Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 431 - 376: It’s a Feast, Why Is Everyone Just Staring?
At the same time, it came with the crispness of golden garlic slices.
"This dish is really good, even a cold dish can be made so delicious?"
Zhang Yaling was also a bit shocked, "I underestimated Chen Mo’s skills."
At this moment, mouths could only be used for eating; even talking seemed like a waste!
The snail slices were cut very thin and laid on crushed ice.
This is also why this cold dish must be made on the spot; otherwise, the crushed ice would easily melt.
"Hey, little girl, how do you eat this dish, do you dip it?"
A lady at the relatives’ table looked at the plate of snail slices, a bit at a loss.
It must be said, this ice-cold wasabi snail slices on the table looked so upscale, it was impressive just to look at.
The thinly sliced snail meat was spread evenly over the crushed ice, with a small dipping dish placed at the edge of the plate.
Clearly, after the lady asked, everyone waited for Mu Mu to speak.
"This ah!"
Mu Mu was delighted, finally meeting something only she understood.
"This is wasabi paste and sashimi soy sauce, along with grated yuzu peel, and it should be eaten this way."
Watching Mu Mu, she wrapped a bit of wasabi paste with snail meat, sprinkled some yuzu peel on top, and slowly delivered it into her mouth.
In an instant!
The sharpness from the wasabi shot straight to the top of the head, but before this sensation could fully exert its power, the fragrance of yuzu appeared instantly, suppressing that sensation right away.
These two flavors formed an extremely distinct layer, and it didn’t feel greasy at all when eaten.
"Really good! Much better than those high-end restaurants back home."
Seeing Mu Mu eat like this, others began imitating her manner.
The lively snail meat, having been quickly blanched in boiling water, had firm yet not stiff fibers, and the teeth could even feel the subtle rebound of the muscle tissue after piercing the outer crunch!
This rare, unique texture made everyone present fully engrossed.
The three exquisite seafood cold dishes were devoured in an instant by almost all twenty tables of guests.
Initially, everyone just thought the dishes looked high-end, but with further tasting, they realized these dishes were not just about looks.
They were even more delicious!
The assistant chef responsible for Sichuan Cuisine ran breathlessly to the counter, "Damn, crazy! The dishes were snatched away as soon as they were served, I’ve never seen big banquet feasts like this!"
Hou Yao sat on a small bench, his entire body snugly blocked by the counter, was holding a plate of snail meat, smacking his lips.
He disdainfully lifted his eyelids, "With dishes like these, if you’re slow to grab them, you don’t have the blessing!"
Chen Mo sighed, "Master Hou, isn’t this a bit too much, why are you drinking now?"
"Nonsense! How could you not drink a little with such delicious snail meat?"
The assistant chef was sweating profusely, "That’s easy for you to say, but the problem is everyone is scrambling, making it seem like our serving speed is slow!"
Hou Yao stood up and joined Chen Mo in surveying the scene.
They had been busy just now and didn’t notice the situation; now, taking a look, they were taken aback.
"Damn, what’s going on here!"
"What... why do your relatives and colleagues act like they’ve never eaten before?"
Just look at the courtyard with twenty tables, more than two hundred guests.
Who is still eating now?
All were dumbstruck, sitting at the tables, eyes uniformly fixed on Chen Mo’s counter.
Their gazes seemed to say: Damn, why aren’t the dishes served yet!
And the eight cold dishes on the tables were already empty.
"I’m feeling a bit on edge being stared at."
"Me too, what should we do?"
Chen Mo furrowed his brow, "Almost ready, we can serve the dishes now."
"Which one first?"
Chen Mo pointed toward the direction of the earthen stove, "Those two major dishes, let’s get them going first no matter what; it’s absurd for a banquet to have empty tables!"
Indeed it is absurd; Hou Yao quickly set aside his small wine cup, hid his personal stash of snail meat, and then followed Chen Mo’s pace to the earthen stove, "Xiaochen, I’m not good at these two dishes."
"It’s not a big deal; I’ll handle it, just need a bit of help from you."
Hou Yao nodded.
Chen Mo stepped on a stool and lifted the top steamer cover, releasing a massive burst of steam along with a rich aroma of meat.
If the previous cold dishes on the table were like restrained and cold beauties, then the meat aroma wafting out now was like a passionate and fiery mature lady!
