The two people on Sakurajima's side have no way of knowing what happened in Daxia.
Jiang Xu and Qingye discussed it and decided to finish today's shokuji first.
Because the salted duck is a cold dish, and the saliva chicken is actually a cold dish, there is no need to worry about the ingredients getting cold if they are prepared first.
Because these two dishes are meant to be eaten cold, the taste when eaten hot is not satisfactory.
Jiang Xu mentioned the lucky chicken he had chosen earlier.
When Qingye purchased it, it had already been processed. Not only had the feathers been plucked, but the internal organs had also been removed. Only the skin, chicken and bones were left in the whole chicken.
It saves Jiang Xu a lot of steps and a lot of time.
Saliva chicken is actually a Sichuan dish, and it was born in the same Qing Dynasty as Mapo tofu.
Because of historical differences, it does not appear in this world.
The cooking process of saliva chicken is actually quite interesting.
The chicken will be bathed back and forth between scalding hot water and biting ice water, exercising for three days.
"Qingye, do you have a larger steam drum at home? The kind that's big enough to put a whole chicken in!"
Jiang Xu asked.
"have."
Qingye replied, then he went into the kitchen and rummaged through various cabinets, and found a medium-large and two medium-sized round steamers.
The walls of the pot are extremely deep, more than enough for two chickens.
Jiang Xu took a medium-large one and a medium-sized one.
Put a large pot of water in a medium-large steamer, light the stove, and let the water heat until it boils.
Jiang Xu also poured half of the cold water into another medium-sized steamer.
However, the water in this pot will not be heated, but ice cubes will be sprinkled into it to mix it into ice water.
The temperature in the hot water drum should be raised to boiling, and the temperature in the cold water drum should be lowered to as low as possible.
During the period before the water boiled, Jiang Xu only had to wait.
Compared to the grand battle on Jiang Xu's side, the movement on Qingye's side was much smaller.
I only prepared a medium pot and filled it half with water.
After all, this salted duck dish is actually a semi-finished product, and only needs the final step of stewing.
Qingye, who was also waiting for the heating, saw Jiang Xu's movements, frowned slightly and said: "Do you want to take a mixed bath and use hot and cold water alternately to cook this dish?"
"Correct answer, but it's a pity that there is no prize!"
Jiang Xu snapped his fingers and smiled slightly.
"Although this method can stimulate the meat to become tender and the skin to become crispy. However, whether it is the maturity of the chicken when it is steamed in a hot pot or the shrinkage rate of the skin in cold water, it is extremely difficult to measure and control. How can you make this recipe Is the dish called...'Saliva Chicken' ready?"
When he said the words 'slobbering chicken', Aoba couldn't help but picture drooling in his mind, and a speechless look appeared on his face.
She couldn't understand why anyone would give the dish this name.
In response, Jiang Xu just smiled and didn't say much.
When the finished product comes out and tastes it, Qingye will know why this dish is called "Saliva Chicken", which is not an elegant name.
All I can say is that the dish lives up to its name.
While waiting for the pot of water to boil.
Jiang Xu was not idle either. After cutting a few pieces of ginger, he went to the small vegetable garden at the back door to pinch two green onions and a handful of spring onions for later use.
When Jiang Xu came back from the vegetable garden, Qingye without any politeness picked up a handful of green onions and took away a few pieces of ginger slices, stuffing them all into the belly of the salted duck.
Jiang Xu stared at her for a few seconds. Seeing that she was indifferent, he could only shake his head, cut the ginger slices again, and threw them into the boiling pot together with the green onions he had just processed.
Add a few more tablespoons of salt and wait until the flavor boils down a bit.
He then lifted up the lucky chicken and stuffed its two chicken feet into his belly.
Then the whole chicken was put into the boiling steam drum.
Gulong~Gulong~
That was the sound of hot water being poured into the belly of the chicken.
When the boiling water was completely filled, Jiang Xu immediately moved the chicken body forward to let the water flow out.
This step is to allow the inside of the chicken to be heated evenly, and everything is to make the meat mature better.
Then put it into hot water again, shake it a few times, and blanch it for a few seconds.
The next moment, Jiang Xu suddenly lifted the chicken body, and with lightning speed, he changed it into a bathtub and pushed it into the ice water on the side.
Switching from boiling high temperature to freezing low temperature in an instant.
Under the alternation of hot and cold, the chicken skin also tightened from a loose state in an instant.
In this way, the chicken skin will become crispy and elastic.
Similarly, lift the chicken body and pour out the warm water in the abdominal cavity, and then take a cold bath again.
