nashuaworldcup Chapter 135 Crispy Fish Skin
Chapter 135 Crispy Fish Skin
Following Shen Cao's instructions, Li Xiaoyu made herself a bowl of food first.
She couldn't wait to take a bite, and it felt as if countless flavor enhancers had instantly flooded her mouth. The sweetness was refreshing, and the freshness made her eyebrows tremble.
Shen Cao saw that she nodded, seemingly quite satisfied with the soup base she had made.
"Xiaoyu, why don't you make a bowl for the others too?"
Li Xiaoyu pointed to herself, "Master, me?"
"Ok!"
Believe in yourself, you can do it!
On a late autumn or early winter afternoon, the sunlight wasn't very intense, although there were still some remnants of sunlight on the horizon.
However, a chill had already crept in.
At this moment, a bowl of hot and incredibly delicious fish ball soup is served.
It not only dispelled the chill but also brought the unique freshness of this season.
Li Xiaoyu's anxiety dissipated when everyone showed satisfied smiles.
Phew! Looks like everyone likes it. Hehe!
After finishing the fish ball soup, it got dark, and Mr. and Mrs. Shen, along with Granny Zhang and the others, went to the front to continue their business.
Shen Qing, Shen Wan, and Xiao Qi have recently started their early education, and Shen Cao has added a few more tables for them in the study.
Now, after dinner, they all go to the study to read and do their homework.
Shen Cao and Li Xiaoyu prepared to use the fish skin left over from making fish balls that afternoon.
Li Xiaoyu was in charge of watching the fire, and after a few days of getting to know each other, the two had developed a great understanding of each other.
With just a glance from her, Li Xiaoyu knew when to add fuel and when to reduce the fire.
She first poured a small amount of lard into the iron pot, and after the oil had completely melted, she put the fish bones and shrimp heads into the pot.
Heat oil in a pan and fry the fish bones until golden brown, then fry the shrimp heads to extract the shrimp oil.
Then pour boiling water into the pot.
Almost as soon as boiling water was poured into the pot, the color of the soup base changed from clear to milky.
The fat in animal fat undergoes an emulsification reaction with the protein in fish bones, causing the fat, which is normally insoluble in water, to emulsify and dissolve in the water.
In addition, the protein in the fish bones denatures when heated, turning them milky white.
There was also orange-yellow shrimp oil in the pot. The color of the shrimp oil blended into the soup base, turning the soup base orange-red.
Shen Cao added plenty of shredded ginger and pepper to the pot to remove the fishy smell.
Li Xiaoyu scooped up a few pieces of firewood from the stove and threw them into the ashes at the bottom of the stove to extinguish them.
Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook slowly.
Time and temperature will gradually take effect, bringing the expected surprises.
Shen Cao brought over a basin full of fish skins, picked out some of the broken pieces, and threw them to Lai Cai who was standing to the side.
Lai Cai had been waiting in ambush for a long time, and he was able to catch the fish skins that Shen Cao threw down almost every time.
"Lai Cai, well done."
Perhaps sensing Shen Cao's praise, Lai Cai wagged its tail even more enthusiastically.
I grabbed a handful of flour and poured it into the bowl, then kneaded it vigorously with my hands.
Mix the mucus on the fish skin thoroughly with the flour.
Then wash off the flour with water.
The fish skin was indeed very clean after washing, without a trace of slime.
Pour an appropriate amount of cooking wine, ginger juice, and scallion juice into the fish skin, and mix it with your hands until the fish skin fully absorbs the flavors.
Add a little salt, pepper and other seasonings to taste.
In a separate pot, pour in enough rapeseed oil.
When the oil is heated to 60% of its maximum temperature, insert a clean chopstick into the oil. If numerous small bubbles are produced around the edge of the chopstick, it means the oil is at the right temperature.
Mix flour, cornstarch, and an appropriate amount of five-spice powder evenly to make frying powder.
Take out a piece of fish skin, coat both sides of the fish skin with frying powder, and then put it into the oil.
After putting the fish skin into the oil, Shen Cao said, "At this time, you must not use chopsticks to turn the fish skin over."
"The fish skin is not set when it is first put into the pot, and it is especially soft when it is just cooked."
At this point, it's easy to tear the fish skin by simply using chopsticks.
Li Xiaoyu nodded; there was actually such a thing as an art to frying fish skin.
If it were her, she definitely wouldn't be able to resist flipping through it.
"Master, how can I tell if the fish skin is ready to be flipped over?"
Shen Cao waited a while until the fish skin in the pot was ready to be turned before speaking.
"When you feel it's about right, gently touch the underside of the fish skin with your chopsticks. If the area where you touched it feels hard, then you can flip it over."
She handed the chopsticks to Li Xiaoyu.
"you try."
Li Xiaoyu took the chopsticks and, imitating Shen Cao, gently touched the fish skin with them.
Sure enough, I could feel that it was hard.
She casually flipped the fish skin over.
The fish skin was fried until it developed a crispy, yellowish-brown crust.
After flipping it over, fry it for a while longer, and a crispy and delicious fried fish skin is ready.
Take a bite, and "crunch! crunch!" It's incredibly crispy.
Take a bite, and you'll find it salty, fragrant, and delicious.
The fish skin, which was originally meant for Lai Cai to eat, has been transformed into a delicious snack.
Li Xiaoyu brought a small bowl of fried fish skin to both the study and the front room.
Everyone who finished eating raved about it.
Sure enough, the deep-fried sugar and oil mixture is irresistible to everyone from the elderly in their seventies and eighties to children as young as seven or eight.
A short while later, they came back to the kitchen with empty basins, asking to be refilled.
I thought there would be some fish skin left, but it was all eaten up.
The fish soup was almost ready by now.
Shen Cao carefully lifted the pot lid.
Beneath the steaming water lies a creamy orange broth, its constantly bubbling base appearing incredibly rich.
"Wow!" Li Xiaoyu was once again impressed by Shen Cao's cooking skills.
I never imagined that discarded shrimp heads, fish heads, and fish bones could be transformed into such a beautiful soup base.
Shen Cao found an empty basin and used a strainer to scoop out all the fish bones and shrimp heads from the pot.
A pot of incredibly delicious broth is ready.
Because it was stewed for a long enough time, the fish bones had become soft.
Lai Cai seemed to have already anticipated that the full bowl of fish bones and shrimp head scraps was for it.
It carried its food bowl over, wagged its tail, and squatted down to wait.
"Wait a minute, it's a little hot right now." Shen Cao was charmed by Lai Cai's behavior. This little mongrel was not only intelligent but also incredibly clever.
Sure enough, as soon as it heard Shen Cao's words, it immediately whimpered and placed its food bowl at the kitchen door, reminding Shen Cao not to forget to feed it later.
He walked back to his doghouse with a disappointed look on his face, and curled up in the doghouse, staring at the kitchen.
"Master, why are you making such a big pot of broth?"
"Aren't chicken broth used to cook wontons? Or are you planning to use this pot of broth to cook wontons?"
It's not impossible to use this pot to cook wontons, but this time the senna leaves have other uses.
"You'll find out soon."
Shen Cao went to the storage room again and took out some onions, cilantro, cinnamon, star anise, garlic, and a jar of something that was unknown.
"It's getting colder, so I'm going to serve some warm food in the shop."
“Spicy hotpot.”