Chapter 516: Chapter 414: Dan Zai Noodles in Anime (Part 2)

That’s quite strange, it’s the first time someone has wanted to watch me make noodles.

Granny Chen’s Tan-tsai noodles are very famous at the night market. Some have tried to understand how she makes them, and others have wanted to buy her recipe.

Whenever she meets such people, Granny Chen would actively invite them to watch her complete a bowl of noodles from start to finish.

By the end, those customers who wanted to buy her recipe would shake their heads continuously, and then meekly have a bowl of noodles before leaving.

The reason being, other people making Tan-tsai noodles even use store-bought shrimp oil.

During preparation, they pre-cook a pot of broth using shrimp oil, then ladle a spoonful over cooked noodles, add a single fresh shrimp, and the dish is done.

Granny Chen does it differently.

Chen Mo observed, when the oil in the pot was about thirty to forty percent, Granny added bay leaves, star anise, chopped scallions, onions, and minced scallions successively to the pot.

"Oh?" Chen Mo’s eyes lit up.

"Cutting scallions into different forms for sautéing?"

One type is minced scallions, another is chopped scallion.

After lightly sautéing, a rich aroma was released, and then Granny took out a bowl of chilled meat stuffing from the refrigerator.

At first glance, it was premium pork belly. Chen Mo could tell this was definitely hand-chopped minced meat, not machine-ground, because of its superb texture, which machines rarely achieve.

The pork belly was put into the pot, quickly changing color under the sautéed grease, releasing a tempting aroma alongside the bay leaves and star anise.

This is the classic ordinary marinade scent.

After all the meat stuffing changed color, Granny added thirteen spices, white wine, pepper powder, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce to the pot in order.

She skillfully tossed the pot a few times with her left hand, ensuring all the seasonings were evenly mixed, then turned down the heat and sautéed slowly to render the pork belly’s fat, then turned up the heat, added boiling water, and covered the pot.

Chen Mo watched the bubbling iron pot, pondering something.

"Isn’t this the way to make Jingzhou knife-cut noodle meat sauce?"

In Jingzhou, when having knife-cut noodles, variants like tomato egg sauce or bean curd fungus sauce aren’t considered proper.

Authentic knife-cut noodles must be freshly cut hot noodles topped with a generous ladle of this kind of meat sauce.

The oily broth covers the noodles, topped with braised tender pork belly, and sprinkled with cilantro. The taste really hits the spot.

Finally, you must pour three circles of Jingzhou vinegar.

Yes, in Jingzhou, vinegar is measured in "circles." Tradition dictates quickly pouring three circles around the bowl. It’s the standard way to eat noodles.

Chen Mo thought that Granny’s current preparation was basically the same as knife-cut noodle meat sauce.

While the meat sauce was stewing, Granny was not idle either.

In another pot, she added a small amount of oil, then took a small bowl of shrimp heads from the fridge, selecting a few to toss in.

"Are you making shrimp oil?"

Seeing this, Chen Mo suddenly realized!

Previously puzzled by the name Tan-tsai noodles, perhaps because he had never eaten them in the north, he didn’t have a deep impression. Plus, the name can easily be confused with the famously known Sichuan Dandan noodles, which made Chen Mo wonder for a while what Tan-tsai noodles were!

At this moment, seeing Granny begin to make shrimp oil brought back his memories!

"Exactly, it’s a noodle especially renowned for its savory taste, said to be even more flavorful than wonton noodles!"

"The meat flavor blended with seafood, made using oil noodles, has a very nice texture, and the noodle broth is the essence!"

Because when Chen Mo was in school, he watched an anime called Gourmet Instinct.

A dish similar to this was made there, and in the anime, it was called "Soma-style freestyle Tan-tsai noodles," praised extravagantly: clothes-bursting level cuisine!

Back then, Chen Mo was curious if this could possibly taste better than knife-cut noodles?

Now he was finally about to taste it, and as the culinary delight before him was about to blend with childhood memories, he couldn’t help but feel excited.