Jiang Xu lifted it into the hot water pot again and continued to boil the water bath.
If this chicken has a spirit in heaven, it might suddenly grow a big mouth, speak with a local accent, and curse Jiang Xu.
Can you please just be quick and give me a good time? Why do you have to torture the chicken like this! !
However, Jiang Xu's torture of it has indeed come to an end.
After pressing the chicken body into the water, he left it alone for the time being.
Turning back, he looked at Qingye, only to find that Qingye was also lifting up the duck that had been soaked for a while. After waiting for a while, he put it back to continue cooking.
Jiang Xu compared the recipe of the saliva chicken he made, but unexpectedly discovered that it was actually somewhat similar to the recipe of the salted duck from Qingye.
It’s a step of picking it up several times and then putting it down again.
This is actually all for one purpose, tightening the skin and giving it a better taste.
However, Jiang Xu went to the extreme and used ice water to stimulate him.
However, it is also more difficult. If you are not careful, the elasticity of the chicken skin will be unbalanced and the taste will be affected.
About twenty minutes later, Jiang Xu picked up a hook, lifted the chicken body submerged in the water, and pinched the chicken legs.
It's relatively hard, which means the chicken is almost done.
very good. Jiang Xu nodded and threw the chicken body into the ice water again.
chicken:? ? You think it's fun, right?
In fact, the current saliva chicken is ready to be cooked, but after cutting it, the bones will be slightly bloody.
Jiang Xu considered the taste of the shokuji judge - Daiko Hagiwara, and decided to make it well-done.
This time, you only need to cook it for another 15 minutes, then immerse it in ice water and chill it for ten minutes, and you're done.
On the other side, Qingye's salted duck has been cooked.
The light yellow skin is dripping with juice, crystal clear, and the duck meat is white and tender, like tofu.
The flavor of the marinade is overflowing with a salty, mellow and rich flavor.
Aoba took a deep breath.
Compared with most hot dishes, the aroma of cold dishes is actually relatively weak.
But the century-old stew is truly delicious!
Even the salted duck may only be lightly soaked for about forty minutes during the preparation process.
In the subsequent production, it also went through boiling, air-drying, ginger, onion, star anise, etc. to remove the fishy smell.
This unique and deep mellow marinade aroma is irresistible.
Jiang Xu is preparing to prepare the special sauce for saliva chicken.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Aoba, who was tightening his mouth and concentrating on slicing the duck. An idea suddenly flashed in his mind, and he thought of the seasoning technique of Hagiwara Sho's original kitchen style that he had just seen.
Aoba said that no matter how she copied the other party's techniques and the proportion of seasonings, she could not achieve one-tenth of the effect.
Jiang Xu felt that it might be caused by Qingye's inability to mobilize the power of the mysterious level. It had little to do with the specific technique...
Although he can't have the same luck as Hagiwara Sho, he can assist in cooking.
But he also has his own method, using sparrows to sense fortune.
Worth a try!
At this moment, Jiang Xu calmed down and began to understand the mysterious flow of fortune hidden in this dish.
Hagiwara Sho's food spirit opened a new door for him.
It proves that not only the game of cards, but also everything is affected by luck!
Luck is just like air, no, maybe even more ubiquitous than air!
Jiang Xu's eyes narrowed slightly, and he felt attentively.
In the void space, there is the smell of chicken that has been cooked.
This breath was very weak, but it was spreading yearning. It split into ten strands halfway, and were connected to a bunch of condiments and condiment cups.
'It seems to be saying', it takes the dish of saliva chicken as the meaning of its existence, and wants these seasonings to assist it to complete the final sublimation.
To use a more fantasy term in some anime, this is called talking to ingredients.
"call!"
The picture seemed to be an illusion, flashing before Jiang Xu's eyes.
Suddenly coming back to his senses, Jiang Xu looked at the various seasonings he had prepared, and felt a mysterious feeling in his heart.
When I season the food myself, I can grasp the most precise proportions, and they are absolutely accurate.
However, as time goes by, this feeling slowly disappears, like an illusion.
Without further ado.
Without counting, Jiang Xu immediately grabbed a few garlic cloves, smashed them with the back of a knife, and chopped them into uniform and fine minced garlic. He also grabbed a handful of ginger, green onions, millet and pepper, and minced them too, without weighing them either. .
After putting them all into a bowl, Jiang Xu poured some soy sauce and then half a spoon of hot chicken soup for cooking the chicken.
Stir briefly, then add oyster sauce, salt, and MSG in sequence.
And, slightly more white sugar, red oil, and green pepper noodles.
