Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 58: Is This the Taste of Wok Hei? So Perfect with Rice!
"Oh!! Damn! This is really freaking delicious!"
A familiar accent, turns out he’s from Fu Country.
Meng Qi quickly chewed the meat in his mouth, savoring the rich sour and sweet flavor filling his palate.
A bit like American barbecue sauce pork ribs, but upon closer taste, not quite the same.
Unlike barbecue sauce’s excessive sweetness, the balance of sour and sweet is just right, the plum fruit aroma neutralizes it, completely dispelling the greasy feel of pork fat, leaving only a rich aroma.
The sesame seeds on the rib surface seem to have been toasted, bursting with aroma, occasionally popping and adding a wonderful scent to the ribs.
Reluctantly sipping the leftover meat juice on the bones, instinctively taking a bite, leaving a shallow row of teeth marks, showing just how tender the ribs are.
Before the taste in his mouth dissipates, he quickly scoops up a few bites of fragrant white rice.
"Hmm?"
Expecting ordinary rice, but immediately sensing something unusual as soon as it entered his mouth.
The rice grains are distinct, with a noticeable texture, allowing for the unique fragrance and chewiness of the rice to be tasted.
Moreover, each grain seems to be coated with a thin layer of lard, shiny in appearance. With the rib aroma concealing it, you’d hardly notice it without eating it.
Foreigners may not have lard-mixed rice, but they have butter-mixed rice, especially in the food courts of malls where this chain store can almost always be seen.
This fragrant, distinct rice is their favorite, even eating it plain is tasty, Meng Qi scoops more rice into his mouth, nodding in satisfaction.
Amber, Jade, and Lina collect their box meals at this time.
Watching Meng Qi eat with such relish, the three clearly make a swallowing motion, extending their chopsticks toward the ribs.
"Wait a minute!"
Lucas is preparing cold jelly and red bean dumplings ahead of time to prevent an accumulation of orders later, while also keeping an eye on his friends.
"What’s wrong?"
The three look at him puzzled.
"The first bite should be tomato scrambled eggs with rice, trust me, scoop some with sauce over the rice and eat together!"
Though curious about the sour and sweet ribs’ taste, Lucas’s advice leads the three to switch targets for a more pleasurable experience.
Each scoops some tomato juice over the rice, coupled with tomato scrambled eggs and rice, a full spoonful goes into their mouths.
First comes the unique sweetness of tomatoes, intensely rich in flavor, sweet and salty just right, the eggs absorbing the sweet sauce, along with subtle dairy and smooth texture, plus the distinct lard-coated rice.
This mouthful is jam-packed with flavor, simultaneously causing the trio to squint blissfully with smiles on their faces.
Meng Qi stares blankly at the trio’s smiling faces, perplexed at the scrambled egg dish on the plate.
Is there a dining order for eating rice?
Really?
Following suit with a scoop into his mouth, stunned on the spot.
Totally different from the tomato sauce taste in tomato pasta or tomato meatballs.
This tomato juice tastes more natural, not as thick as tomato paste, bringing out the sweet aroma of tomatoes fully.
The smooth scrambled eggs’ egg and milk flavors blend perfectly into the tomato juice, creating a similar effect to butter, paired with lard rice, the entire chew leaves a lingering aroma.
Smooth, sweet, not as stunning as plum ribs, but there’s a tranquility like a peaceful stream, causing every cell to moan in pleasure, as if soaking in warm water.
"How is it, didn’t fool you?"
Lucas smiles proudly, "Tomato scrambled eggs are a legendary dish of Great Xia home cooking, its status unshakable, starting with it is absolutely right."
"Indeed delicious, I’ve never had such a tasty tomato dish, it looks simple too, might try at home someday."
Lin Chen witnessed the entire on-site preparation, showing each step without reservation, anyone with slight culinary skills can learn by watching.
The dish is too common, tens of thousands of recipes online, nothing to keep secret.
Plus, foreigners’ culinary skills are ridiculously low, even if they watch and learn, only a few will actually try making it.
Lin Chen once experienced going to a foreign friend’s house for dinner, the couple fiddled in the kitchen from afternoon to seven, expecting a grand meal, only to serve a dish of chicken and roasted potatoes, with store-bought tortillas as the staple.
Since then, he held no expectations for foreigners’ culinary skills, except professional chefs.
Tasting the delicious tomato scrambled eggs, Amber and the trio aren’t rushing for ribs, which are surely tasty, rather try other dishes first.
Their attention naturally falls on the stir-fried potato strips with green peppers.
This dish amazed them during preparation, rolled and stir-fried in flames, a first-time sight.
Each uniformly-sized potato strip is translucent, reflecting dazzling light under the lamp.
Approaching to smell, a distinct aroma greets them.
Not from any seasoning, just an indescribable fragrance.
"Crunch... Crunch..."
Crunchy potato strips, crispy and pleasant to chew, moderately salty, enhanced with green pepper’s refreshing fragrance, irresistible.
Most importantly, that special scent intensifies during chewing, constantly enticing them to taste more.
"Did you all taste it? That flavor is called wok hei, a unique cooking method of Great Xia, achievable only through stir-frying with flames in the pan."
"To translate literally, you could consider it the taste of flames."
This peculiar potato strip is unthinkable in Western understanding, used to fries, hash browns, mashed potatoes, and roasted potatoes. The fanciest would be creamy gratin potatoes.
This wok hei-filled stir-fried potato strip instantly captivates them, eating nonstop.
Though seemingly mild, there’s a magic, prompting to accompany it with rice.
The braised eggplant unexpectedly surprises everyone, cooked equally tender with abundant juice, rich in sauce aroma, classic rice accompaniment.
However, compared to potato strips and tomato scrambled eggs, it’s less impressive, not as stunning.
The complimentary mashed potatoes need not be mentioned, familiar taste, just slight seasoning change, still pairs well with rice, though not topping tomato scrambled eggs.
Seeing everyone gorging on their box meals with oily mouths, Lucas taps the table.
"Don’t just eat, try our newly added red bean dumpling soup, cold drink, absolutely refreshing!"
