Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 375 - 348: I Underestimated My Opponent!
Moreover, thinking that the queue moved so quickly just now, they estimated it wouldn’t take much longer, so they stood there watching Chen Mo’s operation.
Chen Mo first poured out all the soup in the black pot and washed it clean, before starting the preparation.
Turning up the stove heat, once the black pot was hot, he added some oil. The young man noticed the oil’s peculiar color, "Boss, what kind of oil is this? It looks unfamiliar."
Chen Mo didn’t think much about it, "Duck oil."
Making Phoenix Tail Shrimp must use duck oil; no other oil can keep the shrimp meat looking pure white.
"Oh!" The customer nodded and said no more.
Chen Mo noticed the bubbling duck oil in the pot was about fifty percent hot, and he took the stored ingredient from the spout—shrimp!
The river shrimp was already in a well-prepared state.
The archival feature is indeed great; otherwise, Chen Mo would have to handle the river shrimp on the spot.
First, he had to remove the heads and shells, leaving only the tails. Then, he placed them in clear water, stirring it with bamboo chopsticks continuously to make the water swirl.
It’s a painstaking task, requiring quite a while to clean the reddish fibers from the shrimp meat. By this step, the river shrimp appeared as white as jade, without any other color.
After cleaning, the river shrimp needed to be drained, followed by adding egg whites, water starch, and a pinch of salt.
The stored ingredient Chen Mo used was the river shrimp at this stage.
Now, it was quite convenient; once the duck oil was bubbling, he poured a large bowl of river shrimp into the oil.
Using a black ladle, he gently stirred them apart.
The curious customer watching exclaimed, "Eh, Boss, why didn’t the shrimp turn red?"
"Secret."
Chen Mo was too busy to explain; explaining involved discussing many profound topics.
The customer assumed Chen Mo was telling the truth and nodded to show understanding, "It does look pretty nice."
This customer hadn’t noticed, although the river shrimps were pristine white overall, the tails with shells were gradually turning a vivid red color. Chen Mo observed the color change, waiting until it was the most vivid red, before removing all the river shrimp from the pot to drain the oil beside.
He then poured out the oil from the black pot and washed it clean again.
Next, he added pre-made chicken soup, seasoning it with fine salt, starch, rice wine, soy sauce, and green onion.
After boiling fiercely for about a minute, the soup in the pot gradually turned a milky white color, giving it a remarkably delightful appearance.
At this point, he returned all the drained river shrimp to the pot, along with a serving of fresh green peas from the spout.
Using the black ladle, he gently pushed and pulled a few times, flipping the shrimp to coat them with rich broth as much as possible.
A spoonful, ten pieces!
Chen Mo scooped twice, ladling the shrimp with broth into a bowl, then taking a bun from the nearby steamer and placing it on a plate, "Here’s your meal."
"Thank you, Boss~"
The customer scanned the code to pay, then left the queue with the Phoenix Tail Shrimp and bun, turning back to Yang Wenhua’s stall.
At that moment, Yang Wenhua had a long queue too, no less than Chen Mo’s side.
"You bought shrimp too?" Seeing the bowl in his underling’s hand, Yang Wenhua laughed, "Heh, aren’t these shrimp just a joke?"
His underling found it a bit amusing too, "But actually, Chen Mo’s preparation looked pretty good, just a bit odd to serve it in this bowl."
Phoenix Tail Shrimp makes for a dish with a highly appealing presentation.
Cooked shrimp meat is white, with a bright red tail shell, resembling a phoenix tail, paired with green peas, it appears even more vibrant and beautiful.
Usually ordered at restaurants, the shrimp meat soaks slightly in a shallow amount of milky chicken broth, looking very exquisite.
But now...
Yang Wenhua took the bowl of Phoenix Tail Shrimp, "It’s a bit strange, but the price is unbeatable. Probably couldn’t find such cheap Phoenix Tail Shrimp elsewhere in Yangzhou, haha, let me taste how it is."
