Before long, everyone had co out of the room where they were preparing dipping sauces.
Xie Baomin asked with a smile, "Where are those two Jiangtuan? Take them out, and let old Dai show everyone his skill... Junior Brother, watch closely. The steaming Technique in Sichuan cuisine is completely different from that of Cantonese cuisine."
Cantonese cuisine values freshness and advocates for the natural flavors of the ingredients.
That’s why the preparation of Stead Sea Bass is so simple: steam it, pour away the broth, add Scallion and Ginger strips, drizzle with Stead Fish Sauce, pour hot oil over it, and it’s ready!
Whether it’s a street stall, a night market, or a regular household, they all can make this dish tasty and appealing.
But Sichuan cuisine is different; in Sichuan cuisine, stead dishes are major dishes.
Jiangtuan is rich and delicious and has been a tribute since ancient tis; such rare ingredients naturally demand an array of exquisite accompanints to highlight their status.
Dai Jianli said, "Right, Lin junior, pay close attention to the routines and Techniques of stead major dishes. In case you need them later, consider it gathering so experience."
He was quite excited.
The two Jiangtuan "borrowed" from Building 15 were superior in both quality and size.
They were a notch above the cultured Jiangtuan that old Huang had managed to get, which was also why he had dared to "borrow" them this morning.
Since Brother Lin was here, he had to be treated to sothing good.
Song Dahai, the original owner of the Jiangtuan, looked helplessly at old Dai, "You dog, using my Jiangtuan to curry favor."
While he was complaining, Lin Xu asked curiously, "Chef Song, where did you buy this Jiangtuan? Is it still available?"
"I got these from a few friends who stumbled upon them while traveling near the Min River. They used an oxygenator all the way to Beijing. I had a hard ti convincing them to give a few, and this scoundrel stole half of them."
As Dai Jianli scooped the Jiangtuan out with a net, he said, "You are wrong, old Song. You can’t hog all the good stuff to yourself. If I were like you, would any of you have dipping sauces to use?"
When the other head chefs heard this, none of them echoed his sentint.
You dog, you’ve robbed and stolen so much from us and still put on a facade of selflessness. Your skin is almost as thick as Xie Baomin’s.
After the Jiangtuan was scooped out, everyone went into the kitchen to watch Dai Jianli cook the Stead Jiangtuan.
The kitchen was already prepared with the ingredients needed for Stead Jiangtuan.
The Ham was already cooked, the Sea Scallops had been soaked till soft, and the Fish Belly was also ready.
Besides these exquisite ingredients, the kitchen was also equipped with premium mushrooms—small flower mushrooms, and dried bamboo shoot products—Yulan slices to enhance flavor and fragrance.
Lin Xu watched, a wave of emotion washing over him. Jiangtuan is already so flavorful. If these ingredients are added and cooked together, how incredibly delicious would that be?
As Dai Jianli cleaned the Jiangtuan by the sink, he asked, "Should we steam both of these or make another dish too?"
Xie Baomin answered, "Let’s steam both. It’s been a long ti since I’ve tasted the broth of Stead Jiangtuan. I plan to drink more today because who knows when I’ll have it again."
Everyone present basically knew how to make Stead Jiangtuan.
But such good ingredients are hard to co by, so they decided to enjoy them while they could.
As Dai Jianli cleaned, Lin Xu rolled up his sleeves and went over to help.
Jiangtuan have small eyes and a long mouth, appearing like a rat from the front, so in the Yangtze River Delta region, this fish is also nicknad the ’rat catfish.’
This species has no scales and is covered with mucus, feeling slippery to the touch.
Lin Xu curiously asked, "Chef Dai, should this mucus be rubbed off with salt?"
Dai Jianli shook his head, "Salt alone won’t work; it won’t clean thoroughly. The Jiangtuan need to be scalded. You scald the skin to remove the mucus completely, which ensures the stead Fish will not have any fishy sll."
Scald? Lin Xu imdiately recalled the thod used for preparing catfish.
In the Northeast, when stewing catfish, they also scald the catfish’s surface with hot water to remove the mucus.
"For fish with scales, just scraping the Fish Scales off is enough," Dai Jianli said. "But for scaleless fish, it’s best to scald them because they generally live at the bottom of the water and have a stronger fishy odor."
While speaking, Dai Jianli split open the fish’s belly.
The innards of the Jiangtuan were cleaned out, among which the visibly thick Fish Bladder stood out as noteworthy.
Dai Jianli pulled out the Fish Bladder and put it aside, laughing, "This is great stuff. Once dried and made into Fish Belly, it has been a tribute for generations. Historical records state that Jiangtuan used to be sizeable, and the prepared Fish Belly was also substantial, unlike nowadays, where not only have they beco smaller, but they’re so overfished they’re nearly protected animals..."
Looking at this Fish Bladder, Lin Xu couldn’t help but think of the Fish Belly that had been prepared. Those Fish Bellies were probably from sea fish. Using ingredients from marine fish to prepare a freshwater fish dish—now that’s attention to detail!
After cleaning the fish, the innards were given to the head chef to make Pickled Peppers fish offal. Dai Jianli threaded a rope through the mouth of each Jiangtuan, then carried them to the stove.
It was ti to scald the skin.
Guo Weidong said to Lin Xu, "Scalding aquatic products like this requires specific water temperatures. It must not be below 80 degrees Celsius, as the skin won’t co off. However, it also mustn’t exceed 85 degrees, or you’ll cook the Fish."
Is it that strict?
Before long, tiny bubbles started forming at the bottom of the pot, a sign that the water had reached 80 degrees.
Having worked in the kitchen for so long, Lin Xu had grown accustod to judging water temperature.
For example, when dense small bubbles appear around the pot edge, the water is around 70 degrees. When small bubbles start forming at the bottom, the water is at 80 degrees, and when large bubbles begin to form, it’s usually around or above 90 degrees.
Dai Jianli held the two Jiangtuan above the pot, scooping water from the pot with a ladle and pouring it over the fish bodies.
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