Food Intelligence King

Chapter 192 Three Types of Tomato Soup Dumplings
After being called twice, the aunt also turned her attention away from the steamed buns in front of her.
Transfer it to the steamed buns the boss mentioned.

Aunt Zheng has extensive experience in making soup dumplings, and she even brought back her old rolling pin; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her an old-fashioned dumpling maker.

After Chen Zhou explained his ideas for making tomato soup dumplings, she immediately understood the boss's intention.

However, Aunt Zheng had never actually eaten tomato soup dumplings and did not offer any specific opinion on the matter.

He simply said earnestly:
"Boss, I think this is okay."

Of course, Chen Zhou's question wasn't in vain.

Aunt Zheng used to make beef soup dumplings at her shop, so she can still offer some reliable advice.

Of the various options, aside from the lack of beef filling, most of them were readily available in the store.

You can try it out today.

Regarding the beef, Chen Zhou sent a message to Ms. Lin, asking her to bring back a piece from Lao Zhang's place when Chen Taotao returned from her Go class.

He himself started using tomatoes to make the dough.

The dough for soup dumplings is only a thin layer.

When kneading dough, you definitely shouldn't mix in the tomato pieces.

Simply mashing the tomatoes will affect the smoothness of the dough due to the coarse fiber and seeds in the tomatoes.

Therefore, after peeling the tomatoes, you need to blend them into a smooth tomato puree using a food processor, and then filter it through fine cheesecloth to obtain a purer tomato juice.

Mix with water, or follow the usual steps to knead the dough.

The dough has a light red hue, making it quite distinctive and tempting.

When Chen Zhou saw the tomato dough in front of him, he knew that this was the perfect choice for tomato soup dumplings.

It can create the expectation of "tomato flavor" at first glance.

After finishing her business, Auntie had to take lunch back to her daughter-in-law. It was the weekend, and Zihan's mother was waiting at home. So Chen Zhou didn't invite her to stay.

Xiao Hou was quite interested in the new products and started discussing them with the owner in the store, helping out as well.

"Boss, you prepare the filling, I'll wrap the buns over there."

Chen Zhou nodded and began preparing three different tomato fillings.

First, there's tomato and egg.

This is the simplest filling in my imagination.

The concept is very straightforward, representing a home-style flavor extension into steamed buns.

Chen Zhou also makes a small portion of stir-fried tomatoes and eggs every day. He's very familiar with it.

But eggs are solid and can't be used to make soup.

Therefore, the soup in soup dumplings mainly comes from stir-frying diced tomatoes to make soup, and then adding water and thickening with cornstarch depending on the consistency.

In order to achieve the effect of soup dumplings.

With the help of a master of wok hei (the smoky aroma imparted by a hot wok), Chen Zhou's operation is not complicated.

A pot of filling was quickly prepared.

The eggs were also scrambled into small pieces, with small yellow chunks mixed in the red broth, creating a very vibrant color.

However, when it came to handing the task of making steamed buns to Xiao Hou, it wasn't so easy.

The young man muttered, "It's not as good as the filling my aunt makes for soup dumplings."

Once the ground pork is well-mixed and elastic, even if water is added, it won't be as fluid.

It is relatively easy to wrap the filling into the dumpling skin.

Although the tomato and egg soup was thickened with cornstarch, it wasn't thick enough.

It really does drip down the dough.

Xiao Hou is very strong, and it's quite interesting to see him kneading buns with his big hands.

It has a Li Kui-like embroidery feel to it.

Chen Zhou smiled and told Xiao Hou not to be so formal.

"That's good enough, let's try it out for now."

From a production standpoint, tomato and egg soup dumplings still require the addition of gelatin agar to make an extra vegetarian soup jelly. The jelly melts during steaming to achieve the effect of releasing soup.

After the tomato and egg filling, there are two types of meat fillings infused with tomato juice. The preparation method is similar to that of regular soup dumplings, except that tomato juice is used instead of water.

I made a slight change to the seasoning; currently, I've just added a little more sugar to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes.

The prepared filling does indeed look bright red, and even without steaming, it looks more appetizing than plain meat filling.

Why do we emphasize the perfect combination of color, aroma, and taste in Chinese cuisine? Because every aspect is important.

Today, as Chen Zhou researched the fillings for steamed buns, he felt even more how precious the original recipe for fresh meat buns he had obtained was.

This was created by a chef specializing in state banquets; he genuinely researched and improved upon it himself.

It really takes a lot of effort.

Chen Zhou hasn't even gotten to the specific seasoning yet; he's already spent a long time researching just the ideas for the three fillings.

A sense of respect for his seniors ignited in his heart.

Of course, Xiao Hou was then given a word of advice by Chen Zhou: "Study hard and practice hard."

The young man agreed with his boss, feeling that it was similar to exercising.

I then spent a long time discussing running with Chen Zhou.

In any case, everyone interprets the world and the people around them based on their own understanding.

You can't just wrap one bun without any other part.

Therefore, a whole basket of each type of steamed bun was prepared for the experiment.

Chen Zhou also invited his neighbors who were still working at the store, along with his mother and daughter, to come and try the food.

Old Meng and Tony, being in a good position, were the first to arrive at the store.

Seeing the orange-red soup dumplings on the table, I clicked my tongue in amazement:
"Wow, another new product, tomato-based? I can smell it."

"Brother Chen, these steamed buns look pretty good this time."

Chen Zhou smiled and invited, "One of each, taste them properly, and be serious."

Old Meng reassured Brother Chen that he believed he had some expertise in this area.

Tony then started talking about the latest developments at that head massage parlor.

People sat down together and began to taste the food one by one.

Chen Zhou tasted a piece of the bun skin; the tomato had a slight acidity, which might have slightly affected the gluten.

In terms of texture, this makes the dough firm yet soft and tender.

Because the filling is also made of tomatoes, the juice seeps into the dough, making it difficult to evaluate the taste on its own.

It has a subtle tomato aroma that complements the filling.

Overall, it is more harmonious.

Then came the flavors of several fillings.

At this moment, Ms. Lin arrived at the store with Chen Taotao.

People exchanged greetings and gave a brief rating to several of the tomato soup dumplings.

Ms. Lin helped take notes.

The most popular dish was tomato beef.

This is a classic combination; the rich flavor of beef and the sweet and sour aroma of tomatoes create a synergistic effect.

However, when Chen Zhou tasted it himself, he felt there were some shortcomings:
No matter what, ground beef is made from beef, which has coarser fibers, so it doesn't have the same moist texture as ground pork.

The impression of the soup dumplings at the store might be a preconceived notion, and that's partly true.

Pork and tomato filling ranked second, not far ahead of the third-ranked tomato and egg filling.

However, Chen Taotao really liked the one that was last in line.

The little girl probably just likes to eat scrambled eggs with tomatoes; she doesn't really care whether it's mixed with rice or served with noodles.

After a few simple attempts, Chen Zhou had some initial ideas.

You can mix a small amount of pork into the ground beef to increase its oiliness.

(End of this chapter)