Food: Taking the twins to kindergarten to be chefs

Chapter 655: The long-lost and cold electronic sound (Wish all readers a happy New Year's Eve!)

The next morning, at around 7 o'clock, the scorching sun filled every corner of the Dolaimi Kindergarten, covering this childlike paradise with a golden coat.

"Chef Huang, Qingqing, Weiwei, you are here!"

"Grandpa Li, good morning!"

"Hey, Uncle Li, good morning to you too!"

After a brief greeting between Huang Jun and his family of three and Uncle Li, they walked into the kindergarten.

Today, only children from the senior class came to the kindergarten. The first and second floors of the teaching building were particularly quiet, with only some subtle noises occasionally coming from the third floor.

In order to welcome this special day, teachers from all major classes have come to school in advance to prepare for the final arrangements for the "graduation ceremony".

However, these things had no direct connection with Huang Jun. He was mainly responsible for today's lunch, so he did not go to check but took Qingqing and Weiwei directly to the kitchen.

Just at this moment...

A familiar and gentle voice sounded quietly and reached Huang Jun's ears: "Huang Jun..."

Huang Jun stopped involuntarily, turned his head, and saw Yang Yuxi's pretty face at a glance.

He couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, then smiled and asked: "Yuxi, aren't you on vacation? Why did you come here today? Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing."

She shook her head slightly, lifted the hair beside her ears, and explained: "I was alone at home with nothing to do, so I came to take a look."

As a teacher of a small class, she can indeed relax today and start her holiday mode.

But she was worried that Huang Jun would come to the kindergarten to cook today, and she was also concerned that Qingqing and Weiwei would be left unattended because of his busy schedule, so she decided to come and help him take care of the two little ones.

"Good morning, Teacher Yang!"

Qingqing and Weiwei had innocent smiles on their faces. They waved their tender little hands and greeted Yang Yuxi.

"Hey, Qingqing, Weiwei, good morning!"

Yang Yuxi walked forward with a gentle look on her face, reached out and gently touched the little heads of Qingqing and Weiwei, and responded to the greetings of the two little ones with a smile.

Finally, she asked with a smile: "Qingqing, Weiwei, do you want to go with the teacher to watch the graduation ceremony of the older students? It's very lively there, and there will be many wonderful programs."

"miss you!"

Qingqing and Weiwei's eyes sparkled with anticipation, and they nodded almost without thinking.

next second...

They seemed to remember something and looked up at Huang Jun at the same time, with a hint of inquiry and expectation in their eyes, hoping that he would agree to this proposal.

Yang Yuxi also turned to look at Huang Jun and said with a smile: "Huang Jun, you must be very busy this morning, preparing meals for so many children and parents. Why don't you let me take Qingqing and Weiwei to attend the graduation ceremony for the senior class? Let them also feel the joyful and solemn atmosphere, which will also be helpful for their growth."

Hearing this, Huang Jun felt a warm current in his heart, and he also understood Yang Yuxi's real intention of coming to the kindergarten today - to help him take care of Qingqing and Weiwei so that he could concentrate more on his work.

This thoughtful gesture deepened Huang Jun's favorability towards Yang Yuxi.

"Then I'll trouble you!"

Huang Jun nodded in agreement, and looked at Qingqing and Weiwei, and gently reminded them: "You must listen to Teacher Yang and don't run around. You must abide by the rules and enjoy this special moment."

"Got it, Dad."

Weiwei raised her little head and answered seriously, "I will be good and obedient, and I won't run around or make trouble."

Qingqing also nodded quickly, her eyes smiling into crescent shapes: "I will also be good and not run around or make noises."

At the end, she did not forget to thank Yang Yuxi and said, "Thank you, Teacher Yang, for taking my sister and me to watch the graduation ceremony of the senior class!"

"You're welcome, let's go..."

Yang Yuxi smiled and stretched out her hands to the two little guys.

When Qingqing and Weiwei saw each other, they simultaneously reached out their hands, one on the left and one on the right, and then waved to Huang Jun and said, "Dad, we're leaving..."

