My Husband, a Marshal: Conquering the Stars with My Culinary Arts-Chapter 600 - 202: Water Chestnut Cake, Water Chestnut Fish Paste Pie, Water Chestnut Lion’s Head_3
naturally followed behind Du Xixi. It pointed to a few large bags in the corner and waited for Du Xixi to notice them before personally going over to pick them up. Then, it said to Du Xixi, "These were delivered by Mr. Rob half an hour ago. He said it’s a type of vegetable you like to eat, but I think it looks rather peculiar."
The Imperial Palace was very busy. After the Insect Clan army approached, many people received the news and began to panic unreasonably. Many were making outrageous statements at this critical moment. So, while Chen Yin was busy stabilizing public sentiment, his desk was also piled with official documents like a small mountain. For this reason, Rob often didn’t rest when Chen Yin didn’t, as he was helping him.
Although Rob rested at midnight, he would occasionally deliver some unique ingredients and fruits that were not from CD-0329 Star to the Ke Family. Some time ago, he brought a strange and unusual "Durian Apple." Although both durians and apples originate from CD-0329 Star, after a special grafting by the Cultural Relics Bureau, a new breed emerged.
After Du Xixi tried it, she just felt that the "Durian Apple" not only had a strange appearance but also tasted very weird. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
Du Xixi: Have you ever tried an apple with spikes that, once peeled, has durian flesh? It smells both stinky and fragrant and yet carries the sweet aroma of an apple.
"A vegetable I like to eat?" Du Xixi slightly raised her eyebrows, unsure what kind of vegetable she actually likes, as the phrase "like to eat" seems quite fitting for dishes and fruits but a bit odd when applied to vegetables.
She opened one of the bags and saw sled-sized water chestnuts piled together. She picked one up and noticed some reddish-brown hairs growing on its surface.
"These are water chestnuts." Du Xixi chuckled, bent down to pick up a bag that didn’t seem very heavy, but 2569 promptly took it over. She smiled slightly and introduced the water chestnuts to 2569 beside her, saying, "This is also called ’cigu.’ It’s delicious once peeled, and can be eaten raw or boiled with equal delight."
Du Xixi picked up a kitchen knife and deftly peeled the outer skin of one water chestnut, then handed it to 2569, saying, "Many people consider it a fruit, but it’s actually a vegetable, useful for making various gourmet dishes, mainly to cleanse the palate and enhance flavor. I do like it a lot."
Rob wouldn’t know what Du Xixi likes or dislikes, only Chen Yin would know that. Clearly, these water chestnuts were brought at Chen Yin’s request to Rob.
The smile on Du Xixi’s lips grew warmer as she grabbed a handful of water chestnuts. As she washed them in clean water, many thoughts of water chestnut dishes sprang into her mind, though there were too many to count. She didn’t plan to spend the whole night in the kitchen, so she opted for the first three dishes that came to mind, intending to head upstairs to rekindle her desire to sleep after making them.
Water chestnut cake is undoubtedly the most classic dish made from water chestnuts. It is a translucent tea-yellow cake made by steaming water chestnut flour mixed with sugar water. It doesn’t break when folded, doesn’t snap when bent, and combines softness, smoothness, and chewiness, making it a beloved sweet treat.
Sugar water and water chestnut flour can be whipped up using convenient tools, so Du Xixi tasked 2569 with preparing them, instructing it to call her once it’s ready, while she retrieved some fish and pork from the fridge.
She scaled and deboned the fish, processing it into a fine paste; the pork was seven parts lean and three parts fat, mixed and finely chopped into small meat pieces, which she then minced finely with two knives without turning it into mush.
In addition to water chestnut cake, the other two dishes Du Xixi wanted to make were water chestnut fish paste patties and water chestnut lion’s head. Fish paste patties and lion’s head are both individual dishes, but as Du Xixi said, water chestnuts can cleanse the palate and enhance the flavor.
Adding them to the fish paste patties can elevate the texture, making them crispier, while in the lion’s head, water chestnuts can neutralize some of the greasiness from the fat, but more importantly, they bring out umami flavors.
This is what Du Xixi’s second uncle taught her. His courtyard in winter was never without water chestnuts and liquor. Thus, among many ingredients, her second uncle had a particular fondness for water chestnuts.
He loved the crunchiness of raw water chestnuts and the slightly softer yet still refreshing taste after boiling; he never grew tired of them even after decades and had even invented many renowned recipes centered on water chestnuts.
Among the Du Family’s reputation, the legacy passed down by ancestors commands respect. Yet, it is only through understanding how to connect with the times, as evidenced by her second uncle, realizing how food can become part of everyone’s life, that the Du Family could advance further.
Du Xixi heeded her second uncle’s teachings and learned many water chestnut recipes from him. She had to admit that her second uncle was indeed a "water chestnut enthusiast," capable of creating different flavors for the water chestnut fish paste patty, a dish popular worldwide, standing out among peers.
Diced water chestnuts were mixed into both the fish paste and meat pieces separately, with Du Xixi controlling her force with different ratios and mixing intensities. Once one was mixed, she moved to the other. By the time she finished mixing the fish paste and meat pieces, 2569 had also prepared the sugar water and water chestnut flour.
