Food: Taking the twins to kindergarten to be chefs

Time passed quietly in the tacit cooperation between the two...

After a while, all the piglets had completed the knife-changing process.

Then, Huang Jun took out wire and pliers, and worked with Qian Guoxiang to tie the suckling pig's four calves tightly.

The tying method is also quite particular. The pig's trotter must be folded back until it is parallel to the leg bone, then tied with wire and twisted tightly.

This is done to prevent the fascia in the pig leg from shrinking during roasting, which would cause the leg to deform.

After being tied up, the roasted suckling pig not only has a regular shape, but also looks more beautiful.

Over there, Aunt Li was in charge of boiling water. When she saw the water in the pot bubbling and about to boil, she smiled and called out, "Chef Huang, the water is about to boil..."

"okay!"

Huang Jun responded, put down the work at hand, took out the baking soda he had prepared in advance, and sprinkled a handful of it into the big pot.

The baking soda can make the pork skin soft and fluffy, and the texture will be crispier when baked.

After scalding with hot water, the pig skin will become tight and wrinkle-free, making it much easier to roast.

When the water in the pot starts to boil...

Huang Jun took the meat hook, hooked the pig's skull, put the suckling pig skin down, and gently put it into the pot to blanch it.

This step doesn’t take long, a minute is enough.

When the time came, Huang Jun took the suckling pig out of the hot water.

After blanching, the wrinkles on the pig's body disappeared, the skin became tight and looked much cleaner.

When the pig skin comes into contact with hot water, the pores will shrink, squeezing out the dirt inside, making the pig skin look cleaner, whiter and tenderer.

As soon as the suckling pig comes out of the hot water, Huang Jun immediately puts it into cold water to cool it down. This will allow the fat in the pig skin to escape and make the skin crispier.

Take advantage of this period.

Huang Jun then skillfully blanched some suckling pigs.

Seeing that the suckling pig that had been thrown into the cold water earlier was almost cold, he turned to his assistant Qian Guoxiang and said, "Assistant Chef Qian, I'll leave the remaining suckling pig to you!"

"Okay, Chef Huang, I promise to complete the task!"

Qian Guoxiang readily agreed, took over the task and continued to work.

Huang Jun picked up the cooled suckling pigs one by one and placed them skin down on the workbench, preparing for the crucial step of marinating them.

The meat of these little suckling pigs is very tender, and it feels like juice can be squeezed out with a light squeeze. It also has a natural fragrance without any strange smell.

As for the marinade, Huang Jun did not intend to make it too complicated. His goal was to fully bring out the delicious flavor of the meat.

He took out a large stainless steel basin and sprinkled some salt, sugar, five-spice powder and thirteen-spice powder into it.

The chefs of the Hujin Kindergarten next door were stunned when they saw how simple Huang Jun's seasoning was. They showed surprised expressions on their faces and began to murmur in their hearts:
"Look at the spices used by Chef Huang of Dorami Kindergarten. They are so simple. Aren't they the entry-level ingredients when we learn to roast suckling pig?"

"Yes, the spices he used are indeed entry-level! Do you think he only knows these basic recipes?"

"Hey, that's hard to say! Maybe Chef Huang is good at other dishes, but his roast suckling pig skill might be a little lacking."

"Maybe. After all, no one is perfect, and no chef is perfect. It's normal for people to have shortcomings."

"..."

Chef Zheng listened to these discussions and took a closer look at the ingredients prepared by Huang Jun. They were indeed just basic stuff.

this moment…

He couldn't help but doubt whether Huang Jun really only knew these basic formulas as they said?

Nine times out of ten it is!

Otherwise, why not use a more advanced formula?

It seems...

The legendary Chef Huang is not proficient in everything. At least when it comes to roast suckling pig, he may have some shortcomings.

Thinking that he was using a more advanced recipe, Chef Zheng couldn't help but feel a little proud: "Just wait and see, my roast suckling pig will definitely beat his 'basic version'."

Huang Jun paid no attention to the puzzled looks of the chefs from the Hujin Kindergarten next door. He concentrated on stirring the seasoning evenly, and then sprinkled the seasoning evenly on the suckling piglets like rain and dew, giving them a delicate seasoning coat.

Then he rubbed the suckling pig back and forth with his hands so that every inch of the skin could absorb the flavor of the seasoning and let the aroma penetrate into the deepest part of the meat.

The beauty of roast suckling pig lies not only in the crispy skin that makes people drool at the first sight, but also in the juicy and delicious meat inside. Only in this way can it achieve the wonderful taste of crispy outside and tender inside with endless aftertaste.

Huang Jun spread the carefully prepared suckling pigs flat on a tray and carefully covered them with plastic wrap, allowing them to quietly absorb the essence of the marinade.

He did this over and over again until all the suckling pigs were pickled.

While waiting for the food to be seasoned, Huang Jun and Qian Guoxiang took a short break and drank some water to relieve their fatigue.

Seeing that the time was almost up, they began to tear off the plastic wrap on the suckling pig that had been marinated first, and then took the shiny suckling pig fork and began to fork the suckling pig, starting with the hind legs, then through the ribs, and finally the pig's head.

This is done to ensure that the suckling pig's appearance is intact so that it will look good when roasted.

After putting the meat on, Huang Jun did not rush to lift the suckling pig up. Instead, he placed a matching wooden stick on the suckling pig fork and gently lifted it to leave a gap between the fork and the wooden stick.

