he has already understood before that, there is still a certain difference between this world and the history he is familiar with. For example, those Tang poems and Song Ci that he used to memorize in school are not here.

Moreover, the various systems of this Great Xia are a bit like the Pinduoduo model of several dynasties in history, integrated.

However, food cooking is quite developed, but the development of dairy products is still in a relatively primitive stage, that is, some foreign races can pass some cheese, dried milk and the like.

We must know that in the history known to the old people, the folks in the pre-Qin period had the custom of eating cheese, and the production and processing of dairy products in the Qin and Han dynasties were further developed.

Even in the Han Dynasty, the Huns were already using mare's milk to make kumiss.

In the Northern Wei Dynasty, there was a book called "Qi Min Yao Shu". When Chen Nian went to school, he only knew that it was a comprehensive agricultural work written by Jia Sixie, an outstanding Chinese agronomist, but later discovered that the food recorded in it There are so many ways to do it.

It records various dairy products, such as milk powder, cheese, cheese, dry milk, fermented cheese, etc.

In the past two years, I was still in college, and I even looked at it carefully, and found that many dairy production methods are almost the same as today's, but the processing tools, efficiency and fineness are much stronger.

In the Tang Dynasty, it was still a little crispy, that is, the cream at that time.

It's not solid, it's not clean, it disappears when it touches the white teeth.

Luo Sheng is cut with jade fingers, and Sushan is decorated with gold plates.

These are all descriptions of Tang Dynasty cream.

There are even shadows of Sushan in many unearthed paintings.

So that in the later Song Dynasty, Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, the technology of this cream became more and more exquisite.

"Put the milk into the cauldron, fry it for two or three times, pour it into a basin, let it cool down, wait for the dough to crust, take out the skin and fry it again, remove the dregs from the oil, and put it into the pan to make ghee. The northern name is Ma Sige." This is close to modern times. The technique of making cream.

But in this world, I have never heard of it, so this is also an opportunity for old age.

There are many ways to make cream, and there are only four or five known in the old age, and there are even more people who don't know.

The easiest one is to use milk and gelatin. You just need to put both of them into the pot, then turn on a low heat and add sugar and stir until the sugar and gelatin melt. Just send it away.

But there is no such thing as gelatin in this era. Although Chen Nian knows how to do it, it is a little troublesome to make, so Chen Nian plans to try other methods first.

At that time, when you have made enough preparations, you can try several other methods and compare them.

The materials that are going to be used for aging this time are egg whites, milk and sugar.

However, after thinking about it, Chen Nian realized that he could get sugar and eggs. As for milk, he could only find Fu Xin, but Chen Nian didn't want to bother him with everything.

So today I put my mind on my cousin again.

If it's my cousin...it should be fine...

"Sister, do you have a way to get milk?"

Lu Ke naturally knew about cow's milk, but the production of this thing was very scarce.

"Are you going to use this to make a new snack?" Lu Ke turned around and asked.

"Correct."

"The cost of this milk is higher than that of fruit, but you should have a way to sell it. If you want to use it, I'll ask in the afternoon."

"Then please trouble cousin, don't worry, cousin, when the new dim sum is made, it will definitely become a new hot item in our store, and it is also the only one in the whole summer!"

Hearing Chen Nian's metaphor, Lu Ke couldn't help but spit: "What are you talking about? How can anyone use this kind of thing as a metaphor for food?"

"Haha, that's what it means anyway."

Afterwards, Lu Ke promised that he would be able to get milk in the afternoon, and it didn't take much to age at first, so he asked Lu Ke to get three catties first and come back to try.

After all, he only did it when he was in school, and it wasn't for making food at that time, but for doing experiments and writing reports.

He still doesn't know the difference between the milk from cattle or cows in this period and the milk from later cows. If it doesn't work, he should consider using goat's milk.

But Chen Nian also thinks that the problem should not be too big. After all, the ancients could make butter. As a modern person who has learned all kinds of knowledge, and what he studied is food, it would be too embarrassing if he couldn’t make it. up.

