I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 785 - 345: Bowing Down to the Power of Money! The Secret to Crystal Clear Fish Scale Jelly! [Seeking Monthly Ticket]_2
"Little Shu, charge ten thousand!"
Faced with such a generous patron, Lin Xu simply chose to bow to the power of money. What else could I say?
"More chili or less?"
"More!"
"Got it, I’ll go prepare."
Upstairs, to ensure there was enough fish offal for the evening, Lin Xu asked Che Zai to buy more, the more the better.
After that, he began preparing the dishes for Chen Yan.
He poked open the Fish Intestines with scissors, first washing them to remove internal impurities. Then, he scrubbed them with salt, followed by two more washes with flour. He continued washing until the Fish Intestines no longer felt sticky to the touch.
The cooking method for the Fish Intestines was similar to that of Stir-fried Pork Intestines. To achieve a crisp and tender texture, he needed to scrub them with a bit of baking soda. However, since Fish Intestines were thinner and more tender, the baking soda couldn’t be added directly. Instead, it had to be dissolved in water first, then used for scrubbing, and finally rinsed off with clean water.
Next, he laid the Fish Intestines on the cutting board, aligned them, and cut them into segments about five centimeters long, much like cutting green beans. He then marinated them in Scallion and Ginger water along with other seasonings.
After finishing these tasks, he chopped Pickled Peppers and pickled ginger, then used a kitchen knife to mince some Doubanjiang, preparing to cook the intestines in the style of Stir-fried Pork Intestines.
With the ingredients for Stir-Fried Fish Intestines ready, he started cleaning the Fish Liver.
Unlike other offal, Carp liver was smaller and extremely delicate, so there was no need to score it; he simply sliced open the thicker parts. After slicing, he rinsed it with water to clean off any blood. Then he marinated it in Light Soy Sauce, scallion segments, ginger slices, and a bit of pepper powder.
While it marinated, he prepared some side vegetables. He washed cucumbers, cut them into strips, then removed the seeds, keeping only the crisp, tender flesh. He cut these cucumber strips into four to five-centimeter lengths and placed them in a small bowl. Then, from a jar of refreshing pickles, he scooped out some sweet and sour radishes, cutting them to the same size as the cucumber strips. After finishing the cuts, he placed them on top of the cucumber strips. Later, he would place the cooked Fish Liver on top and then pour the dressing over it.
The dish, Fish Liver with Oil Drizzle, was essentially a cold appetizer. The liver was blanched until just cooked through, then drizzled with a specially prepared sauce to complete it.
Once the Fish Intestines and Fish Liver were ready, Lin Xu took some Fish Bladder. He pierced each one with a knife to release the air and set up a wok to boil water. Fish Bladder has a fishy smell, so it needed to be blanched. However, it couldn’t be blanched for too long. It had to be quickly removed the moment it hit the boiling water. Otherwise, the bladders would overcook, losing their crisp-tender texture and becoming as tough as rubber bands.
When the water boiled, he added a spoonful of Cooking Wine, then quickly dropped in the Fish Bladders. He blanched them for three seconds, then immediately removed them and rinsed them with cold water to prevent overcooking.
Once done, he turned off the heat.
When the water in the pot cooled to about seventy degrees Celsius, he poured the marinated Fish Liver into the pot and turned on the heat. The Fish Liver was very delicate, so it couldn’t be blanched in boiling water, which would overcook it. Instead, it had to be gently cooked in water at seventy to eighty degrees Celsius, similar to preparing Boiled Shrimp, just until it was cooked through. The flame on the stove couldn’t be too high; a very low flame was sufficient to prevent the water temperature from rising too much and overcooking the liver.
This step required patience. While waiting, he continuously skimmed the scum from the surface of the water to prevent it from adhering to the liver or affecting its taste. After about two minutes, when no more scum appeared in the pot, the liver was ready.
He scooped it out, rinsed it with cold water, drained off the excess water, and then placed it in the bowl with the cucumber and radish strips.
Then he grabbed another bowl to prepare the dressing. Into this bowl, he put minced scallion, minced garlic, ginger juice, chopped cilantro, minced bird’s eye chili, salt, and sugar. To this, he added Chinese black vinegar, Light Soy Sauce, Dark Soy Sauce, oyster sauce, Chili Oil, Sichuan peppercorns powder, and regular pepper powder. Finally, he topped it with two small clusters of green Sichuan peppercorns and poured sizzling hot Seasoning Oil over them.
He then covered the bowl with a lid to trap the aroma in the dressing. Two minutes later, he lifted the lid, added some sesame oil, mixed the sauce well, and drizzled it over the Fish Liver.
With that, a dish of Fish Liver with Oil Drizzle was ready.
Lin Xu picked up a piece of Fish Liver with chopsticks and tasted it. His eyes immediately lit up. He knew this dish wouldn’t taste bad, but he’d never imagined Fish Liver prepared this way could be as tender as goose liver! And the dressing, infused with the fragrance of green Sichuan peppercorns from the hot Seasoning Oil, also greatly enhanced the dish. The spicy and numbing sensations mingled with the savory flavor, leaving a slightly sweet aftertaste.
It was a pity that Carp liver was so small, and liver from other types of fish was too expensive. Otherwise, I would have loved to add this dish to the restaurant’s menu, allowing all customers to savor the exquisite taste of Fish Liver.
Carrying the small bowl outside, Chen Yan was in the group chat, discussing Geng Lishan’s calligraphy piece.
Yue Liyue asked curiously, "Why did Mr. Lishan sign it ’Ren Yin Ji Qiu’? Shouldn’t it just be ’autumn’?"
Zeng Xiaoqi, who had recently brushed up on her traditional cultural knowledge, explained, "Spring, summer, autumn, and winter each have three months. To distinguish them, ancient people called the first month of a season ’Meng,’ the second ’Zhong,’ and the third ’Ji.’ So, ’Ji Qiu’ means the third month of autumn, which is the ninth month of the lunar calendar... Correct me if I’m wrong, our resident Master of Chinese studies?"
"Bingo!" Chen Yan sent an emoji. She was just about to enlighten everyone a little on traditional cultural knowledge when she saw Lin Xu carrying over a bowl of food, instantly losing all interest in playing the teacher.
"Hahaha, my dish is here! This young lady specially spent ten thousand to order some dishes for herself. Don’t you dare be jealous," she declared.
After speaking, she lifted her phone, took a photo of the dish in the serving bowl, and enthusiastically shared it in the group.