He then placed a short wooden stick horizontally between the long wooden stick and the suckling pig fork, and the three wooden sticks were placed at the front legs, hind legs and ribs respectively. With this support, the suckling pig's skin was propped up to form a beautiful semicircle.

After finishing, Huang Jun used wire to fix the two front legs of the suckling pig to prevent the wooden strips from being thrown out during roasting.

After fixing it, Huang Jun took out the suckling pig, rinsed the pig skin with clean water, and then placed it in a ventilated place to let the pig skin dry naturally.

While the suckling pig skin was drying there, Huang Jun was not idle either. He started to prepare the crispy skin water to add luster to the pig skin.

Making crispy water is actually quite simple.

Just mix white vinegar and bright red Zhejiang vinegar together, add a little rose wine, stir it all together, sprinkle some maltose on it, stir it, and you're done.

The white vinegar and bright red Zhejiang vinegar can make the pork skin more crispy when roasted; the rose wine can not only remove the fishy smell of the meat, but also increase the aroma; the role of maltose is to make the roasted pork skin golden in color, which is very beautiful.

When the pig skin is almost dry, Huang Jun uses a brush to evenly brush the crispy water onto the pig skin.

After brushing the skin with crispy water, Huang Jun let the suckling pig blow in a ventilated place for a while to make the pig skin drier.

Then, he took out some hooks and skillfully hooked them onto the wood that had previously supported the suckling pigs, carefully hoisted the suckling pigs up, and put them into the hanging stove one by one.

The temperature in the hanging furnace must be controlled and maintained at around 60 degrees.

After putting the suckling pig in, only cover half of the lid so that the heat can be concentrated and slowly dry the suckling pig without causing the pig to produce too much oil.

This step is to bake the suckling pig thoroughly, laying the foundation for the next step of baking it into a beautiful color.

Bake for about an hour...

Both the pig skin and the meat inside the pig's belly were lightly browned, indicating that they were basically cooked.

Huang Jun took the suckling pigs out of the hanging oven one by one and hung them up.

Together with Qian Guoxiang and two others, he wrapped the pig ears, pig tails, and pig trotters, which are easy to burn, with tin foil, and then proceeded to the next step of roasting them in an open oven to color the suckling pig and make the skin more crispy.

He roasted the pig's belly first, and when the meat inside was cooked, he turned it over and roasted the pig's skin.

This roasting method not only roasts the pork thoroughly, but also puts the roasting of the pork skin at the end, which can make the pork skin more crispy and taste better.

During the roasting process, densely packed small bubbles appear on the pig skin, which is the key to the crispy skin of the roasted suckling pig.

Huang Jun also did not forget to apply some oil on the pig skin to make the roasted pig skin more golden and attractive...

Time passes by...

Huang Jun, however, roasted one suckling pig after another like a perpetual motion machine. He did everything by himself from the beginning to the end, and even when assistant chef Qian wanted to share the burden with him, he politely refused.

This left Chef Zheng and the group of chefs from the Hujin Kindergarten across the street stunned, and they secretly exclaimed in their hearts: Chef Huang's physical strength and arm strength are really amazing!
Traditionally, roasting suckling pig is a job that usually involves two people working together.

Especially when roasting the pork skin, someone else has to do it.

why?
Because if a person keeps roasting the pig skin, his hands and arms will definitely be very tired, and they might even start to shake.

With this shaking, the color of the roasted pig skin will easily become darker in some places and lighter in others, which will make it look worse.

Therefore, two people take turns and change handles when roasting the pig skin, so that the color of the roasted pig skin can be even and beautiful.

However, with today’s advanced technology, one person can easily do it by using a hanging stove to simmer first and then bake.

However, there were so many suckling pigs to roast that it was inevitable that my arms would tremble from fatigue.

It is for this reason that they have to change shifts of people to do the baking.

But what about Huang Jun...

He roasted the whole thing by himself, his arms were as steady as an old dog, not shaking at all, it was really hard not to admire him...

This time.

Chef Zheng's mind began to race with thoughts. His cooking skills suddenly seemed inferior in comparison, and an indescribable emotion surged in his heart.

He began to realize that he might have underestimated Huang Jun's skills in roasting suckling pig.

Although Huang Jun's marinade looked ordinary, his skills in roasting the suckling pig, especially his control of the heat, as well as his amazing endurance and arm strength, really made him admire him.

and many more!

He suddenly paused and took a closer sniff. The fragrance coming from Huang Jun was not inferior to that from his side at all.

Even slightly better?!

After thinking about it, Chef Zheng felt mixed emotions. He felt pressured, but had to look at Huang Jun differently.

Now, this silent contest that he secretly launched alone...

Only the taste is left!
Chef Zheng was so anxious that he felt like a kitten was scratching him. He was full of curiosity about the suckling pig roasted by Huang Jun. He wanted to taste it immediately and compare it to see whose cooking skills were better, his or Huang Jun's.

But the difficulty lies in the fact that he can't think of a suitable excuse no matter how hard he tries.

You can't just rush over and ask rashly: "Hey, Chef Huang, can I have a bite of your roast suckling pig?"

Not only would that seem too abrupt, but they had never spoken to each other before, and if he went straight up to her like that, the atmosphere would definitely be very awkward.

Ok.

How nice it would be if I could find a reason to try it that's neither embarrassing nor unreasonable!
He began to think in his mind... (End of this chapter)