Chapter 146 - 145: Making Xian Shaobai
Alright, time to start learning.
Soon, the ideal method for making Salty Pork Belly, along with all sorts of related knowledge, was already in Li You’s mind.
From this moment on, Li You could make the world’s most delicious Salty Pork Belly.
He looked at the Salty Pork Belly recipe again.
"Recipe: Salty Pork Belly.
Ingredients: Pork belly, preserved greens, ginger, Sichuan peppercorn powder, salt, white sugar, aged vinegar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce."
’These are all very common ingredients.’
’I’ll make a few bowls tomorrow to try it out.’
Li You’s heart swelled with delight.
He continued watching TV.
A short while later, Ye Shengge came out of the bathroom after her shower.
"Boss, I’m done showering."
Li You nodded, then went into the bathroom himself.
When he came out after his shower, Ye Shengge was still sitting on the sofa.
Seeing Li You, she said, "Boss, I’m heading back tomorrow. I’ll come by again in a little while."
Li You thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you like Salty Pork Belly?"
"Salty Pork Belly?"
Ye Shengge looked at Li You and said, "I can’t say I love it. But if it’s made well, I can eat a piece or two. A piece or two at most. If I have a third piece, it starts to feel too greasy."
Li You nodded.
That was the thing with Salty Pork Belly; it was delicious, but it was easy to get tired of.
Just a couple of extra pieces were enough to make it feel too rich.
Li You himself felt the same way.
It was very difficult to make Salty Pork Belly that wasn’t cloying.
’But now that I have the recipe, the Salty Pork Belly I make shouldn’t be so cloying.’
"Boss, why did you suddenly ask me that?" Ye Shengge asked again.
Li You said, "I’m planning to try making some Salty Pork Belly tomorrow. You should have some before you go back."
Ye Shengge’s eyes lit up. "Oh, that’s great!" she said happily. "I wonder if your Salty Pork Belly will be the kind you don’t get tired of?"
Li You smiled. "You’ll have to wait until you try it tomorrow to find out."
Ye Shengge nodded and asked, "Boss, what made you suddenly decide to try making Salty Pork Belly?"
Li You said, "Someone called and asked if I cater rural banquets. I’m very interested in cooking for them, and I’m thinking about taking the job. But I’m not familiar with the dishes for a rural banquet yet. So, I plan to start by trying to make Salty Pork Belly. It’s a very important, essential dish at those banquets."
’So that’s why.’
Ye Shengge nodded. "I know about rural banquets. They seem like a lot of fun. It’s a shame I’ve never been to one."
It was normal for someone who grew up in the city to have never attended a rural banquet.
Li You smiled. "Well, next time I cater a rural banquet, I’ll let you know. You can bring a gift for the host and experience it for yourself. I’m sure the host would be more than happy to have you."
Ye Shengge said, "Okay! Then it’s a deal, Boss. Don’t you forget!"
Li You nodded. "Don’t worry, I won’t."
Ye Shengge said, "I trust you, Boss."
Li You smiled. "It’s getting late. Time for bed."
Ye Shengge nodded. "Okay. Good night, Boss!"
"Good night!"
...
「The next day.」
In the morning.
After breakfast, Ye Shengge eagerly asked Li You, "Boss, when are you going to start making the Salty Pork Belly?"
Li You said, "How about right now?"
"That’s great!"
Ye Shengge was full of anticipation.
Li You smiled slightly and walked into the kitchen to begin.
He took out about five and a half pounds of pork belly from the Storage Pavilion.
Five and a half pounds of pork belly could make about fifteen bowls of Salty Pork Belly.
He wasn’t selling the Salty Pork Belly he made today to customers.
So, fifteen bowls would be more than enough.
Of course, if the bowls were larger, he wouldn’t be able to make fifteen.
Salty Pork Belly could be served in large or small bowls; there were no strict rules.
Time for the first step.
He set a wok on the stove and turned on the heat.
Once the wok was hot, he placed the pork belly skin-side down into it to sear the skin.
He seared the skin until it blackened.
Then, he used a small knife to scrape it clean. He scraped off the blackened parts until the skin turned a golden-brown color.
Next, he added water to the wok and placed the cleaned pork belly inside.
He turned on the heat and started boiling it.
The pork belly needed to be boiled until it was about 70-80% cooked.
While it was cooking, Li You took out a quantity of preserved greens from the Storage Pavilion.
He finely chopped the preserved greens.
There was no strict rule about how many greens to use.
A little more or a little less was fine; it was all a matter of personal preference.
After chopping the greens, he set them aside.
He then minced a piece of ginger and set it aside as well.
By now, the pork belly was 70-80% cooked.
He removed it from the water and let it drain and cool.
He poured the water he had just used to boil the pork into a basin to be used later.
After the pork belly was dry, he evenly coated the skin with some dark soy sauce.
Next came a very crucial and important step.
Crisping the skin!
This step was a technical one, requiring skill and experience.
Without enough skill and experience, it was difficult to do this step well.
And if this step wasn’t done well, it would directly affect the texture of the entire cut of pork.
The secret to why Salty Pork Belly could be rich but not greasy also lay in this step.
So, for any Salty Pork Belly that felt greasy after just a couple of pieces, it was because this step hadn’t been done properly.
It hadn’t achieved that true "rich but not greasy" quality.
Naturally, it would feel cloying after eating a couple of pieces.
Of course, Li You hadn’t been able to do this step well before either.
But now, he could complete it to perfection.
He began to crisp the skin.
He poured a small amount of rapeseed oil into the wok.
He turned on the heat.
When the oil was about 70-80% hot, he once again placed the pork belly skin-side down, gently lowering it into the hot oil.
As he worked, he watched the color of the pork skin change.
Slowly, the skin developed a deep reddish-brown color and began to bubble and wrinkle.
That was the sign it was ready.
He took the pork belly out and submerged it in the reserved pork-boiling water to soak.
It needed to soak for about five minutes.
While it was soaking, he poured the chopped preserved greens into the wok, adding some of the minced ginger.
He stir-fried them.
Once they were fragrant, he transferred them to a plate and set them aside.
By this time, the pork belly had finished soaking.
He took it out of the water.
He began to slice it.
The slices had to be just the right thickness—not too thick, and not too thin.
Generally, a thickness of about 5 millimeters was optimal.
After slicing it, he began to arrange it in bowls.
Li You had prepared fifteen bowls, which he laid out in a row.
He placed the pork slices into the bowls skin-side down.
He arranged them neatly, slice by slice.
All the slices perfectly filled the fifteen bowls.
Afterward, he sprinkled an appropriate amount of minced ginger, Sichuan peppercorn powder, salt, and white sugar into each bowl.
Finally, he drizzled in a suitable amount of aged vinegar, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce.
Next, he spread the previously stir-fried preserved greens over the neatly arranged pork slices in each bowl.
He covered them completely.
At this point, the hard part was basically over.
All that was left was the final step: steaming them in a steamer.
The kitchen had a large steamer that the system had provided from the very beginning.
He would use the large pot for steaming.
The fifteen bowls only needed a single layer in the steamer.
He placed the steamer basket over the pot and added water.
He put all fifteen bowls of Salty Pork Belly into the steamer and put on the lid.
He turned on the heat and began to steam them.
Now, all he had to do was wait until they were fully cooked, and then it would be time to eat.
When Li You walked out of the kitchen, Ye Shengge immediately came up to him and asked, "Are they in the steamer already?"
Li You nodded.
Ye Shengge’s eyes lit up, full of anticipation!
...