After reattaching his microphone, the recording of the show began.
"As a Northern drifter, I’ve found that Yanjing folks really love mutton. Whether it’s mutton hotpot, lamb spine, mutton soup, or grilled mutton, these dishes are all extrely popular in Beijing. Among the stir-fried dishes, there’s one that makes many Beijing residents crave it if they go three days without eating it. That dish is... Scallion Explosion Lamb!"
The cara shifted with Zeng Xiaoqi’s movent to the stove, where Lin Xu’s figure appeared again.
"Today we’re fortunate to have Boss Lin here to teach everyone how to cook this dish. Hello, Boss Lin."
"Hello, Sister Xiaoqi."
The process for the three dishes was almost the sa; Lin Xu knew it by heart. After the opening, he began to introduce the ingredients.
"The ingredients and seasonings for Scallion Explosion Lamb are very simple, mainly consisting of leg of lamb, Shandong Green Onions, ginger, garlic, fragrant vinegar, Soy Sauce, salt, and Sesa Oil."
After the introduction, Zeng Xiaoqi asked, "Why do you emphasize Shandong Green Onions, Boss Lin? Are you from Shandong?"
"I’m not from Shandong, nor am I a son-in-law of anyone from there," Lin Xu replied. "The reason I emphasize Shandong Green Onions is that these onions are sweeter and better enhance the umami flavor when added to dishes."
Geng Lishan nodded slightly, fully agreeing with this statent.
Shandong Green Onions are an indispensable ingredient in Scallion Explosion Lamb. Not just for this dish, but also for Beijing Sauce at Strips, Roast Duck, and other dishes requiring scallion strips—all must be made with Shandong Green Onions, using only the white part. These green onions are sweet, fresh, and free of tough strings or residue. They can neutralize the saltiness of the sauce while also adding a crisp, fresh flavor to the dish.
After Lin Xu finished his introduction, he began to demonstrate his knife skills. He picked up the lamb but didn’t cut it into slices imdiately. Instead, he followed the muscle grain to remove the tough mbrane.
"When preparing lamb, the mbrane must be completely removed," he explained as he worked. "Otherwise, the dish will be tough to chew and hard on your teeth."
After removing the mbrane from the lean at, he turned the at over and gently stripped a thin layer of mbrane from the fatty part. This layer is known as the lamb’s "cloud skin"; if not removed, the cooked lamb will be unpleasantly chewy.
Once all the mbranes were gone, he sliced the leg of lamb along the grain into strips about six centiters long. Then, cutting against the grain, he sliced these strips into thin pieces.
As the caraman moved in for a close-up, Zeng Xiaoqi also leaned closer to watch. If this is simple, I’ll try making it myself back at my rented apartnt, she thought.
At that mont, Lin Xu said, "The at slices don’t need to be too thin; about 1.5 milliters is best. This thickness allows them to cook quickly while retaining so chewiness."
Upon hearing that the at slices didn’t need to be too thin, Zeng Xiaoqi was delighted. Haha, that perfectly suits my knife skills!
But when she heard "1.5 milliters," a series of question marks popped into her head. 1.5 milliters isn’t considered thin? Boss Lin, do you have so kind of misunderstanding about the word ’thin’?
Recalling her own knife skills, which produced Potato Strips thicker than KFC fries, the beautiful Miss Zeng wisely decided to give up on the idea.
Forget it, forget it, she thought. There’s no need to risk chopping off my hand for a single dish. If I want Scallion Explosion Lamb in the future, I’ll just have to thicken my skin and go freeload a al from Boss Lin.
Once the lamb was cut, it was placed on a plate and set aside. Next, Lin Xu began to slice the green onions.
"Only the white part of the green onion is used," he explained. "When cutting, make small roll-cuts so the onion pieces can separate easily. They’ll cook through quickly in the hot wok."
Roll-cutting is typically used for round ingredients. The term "roll-cut" doesn’t an the knife itself is rolling; rather, the food rolls under the knife. With each cut, the ingredient is rotated slightly. This thod produces pieces that are more evenly cut and cook faster, and they also have a larger surface area to better absorb sauce. When cutting round ingredients this way, one should cut along the central axis, known in professional terms as the "axial line." If the knife blade extends beyond the ingredient’s axial line when cutting, the pieces will be larger; this is called a "large roll-cut." If the blade does not extend beyond the axial line, it’s a "small roll-cut."
After cutting the green onions, Lin Xu gently rubbed them on the cutting board with his hands, allowing the layers to separate. He then scooped them into a large bowl.
With the lamb and green onions prepped, Lin Xu also minced so ginger and garlic.
"You’ll want to prepare extra minced garlic," he advised, "because for this dish, garlic needs to be added to the wok in three separate additions during cooking."
"Three tis?" Zeng Xiaoqi asked. "Why is that, Boss Lin?"
"It’s to remove the gay taste and sll of the lamb," Lin Xu replied. "Garlic has a strong effect in neutralizing those, so it’s best to use it when cooking lamb."
Zhen Wensheng turned to Geng Lishan and inquired, "Mr. Lishan, Chef Lin isn’t mistaken, is he?"
"No, he’s not," Geng Lishan confird. "Not only should garlic be added three tis, but vinegar should also be added twice during the cooking. This is all to eliminate the gay flavor."
Geng Lishan found himself increasingly impressed with Lin Xu. Young people who understand these traditional cooking thods are becoming truly rare, he thought. Take this dish, for example. If you were to ask any young chef from a typical restaurant to make it, they’d undoubtedly toss in a mishmash of ingredients like oyster sauce, Cooking Wine, and various peppers. But in reality, you shouldn’t add Cooking Wine or other strong spices to Scallion Explosion Lamb. This dish is all about savoring the natural aroma and flavor of the lamb itself. Once Cooking Wine and spices are introduced, the lamb’s distinct taste gets completely overpowered, ruining the entire dish.
Once all the preparations were complete, Lin Xu placed a wok on the stove and began the cooking process. He first heated the wok thoroughly, then added a large spoonful of cold oil and cranked the heat to maximum.
While waiting for the oil to heat up, he turned to the cara and said, "Ho stoves typically have less powerful flas. So, when making this dish, I recomnd cooking no more than half a pound of at at a ti. This allows for a quick stir-fry, ensuring the at cooks rapidly without releasing too much moisture. Otherwise, if the water from the at simrs out, it will significantly detract from the dish’s presentation."
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