Food: Taking the twins to kindergarten to be chefs

"You know what, this fire drill was really meaningful. The kids learned a lot and performed really well..."

Huang Jun was in the kitchen and heard the lively noise outside. He couldn't help but come out to take a look. He found that Qingqing and Weiwei were clapping their hands like the other children, and were eager to try.

It's obvious that they are both interested in the firefighters putting out fires.

Hey.

He really guessed it right!
After being chosen by Liu Wujie at first sight, the two little guys were as happy as a 200-pound fat boy, and ran to Liu Wujie's side in a flash.

Under the careful guidance of Liu Wujie, Qingqing and Weiwei quickly got into the role and concentrated on learning the correct way to use the fire extinguisher.

Although their hands were tender, their seriousness and concentration were touching. They imitated Liu Wujie's every move meticulously and operated the fire extinguisher carefully...

"Not bad, not bad, he looks like a little firefighter..."

Huang Jun smiled and picked up his mobile phone to take pictures to record this precious moment.

After Jiang Shuihan and Lu Pengfei finished eating a spiced egg reserved for them, they heard the noise outside and came over to join in the fun.

Seeing Qingqing and Weiwei's wonderful performance, the two couldn't help but praise them: "Chef Huang, your Qingqing and Weiwei performed well. Their short hands were able to operate the fire extinguisher in a very professional manner..."

Huang Jun's ears were filled with praise, which made the smile on his face even brighter and made him feel very happy.

But he still reminded them, "Don't let them hear this. Last time I teased them about their short arms and how they couldn't reach anything, they could hang a soy sauce bottle from their mouths. It took me a long time to coax them back to normal."

Make some small talk.

Seeing that Qingqing and Weiwei had finished the demonstration, Huang Jun turned back to the kitchen to prepare to cook the last dish for lunch - Longjing Shrimp.

Although the dish of Longjing shrimp seems simple, it actually contains a lot of details.

First of all, this dish is extremely picky about the choice of shrimp.

Traditionally, only river shrimps caught from the Qiantang River or West Lake are considered the most authentic raw materials.

Although this statement adds a bit of elegance, it actually adds more of a gimmick of regional characteristics. In general, as long as the river shrimps are fresh, they are enough to meet the basic requirements of this dish.

Although river shrimps are not big in size, their meat is firm and elastic.

What’s even more rare is that they don’t taste fishy at all, but instead have a fresh and natural sweetness, which is why many Chinese chefs prefer to use them as cooking ingredients.

Today, in order to make this Longjing shrimp dish, Huang Jun specifically instructed Liu Suyu to purchase high-quality wild river shrimp.

At this moment, Aunt Li and Aunt Lin have already started to get busy. Aunt Li is peeling the fresh river shrimps.

In fact, to be more precise, this process should be called squeezing shrimps.

Pick up a river shrimp, first remove the shrimp head, then follow the natural curve of the shrimp body and gently squeeze it. With a subtle and crisp sound, the plump, chewy, crystal clear shrimp meat will suddenly jump out of the shrimp shell, exuding an attractive luster...

Huang Jun saw that Lv Pengfei and Jiang Shuihan had already set up their filming equipment, so he began to explain to the camera: "Dear parents, today we are going to make a famous Jiangnan dish - Longjing shrimp."

"First, we have to start by selecting river shrimps. Fresh river shrimps are the key to the success of this dish. The skill of peeling the shrimps is also very important. Watch carefully, just like Aunt Li does, remove the shrimp heads and squeeze out the shrimp meat."

"Also, when peeling shrimps, you must peel them while they are still fresh. That way, the shrimps will taste sweet and chewy. If you use dead shrimps, the peeled shrimps will taste sticky and woody, and even have a faint fishy smell..."

As he spoke, Huang Jun walked briskly to Aunt Lin who was picking shrimp threads.

Lu Pengfei and Jiang Shuihan also tacitly pointed the camera at them.

Huang Jun faced the camera and continued with a smile: "The squeezed shrimps need to be washed twice with clean water to remove the dirt and slippery parts. Then use a toothpick to pick out the black lines on the back of the shrimps, so that they are clean to eat."

"After all, this is a high-end dish, so don't be lazy or think it's troublesome. You have to clean the ingredients thoroughly so that the shrimp will look good and taste good."

"It's not just this dish, it's the same for any dish. If you want to make it extremely delicious, you can't be careless with the ingredients. Only in this way can you make it delicious."

"After the shrimp thread is processed, the shrimp meat should be washed with clean water first, and then washed with baking soda. Baking soda can clean the mucus on the surface of the shrimp meat, making the shrimp meat taste crisper and whiter in color."

"If you don't follow these steps and just cook it in the pot, the shrimp will turn red."

"If that's the case, it's not Longjing shrimp anymore."

"After all, authentic Longjing shrimps must be pure white in color."

Introduction completed.

Huang Jun took Jiang Shuihan and Lu Pengfei to wash their hands again, disinfected them, and then walked into the operating room...

Qian Guoxiang had already taken out the prepared Longjing tea leaves, placed them in a large plate, poured in hot water, stirred them gently twice with chopsticks to allow the hot water to fully soak the tea leaves, and then poured out the water.

