I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 768 - 339: A gust of autumn wind brings another layer of cold; it’s time to eat some warming ginger candy! [Seeking Monthly Ticket]_3
"..."
As everyone was chatting back and forth, Geng Lele, who was sneakily taking a break to browse the group chat, was stunned by the messages:
"Are you guys trying to rush Brother Qiang to jump off a building?"
"Geng—Lele—are you actually looking forward to me jumping off a building?"
"No, no, no! If you jump, who’s going to do your programming for you in the future? Didn’t the program I remotely helped you write last time work without any errors? You’re welcome; I always enjoy helping others!"
Li Qiang: ???
"So, you were the one who wrote that bug-ridden program last time? When did you connect to my computer? I didn’t turn on remote access."
"Ahem, that’s not important. I was still practicing back then, but I’ve gotten much better now."
Geng Lele dropped an "I’m outta here!" emoji and scrammed, not daring to pop up in the group chat again.
Brother Qiang: "..."
He had originally come to the group chat seeking comfort, but now he felt even more depressed.
Everyone’s so good at comforting; maybe they shouldn’t comfort me next time.
After reading everyone’s messages, Lin Xu tagged Brother Qiang in the group:
"I don’t know how to comfort you either. This afternoon, I’m planning to make ginger slice candy. I’ll send you a jar later. You can take it to the office to eat. It’s good for the stomach, and it seems like it might also promote hair growth."
He didn’t actually know if eating ginger could promote hair growth; he just mentioned it because it seemed like something Brother Qiang would appreciate. Consider it psychological comfort for Brother Qiang.
Who knew this would hit Brother Qiang’s sweet spot:
"This is great! This is great! Make a lot for me. I’ll go find Tiantian to help me swipe my card. I topped up ten thousand yuan when I got paid last, and I haven’t spent it all yet." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
"No need for money. This stuff isn’t expensive. Just help me promote it at your company when you have a moment."
One of Brother Qiang’s colleagues had been among the store’s first employees. So, whenever Lin Xu made something delicious, he’d ask Brother Qiang to spread the word at his company. It wasn’t crucial whether people came to eat or not; the important thing was that these were loyal customers, and they shouldn’t be forgotten.
「After four in the afternoon.」
Lin Xu went into the cold storage. He saw that the large basin once full of ginger had noticeably reduced in volume, and the White Sugar in it had mostly dissolved, leaving a considerable amount of liquid at the bottom.
This was the dehydrating effect of the sugar. Although not as powerful as salt, it was still quite potent.
He carried the basin outside and switched to the largest wok. He first heated the wok and seasoned it with oil to prevent the sugared ginger from sticking. After seasoning it this way three times, he poured out all the excess oil from the wok.
Next, he dumped all the ginger slices, along with the sugary liquid extracted from them, into the wok and began to cook over high heat. This liquid was all ginger juice extracted by the sugar, full of nutrients. As it boiled, the aroma of ginger immediately filled the air.
Once it started boiling, he stirred continuously with a spoon to accelerate the evaporation of the liquid. Soon, the liquid in the wok began to thicken.
This indicated that the water content was reducing. Once all the water had evaporated, the syrup would begin to crystallize, and the ginger slice candy would be almost ready. But it wasn’t ready yet; he had to keep stirring to allow more liquid to evaporate.
About ten minutes later, when the liquid in the wok had thickened so much it was almost impossible to stir with a spoon, he reduced the heat to low and began to toss the mixture with a spatula. The syrup in the wok grew increasingly thick, the liquid continued to reduce, and the ginger slices became drier.
He removed the wok from the direct flame, setting it on the edge of the stove where the bottom would still receive a little heat. Continuing to stir-fry for a while longer, the syrup began to crystallize. At first, only a few ginger slices were coated with white, sandy-textured frosting. But as the stir-frying continued, more and more slices became coated with frosting, while the sticky syrup in the wok rapidly diminished.
When only a little semi-solid syrup remained at the bottom of the wok, he turned off the heat and continued to stir. At this point, the frosting wasn’t distributed evenly enough, and the syrup could still re-melt. So, he had to keep stirring, using the residual heat to completely evaporate any remaining moisture in the wok. Moreover, as he stirred, the friction between the ginger slices made the surface frosting more uniform and created a pleasant, granular texture.
This was the secret to achieving that perfect sandy crystallization. The method his senior brother had taught him for making sugar-coated pumpkin was exactly the same. Besides this, there were techniques for sugar-coated sweet potatoes, sugar-coated taro, and candied Hawthorn, among others—all employing similar principles to achieve the effect.
Once all the ginger slices had transformed into thin, white pieces coated in sugary frost, Lin Xu brought over a large tray, poured the ginger slices from the wok into it, and spread them out to cool. Once cooled, they could be packed directly into airtight snack containers for sale.
However, this batch wouldn’t be sold. It was all to be given away as a promotion and to let friends and family try it. The following batch would be officially for sale.
While he was busy, Wei Qian leaned over, saw a layer of white frosting stuck to the bottom of the wok, and curiously asked, "That frosting on the bottom is useless now, right? Do you need me to help you wash the wok?"
"That’s the good stuff. It would be a waste to wash it away."
Zhu Yong came over for a look, then immediately began to carefully scrape the frosting from the bottom of the wok with a bamboo spatula, collecting it into a small bowl. "This frosting is the essence, perfect for making the Brown Sugar ginger tea that girls love."
When Wei Qian heard this, he perked up: "Really? Then give me some."
"Why would you need it? Your Tiantian is as strong as a young bull. It’s our Yuyu who cries in agony every month during her period. I’m taking all of this. Last time, I just told her to drink hot water, and she got so annoyed she almost put on boxing gloves to punch me, despite the pain! This time, I’m going to keep her warm all day long!"
"Just don’t overdo the warming, or she might melt," Wei Qian muttered sourly, then said to Lin Xu, "How about not seasoning the wok so thoroughly next time? That way, more ginger-flavored frosting will stick to the bottom. I might as well try making Brown Sugar ginger tea myself."
Lin Xu: "..."
Have these two lost their minds from being in love? Why not just extract some ginger juice, mix it with Brown Sugar, boil it, pour it out, and once it solidifies, cut it into small pieces? Isn’t that far more convenient than scraping the bottom of the wok? Tsk, I’ll have to teach them later. Who would have thought that I, a straight man suddenly blessed with a girlfriend, could become the shop’s romance advisor?
He picked up a piece of ginger candy and tasted it. The frosting had a wonderful, granular texture. The sweetness of the ginger was very mellow, mingled with subtle strands of spiciness that made it incredibly satisfying to eat.
While he was savoring it, Xie Baomin walked into the kitchen carrying two Qilin East Starfish, and said confidently, "Junior Brother, come, come! I’ll teach you a classic Qilin East Starfish dish—the Qilin East Starfish!"
