Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 74: Teach Me the Amazing Meat Marinating Method, It’s Urgent!
"Hey everyone, good morning, I’m here!"
Lunard had been thinking about Lin Chen’s invitation for breakfast all night.
Having lived here for a long time, he had already forgotten what breakfast was, so he specifically searched for Great Xia breakfast on a video app in the middle of the night.
He wouldn’t have been fine if he hadn’t searched, but once he did, he got completely sucked in, streaming videos all night, almost starving himself with hunger cramps.
He originally said he’d arrive at eight, but he was so hungry he decided to come early, hoping to watch Lin Chen’s cooking process as well.
Unexpectedly, from far away, he saw Lin Chen’s food truck already parked at the usual spot, surrounded by a few figures who were already eating, prompting him to floor the gas pedal in a hurry.
"Quick, teach me how to make your Great Xia breakfast, it’s urgent!"
The car had barely stopped, and without even turning off the engine, Lunard leapt out of the car, rushing towards Lin Chen.
Taking a peek through the window, he found the table in front of him laid out with various ingredients as usual.
The vegetables looked nothing special, just sliced, but the three types of meat seemed to be marinated, looking sticky.
This marinating technique was completely different from any he had seen, you couldn’t see any sauce, nor smell any spices.
Generally, in Northern Europe, North America, or South America, marinated meats are soaked in liquid sauce or covered with lots of spices and oil, distinguishing wet marinating from dry marinating.
This sticky state... it seemed he frequently saw it in videos last night!
"Morning, Lunard, today I’ve prepared congee, it’s not difficult, let me make a bowl for you to try."
He scooped two spoonfuls of plain congee from a metal bucket to heat until boiling, added vegetables to blanch, then tossed in meat slices to stir apart.
"These meats are marinated first with seasonings like salt and pepper, then mixed with a bit of starch water."
"The meat absorbs the water, making it more tender, and the starch clinging to the surface forms a thin coating when heated, completely encasing the meat slices and preventing moisture loss, making them tender to eat."
The speed of preparing raw congee was fast, as the full bucket of congee was already hot, it didn’t cool down quickly.
In just two minutes, a bowl of plain congee full of ingredients was ready.
With bright green scallions, pale pink beef, brown mushrooms, tender yellow napa cabbage, and snow-white fish slices, the colors mingled together, steeping in the thick, smooth rice porridge, emitting a delicate fragrance.
Unlike the intense aroma cooked late at night, was breakfast really this mild in aroma?
Having never had congee before, he didn’t think much, picking up a spoon and taking a mouthful.
"Hold on!!!"
Lin Chen had just put down the milkpan when he saw this scene, unable to stop him and could only watch as the spoonful of congee disappeared into the jungle of stubble.
In the next second.
Lunard, as if electrocuted, spat out the scalding congee with a "wow," sticking his tongue out continuously.
"Ah hiss, it’s hot, so hot, how is it so hot?!"
Lucas, staring in disbelief, gave a thumbs-up: "Warrior! Respect, respect!"
"Pfft..."
Sitting on the side sipping congee, Dreya and Anna couldn’t help but giggle, and the couple nearby also covered their mouths, stifling laughter.
"Buddy, first time having congee?"
Lucas lifted his bowl of congee, demonstrating the proper method for drinking congee.
"Watch carefully, there’s a technique to drinking congee, the surface layer cools the fastest, scrape it up, blow a bit, test the temperature with your lips, then drink."
"Congee’s temperature can be higher than boiling water, a careless move can burn your mouth, but the key is that congee is most delicious when it’s hottest, cool it down by ten to twenty degrees and it won’t be as fresh."
Lunard straightened up, his lips and tongue throbbing, glaring at him both amused and annoyed.
"Why didn’t you say something this important earlier!"
"You didn’t ask, I thought you knew."
Lucas shrugged: "You go to Chinatown, congee shops are everywhere, it’s arguably one of the most ubiquitous Great Xia dishes, who would’ve thought you never had it."
"Do I look like someone who has time to eat out?"
"...Kind of, yeah?"
Ever since he’d been out with Lin Chen, it seemed there wasn’t a day Lunard missed coming over.
Unlike the nearby ice cream, hot dog, and fish and chips vans, which were open three out of seven days at best, only the Asian vans were unfailingly present.
Except now it’s just two.
This guy Lunard, say what you will, he’s quite the outlier.
Carefully trying the method Lucas taught, even though the tip of his tongue was less sensitive due to numbness, he could still taste its unparalleled deliciousness.
There were hardly any strong seasonings, just the original freshness and sweetness of the ingredients.
Especially the three types of meat that had caught his attention earlier; their extreme tenderness left him wide-eyed in shock.
"Oh my god, Holy Mother Mary above, is this beef? How can it be this tender!"
Chicken thigh and fish weren’t worth mentioning, they’re naturally tender, but beef is different, he cooks it every day, and it’s only tender in those few seconds right after it changes color; heating it further turns it tougher.
Because of this, Brasil people, to avoid this problem, cut the beef very finely and thinly, adding sauces during frying to achieve a soft, juicy texture.
He understood himself that that method couldn’t compare to Lin Chen’s, one added sauce later, while the other preserved the meat’s natural juices; technique alone made a world of difference.
If he could learn this marinating method, the texture of his tacos would achieve a qualitative leap!
"You want to learn this?"
Lin Chen agreed without hesitation, it wasn’t a secret anyway, any Great Xia person on the street who could cook would know it.
"Sure, it’s simple, do you have raw meat in your car? Give me a small piece to demonstrate."
"Yes, yes, of course! Hold on!"
Without bothering to drink congee, he dashed back to his car, retrieved a whole beef tenderloin from the fridge, and handed it to him.
Lin Chen casually opened the package, swiftly slicing off ten slices of beef.
"Watch closely."
Lunard nodded, fixing his gaze on the chopping board without blinking.
He saw Lin Chen flip the knife, tapping the meat evenly with the back, the slices visibly enlarging and thinning.
Then came the basic marination: salt, oyster sauce, and pepper, finally mixing in some starch water.
In just seconds, the original liquid in the bowl completely disappeared, leaving only a thick starch paste coating the meat.
"That’s it. You saw the process for making congee earlier, for stir-frying, you’ll need more oil, make sure it’s hot, toss the meat in, stir to separate quickly to prevent sticking, once it changes color, it’s ready to eat, even if it fries a bit longer, it won’t turn overly tough."