Finally, add two more tablespoons of vinegar.
There are thirteen flavors in total.
And the various seasonings he added have strong properties of their own, and in most cases they serve as the main flavor of the ingredients.
Mixing them together most of the time will only lead to conflict, and neither side will please them.
However, Jiang Xu's current ratio and order of addition seem to have caused a special chemical reaction in the flavors of several sauces.
As the last drop of vinegar drips from the spoon into the bowl.
In an instant, the sauce, which had become complex and even conflicting in taste due to the addition of too many seasonings, seemed to have been lubricated and integrated.
The multiple flavors are clearly layered, like a bunch of brightly colored flower arrangements, and the various delicacies form a unity.
After a little stirring, a bowl of mixed seasonings and a mouth-watering chicken sauce is ready.
Jiang Xu licked his lips and looked at the sauce that had turned black and sticky. His saliva was secreting. He wanted to raise the bowl and pour a mouthful into his mouth to try.
Suppressing his thoughts, Jiang Xu took out the whole chicken carcass, which had finally taken an ice water bath to cool down, and placed it on the chopping board.
The body of the chicken, which is still hung with crystal water beads, has a beautiful golden color, which makes it more visually impactful.
With the help of his superb knife skills that Aoba envied.
Holding Jiang Xu with his left hand, he lifted the knife and cut the golden-skinned chicken into slices of even width.
Finally, it is plated into the image of spreading its wings and ready to fly.
At this point, a mouth-watering chicken that is "famous three thousand miles away from Bashu and the most delicious among the twelve states in the south of the Yangtze River" is ready.
Just after Jiang Xu brought the sauce on the porcelain plate to the living room table.
Click.
The door lock unlocked.
Daizi arrived home just in time, and the judges entered the room.
As soon as she entered the door, the tip of her nose twitched slightly, and Daiko Hagiwara, who had not smelled the fragrance, was about to speak when she saw Jiang Xu coming out with a plate and sauce. Her eyes lit up and she asked.
"Xujun, what is the dish today! Is it a cold vegetable platter?"
"Yes, the dish I'm cooking today is called saliva chicken, which is also a dish of Sichuan cuisine. What Qingye is cooking today is the famous Jinling dish sent by Uncle Xiang from China, salted duck."
"So, today's Shoji fight should be considered me versus Qingye and Uncle Xiang." Jiang Xu said with a smile.
"Oh, have you met Xiang?"
Daizi was stunned.
"Yes, Uncle Xiang made a video call to Qingye today. I happened to come back and met on the phone. It was at that time that we agreed on this Shoji."
Jiang Xu explained.
"That's it." Daizi nodded.
Today's staple food is not rice, but cold noodles.
Dip the noodles in the hot soup in which the chicken or duck meat has been cooked, remove immediately, and immerse them in ice water.
A bowl of strong cold noodles is ready.
Just add a little salt and no other condiments are needed. Combined with saliva chicken and salted duck, it is an excellent 'zero-calorie' meal.
After everything is ready, today's dinner is all done.
On the dining table in the living room of the Hagiwara family, there are two large plates, one is the golden Mizuguchi chicken that seems to be spreading its wings and flying high, and the other is the crystal clear salted duck that is like resting quietly against the spring water.
From a purely visual perspective, the presentation of both dishes is in line with my own cuisine, one is spicy and flamboyant, the other is light and elegant.
After thinking about it for a while, Daizi chose the salted duck, which should have a lighter taste, to avoid eating heavy-flavored dishes first and affecting her taste judgment.
Although Daizi herself didn't say it, Jiang Xu could actually detect from some details in life that Daizi's perception was also extremely sharp.
Just like yesterday's pan-fried buns, after tasting it, Daizi could sense the emotions in the food and 'see' some of the chef's thoughts.
Aoba's gift of smell may have been inherited from her, but it was even more enhanced.
And just now, Daizi finished tasting the salted duck.
The rich historical flavor accumulated by the skills passed down for thousands of years bloomed on the tip of her tongue.
In just a moment, she was brought into a prosperous ancient capital full of fireworks, beside a beautiful river shrouded in countless allusions.
There was a huge buzz of people along the river. How many merchants and vendors were shouting about their products, and they were bargaining hard with interested customers who stopped to inquire about prices.
Ducks quacked happily in the river, and the faces of the people on the bank were also filled with the joy of a prosperous life.
The sun is setting, the shadows of the trees are slanting.
The men who had been working for a day gradually returned home, and they came to a simple but busy restaurant, clamoring for a plate of duck.