"Okay, let's go!"

Huang Jun watched them walk into the teaching building, then turned and went to the kitchen.

"Chef Huang, here we come!"

"Hey, I'm here. You guys are busy. Thank you for your hard work..."

After Chef Huang greeted the kitchen staff, he swiftly put on his chef's uniform, went through a thorough disinfection, and walked into the operation room, ready to start making the sweet-skin duck.

The production process of sweet-skin duck can be roughly divided into five steps: cleaning, pickling, braising, frying and sugaring.

The cleaning process is relatively simple and is mainly the responsibility of Aunt Li and others.

They would soak the white-striped ducks in clean water for three or four hours last night to allow the ducks to fully stretch out.

After all, these white-striped ducks are transported through the cold chain, and they are inevitably squeezed, so they need to be soaked first, and then cleaned after the ducks stretch out to ensure that the folds of the duck meat will not hide dirt.

After the soaking is complete, it’s time to clean up.

This is a job that requires meticulous attention to detail.

Not only do the blood clots and debris in the abdominal cavity of the white-striped duck need to be thoroughly removed, the duck's head also needs to be re-trimmed, and the nasal cavity, oral cavity and other parts must be carefully handled.

In addition, some remaining hair roots on the duck's body should also be plucked out to ensure that the duck is clean inside and out.

After cleaning, rinse it again, then chop off the duck wings and feet, place the duck neatly on the workbench, and start marinating.

Huang Jun had carefully prepared the spices needed for marinating the duck the day before.

These marinades are made up of nearly ten spices, which are stir-fried in a salt-and-pepper manner and then crushed into a fine powder.

To use, simply spread the marinade evenly over the duck, inside and out.

It takes about four to five hours for the marinade to fully penetrate the duck meat.

Therefore, all these pickling work was arranged and handled in advance by Meng Hongze and others to ensure that the subsequent production process could proceed smoothly.

Huang Jun saw that Meng Hongze and his team had already marinated the ducks according to his strict requirements, and the results were remarkable and satisfactory. He nodded with satisfaction and said to Meng Hongze and other assistant chefs approvingly: "Well, you did a great job!"

After hearing this, Meng Hongze and the others were overjoyed, but they remained humble and replied, "This is all thanks to your careful guidance, Chef Huang!"

Huang Jun smiled slightly: "You have also put in a lot of effort, and every detail has been handled very well."

After that, he turned around and took some maltose and old rock sugar and started to make syrup.

Although applying sugar is the finishing touch in the production process of sweet-skin duck, the syrup needs to be prepared in advance.

Because the syrup applied to the duck must be carefully boiled for at least two hours to achieve the best effect.

In order to ensure that the duck can be coated with syrup immediately after frying, making the skin crispy and sweet, Huang Juncai had to boil the syrup in advance.

After all, once the fried duck is left out for too long, its taste will be greatly reduced.

He added an appropriate amount of water into the pot, and then put in an appropriate amount of maltose and an appropriate amount of old rock sugar.

Then he lit the stove and started boiling the syrup.

As the water in the pot gradually boiled, Huang Jun picked up a smooth medium-sized rolling pin, slowly put it into the pot, and began to stir the syrup carefully.

In fact, some duck fat should be added to the pot at this time, so that the syrup will have a strong duck flavor.

But...

Duck fat is not easy to make, and it is difficult to guarantee the safety of the source of finished duck fat on the market. After all, news about poisonous duck oil is common in the catering industry.

So he gave up using duck fat and added some lard instead.

Although lard cannot impart the same flavor as duck in syrup, its flavor-enhancing effect is equally significant, and in some ways, its aroma is even richer and more attractive than duck fat.

When the sugar cubes in the pot were completely melted, he carefully lowered the heat and turned to Meng Hongze, saying, "Xiao Meng, it's up to you to stir the syrup in the pot. I have to prepare the brine."

"Okay, Chef Huang, don't worry, I will do it for you!" Meng Hongze agreed readily, quickly took the rolling pin from Huang Jun's hand, and continued to stir the syrup skillfully.

at the same time.

