I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 735 - 328: The Ultimate Pigeon Soup - Steamed Pigeon! Xie Baomin’s Battle for Recognition! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]_3
"Uncle Lin really knows how to make everything delicious. Dad, you should learn more from Uncle Lin when you have time."
Xie Baomin: "..."
Well, it seems my reputation is beyond salvaging.
In the kitchen, Lin Xu looked at the still-warm pigeon, ready to start cooking right away.
Pigeon soup should not be made with washed birds; even when slaughtering, the bird should ideally be smothered in hot water so the blood stays within the meat, thus preserving the nutritional value of the pigeon meat to the greatest extent. But now, in the urban districts of Beijing, live poultry slaughtering is prohibited, so it’s impossible to retain the pigeon’s blood. The only option is to avoid rinsing or soaking it, to preserve as much nutrition as possible. The shorter the time since slaughter, the tastier the resulting pigeon soup will be.
Thinking this, Lin Xu decided to give it a try right away.
Using a knife, he removed the pigeon’s tail and head, as these parts tend to have a strong odor and needed to be discarded. He chopped off the tips of the claws and rubbed the bird with salt, trying to eliminate any off-flavor as much as possible.
After tidying it up, he placed the squab in a cleaned steam pot. The restaurant didn’t have many high-pressure cookers or enough burners to make individual portions of squab in small steam pots. So, he first used a large steam pot to prepare the dish, and then planned to try out making a couple of batches in smaller steam pots.
He placed the cleaned whole squab into the steam pot without cutting it, to keep the squab as intact as possible. This way, after savoring the soup, each person could scoop out an entire squab into their bowl, making it a truly satisfying meal.
One by one, he added the squabs, along with some of the medicinal herbs used in the afternoon’s steam pot chicken, and sliced a few pieces of Xuanwei Ham to enhance the flavor. The steam pot squab was thus ready.
After setting aside the large steam pot, Lin Xu took out a few small steam pots and started arranging the ingredients and medicinal herbs needed for them.
The small steam pot wasn’t even as large as the bowls used in the restaurant for serving noodles; a single squab took up most of the space inside.
After placing the squab inside, he added a slice of Ham into each pot, followed by the medicinal herbs.
Aunt Liang was suffering from a cold, so a few sweat-inducing herbs were in order. Lin Xu added some Ephedra to one of the steam pots—a common ingredient in many cold remedies, which, when stewed in the soup, could promote sweating and have a beneficial effect.
With the lunch rush about to start, the stovetops in the main kitchen couldn’t be tied up. So, Lin Xu moved several steam pots to the smaller kitchen and brought over all the restaurant’s high-pressure cookers to begin preparing the steam pot squab, using the high-pressure cookers as a steam source.
The large steam pot required an iron rack, while the small steam pots weren’t so troublesome; they could be placed directly on the steam vent of a high-pressure cooker.
The only thing to be cautious about was that the lid of the small steam pot was too light and could easily be lifted by the steam, so the best solution was to weigh it down with something heavy.
With everything set, the lunch rush hour was upon him.
Tourists from outside Beijing and local patrons arrived in a continuous stream, ordering their favorite dishes.
Xie Baomin, after having a few bites of Braised Chicken, came into the kitchen to soak the remaining squabs. Since he was going to stir-fry them, there weren’t so many particulars to worry about. And besides, there were still several hours until dinner; without soaking, the squabs would develop an off-flavor.
After the lunch rush, Lin Xu took a quick break to head back to the residential complex, opened his computer, and selected the second half of the behind-the-scenes footage to upload.
After uploading, he checked yesterday’s video, which had already surpassed three million views and over 600,000 likes, and the numbers were still climbing. Even the shares were approaching 100,000.
This showed that everyone was really interested in the cat’s selfie antics.
As this video gained popularity, other cats also started to trend. For example, the "escape artist cat" that clandestinely opened the door, causing the robot vacuum to travel from the 27th floor down to the first, and the "Chaoshan wellness cat" that liked to lie in a bamboo chair and drink tea, all rode the wave of Dundun’s popularity.
Netizens jokingly called them the vanguard from the distant Meow Star, sent to conquer Earth.
And Dundun, who could even take selfies, naturally became the commander of this vanguard.
Soon, the video passed review and appeared on Lin Xu’s personal feed.
"Wow, the second half of the behind-the-scenes footage is out!"
"What behind-the-scenes? This is the main feature, okay?"
"Let me see what new tricks this little cutie has come up with!"
"Any cat owners out there want to weigh in? Are cats really this smart?"
"Not sure about smart, but they’re definitely neurotic."
"My older cat has lured the younger one to the balcony with a toy several times, then sneakily shut the balcony door. The poor little thing nearly got heatstroke a few times..."
"So, think carefully before you get a second one!"
Netizens hadn’t even started watching the video yet, but a lively discussion had already erupted in the comments section.
Lin Xu turned off the computer and went back to the restaurant, just in time to meet Zeng Xiaoqi, who had returned from attending a wedding. She was now at the service counter, munching on a small sesame flatbread.
He asked curiously, "You were busy with the gift money and emceeing, didn’t they provide a meal?"
Zeng Xiaoqi spoke with her mouth full, "The banquet food wasn’t good, and I was surrounded by colleagues from other departments at the TV station, so I couldn’t relax. If I want to really enjoy my meal, it has to be food from Lin Ji."
Lin Xu pointed to the braised food section, "Whatever you want to eat, just ask for it from the braising department."
"No need, I’m still looking forward to tasting the steam pot squab tonight. I’ve heard that eating pigeon is very nourishing. I have to experience it."
Shu Yun, who was scratching Dundun’s chin nearby, cast a glance at Director Zeng’s Xiongxiong with a half-smile. She didn’t speak, but her gaze—three parts sarcasm, three parts disdain, and four parts nonchalance—said it all.
Lin Xu said, "Tonight is going to be more than just steam pot squab. My senior apprentice-brother also plans to make stir-fried squab, probably using a similar method to Fried Chicken or braised chicken chunks. Just wait and see."
"Wow, Chef Xie himself is cooking! I must taste it properly."
At four-thirty in the afternoon, Xie Baomin, who had taken his wife and children for a tour around Tsinghua University, strode into the kitchen. He took the soaked squabs out of the water basin, drained them, and chopped them into large pieces with a cleaver.
He then prepared some dried chili, Sichuan peppercorns, green pepper segments, and chunks of ginger as aromatics.
After everything was ready, he set up the wok. He was ready to cook the stir-fried squab he intended to make, to impress his two children.
Hmm, starting today, I must outdo the school chefs and become the number one culinary hero in my kids’ hearts!