Honestly, it didn’t look great.
Yang Wenhua used chopsticks to grab the shrimp tail, popping the whole thing into his mouth with a slurp.
"Hmm?"
As soon as it entered his mouth, his joking manner turned serious.
No way!
This taste, it’s not right.
At first glance, it just seemed like river shrimp cooked in chicken broth. What’s so special?
But the moment it hit the tongue.
Yang Wenhua began chewing in large bites, and after swallowing, immediately picked up another shrimp, this time eating much more slowly.
"It looks like just cooked shrimp; how does it have a crispy yet springy texture?"
His underling recalled, "Oh right, when I watched earlier, he deep-fried the shrimp in duck oil before cooking in broth."
"No wonder."
Yang Wenhua’s eyes widened, "You say he fried them first?"
"Yes, they were fried first."
He felt waves of shock surging within.
Looking down at the white shrimp in the bowl, "How is this possible?"
Phoenix Tail Shrimp is a popular dish at Shuyue Pavilion, and Yang Wenhua had a good relationship with its kitchen chefs.
He’d seen many times how this dish must be fried in duck oil because only the caramelization from frying allows it to absorb the broth’s flavor fully.
However, Shuyue Pavilion’s Phoenix Tail Shrimp would have slightly wrinkled surfaces after frying.
After all, it’s normal for fried items to wrinkle a bit.
But the river shrimp in this bowl appeared incredibly smooth, without any sign of having been fried in oil, just like freshly boiled shrimps.
"This Boss Chen masters the heat control utterly, no wonder his lion’s head meatballs are so popular."
Yang Wenhua glanced at the neighboring stall, "Seems like I underestimated him before."
If that’s the case, Yang Wenhua decided not to proceed with his previous competition plan.
He initially planned to use the basic Three-Piece filling, but now he changed his mind, taking out the prepared Five-Pepper filling, with a serious expression, pressing down a dough piece to start making the Five-Pepper Buns.
While Yang Wenhua was just starting to make buns, Chen Mo’s buns were almost sold out.
"Today’s luck is good, eh, Old Zhao."
"I can’t always have bad luck, can I?" Old Zhao was quite proud, "Say no more, Boss Xiao Chen, give me as much as you can! Oh, and do you have that dark drink you gave me earlier?"
"I have it, but you’ll need to wait a bit."
Chen Mo handed Old Zhao two buns, then packed up twenty shrimps, "For fried rice and lion’s head meatballs, queue over there, my staff make them almost as good as I do."
"Got it!"
Old Zhao went next door with Phoenix Tail Shrimp and a Three-Piece Bun, bringing his wife along to queue up.
Without another word, he chomped a bun.
"Smacked! Wife, do you remember when Boss Chen sold buns back in Ning County?"
"Yeah, I remember."
"These buns are as good as those meat-filled ones, wow, they’re really tasty."
With one bite, he exclaimed, "Ouch, it spilled on my clothes!"
Though complaining about the spill, he diligently kept the open bun steady in his hands, fearing the soup inside might spill out, wasting it.
Guo Aiping rolled her eyes at Old Zhao, not even bothering to wipe his clothes, but she was careful when eating herself.
First, she bit a small opening, and peering inside, she saw tiny bits of various ingredients submerged in a slightly soy-colored broth.
The broth never soaked into the bun skins, gently wobbling, appearing very appetizing.
Then Guo Aiping carefully squeezed the bun, sipping the broth through the opening before taking another bite.
"Mmm... truly delicious."
This was a taste Jingzhou residents had never experienced!
The salty-sweet undertone made the bun comforting the moment it reached the mouth, but not long until a distinct sweetness revealed itself.
This comes from Jiangnan’s unique flavor.
Guo Aiping glanced at the remaining half-bun in her hand, only enough for one more bite.
She hesitantly took that mouthful of bun.
Not even wishing to chew too quickly, afraid of finishing, and indeed, that would be the end!