Huang Jun began to prepare the brine, which is the essence of the delicious sweet-skin duck, and its quality is directly related to the taste and flavor of the final product.

He first put the spices he needed in a basin, washed them carefully, drained them, and then poured in white wine to soak them thoroughly.

Then, he fried a small pot of sugar color, which is the key step to give the sweet-skin duck its attractive color.
The appearance of high-quality sweet-skin duck is rosy and shiny, with just the right shade of red, which stimulates your appetite at first sight.

He added half a pot of water into the double-layer pot, then poured in the soaked spices and fried sugar color, scooped half a bucket of stored old soup into the pot, and finally sprinkled in an appropriate amount of salt.

After boiling over high heat, he switched to low heat and continued to simmer for more than an hour to ensure that the flavor of the spices could be fully integrated into the broth.

During this period, he was not idle and continued to prepare other dishes.

The more time-consuming dishes, such as steamed pork with rice flour and stewed crab meat, were all prepared first.

When the duck's marinating time was up, he put down his work and started to marinate the duck.

When braising duck, the placement of the duck is crucial.

The ducks must be placed neatly in the marinade one by one, in only one layer and never overlapping.

When placing the duck, first press it completely into the braising soup, allow the braising soup to fully fill the duck's abdominal cavity, and then let the duck float naturally.

The most important thing is that the broth in the pot must not be boiling when the duck is put in.

Because the boiling broth is too hot, it can easily burn the duck skin.

Generally speaking, as long as the temperature of the braising soup does not exceed eighty or ninety degrees, there will be no problem putting the duck in.

After all the ducks are put into the braising soup, soak them for about ten minutes to allow the ducks to adapt to the temperature of the braising soup from the inside out.

"Done!"

He covered the pot with satisfaction, boiled it over high heat first, then turned to low heat and simmered it slowly to let the ingredients absorb the flavors.

Then, he took the soup pot, filled it half full with water and placed it on the stove. The fire started and the water gradually heated up.

He cut off a large piece of maltose and threw it into the pot.

The concentration of the maltose water does not need to be too high, it is only needed to add an attractive color when frying, and it does not need to be boiled for too long. Once the maltose has melted slowly, he turns off the heat and lets it cool naturally.

The stew had been simmering on the stove for about twenty minutes. He and Meng Hongze worked together to open the lid of the double-layer pot and began the crucial step in the stewing process - seasoning.

To put it simply, turning the duck over means turning its head up instead of its butt facing up.

At this moment, after twenty minutes of marinating, the duck's neck in the pot has become soft and easy to bend, and it can be easily flipped over with just an iron hook.

But at this time, the duck skin is already cooked through, so you need to be extra careful when turning it over. Once the duck skin is broken, the appearance will not look good.

Affects the appearance!
After the duck successfully turns over...

He lifted the duck's neck with an iron hook and took it out of the stew. At the same time, he reminded Meng Hongze who was standing beside him: "Xiao Meng, give me a sharp knife..."

"Okay, Chef Huang, I'll be right over!"

Meng Hongze agreed and handed him a sharp knife.

Huang Jun took the sharp knife steadily, raised his hand and slashed it, and the tip of the knife accurately pierced deep into the duck's chest from the base of the duck's neck.

See this.

Meng Hongze asked with a puzzled look on his face: "Chef Huang, the duck is almost done, why do you want to cut it again?"

Huang Jun explained with a smile: "This piece of duck meat is relatively thick, so it is not easy to cook thoroughly when stewed. And if you don't stab it, air pressure will form in the duck's abdominal cavity, making it difficult for the stew to penetrate into the abdominal cavity, resulting in uneven cooking of the duck meat."

To put it bluntly, this cut is to deflate the duck's abdominal cavity.

Because the duck's butt is now facing downwards, if the knife is not stabbed, the air in the abdominal cavity will not be able to be discharged.

After finishing all these, Huang Jun quickly covered the pot and continued to simmer it over low heat.

"Chef Huang, what should we do with the remaining duck feet and duck wings? Should we braise them directly?" Aunt Li asked curiously.

