Pork liver is a kind of ingredient that cooks very easily, so it shouldn’t be added too early.
It should be added right before the dish is about to be served, when the pork liver’s texture will be soft and tender, and fully flavorful.
If it’s overcooked, the pork liver will turn dry and bitter, feeling like chewing on sand.
The broth in the pot needs to be simred longer to fully extract the aroma of dry yellow sauce and mushroom soup. anwhile, Lin Xu spends so ti crushing a bit of garlic paste in the garlic mortar, and he also chops so garlic.
Garlic is the soul of Fried Liver; it needs to be added more than three tis during the entire preparation process.
The first ti is when whole garlic cloves are added while sautéing the dry yellow sauce, the second when garlic paste is added to enhance flavor, and the third when chopped garlic is sprinkled just before serving.
Sotis, to enhance flavor, garlic needs to be added twice.
Once the garlic is ready, Lin Xu mixes green bean starch with water.
Green bean starch is the first choice for making Fried Liver, as it produces the smoothest texture, allowing it to be sipped along the edge of a bowl easily without using a spoon.
It’s said that old Beijing folks never say they’re eating Fried Liver, but rather drinking Fried Liver.
When eating, no spoon or chopsticks are used. Instead, the bowl is held up, and the Fried Liver is slurped along the edge, finishing what’s inside.
Once the starch is ready, Lin Xu uses a slotted spoon to fish out the cooked garlic and star anise from the pot, pressing the residue aside.
Next, he adds the cut cooked fatty intestines.
After adding the fatty intestines to the pot, dark soy sauce is added to adjust the color, bringing out the rich red color of Fried Liver.
As for salt, it doesn’t need to be added, because the dry yellow sauce is already very salty. If the saltiness isn’t enough, a bit of Light Soy Sauce will do.
The fatty intestines are simred for a while longer to reach a slightly soft and tender texture, then a large spoonful of mixed green bean starch is poured into the pot.
The starch is poured to ensure even distribution in the water.
There are tricks to thickening Fried Liver, one or two rounds won’t do, it requires more than three tis to lift the broth, fatty intestines, and pork liver up.
After thickening, stir the pot with a spoon.
The soup has beco thick and sticky, with a bit like a noodle soup feel.
Lin Xu adds the prepared garlic paste, stirring quickly with a spoon, causing the garlic aroma to rise imdiately.
Taking advantage of this ti, he brings over the marinated pork liver, not pouring it straight in, but first ladling a big spoon of broth from the pot into the basin holding the pork liver.
With a spoon, he mixes lightly, letting the pork liver turn slightly pink, then pours the pork liver and broth into the pot, stirring with a spoon.
Once the pot’s broth boils again, another spoonful of starch water is added.
When thickening, the pot’s broth must be boiling; otherwise, the starch water will form lumps.
After thickening the broth again, add the chopped garlic.
If the pot lacks color, add so more dark soy sauce; if both color and taste are satisfactory, thicken the broth once more in preparation to serve.
Pork liver in the pot shouldn’t be cooked for too long; it must be finished promptly to preserve the soft and tender texture.
Three rounds of thickening have turned the broth thick and sticky, with a vibrant red color, but the aroma is still delectable. As Lin Xu ladles it into a bowl, a system notification sounds in his mind:
"Beijing snacks 1, task progress at 7/10."
At this rate, completing the task should be quite easy.
Lin Xu dishes up the Fried Liver, carrying it on a tray to the dining room, noticing Chen Yan and Ren Jie are here, the pair enjoying freshly fried syrup cakes.
"Brother-in-law made this Fried Liver pretty good, slls delightful."
Ren Jie swallows and says:
"It’s tough now in Beijing to find authentic Fried Liver, where fatty intestines are chopped like fingernails, practically invisible, and pork liver is scarce, all upheld by starch."
Shen Guofu nods:
"Indeed, finding a good tasting Fried Liver isn’t easy, so we made it at ho today. Xiao Xu’s skills easily surpass those snack shops."
Lin Xu laughs and says:
"Not necessarily, so Fried Liver shops have been around for over a hundred years."
Shen Guofu holds a bowl, slurping along the edge, then raises his thumb:
"My son-in-law’s biggest problem is his humility, this Fried Liver, not to ntion those hundred-year-old shops, those thousand-year-old ones wouldn’t stand a chance... Mom, you must try this, it’s really good."
Lin Xu goes back to the kitchen, serving two more bowls, pairing them with homade small pickles and little salted vegetables, eating alongside syrup cakes.
One sip of Fried Liver, one bite of syrup cake.
Initially, it seems quite heavy on the palate, but upon truly eating, one finds that this eating style is quite nice, the aroma and freshness of garlic-filled Fried Liver lacking any imagined off-flavors.
Additionally, due to the green bean starch, drinking it feels smooth, akin to sipping jelly.
Shen Guofu says while eating:
"Since childhood, every so often I’ve had to eat Fried Liver, without it I feel uneasy all over. Eating Fried Liver has beco an emotional attachnt and habit."
Shen Jiayue clicks her tongue:
"Luckily, I’m eating, otherwise from your speech, I’d suspect you’re reminiscing about your first love."
Shen Guofu chuckles:
"Truth be told, Fried Liver has always been refreshing to ; despite people calling it heavy-flavored, I’ve never felt that... Regarding eating innards, doesn’t the south have pork congee too, another form of Fried Liver?"
Seeing her father speak like this, Shen Jiayue tries to egg on her mother:
"It seems Fried Liver holds quite a high place in Dad’s heart, almost matching Mom... Director Han, what’s it like being compared to humble Fried Liver?"
Hmph, you didn’t get syrup cakes earlier, so firing you up once isn’t overboard, right?
Han Shuzhen gives her husband a look, then turns to Shen Baobao and says:
"Finish your al quickly, isn’t this delicious Fried Liver enough to fill your mouth?"
Watching this family of three bantering, Ren Jie can’t help but show envy, having scholarly parents who never allowed such talk since childhood.
To complete the task swiftly.
Lin Xu takes a sip of Fried Liver and says:
"Recently I’ve beco interested in Beijing snacks, wanting to try making more varieties at ho. Is there anything you’d like to eat?"
Want to eat?
Everyone looks at each other, each naming desired delicacies.
"Braised fire cakes!"
"Garlic fatty intestines!"
"Sheep sausage!"
"Smoked fish!"
"Bean juice!"
"..."
Lin Xu: ??????
Why all heavy flavors?
Can’t you want a refreshing dessert or snack?
————————
Honestly, I quite enjoy eating braised dishes, though during my visits to Beijing I never got to try Fried Liver, a bit regrettably, I’ll definitely try it next ti to see if it matches what I described. This Chapter is 5200 words, seeking monthly tickets, brothers!
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