After being comforted like that, Dundun imdiately rubbed its head against Lin Xu’s neck.
Then, a system notification sounded in Lin Xu’s mind: "Host has comforted Dundun attentively, completing the hidden task [Pacify Beloved Pet], and obtained the Perfect Level braised dish: Braised Rabbit at. Congratulations to the host."
Holy cow! This was a hidden task? Luckily, I’d just consoled Dundun for a bit. Otherwise, I would have definitely missed out on such a great reward.
Although Lin Xu had seed eager to try earlier, he actually wasn’t proficient in cooking rabbit at, and the system had never rewarded him with a similar recipe. He had only thought that as long as he added more chili and spices, the rabbit at wouldn’t taste bad. But now, after acquiring the Perfect Level Braised Rabbit at experience, he realized that this dish’s cooking thod was very particular; if not careful, it was easy to ss up.
For example, rabbit at is quite lean and sowhat tough, with a very low fat content. It would be a big mistake to cook it with the usual concept of "cooking at dishes as if they were vegetable dishes, and vegetable dishes as if they were at dishes." Instead, this dish required lard. That way, the aroma would be richer, and the at would beco more fragrant, tender, and smooth. If vegetable oil were used, the rabbit at would not only turn out dry and tough, but it would also seriously lack fragrance.
Moreover, rabbit at has a strong gay taste, especially wild rabbit, which has a rich, grassy gaminess. To make it taste good, one must use ingredients that remove gaminess and off-flavors. These included Angelica dahurica, White Cardamom, and White Pepper, as well as lemon, high-proof Liquor, and so forth. Only then could the rabbit at be cooked to be fresh, fragrant, and delicious, suitable to accompany both drinks and rice.
After processing this information, Dundun, no longer looking scared in Lin Xu’s arms, hopped down. It headed straight to the side of the sink, attempting to drag out the black fish. However, with a flick of its tail, the black fish splashed water all over Dundun.
Lin Xu sighed. Back to being a bratty kid again, huh?
He didn’t bother with the little guy but walked into the kitchen on his own to start preparing the rabbit.
Alright, since I already have the recipe, let’s get started. It would be perfect to see what’s different about Braised Rabbit at made with a Perfect Level recipe.
First, he chopped the rabbit into large pieces with a cleaver. Then, he soaked them in cold water. This would remove the gaminess and also make the at moister and more tender.
While soaking the rabbit at, Lin Xu trimd a piece of at from one of the rabbit’s legs. He would steam it in the pot for a bit to give Dundun a taste. Having just received the Perfect Level Braised Rabbit at recipe from Dundun, it wouldn’t be right not to reward it.
Right, not only will I reward it with rabbit at, but I’ll also give Dundun so black fish on Grandma’s birthday. I’ll let this little fellow truly experience the joy of eating at.
Once the piece of rabbit at for Dundun was steaming, Lin Xu checked on the air-drying wild fruits. He noticed their surfaces had mostly dried, except for the stems and the parts touching the bamboo basket, which were still slightly damp, so he flipped each fruit over.
Having finished that, he began preparing the ingredients needed for the Braised Rabbit at. He gathered several scallion segnts, a few slices of ginger, several cloves of garlic, a large handful of dried chili pieces, a pinch of Sichuan peppercorns, so chili rings cut from Hang peppers and Erjingtiao chilies, and various other spices.
Once everything was ready, he fished the rabbit at out of the water. After draining the rabbit at briefly, he placed the wok on the stove. He heated the wok, then swirled in so cold oil to coat it—a technique to prevent sticking—before adding a large spoonful of lard.
Soon, the oil was hot. Lin Xu added the scallion segnts, ginger, and garlic to the wok, frying them until fragrant before adding the rabbit at and beginning to stir-fry. The heat for this step needed to be high. This would ensure that any off-flavors in the rabbit at evaporated from the at along with moisture, driven out by the high-temperature oil.
When the surface of the rabbit at had slightly changed color, he added the prepared spices and dried chilies. He continued to stir-fry, allowing the aromatic flavors to quickly penetrate the at and further eliminate any gaminess. When the spicy fragrance was prominent, he poured so high-proof Liquor down the side of the wok. Using the volatility of the alcohol, he continued to eliminate the gaminess of the rabbit at. After this step, most of the at’s off-flavors had been eliminated.
Next, he added Braised Soy Sauce and water, covered the wok with a lid, and let it simr slowly.
As it simred, Shi Wenming remarked with a sigh from the side, "No wonder the rabbit I stewed before didn’t taste good! Turns out this stuff needs lard. I’ve learned another trick from you, Nephew."
Lin Xu replied with a smile, "For dishes with low-fat ingredients like this, you need to use lard or beef tallow—it’s about making at dishes with animal fats. Rember when I cooked fish? I used lard then too."
In cooking, you have to learn to adjust the oil flexibly based on the ingredients. When ingredients are naturally fatty, use vegetable oil or no oil at all, letting their own fats render out. When the ingredients are too lean or lack fragrance, use lard. If you want to enhance umami, you can even use chicken fat. So specific dishes, like the less-common ’It Resembles Honey,’ even require Sesa Oil for cooking.
While the rabbit at stewed, Lin Xu took the nearly-dry wild fruits to prepare fruit vinegar.
There are two types of fruit vinegar: one is for beverages, and the other is for cooking.
So-called beverage vinegar uses vinegars with a simple flavor profile, like White Vinegar or Rice Vinegar, as a base. Fruits, white sugar, Honey, and other ingredients are then added to brew. The resulting fruit vinegar is sweet and sour, and can be drunk directly or diluted with water.
Cooking vinegar, on the other hand, is brewed from washed fruits fernted in a sealed container. Although this type of vinegar has a fruity flavor, its acidity is much stronger. It’s not suitable for drinking directly and should only be used sparingly in cooking.
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