"No need to stew, we are going to make dry pot duck feet and duck wings later."

Huang Jun answered with a smile, while continuing to work on other dishes with his hands.

Half an hour later…

Seeing that the time for braising was almost up, he returned to the stove, picked up the iron hook, easily hooked up a duck, then picked up the chopsticks and stabbed hard into the duck's thigh.

The chopsticks pierced firmly into the water, indicating that the duck was fully cooked and ready to be served.

However, there are some things to pay attention to when serving the dish. It’s not as simple as just taking it out of the pot.

The braised duck must also be carefully cleaned to remove the foam and impurities on the surface.

He instructed Meng Hongze and Yu Daqing to prepare a large basin of cold water and place it near the double-layer pot. Then he used an iron hook to lightly hook up a freshly braised duck and slowly immersed it in the water.

Meng Hongze and Yu Daqing immediately started cleaning, carefully brushing away the spice debris on the duck's body and in its abdominal cavity, ensuring that every part was clean.

This step has a dual meaning: first, when the duck is exposed to cold water, its meat and skin will shrink instantly, which is the secret to the sweet-skin duck's crispy skin and firm and chewy meat.

Secondly, cleaning can completely remove the spice debris attached to the duck, so as to prevent these debris from being burnt due to high temperature during the subsequent frying process, producing a bitter taste, which not only affects the deliciousness of the duck meat itself, but also ruins the overall appearance of the duck.

After all, the addition of sugar color during the marinating process makes the duck appear an attractive brown-red and shiny color. Although this color can instantly attract the eye, it will also make any tiny black spots particularly conspicuous.

Therefore, immediate cleaning after taking the food out of the pot is particularly important.

The cleaned ducks are neatly stacked in a clean bamboo basket. A fan next to it blows gently, quickly removing moisture from the surface of the ducks and making the duck skin tighter.

Taking advantage of this time, he quickly set up a large pot, poured in enough cooking oil, lit the fire, and started preparing for the frying process.

Meng Hongze and others immersed the dried duck in maltose water again for a second coloring, hoping that the fried product would be more shiny and attractive.

When the oil temperature rises to 70% hot, Huang Jun steadily lifts the duck and slowly puts it into the boiling oil pan.

Since the duck has been cooked in advance, all you need to do now is use the power of high-temperature hot oil to fry the skin until it is crispy and rosy before serving.

The duck dipped in maltose water changes color quickly under the action of hot oil, gradually transitioning from the original brown-red to a deep reddish brown, and the skin becomes hard and crispy.

When you gently touch the duck skin with a colander and hear a clear friction sound, it means the duck skin has reached the ideal crispiness and is ready to be served.

Then, they took out the fried duck and placed it in an oil-draining basket to let the excess oil drip off naturally.

After the duck has cooled down slightly, the most important step in making sweet skin duck begins - applying sugar.

This step is crucial to achieving the unique flavor of sweet skin duck.

Before that, they carefully prepared a clean and dust-free bamboo basket and placed it securely on the tray as a special container for the ducks.

The cleverness of this design is that it ensures that any excess syrup from the duck drips onto the tray, keeping the environment tidy.

Huang Jun put on disposable gloves, picked up a golden fried duck, and gently dipped it into the still warm syrup.

He held a brush and meticulously applied syrup evenly all over the duck's body, leaving no corner untouched.

Then he gently lifted the duck and shook it slightly to let the excess sticky syrup drip off naturally, and finally stacked the ducks neatly in the bamboo basket.

Traditionally, sweet-skin duck needs to be coated with syrup twice to achieve the best taste and flavor, making the outer layer of sugar skin distinct and rich in taste.

But considering that this time the audience is children and parents, being too sweet may not be appropriate.

Therefore, Huang Jun made some adjustments and only brushed it once.

In this way, the classic flavor of sweet-skin duck is retained while also taking into account the taste preferences of different diners.

After making a few sweet-skinned ducks, a long-lost and cold electronic sound suddenly rang in his mind, a "ding" sound, crisp and abrupt.

(End of this chapter)