After eating at noon, Lu Ke went out for a while, and it took about half an hour before he came back from a distance with a smile and a bucket in his arms.

Back in the store: "The milk you asked for is here, and it's just squeezed out."

"Thank you, sister. Then I'll go to the back first. The dim sum in the store is almost ready, and it will be ready in about a quarter of an hour." After explaining the things in the store, Chen Nian returned to the kitchen with the milk.

In addition, he has prepared sugar and eggs, as well as various containers and tools.

Some tools were made by him a long time ago, such as the egg beater, which is better for whipping cream.

Although the production is a bit crude, it is definitely enough.

Fresh milk is not drinkable, so after being aged for a while, it is put aside for later use.

First of all, put two egg whites into a bowl for aging, and use an egg beater to beat the egg whites in the same direction to form foam that can cover the surface of the egg whites.

Then scooped about 50 milliliters (about 50 grams) of milk, 5 grams of white sugar, and a little oil into it, and continued to send it in the same direction.

Just keep stirring.

After that, the same amount of milk and sugar as before was added three times during the aging process, and oil was added once in the middle.

When the hand was almost broken, the mixture of milk, egg white and sugar in the pot had become extremely fine and thick at this moment.

It will not drip even if you pick it up, which means that the aging process is successful.

I didn't expect to be able to make it successfully the first time, which undoubtedly gave Chen Nian great confidence.

It is easier to make things within the scope of this knowledge.

Picked up some and tasted it, it was almost like cream.

Afterwards, Chen Nian began to use low-gluten flour to make the outer skin of puffs.

Originally, when making puff leather, butter was actually needed. Although the method of extracting butter is well known, it is still more troublesome.

So the aging plan is to use vegetable oil directly.

If you use vegetable oil, you need to reduce the amount slightly.

The first is to add an appropriate amount of water, an appropriate amount of vegetable oil, and sugar to the pot, and wait for the boiling water to boil.

At this time, pour the low-gluten flour into it and stir quickly until it is even. After the dry powder is completely fused with the liquid in the original pot, stir fry slowly over a low heat until the flour is completely cooked.

Immediately afterwards, pour the batter into a basin, spread it out to room temperature, add a small amount of egg liquid of three eggs several times, until the egg liquid is fully mixed with egg yolk and egg white.

The batter is also getting very thick at this point.

Looking at the state of the pot, Chen Nian couldn't help but exclaimed, "It smells like that."

The skin of the puffs is almost done.

Although Lu Wanxing's pastry shop mainly sells pastries, it also sells some cakes and the like, although there are not many of them, so there is also an oven for scones in the shop.

First prepare a tray, and then put the batter that has just been stirred into the pre-made container.

This container is also old-fashioned and made by myself for mounting flowers.

The back is the animal skin, and the crumpled little opening in the front is the mounting head.

Then it only needs to be squeezed lightly, and the batter will be squeezed out from the mounting head. The shape is basically the same as the puff, but it will be a little rougher when viewed closely.

But this is no longer a question that Chen Nian should consider. Now as long as he can make puffs, it is a success.

In this way, squeeze seven or eight first and push them into the oven.

Fire up and bake.

After about six or seven minutes, Chen Nian pulled out the tray, and the puffs had cracked in some places at this moment, and the appearance was not much different from the ones sold in the cake shop.

Finally, the old age took out another mounting flower container and put the cream in it, picked up a puff, poked a hole in it, and squeezed the cream into it.

The milky white thick substance quickly stuffed the entire interior of the puff leather from the small opening.

After one is done, put it on the tray and arrange it.

Chen Nian started to make another one.

The freshly baked puffs were still a bit hot, but Chen Nian is a ruthless chef, and Chen Nian made all these puffs in less than 2 minutes.

Seven or eight puffs with golden color are like small round towers, standing in the middle of the plate, tightly next to each other, crowded with each other.

