You can’t wash it with water, but you can clean it with salt, starch, flour, buckwheat husks, and so on. As long as you want to wash it, there are many ways to clean the chicken skin thoroughly.
Very soon, the white salt was rubbed dirty.
The chicken itself had obviously beco much whiter and more tender.
After cleaning all six chickens, Lin Xu also cleaned the Chicken Feet, chopping off their toenails in the process.
Then he cut off the chicken butts and discarded them. This part couldn’t be stewed in the stear, as it would taint the broth with a foul sll.
After cutting them off, he forcefully sliced the chicken legs, removing the lower half of the chicken’s body along with the skin, just like the cutting thod used for fast-food chicken drumsticks.
The chicken legs, along with the surrounding at, are tender, making the stead dish fragrant, smooth, and satisfyingly firm.
However, the at from parts like the chicken breast is tough. Steaming it makes it both stringy and dry, so it shouldn’t be added.
After removing both chicken legs, Lin Xu also cut off the chicken wings along with the surrounding at. Only the chicken head, fra, and breast remained on the carcass.
The chicken neck had only skin, no at, and was full of lymphatic tissue, making it unsuitable for the stear.
However, the chicken body, head, and neck wouldn’t go to waste. He planned to let Wei Qian or Zhuang Yizhou cook them with a few potatoes into a potato and chicken stew later that afternoon, which would still be delicious with rice or stead buns.
After removing the chicken legs and wings from all six chickens, the main ingredients for the stear chicken were ready.
Though called the main ingredients, they were actually the cheapest components of the entire stear chicken dish.
He chopped the chicken into pieces slightly smaller than mahjong tiles, gathered the various other ingredients, and brought over the stear, which had been washed the day before, to start filling it.
The stear had a unique shape, featuring a central conical vent, sowhat resembling a copper hot pot used for shabu-shabu.
Lin Xu evenly spread the chopped chicken inside the stear.
Then, against the inner wall of the pot, he tucked in slices of Xuanwei Ham, using the fattier lower section, which was saltier and would effectively season the broth.
The aroma of Ham is rich, but in this dish, it shouldn’t overpower the fresh flavor of the chicken, so the amount of Ham had to be kept to a minimum.
Since only a little was necessary, the saltiest parts were naturally used.
To prevent the Ham flavor from being too strong, the slices were tucked into the outermost crevices.
After inserting the Ham, Lin Xu added soaked Notoginseng, morel mushrooms, Astragalus, Cordyceps, Black wolfberry, and glehnia root. The quantities of the strongly flavored dicinal herbs had to be carefully controlled.
As for Red Dates, they were sliced open and their pits removed, using only the skin and flesh.
After adding these, a small handful of Cordyceps Flower was added next.
Cordyceps Flower would give the broth a golden hue, enhancing its presentation.
With all these ingredients, the stear was practically full.
After covering the stear, Lin Xu brought over a large pressure cooker and filled it with water until it was about two-thirds full.
When making stear chicken, the process had to be continuous, without pausing to add water.
Although the ingredients in the stear are what’s eaten, the pot underneath boiling the water also needed adjustnt. Traditional households often used chicken broth for this.
This allowed the flavor of the chicken broth to gradually seep into the stear via the steam, enriching the umami of the resulting soup.
Those who found chicken fat too greasy could use the water from soaking morel mushrooms for the steaming liquid, which would make the stear chicken’s broth even fresher tasting.
However, with today’s ample quantity of rich ingredients, there was absolutely no need for such extravagance.
Lin Xu added so Angelica dahurica to the water in the pressure cooker, which is effective at removing gay odors, along with a large spoonful of Scallion and Ginger water and a large spoonful of Rice Wine.
Scallions, ginger, and alcohol couldn’t be added directly to the stear but could be added to the water boiling beneath. This would still effectively remove gay scents and other odors.
However, for the scallions and ginger, only their infused water should be used, not the raw vegetables themselves, as both produce an unpleasant sll if stewed for too long.
Comparatively, Scallion and Ginger water was more suitable, as it would evaporate completely.
After adding all the seasonings, Lin Xu sealed the pressure cooker, removed its pressure valve, and then turned the heat to high to bring the water to a boil.
The trick he had ntioned to Mr. Huang that morning was to use a pressure cooker.
