"As the regulars in my stream know, to turn this flour from a background player into the delicious star of the show, we need to—knead the dough."
The flour was already piled into a small peak in the bowl. Jiang Qiuqiu grabbed a small handful of salt from the side, sprinkled it in, and used a rolling pin to mix the flour and salt evenly.
The rolling pin swirled through the round pile of flour.
[Is she painting? Why do I feel like I’m witnessing so legendary art from Ancient Earth!]
[Professional foodie taking notes: Do you have to stir it in that pattern? Will the pancakes taste better this way?]
[Curious.]
"The stirring thod doesn’t matter. As long as you don’t send flour flying everywhere, you can stir it however you like."
As she spoke, the peak of flour had been flattened. Now, it was ti to start making the dough. "This ti, the process is different from what we’ve done before."
"To make scallion pancakes that are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, you have to scald the dough with boiling water." The water, fresh off the stove, was still steaming as she poured it all into the bowl. "Since this is boiling water, don’t use your hands for this step. Use the rolling pin to stir the flour into a shaggy texture like this."
She had the cara robot zoom in for a close-up. "By now, most of the heat has dissipated, so we can start kneading by hand."
Jiang Qiuqiu’s hands were small compared to the bowl, but those small hands held great strength. With a deft press of her bare hands, she skillfully brought the shaggy clumps of flour together, then rolled the mass around the bowl.
Soon, the dough in Jiang Qiuqiu’s hands grew larger while the bottom of the bowl and her hands beca cleaner. The shaggy mass gradually turned smooth. But for scallion pancakes, smooth wasn’t enough; it also needed to be soft.
"At this point, we need to let the dough rest."
"Letting it rest naturally takes about thirty minutes. Since we’re in a competition today, we’ll put the dough in the thermostatic proofer. That will shorten the ti a bit."
"While the dough is resting, let’s prepare today’s accompanints."
The chopping of the scallions went without saying. The vibrant green stalks were sliced by the kitchen knife into fine pieces, and the distinct aroma of scallions instantly filled the air. As a veteran at chopping vegetables, Jiang Qiuqiu finished all the prepared scallions in less than two minutes.
With plenty of ti to spare, Jiang Qiuqiu thought, ’Pancakes should be served with soup.’ So, on the spot, she decided to make a light, palate-cleansing soup with shredded pork, tofu, and scallions.
Although the soup was simple, she made a large pot of it. Its broth was clear, and its flavor wasn’t overpowering, making it a perfect accompanint for the pancakes.
Once the soup was done, she had an assistant robot carry it to the side to be served. Just then, the dough in the thermostatic proofer was ready.
The rested dough was soft and pliable, smooth and delicate. Jiang Qiuqiu dusted her hands with a little raw flour, rolled the dough into a long log, divided it into small portions, and flattened each one with a rolling pin. Using a leafy green as a brush, she spread a thin layer of oil over the surface, sprinkled on so chopped scallions, and then rolled it up into a long strip.
She then coiled the strip into a spiral, and just like that, a small scallion pancake round, full of twists and turns, was ready.
Jiang Qiuqiu only went slowly for the first three pancakes, explaining the process as she worked. After that, she practically beca a rciless dough-rolling machine.
With fluid, practiced motions—a roll, a pinch, a coil, a press—one small dough round after another was placed in the corner of a large square platter.
As everyone watched, suddenly soone—
[!]
[I’ve discovered sothing huge!]
[Did you guys see it?]
[???]
[What’s with the sudden excitent?]
[I noticed there are more than 20 dough rounds! Does that an today’s winners don’t just get one pancake, they get two?!]
Well, it had to be said, this was indeed—
A very, very, very big deal.
At the ntion of food and quantity, the chat instantly exploded with excitent.
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