The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 59: Detailed Improvements to Dishes

"Teacher Qin Lang, can we start?"

"Huh?" Qin Lang quickly put away his phone and looked at Zheng Kang, who was eager to try, with a friendly smile on his face. "Okay, let's get started."

“Make a dish that you think you’re best at.”

"Okay!" Zheng Kang nodded confidently.

"The dish I'm going to make is called Crispy Shell Soft-Hearted Duck!"

After saying that, Zheng Kang picked up the kitchen knife and started working.

Taking the boneless duck breast, Zheng Kang skillfully removes the skin, then cuts the middle of the duck breast horizontally without cutting it off, forming a pocket, and then stuffs it with salty cheese.

Qin Lang stood beside him, watching his movements carefully and nodded slightly.

The pocket was cut well, the opening was big enough but not broken, which meant that Zheng Kang had a good control of the cutting force.

Zheng Kang's attention was completely focused on his cooking and he didn't notice Qin Lang's expression. He found a large basin, added flour and various chopped nuts, and then added water to mix them evenly.

Next, Zheng Kang rolled the duck meat stuffed with cheese in it, making sure every corner was covered with thick batter and chopped nuts.

Then he wrapped it in tin foil to shape it and put it in the oven.

200℃, 25 minutes.

Qin Lang watched Zheng Kang's operation silently, and the corners of his mouth twitched fiercely.

How should I put it, Zheng Kang’s cooking talent may be slightly better than Cao Dongdong’s. At least his cooking is organized to a certain extent.

But the details were hardly considered.

Although Zheng Kang's dish has not been cooked yet, he already has a rough idea of ​​how to give instructions to the other party.

25 minutes passed quickly. Zheng Kang carefully took out the roasted crispy-shelled and soft-hearted duck from the oven. After removing the tin foil, he looked at Qin Lang expectantly.

"Teacher Qin Lang, please taste it!"

"Okay." Qin Lang nodded and stepped forward.

Judging from the appearance alone, this dish looks pretty good.

The batter on the surface is baked until golden brown, and the chopped nuts on top are exposed to high temperature, giving off a rich nutty aroma.

Qin Lang used a knife to cut open the crispy-skinned and soft-hearted duck, revealing the duck meat inside and the melted cheese in the middle. At the same time, the aroma of duck meat and the fresh aroma of cheese sealed in the outer shell also burst out.

but…

Qin Lang sniffed and, as expected, smelled a very clear fishy smell among the smells.

Looking at Zheng Kang's expectant expression, Qin Lang picked up a piece expressionlessly and put it into his mouth.

The "crisp shell" on the surface is too hard and tastes a bit like pancakes, and pancakes sprinkled with chopped nuts.

This taste conflicts too much with duck meat.

Although different tastes can add richness to dishes, we should also be careful not to overdo it.

The crispy shell needs to be changed.

As for the duck...

There is no seasoning, and the flavor is entirely due to the salty milk of the cheese inside, making it taste bland and monotonous. Moreover, because it is not marinated in advance, it tastes fishy.

This is the case when the duck meat selected by Zheng Kang is of very good quality.

If the duck meat is of poor quality, there is no need to say more.

The only thing that is not a problem is probably the cheese as the "soft center". After all, the cheese chosen by Zheng Kang is of the best quality.

"Teacher Qin Lang, what do you think?" Zheng Kang said with anticipation, "This is the only dish I created by combining various dishes."

"It's pretty good." Thinking of the "welcome gift" given by the other party, Qin Lang spoke against his conscience. "Gulu?"

Danbao, who had already entered the learning state and started learning [Light Gathering], suddenly opened his eyes.

Qin Lang said it was very good, so can I try it?

Thinking of this, it couldn't wait to get closer and take a big bite of the remaining crispy-shelled and soft-hearted duck.

"Goo!!!"

He rolled his eyes suddenly, turned over, and slowly fell from the air, as if a soul was spitting out of his mouth.

Qin Lang calmly reached out and caught the egg and set it aside, then changed the subject, "But there are still many details that can be optimized."

"First," he picked up another piece of duck breast with skin, "Duck meat is quite tough, so you can leave the skin on when roasting it. This will make the fat richer and enhance the taste."

“But you can’t use it directly.”

After saying that, Qin Lang made diamond-shaped cuts on the duck skin. "Be careful, the knife should penetrate deep into the fat layer, but not cut into the meat."

With the pocket-cutting technique that Zheng Kang had demonstrated before, Qin Lang believed that the other party could easily master this step.

Zheng Kang nodded seriously, took out his notebook and started writing quickly.

"Heat the pan." Qin Lang turned on the stove and waited until the pan was at the right temperature before placing the duck breast skin-side down in the pan. "Fry for about two minutes."

"This step can force out the fat. At the same time, frying the duck skin before roasting can make the duck skin crispier and reduce the odor."

"The cuts were made before, firstly for aesthetics, and secondly to make it easier to squeeze out the fat in the duck skin."

"Next, remember the recipe."

Qin Lang thought for a moment and found a small bowl. "Two spoons of light soy sauce, one spoon of cooking wine, one spoon of honey, one spoon of garlic powder, and half a spoon of white pepper."

"Stir well." After quickly completing the stirring, Qin Lang put the small bowl of marinade aside and took the duck breast out of the pot.

The duck meat is still raw at this moment, but the duck skin has turned slightly brown and has a shiny oily surface, which looks very tempting.

"Use kitchen paper to wipe off the excess grease on the surface of the duck meat." Qin Lang said as he did it, "Then spread the marinade evenly on both sides of the duck meat."

"Massage the duck breast and refrigerate for half an hour."

After Qin Lang put the marinated duck breast into the refrigerator, Zheng Kang, who was full of questions, finally spoke up, "Teacher, do you need to put so much marinade?"

"The role of the marinade is to remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor of the duck meat, while also providing a base flavor so that the final product will have a richer flavor."

"Even the best meat will have a fishy smell, it's just a matter of how much. Dealing with that fishy smell is the key to meat dishes."

Zheng Kang suddenly realized, "No wonder the dishes I cook always have that lingering smell. I put so much cheese in them, but it still can't cover it up."

Qin Lang smiled silently and handed another piece of duck breast to Zheng Kang.

"While you're waiting, follow the steps I just took."

"Okay!" Zheng Kang was eager to try.

By the time Zheng Kang was able to successfully complete the previous steps, the duck breast that Qin Lang had put in the refrigerator was also marinated.

"Cut the pocket open and fill it with cheese..." Qin Lang paused for a moment, "We'll add a sealing step here."

As he spoke, he found a thin barbecue skewer, threaded it on both sides like a skewer, and slightly gathered it to form the shape of a lucky bag.

“This makes the appearance more beautiful and the cheese won’t leak out easily.”

Zheng Kang's eyes lit up, and he looked at Qin Lang with a little more admiration.

It's just a small improvement in one step, but it achieves two goals at once. Teacher Qin Lang is really amazing!
"Then comes the crispy shell part." Qin Lang paused.

“This part needs a major overhaul.”

(End of this chapter)