Huang Jun explained to the camera: "Washing tea leaves is a very important step in brewing tea, as it can wash away the dust on the surface of the tea leaves. Although today's tea leaves are not drunk but cooked, this step cannot be omitted."

As he said this, he signaled Jiang Shuihan to hand the camera to Qian Guoxiang. After Qian Guoxiang washed the tea leaves with hot water, he poured some warm water that was not too hot into the large plate and let the tea leaves soak in it.

Huang Jun continued to explain: "The reason for using warm water is that it can make the tea leaves expand to the maximum extent. If you use hot water, the tea leaves will easily rot, and it will not look good when fried into dishes. So we have to use warm water, so that the tea leaves will be more complete."

After the tea was brewed, Aunt Li and Aunt Lin had already washed the shrimps, brought them over, and placed them on the workbench: "Chef Huang, the shrimps have been processed and are here for you."

Huang Jun smiled and responded: "Okay, please use kitchen paper to wipe the surface moisture of the shrimps clean."

"it is good!"

Everyone responded in unison and worked together to gently wipe the moisture off the surface of the shrimp.

After the shrimps were drained of water, Huang Jun poured some salt into them, and then began to beat the shrimps in one direction with his hands. While beating, he said to the camera: "The purpose of beating like this is to make the shrimps gelatinous and to make the surface protein tightly condensed. This will make the taste more crispy and also make it easier to coat with starch. Remember, this process needs to last about five minutes. If the time is insufficient, it will be difficult to form an ideal gelatinous layer."

Five minutes passed in a flash...

When an attractive sticky luster gradually appeared on the surface of the shrimp, Huang Jun stopped his actions in time.

He took the egg white handed to him by Qian Guoxiang and slowly poured it into the shrimps.

Continue beating.

The shrimp, which was originally a bit sticky on the surface, instantly became extremely smooth due to the addition of egg white, as if it was wearing a layer of transparent coat.

After just one minute of careful beating…

The egg white begins to reduce and become slightly sticky, blending perfectly with the shrimp.

At this time, he sprinkled in a handful of dry starch and explained: "The magic of this starch is that it can tightly lock the moisture in the shrimp, so that the shrimp can still maintain its original freshness and juiciness, and avoid moisture loss."

Then, he stirred it for another thirty seconds, and the surface of the shrimp was evenly covered with a layer of white slurry, which is often called "slurry" in cooking.

After doing all this, he slowly poured some peanut oil into the shrimps, while explaining: "This step is not only to prevent the fine paste from falling off, but also to cleverly avoid the shrimps from sticking to each other when cooked at high temperatures."

After the peanut oil and shrimps reach harmony through gentle stirring, Huang Jun sets them aside to marinate. It does not take too long; just ten minutes is enough for the shrimps to fully absorb the flavor of the seasoning.

While waiting, he was not idle. He started to filter the soaked tea leaves to separate the tea leaves from the water.

Then he took a bowl and began to prepare the sauce that is essential for cooking Longjing shrimps.

"The Longjing Shrimp dish not only pursues extreme simplicity in the selection of ingredients, but also follows minimalism in the seasoning. Only salt, sugar, dry starch, and tea are needed. The tea seasoning can make the tea flavor in the dish more intense and taste better..."

As he spoke, he added these seasonings into a bowl, poured the tea leaves into it, and stirred it gently to make a sauce.

Set aside for later use.

As the marinated shrimp reaches its prime…

He put the wok on the stove and poured half of the canola oil into it, the oil rippled gently in the wok.

As he poured the oil, he said leisurely: "If you want to make this dish reach its peak, you have to use tea oil to cook it. In this way, the shrimp will naturally be infused with a hint of tea fragrance."

Wait until the oil temperature slowly rises to 30% hot...

He gently slid the marinated shrimps into the oil pan, then gently pushed them on the bottom of the pan with a spoon to prevent them from sticking.

He explained as he was cooking: "When frying, it is very important to control the oil temperature. Keeping it between 30% and 40% will not change the color of the shrimp, while keeping its crispy, tender and juicy taste."

"If the oil temperature is too high, the starch layer on the outside of the shrimp will quickly turn golden brown, and it will become fried shrimp, not the Longjing shrimp we want."

"The frying time also needs to be precisely controlled. When the oil temperature is 30%, it takes about 20 seconds. If the oil temperature rises to 40%, it needs to be shortened to 15 seconds."

“When you see that the shrimps are plump and distinct and no longer stick to each other, it is the best time to take them out of the pot.”

"Take it out now and drain off the excess oil."

"Because there is a frying step later, it is not a big deal if the shrimp is a little raw at this step. On the contrary, it can better absorb the flavor of the subsequent seasonings."

Huang Jun scooped the shrimps, still as white as jade, from the boiling pot and set them aside to drain the excess fat.

He quickly poured out the hot oil in the pan, leaving only a thin layer of oil at the bottom.

Put the shrimps back into the pot, stir-fry for a few times, then pour the carefully prepared sauce into the pot.

When the soup perfectly adhered to the surface of the shrimp, he sprinkled in the tea leaves that had been brewed in advance. The green leaves swayed gently under the action of the heat, adding a touch of elegance to the dish.

After another quick stir-fry for about ten seconds, a delicious dish with good color, aroma and taste is presented before your eyes... (End of this chapter)