Compared to ordinary pots, the steam from a pressure cooker is more concentrated and abundant. By simply removing the pressure valve, there’s no need to worry about excessive pressure building up. It’s truly an essential for ho and travel... Ahem, I digressed.
Soon, the water in the pot was boiling.
Lin Xu retrieved the tal rack the car guy had welded the day before and placed it on top of the pressure cooker.
Five minutes later, once the impurities in the steam had dissipated, Lin Xu positioned the stear directly over the pressure cooker’s vent.
Soon, billowing steam entered the stear, and condensation on the lid began to drip.
"Damn, no wonder you had the car guy weld a tal rack yesterday! It was all for the stear chicken," Zhu Yong and Zhuang Yizhou exclaid, approaching with their phones to snap a photo.
Neither of them had ever imagined using a stear this way. The steam from a pressure cooker was far more concentrated than from a regular boiling pot. No wonder they only started preparing the stear chicken now! It turned out the boss had mastered stear acceleration technology!
Lin Xu said, "Today’s stear is quite large, so I specifically had a tal rack made for it. If it were a smaller stear, just placing it on the lid of the pressure cooker would do."
"Damn, I have to note this down. Learned a new trick!"
"I’ll note it down too. I’ll buy a stear and try this at ho. If this works, eating stear chicken will be so much more convenient in the future!"
While they were talking, Lin Xu turned down the stove’s heat to prevent the strong steam from dislodging the lid.
After finishing these preparations, he stepped outside. Mr. Huang, who had just been munching on baked pastries, was now clutching a bowl of Tomato Egg Noodles, scraping the last bits from the bottom.
After finishing, he gave Lin Xu a thumbs-up. "Bro, the hand-pulled noodles in your restaurant are absolutely fantastic!"
"If you like them, eat more," Lin Xu replied.
After setting down his bowl, Mr. Huang said, "No more for now, though. I’m planning to have stear chicken this afternoon; gotta save so room. By the way, Bro, I’m planning to organize a group al for my company in your banquet hall. Who should I talk to about this?"
Who to talk to? Lin Xu wondered briefly.
Lin Xu pointed downstairs. "Just find Manager Shu. She can arrange everything perfectly."
"Alright, I’ll go down and find her now." Mr. Huang got up and strode downstairs.
At that mont, Shu Yun was playing with Dundun by the stairwell. The little fellow absolutely loved the sensation of the steps, one after another. Midway up, he even turned and owed at Shu Yun, as if urging her to keep up and not fall behind.
"Manager Shu, I’m looking to book a group al for about eighty to ninety people. I want it to be lavish. How much will it cost?"
Upon hearing there was business, Shu Yun imdiately hoisted Dundun onto her shoulder. Walking towards the service desk, she asked, "Can you confirm the exact day?"
"Yes, how about Wednesday evening? Is Wednesday evening available? If it’s booked, Thursday works too. We’re practically family here, so whatever is most convenient for the restaurant."
Shu Yun said with a smile, "If everyone were like you, Mr. Huang, our job would be so much easier."
Mr. Huang smiled and waved his hand. "Your restaurant sources such high-end ingredients; it’s only right that we reciprocate when we can."
As they were discussing the arrangents, Dundun, who was sitting on the service desk, suddenly perked up. Just then, the shop door pushed open, and Ren Jie, dressed in sportswear, strode in.
"Excuse ... is Chef Chen from the kitchen here?"
Shu Yun looked up, and a string of exclamation marks seed to pop into existence above her head. "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Chef Chen actually snagged such a handso guy without a word! If it weren’t for the fact that I don’t have a sports car, I’d absolutely try to steal him away.
She cleared her throat, just about to say that Chef Chen was upstairs busy preparing for the evening’s dishes, when Mr. Huang, who was idling nearby, suddenly puffed out his chest and interjected,
"Young man, you might be in the wrong place. From the opening until now, I’ve been to the kitchen several tis a day. Back there, we only have one head chef, Brother Wei. There’s no Chief anything..."
As he was speaking, Mr. Huang caught Shu Yun frantically signaling him with her eyes. He quickly realized he had misspoken and coughed twice to cover his embarrassnt.
"What’s going on?" Ren Jie frowned, a hint of wariness flashing across his face.
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