He observed Granny sautéing the shrimp heads until they turned bright red, with plenty of oil released in the pot, which constituted the shrimp head oil.

Then, Granny ladled out a spoonful of broth from a covered tub, which was slightly milky white, and as soon as the lid opened, Chen Mo smelled an aroma wafting over.

"It’s a rich broth made from chicken carcasses and pork bones, probably simmered for a long time."

Gourmet Instinct working again!

Even just by smelling, he could discern the preparation method.

The broth added to the shrimp oil, turning the base into a subtly darker shade of white; as it boiled, seasonings of salt, pepper, and rice wine were added to the pot.

Meanwhile, due to the finely minced meat, the braising didn’t need to last long, around fifteen minutes.

Granny turned off both pots and then started the induction cooker.

"Haha...It’s been many years since I made noodles in the shop, things are a bit chaotic, I hope you’ll forgive me."

Chen Mo waved his hand, "No worries, to be honest, I also live by managing a stall, your kitchen is quite orderly."

Granny was surprised for a moment, then chuckled happily, "Did you set up your stall on the island? Did you bring mainland snacks? What are you making, if you don’t mind me asking?"

Though Granny Chen had lived on the island for many years, she originally came from Fujian long ago, so hearing Chen Mo’s words not only made her happy but also evoked an unexplainable sense of familiarity.

"Yes, I just developed a snack yesterday called milk tea pancake! It seems nice. Today, I’ll make some to bring over to you."

Having watched so long, Chen Mo saw the craftsmanship in Granny’s work summed up in two words: diligence.

It’s that meticulous attention to detail.

Chefs who genuinely strive for culinary excellence are rare nowadays, each one worthy of respect, so delivering a pancake was the least he could do.

After Chen Mo spoke, Granny’s smile froze momentarily before she turned away, her smile vanishing.

Looking down at the trash bin by her feet, she saw a roti roll in it, wrapped with pearls from milk tea.

’Did Ah Xin learn from this lad? It’s just too awful?’

With her back to Chen Mo, Granny said, "Uh, no need, really, it’d be a bother to make a special trip, plus I’ll return late after closing the stall, it’s not necessary."

She promptly declined.

What if the young man really sends it over?

Receiving it would be fine, but what if he insists on watching her taste it?

Recalling the mouthful of brown sugar pearl roti she tried last night, Granny’s stomach still felt...queasy!

The water in the pot on the induction cooker was quickly boiling.

Granny’s movements suddenly quickened, she wanted to make the noodles for her customer behind as soon as possible, worried that chatting further would lead back to the topic of milk tea pancakes.

She grabbed a handful of oil noodles, swiftly cooking them, lightly stirring with chopsticks until they loosened, then drained them.

Oil noodles are precooked; once loosened, they’re basically ready to eat.

Using tongs, Granny skillfully picked up the noodles, gently flipping her wrist twice, letting the noodles fold neatly in the bowl, not only serving them in the bowl but also making them look very appealing.

Of course, Chen Mo thought Granny was simply being polite, and delivering milk tea pancakes was a must! Good food was meant to be shared.

He watched eagerly as Granny completed the final touches.

The braised meat sauce, juices included, poured over the noodles, flowing to the bottom of the bowl, the meat bits resting atop the noodles.

Then she took a mesh strainer, holding it above the bowl with one hand and pouring the cooked shrimp oil broth from the pot through the strainer.

The shrimp heads and other residues were filtered out, while the juices went into the bowl, steadily submerging the noodles. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Finally, she arranged some cooked bean sprouts atop the meat bits and placed a cooked, butterfly shrimp from the shrimp oil pot on top.

"The marinated egg isn’t ready yet, so you’ll have to settle for this."

"That’s okay."

Chen Mo watched as Granny fished out an egg from a pot in the corner, cutting it along the side, placing it in the bowl.

With the tongs, she positioned a leaf of cilantro on the noodle surface.

"Here, Tan-tsai noodles, ready to eat."

Chen Mo took the steaming hot noodles back to the table by the door.

The approaching aroma alone was enough to make anyone drool!