A waiter responded with a smile, turned to the back kitchen of the store, and brought a platter of sliced duck meat.
And in the duck room behind the kitchen.
A group of chefs with bright eyes were looking for the big white duck that was fat and thin among the ducks that were returning to the duck rack.
Slaughtering, cleaning, steaming, marinating, air-drying and steaming.
Although the chef's face is blurred, it can be seen that it is constantly changing, and his clothes are gradually evolving to become more and more modern.
It's as if this duck was made by thousands of generations over hundreds of years.
Generation after generation of people passed by, and only that vat of marinade became more and more concentrated over time.
After coming back to her senses, Daizi felt that she could taste the inheritance of flavor from this dish, a taste that lasted for a long time.
Slowly opening her eyes that she had closed unconsciously, Daizi picked up the chopsticks, picked up a few noodles, and swallowed them.
Daizi didn't speak, and Jiang Xu and Qingye didn't dare to disturb her. They just watched her pick up the top piece of golden-skinned chicken without dipping sauce.
Nodding slightly, she picked up another piece.
This time it was covered in sauce.
Under Jiang Xu's expectant eyes, Daizi stuffed the piece of meat into her mouth.
As soon as the black chicken dipped in the sauce reached her mouth, Daizi was stunned, moved her cheeks slightly, chewed twice, and then swallowed the chicken.
Then, immediately prepare to use your chopsticks to pick up another piece of chicken.
As if thinking of something, Daizi put down her chopsticks again, picked up the sauce bowl, and poured all the sauce from the middle of the plate, from the chicken head to the tail.
Uh-huh!
It's like a ray of light blooming from the chicken!
A scent of spices mixed with dozens of flavors hit Aoye's nostrils.
Twitching the tip of his nose slightly, Qingye's heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition suddenly arose.
Alas, no, I am not the one eating halberds today. What should I be worried about?
At this moment, Hagiwara Sho, who was writing the mapo tofu recipe with excitement, suddenly sneezed.
He rubbed his nose and asked doubtfully, "What's going on? Is it the sequelae of Mapo Tofu just now?"
Pick up a piece of white meat with golden skin again.
Daizi felt this complex taste that she had never experienced before.
It is spicy and slightly numb in the mouth, but after swallowing it, the aftertaste is sour to stimulate the taste buds, and a hint of sweetness.
People can't help but salivate, one mouthful after another, and they can't stop at all.
Daizi's face turned slightly red. She had not experienced this feeling for a long time.
It was just a sauce just now, but after the chicken is eaten, the delicious taste of the meat itself instantly fills the entire mouth. The tender and smooth chicken that has been chilled and the crispy and chewy chicken skin make it difficult to tell whether what is in the mouth is food or saliva.
Then, there was the taste of the sauce again. The taste of the sauce combined layer by layer also activated the tired brain along with the chicken. Daizi couldn't help but pick up the chicken, put it into her mouth, chew and swallow.
More importantly, the strong flavors of these sauces do not overwhelm the others.
When paired with each other, a wonderful balance is formed, which highlights the taste of the chicken itself.
It's like this sauce was born for this dish.
This cooking method reminded Hagiwara Daiko of a genre she was familiar with.
So, did the real creators of today’s two dishes make a mistake?
After both dishes have been tasted, it’s the judges’ turn to judge.
After organizing her words for a while, Daizi slowly spoke.
"From a pure taste perspective, salted duck is actually better."
"After all, this breed of duck is from Jinling people in Daxia. They have spent hundreds of years selecting and breeding ducks specifically for this dish. Just two simple steps of salt boiling and brine, the taste will not be too bad. . I can feel the long historical heritage of the ancient city of Jinling in Daxia in this smell."
"But therein lies the problem."
Hagiwara Daiko changed the topic and showed a gentle smile on her face, but Aoba couldn't help but feel a tremor in his heart, feeling something bad.
"Xiang Ta is practicing the original cooking method, and he pays the most attention to the original flavor of the ingredients. But for this dish, I didn't feel much special about the taste of the duck itself."
"In this dish, I tasted the braised flavor, the taste of salt water, and the taste of ordinary duck, but I didn't taste the taste of your own cooking. The taste of the main ingredients was suppressed by the seasonings. This is never normal!"
"On the contrary, it's Xujun's saliva chicken. Although this bowl of condiments is extremely rich in texture, combining numbing, spicy, fresh, fragrant, tender, smooth, sweet and sour, the taste of the chicken itself is still the most important. "
"So, I think that as far as Shokoku is concerned this time, Lord Xu wins."