It's very similar to the kindergarten children when they line up, trying hard to align, but in the end they can't line up well.

At this moment, the whole kitchen is filled with the smell of milk.

Chen Nian took the 8 puffs outside while it was hot, and at this time Lu Ke had already started selling dim sum, but it was afternoon now, so Lu Ke was not too busy.

She saw the plate Chen Nian was holding at a glance: "Is this the puff you mentioned?"

"Yes." Chen Nian nodded, and finally passed the plate forward, "Come and taste one, remember to eat it all in one bite!"

The newly made puffs have not been touched for a long time. He wants his cousin to eat the first one, and he is very confident that the puffs will never overturn this time.

Lu Ke firmly believed in Chen Nian. Although she saw that the shape and texture of this dim sum were similar to peach crisps, the peach crisps were flat. This one looked like a ball, except that there was an extra point on top.

Reaching out to pick up a piece of puff, the puff skin has just been baked for a short time, so it is still crispy, but Lu Ke also knows that dim sum can't be used with force, so he pinches it gently.

It was slightly lighter than expected, but Lu Ke didn't care, but put the puff in his mouth.

The puff skin extruded from the mounting container is not thick, and it is extremely crispy just after baking, so it only needs to be lightly pressed with the palate and tongue to make its structure collapse.

But after the outer layer of meringue was broken, the cream inside rushed out, filling Lu Ke's mouth instantly.

The rich milk flavor and the extremely dense and delicate taste overflowed in her mouth, which she had never encountered before!
"There's something in here!"

"It's so sweet!"

Lu Ke said in surprise, but his speech was slightly slurred because of the food in his mouth.

"Yes, this is my secret weapon." Chen Nian was a little proud.

Lu Ke was still savoring the sweetness of the cream, and quickly wrapped the broken puff skin completely.

Then it is fully integrated in the non-stop chewing.

After eating, Lu Ke picked up another one and looked at the crispy and soft appearance, and sighed how this thing looks so ordinary, but it tastes so delicious?

And the stuffing...

Thinking of this, she turned the puff over and saw the small hole underneath, as well as the delicate hand-whipped cream inside that exudes a thick milky aroma.

"Is this made of milk?" Lu Ke quickly thought of the milk he had asked for in the past.

"Yes." Chen Nian nodded rather complacently.

Lu Ke put the puff into his mouth again.

After taking a bite, the first is the soft texture of the puff skin, and then the smooth and delicate cream begins to touch the tongue softly, and the human tongue is the place where you can feel the deliciousness the most.

The full-bodied sweetness and lingering softness make the tip of the tongue suddenly have a perfect feeling of being cared for.

The sudden rupture also brought an incomparably healing pleasure to the soul.

"How is it?" Chen Nian asked again.

At this moment, Lu Ke only feels extremely happy. This kind of happiness has nothing to do with family, but the physical and mental comfort and joy after eating delicious food.

"One word, absolutely!"

Lu Ke sincerely praised.

Her father is Lu Wanxing, a rare dim sum master in Nanjing, so Lu Ke has eaten all kinds of dim sum since he was a child. Although he likes it, he can't hold back eating it every day.

So much so that for a while in the middle, she even felt that the dim sum was just like that.

That is to say, when I grew up and got married, I gradually started to like snacks again.

Later, Lu Ke opened a dim sum shop by himself, and went back to the life of making dim sum every day, and taking it back to eat slowly by himself if he couldn't sell it at night.

At this time, although she will not be as resistant as she was when she was a child, but if she eats this thing as a meal, she will gradually lose the joy and happiness she had when she first learned about delicious pastries.

But since the thousand fruit cake last time, this feeling slowly emerged in Lu Ke's heart.

good to eat.

novel.

cure.

This feeling climbed to the top in an instant after eating old-fashioned puffs today!

"It turns out that it's not that I'm tired of eating pastries, but I didn't realize that pastries can do this!"

(End of this chapter)