I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 867 - 372: You Have to Stand on a Stool to Really Enjoy a Sesame Flatbread Stuffed with Stir-Fried Grilled Lamb!
Then Lin Xu set up the non-stick pan, and without waiting for it to heat fully, he placed half a bowl of cumin seeds inside, roasting them slowly over a low flame.
Cumin is a very interesting spice; it must be roasted at the moment it’s used for its aroma to be potent. If roasted in advance, it loses scent when dampened and might even mold.
Once the cumin seeds turned a charred yellow on the surface, he turned off the heat.
After pouring them out, he gave them a few pounds with a garlic mortar, not too fine, just enough texture for a more robust aroma.
With the cumin ready, he then put coarse chili powder into the pan, roasting it to bring out its fragrant spice.
While the meat was still marinating and the dough hadn’t risen yet.
Lin Xu added several broken pieces of star anise into the pan, sautéing for aroma, then added a small handful of Sichuan peppercorns, followed by some fennel.
Once all were fragrant, he collected them into a blender cup, adding some freshly roasted cumin and blended it to make five-spice powder for the pastries.
With this powder ready, Lin Xu brought out sesame sauce to prepare the mixture used for sesame sauce pastries.
A large spoonful of sesame sauce, a small spoonful of salt, three small spoonfuls of the freshly blended five-spice powder, and a tablespoon of sesame oil, all stirred evenly with chopsticks.
"Why add sesame oil?"
Shen Baobao was curious, having considered filming earlier, but noticed the night lighting was not ideal, deciding instead to taste test tonight and film tomorrow.
Anyway, it’s the weekend tomorrow, with nothing much to do, perfect for a filming day.
"Sesame oil enhances the sesame sauce’s aroma and helps thin it out, making it easier to spread on the dough later."
Sesame sauce alone is too thick and hard to spread out on the dough.
Add a bit of sesame oil, and it becomes noticeably smoother.
Lin Xu, having prepared all these, took out the marinated lamb from the fridge, ready to make stir-fry grilled lamb.
For other dishes, the order doesn’t matter as much.
But for meat-stuffed pastries, the pastry must be hot, while the meat is better cooler, allowing the hot pastry to release its aroma, making it tastier to eat.
"Xu Bao, Xu Bao, can I try? Guide me, I’ll do it."
"Sure."
On hearing this, Shen Baobao immediately rolled up her sleeves, carefully washing her small delicate hands before surveying the hanging pans in the kitchen as though inspecting a troop:
"Which pan do I use?"
"The flat non-stick pan."
Shen Baobao took the flat pan down and placed it on the stove, turning her head to ask:
"What’s next?"
"First heat the pan, then add a spoonful of cool oil to coat the pan."
"I can do this!"
She set the pan on the stove to heat, opened the oil drum’s lid, scooped out a spoonful, and added it to the pan, swirling the pan before pouring the oil back into the drum.
"What’s next?"
"Reheat it, then add the lamb."
Chef Shen followed Lin Xu’s instruction, reheated the pan, poured in the marinated lamb, and gently spread the lamb pieces with a bamboo spatula.
"Huh, didn’t add oil yet."
"The lamb will release oil; don’t add it now, first fry out the lamb oil gently, then add more oil."
"Oh..."
She initially thought it would be flipping pans like a restaurant chef, but it turned out to just be heating the pan and slowly frying the meat.
Not as fulfilling as making custard mooncakes.
"When frying, be careful not to burn it; fry until the pieces are a little yellow before flipping."
Soon, the aroma from the pan filled the air, with the special scent of cumin powder and lamb making one feel like being at a barbecue stall.
Cover the pan with a lid and let it stew briefly.
After a minute, lift the lid, flip the meat, though there was no oil in the pan initially, there’s now a thin layer of juices.
This is because the water and oil were fried out of the meat.
Flip and fry the lamb pieces once more, let it cook a minute or two, before adding half a spoonful of vegetable oil, continuing to fry.
Fry until the pieces are entirely brown; by now, the lamb is cooked through.
"Add a small spoon of salt, sprinkle it out, don’t dump it in all at once... Hmm, nice, you’re showing a bit of executive chef vibe."
Hearing the praise, Shen Baobao boasted while flipping the meat:
"Of course, see which school I graduated from—Central Finance University, a New Oriental cooking school among the 985."
The meat’s nearly done frying, the aroma’s there too.
Next, add the roasted cumin and chili powder.
As soon as it was added, the grilled lamb skewer smell intensified.
Mix the ingredients evenly, Lin Xu stated:
"Add green onions, stir-fry twice, and serve."
"Oh..."
Bustling to complete this step, the executive chef realized she hadn’t added the onions and cilantro stems yet.
Lin Xu said:
"No need to wash the pan, reheat it, layer the onions evenly on the bottom, stir-fry a couple of times, add the lamb, then sprinkle roasted sesame seeds and cilantro stems on top, serve pan and all to the table."
This borrows from grilled meat’s serving style, combined with the technique of dry pot dishes from the Southwest.
Place the heat-resistant board on the dining table, and Executive Chef Shen placed the sizzling pan on it, using chopsticks to mix up the cilantro stems and roasted sesame seeds.
Then she grabbed a piece, popping it into her mouth, exhaling while chewing:
"So fragrant, so fragrant, way tastier than lamb skewers."
After gulping down a piece, this girl’s inner nerd came alive, slamming the table, and shouted at Lin Xu:
"Waiter, more wine! I’m eating and drinking to my fill to cross Jingyang Ridge today!"
The shout woke Dundun, who was napping on the sofa. The little guy jumped onto the kitchen doorstep, peeking in with a mischievous look like, why aren’t you two sleeping, causing such a ruckus.
