Chapter 236: Chapter 169: Crispy, Sweet, Fresh Winter Melon Candy! Junior Brother, Show Qiuqiu Your Skills! [Seeking Monthly Ticket] _2
Soon, the Braised Pork Belly was served at Mr. Jin’s table.
"Wow! This presentation is truly worthy of the Fishing Platform—even the staff meals are this exceptional."
The group, who had been discussing business, suddenly found their appetites whetted. They immediately stopped talking about business and started eating!
"This pork is delicious! The sweetness is perfect, and the texture is just right—not too soft, yet not tough to chew. Fantastic!"
"It’s indeed delicious. I didn’t expect Building Two to have such hidden culinary treasures."
"It’s all thanks to Old Jin’s keen eye. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have gotten to enjoy this amazing Braised Pork Belly."
The group was full of praise for the Braised Pork Belly.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Xie Baomin found Lin Xu, and they were also discussing the dish.
"Junior Brother, since the Braised Pork Belly you made is so popular, why don’t we just add it to the surprise menu of Building Two? What do you think?"
Lin Xu had no objections. After all, making Braised Pork Belly wasn’t troublesome. It just involved frying the meat and then braising it in a clay pot with caramelized sugar, and it wouldn’t interfere with his vacation time this month.
"Sure, Senior Brother, I have no problem with that."
"You’re putting in a lot of effort, Junior Brother. I’ll add a little extra to your paycheck at the end of the month."
More money? he thought. Then there’s definitely no problem!
But why a surprise menu? Lin Xu wondered.
He asked curiously, "Can’t this dish just be added as a new item directly?"
Xie Baomin shook his head. "Getting a new dish officially on the Fishing Platform’s menu is quite challenging. Not only do head chefs from each building need to taste it, but it also has to win the approval of more than half of them."
Oh... Now I understand, Lin Xu thought. Given how quickly you alienate people, Senior Brother, I suppose even if we served the Jade Emperor’s favorite dish, not many head chefs would agree to add it. After all, who would want to miss such an opportunity to kick someone when they’re down! But you do know how to exploit loopholes. Create a surprise menu. It’s not officially a new addition, but it doesn’t hinder sales. And other head chefs really can’t find any fault with that.
「Before long,」
All staff of Building Two received notification that Braised Pork Belly was officially listed on the surprise menu, to be prominently promoted by the front desk.
However, this didn’t concern Lin Xu much anymore. After he finished work, he went home.
First, he took the soaked Winter Melon strips and pumpkin strips out of the refrigerator to change the water. He then washed them repeatedly before continuing to soak them in fresh water in the refrigerator.
Even if it’s food-grade, it’s best not to consume lime, he mused. Not only does it taste bad, but it can also harm the stomach, so it should be removed as completely as possible.
To achieve this, he changed the water every two hours. He continued this until late at night, then, after changing the water one last time, he went to bed.
「The next morning.」
He washed the Winter Melon strips and pumpkin strips, which had soaked overnight, several more times. Then he boiled a pot of water on the stove and placed the Winter Melon strips in it to cook.
After cooking, the Winter Melon strips turned completely translucent. As they simmered in the pot with a gentle BLUB-BLUB, they looked like strips of Jade.
After about ten minutes, he used a slotted spoon to lift the Winter Melon strips out and immediately submerged them in cool, previously boiled water to continue soaking.
After boiling, they mustn’t touch raw water again, or the resulting Winter Melon candy could easily rot and spoil, he reminded himself. They have to be soaked in cool, boiled water. This eliminates the possibility of spoilage.
After cooking the Winter Melon, he cooked the pumpkin strips in the same manner and soaked them in cool, boiled water as well. He then placed both soaking ingredients back into the refrigerator to chill.
Then, carrying Dundun, he went to work.
「After work in the afternoon,」
He took the Winter Melon strips and pumpkin strips out, placed them in a clean, oil-free bamboo basket, and used a fan to dry their surfaces.
Next is the sugaring process, he thought. This step can’t have any moisture or oil, as it would affect the final quality.
Once the surface moisture had dried, Lin Xu brought out a deep, small basin. He wiped it thoroughly clean with a paper towel, then laid a layer of Winter Melon strips at the bottom. After that, he sprinkled a layer of White Sugar, then added another layer of Winter Melon strips.
He continued this process—a layer of Winter Melon strips followed by a layer of sugar—until all the Winter Melon strips were used. He then topped it off with more White Sugar to seal it, covered the basin with plastic wrap, and placed it back in the refrigerator.
The pumpkin strips were also prepared with the same layering method of ingredient and sugar, then sealed and stored in the refrigerator.
「Two days later, on Friday afternoon.」
After 48 hours of maceration, Lin Xu took the two basins out of the refrigerator.
He removed the plastic wrap and could see that the White Sugar had melted, creating a layer of sugar syrup at the bottom of each basin.
Time for the final step—stir-frying for frosting, he thought.
Lin Xu placed a slightly larger iron wok on the stove. He then poured the Winter Melon strips and the syrup from the basin into the wok and began to stir-fry them slowly over medium-low heat.
This step aimed to evaporate the excess water from the Winter Melon strips while also allowing the sugar to penetrate them.
Soon, the syrup in the wok started to boil and became increasingly thick. He continued to stir, ensuring the syrup evenly coated the surface of the Winter Melon strips. As the syrup thickened further, the coating on the strips also grew thicker.
Finally, when the water in the syrup had evaporated, the syrup transformed from a thick, transparent state into a dry layer of white frost.
Lin Xu stirred a few more times, then poured the frost-covered Winter Melon strips onto a large tray to cool.
This step is identical to making ’sand-stirred’ and ’frost-coated’ dishes, utilizing the principle that syrup crystallizes into a white solid during stir-frying, Lin Xu mused.
The frost-coated Winter Melon strips looked even more enticing.
He picked one up and took a bite. The outer layer of white frost had a fine, sandy texture, while the Winter Melon inside remained crisp and appeared semi-translucent when bitten into.