The aroma was relentlessly tantalizing the guests in the courtyard, making them subconsciously swallow their saliva.
"Can you guess what dish this is?"
"Smells like pork! What kind of dish is this that requires steaming?"
"I came early today; this steamer has been here the whole time; I reckon this dish has been steaming for three or four hours!"
Amidst the guests’ speculations, Chen Mo took down two layers of steamer, and from within, he brought out a large chunk of pork that had been steaming for nearly four hours!
"Damn, it’s a pork shoulder!"
"Hey, turns out it’s a pork shoulder...what a pointless anticipation, I’m not a fan of pork shoulder."
"Then don’t eat it later; leave it all to me."
Under the watchful gaze of the guests, Chen Mo took dish after dish out from the steamer and... with the assistant chefs, placed them at the front of his counter.
This immediately piqued the guests’ curiosity again.
The dishes have been taken out, why aren’t they being served, what’s going on?
Since there was practically nothing left to eat on the tables and today’s cold dishes were so stunning, it directly led to everyone eagerly anticipating the upcoming hot dishes.
No idle chatter, all eyes were fixed on Chen Mo and the large pork shoulder in his hands.
"Sweat! I’ve been watched while cooking before, but why does it feel so awkward today."
Hou Yao handed him a small cup of wine, "Want some?"
"No thanks."
Chen Mo closed his eyes and bit the tip of his tongue, and the effect of the white robe continued enhancing, making his mind clearer and his fatigue completely evaporated.
Let’s do this!
There are countless ways to prepare pork shoulders; in banquets, the most common method is to first deep fry, then braise, prepared a day in advance.
The next day, they’re pre-steamed and placed in the warming box, ready to be taken out and coated with a layer of braising sauce when serving.
Incredibly simple.
But deep-fried pork shoulder (Guo Shao Zhou Zi) is different; the pork shoulder, having spent over three hours in the steamer, becomes nearly tender and delicate. The assistants are responsible for bringing the pork to the counter.
Chen Mo then poured the pre-mixed seasonings into a shallow plate, laying the pork skin-side down into the plate.
"Master Hou, I’ll need your assistance."
"No problem." Hou Yao waved a big hand to the helpers, "Let’s get to work!"
This wasn’t a difficult task.
With eight helpers including Hou Yao, each handled two dishes on average, simply laying pre-mixed sauce at the bottom, then switching to a new dish, so the work went much faster.
Meanwhile, Chen Mo lit a fire under the black pot and heated the oil, setting it to medium heat once the oil was seventy percent hot.
Ingeniously balancing the dish in his hand, he carefully approached the oil surface, holding a black spatula in the other hand to gently push the arranged pork into the oil pot.
"Good enough." Chen Mo gave himself a nod.
This step required not breaking apart the pork, which looked simple but actually wasn’t easy.
The pork was already steamed to a very tender state, and executing this required finesse, or else the pork would easily fall apart.
Once the pork got into the pot, it started to fry; at this time, Chen Mo still needed to use the black spatula to gently support the bottom to prevent sticking, and as the oil temperature gradually increased, the pork slices began to adhere together, with the bottom gradually frying till semi-translucent.
At this moment, Chen Mo gave a strong flip with the black spatula, slightly adjusting with the other hand holding the plate, flipping the pork smoothly!
Continuing to fry, during this process he also used metal chopsticks to evenly poke small openings on the surface of the pork, making it easier to fry through.
Until the oil no longer sizzled or bubbled, reaching at least ninety percent heat, did he then retrieve the fried pork from the oil onto a board.
"Isn’t the oil too hot? Didn’t it burn?"
"Don’t worry; I have it under control."
Chen Mo couldn’t find time to explain to Hou Yao, as the master of Cantonese cuisine, his understanding of Lu Cuisine isn’t extensive.
Raising the oil temperature to this high during frying was to prevent the pork from being too greasy.
After that, Chen Mo sliced the pork with Black Blade across the strips into three sections, and then cut the side sections into slantwise slices every five points wide to place on both sides of the plate, with the central part cut directly every five points to place in the center.
These actions make the pork resemble a saddle, finally sprinkling an even layer of Sichuan pepper powder over the surface.
The edges of the plate were matched with scallion sections, bean paste, and store-bought lotus leaf buns.
One of the renowned dishes of Lu Cuisine, Fried Pork Shoulder (Guo Shao Zhou Zi), was done!
