sjar Chapter 400 Edible Plant Ash
Chapter 400 Edible Plant Ash
"The first Fuding Meat Slice Cultural Festival, the best meat slice competition, officially opens!"
As Jiang Mozi finished speaking, the two chefs Li Wen and Li Wu on the main stage immediately got busy!
Just this afternoon, Gu Chang went through untold hardships to transport three fat pigs from more than a thousand kilometers away, together with several pigs transported by Lao Li from the Hedingshan farm. Under the close supervision of the notary personnel, the pigs were slaughtered and cleaned, and quickly transported to the event site.
The kitchen has already gathered volunteers sent by major restaurants. They are quick and efficient in processing the pork and are fully prepared for the upcoming competition!
When the pork was passed to Li Wen and Li Wu, it had become neat strips of meat, and it was impossible to tell which farm they came from!
Of course, Old Li and his Li's Restaurant never thought of playing tricks in this game.
They are fully confident in their own abilities and firmly believe that they will never fail. They disdain to engage in fraud, deception, or cheating!
However, in order to ensure the fairness of the competition and to allow more people to learn about this unique craft, after careful consideration, we finally decided to adopt a double-blind competition system that is beneficial to everyone!
At this moment, on the stage, Li Wen and Li Wu have been concentrating on processing the pork!
The entire production process of Fuding meat slices seems simple, but if you want to reach the level of a true master, there are many tricks involved.
The subtle differences directly affect the taste and texture of the finished Fuding meat slices, which makes people sigh: "A small mistake can lead to a big mistake"!
Today, Li Wen and Li Wu will show everyone the secret of making Fuding meat slices that has been passed down from generation to generation at Li Ji Restaurant over the years!
According to Jiang Mozi's original plan, this entire production process should have been completed quietly in the back kitchen of Li's Restaurant.
After all, the method of making Fuding meat slices is a treasure passed down by the ancestors of the Li family. Perhaps they do not want outsiders to see its full picture easily.
Who knew that Old Li had such a broad vision and directly said that everyone was welcome to learn from him. This can be regarded as Old Li's family's contribution to the inheritance of Fuding meat slices!
Gu Chang immediately gave a thumbs up and expressed admiration.
"Cowhide!"
In this way, the cooking process that was originally done in the kitchen has now been moved to the center of the stage and has become the focus of much attention.
Colleagues from other restaurants gathered around, observing Li Wen and Li Wu's every move intently, comparing their production process carefully with their own methods, trying to find the secret of why Li Ji Restaurant's Fuding meat slices are so delicious!
The tourists and audiences in the audience are more concerned about when this delicacy will be ready.
They were eagerly looking forward to tasting this tempting delicacy.
At this moment, Li Wen and Li Wu each picked up a few pieces of fresh meat and prepared to start the first step of making Fuding meat slices: mixing the stuffing! You know, the key to whether Fuding meat slices are delicious lies in the mixing of the stuffing!
The selection of raw materials for Fuding meat slices is very important. If you want to make delicious, loose and tough meat slices, it is best to use lean meat from the pig’s hind legs as the raw material.
In comparison, the quality of lean meat in other parts is slightly inferior.
These selected lean meats need to be thoroughly blended into a fine meat paste.
Next, add a small amount of baking soda and an appropriate amount of starch to the crushed meat paste.
This step is crucial to improving the taste of the meat filling, because baking soda can effectively reduce the meat fiber, while starch can increase the stickiness and elasticity of the meat filling, making the final meat filling fuller and more chewy!
It should be emphasized here that the amount of baking soda and the type of starch are key factors affecting the taste of meat slices.
If the amount of baking soda is too much or too little, the meat slices may be too soft or too hard, losing the ideal taste.
Moreover, if you add too much baking soda, the meat slices will become bitter, which will greatly affect the taste!
Similarly, the choice of starch is also critical. Usually, we cannot use ordinary corn starch, but should choose sweet potato starch or tapioca starch.
Only in this way can we ensure that the Fuding meat slices are easy to shape and have a satisfactory chewy texture.
However, every chef has a unique take on the addition of baking soda!
Nowadays, all major restaurants will add some baking soda when making Fuding meat slices to improve the taste of the meat slices, making it smoother and more chewy!
But in the past when there was no baking soda, the way Fuding meat slices were made was different.
Some chefs will not add this substance at all during the cooking process; while other chefs will choose to add a substance similar to the baking soda and edible alkali we use now - edible plant lime!
The art of making plant ash alkali has a long history in Fujian, but with the impact of modern technology, the number of people who master this traditional art is decreasing.
Fortunately, today's edible plant ash alkali production process has been successfully selected into the seventh batch of Putian City's representative list of intangible cultural heritage projects, and has received due attention and protection.
In Xiayuan Village, Li'nan Town, Xianyou County, Fujian Province, there is a villager named Zhang Kaiji, who is the third-generation inheritor of the edible plant ash alkali!
The raw materials for making this magical edible plant ash alkali are not simple!
You need to use plants rich in alkaline, such as Schefflera, tea seed shells, bamboo, etc.
First, cut the hollyhock trees and bamboos into small pieces and burn them into ashes in the fire.
Next, the ashes have to be soaked and the clear liquid filtered out.
Finally, pour the clear liquid into a large pot and boil it over high heat for about 12 hours. When the water in the clear liquid is boiled away, it can be further dried to become a fine powder.
Only after such "refining" can this precious edible plant ash alkali be achieved!
This edible plant ash alkali not only has the functions of sterilization and preservation, but is also an ideal food loosening agent, which can make bread, cakes, steamed buns, etc. fluffy and delicious; at the same time, it is also an excellent meat tenderizer, which is perfect for marinating beef!
In addition, it has the functions of preservation, anti-corrosion and anti-bacteria. It can be used to make meatballs, noodles, rice dumplings and other delicacies, and the taste and quality are absolutely first-class!
One pound of ash can only produce half a pound of alkali. There used to be many such craftsmen in Xianyou County, but now they have almost disappeared!
The indispensable ingredient of Li Ji Restaurant’s Fuding meat slices is the edible plant ash alkali made by Zhang Kaiji himself!