Flour.
Delicate as snow.
Clear water.
Clean and translucent.
Chu Yang gently scooped up a handful of flour.
With a slight turn of his wrist, the flour slowly slid down like fine sand, evenly covering the entire cutting board.
After that.
He picked up an ancient pottery urn.
Slowly poured out clear, cool water, the stream fine and even.
The moment it met the flour, it was as if the slumbering spirit of the grains had awakened, and a faint aroma of wheat instantly filled the air.
Chu Yang, with his hands together, his fingers skillfully weaving between the flour and the water, began to knead the dough!
…
Press!
Rub!
Fold!
His hands covered the dough mass, gently kneading.
Each movement was both powerful and delicate, like a carefully choreographed dance, just right.
As Chu Yang's hands flew.
The originally loose flour gradually took shape, becoming soft and elastic.
So, he continued to adjust the dough's humidity and firmness, sometimes adding a little water, sometimes sprinkling a little flour, until the dough reached the perfect state in his mind:
Not too sticky.
Nor too dry and hard.
Instead, it presented a warm, jade-like texture!
Then he continued to use this method to make different doughs with three colors of vegetable juice.
Then, he sealed the container with the dough in plastic wrap and placed it in a slightly warmer room to ferment.
The room temperature was above 20°C to ensure the dough could fully ferment.
Finally, until the dough's volume increased to about 2 times its original size, and honeycomb-like cavities appeared inside, the old dough starter was ready.
…
"This dough fermentation method, I remember…"
Nakiri Mana, after seeing Chu Yang fermenting dough in such a way, couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
During the Western Jin Dynasty in the Celestial Dynasty, there were clear records of fermented pasta: He Zeng had extremely high requirements for fermented pasta, namely, "if the steamed bun does not crack into a cross, it is not eaten."
Clearly, at that time, fermented pasta was already very particular and mature.
Afterward.
In the Book of Qi, there were related records of "flour-rising cakes," which were typical fermented pasta:
Light and high, floating up, baked into cakes.
And with the popularization of wheat, the practice of fermenting pasta gradually rose.
For example, the "Yan Fan Lu" written by Cheng Dachang in the Song Dynasty recorded the specific process of leavening, which is "leavening means adding it to the flour to make it fluffy."
It should be said that the term "thousand-year-old dough starter" is actually a vivid description of an ancient and traditional method of fermenting pasta, not that the dough has really been stored for thousands of years!
Hmm!
This traditional fermentation method.
It mainly relies on naturally fermented strains, that is, the so-called "old dough starter" or "dough leaven" to ferment flour to make pasta, such as steamed buns, baozi, etc.
…
"So that's how it is."
"Compared to natural dough leaven and industrialized yeast powder."
"It will go through more fermentations, so that not only are there a large number of yeast bacteria inside, but also lactic acid bacteria that produce acidic substances, as well as other probiotics."
"And during the steaming process, all kinds of molds will be killed by high temperatures, but the sour taste cannot be removed."
"So, edible alkali must be used to neutralize the sour taste."
"Yeast powder, on the other hand, is pure yeast, without other probiotics like lactic acid bacteria participating in the fermentation, so although the steamed buns and baozi made are equally soft and fluffy, the taste is bland!"
After a brief thought, Nakiri Mana had a flash of inspiration and quickly understood Chu Yang's intention in using the natural fermentation method.
…
In fact.
Yeast and old dough starter are the same thing.
They are both fermented by bacteria, the difference lies only in the carrier!
"Using a thousand-year-old dough starter to make baozi?"
Mana's anticipation grew.
After all, Chu Yang's true power lay in his miraculous ability to transform many ordinary ingredients and dishes into delicious delicacies that could conquer the God's Tongue!
Fried rice.
Porridge.
Baozi.
Crispy rice.
These are all everyday snacks.
You can even see them everywhere at roadside stalls and restaurants.
However, it is precisely these very ordinary things that, in Chu Yang's hands, can be transformed into magical dishes that conquer the God's Tongue, such as Comet Fried Rice, Rainbow Porridge, Golden Smiling Baozi, Four Divine Seafood Eight Treasures Bao, and many others!
"What kind of baozi will it be?"
Mana whispered.
…
Abalone was soaked and rehydrated in advance.
Half a catty of spareribs, half an old hen, five chicken feet, a small piece of Jinhua ham, three dried scallops, and a roasted goose head were simmered over low heat.
Lobster was drained, gills removed, vein removed, head and tail removed.
The shrimp body.
Cut in half.
Cut out the shrimp meat and dig out the shrimp roe, add a spoonful of starch, and mix well.
Scoop out a small half-bowl of crab meat from the processed crab, add an appropriate amount of starch, and mix well.
Flounder was scaled, cut vertically along the body, and half a complete fillet was gently sliced off along the bone.
Mince the fish, put it in a bowl.
Add a little salt, then a little starch, add an egg, and mix well!
Two small octopuses were cut into small pieces, add a spoonful of starch, a spoonful of salt, and then a spoonful of oyster sauce, and mix well.
Shark fin was replaced with flavored vermicelli, cut in half, and soaked in a bowl.
The rehydrated sea cucumber was cut into small pieces, and the cooked abalone was cut into four equal parts.
After processing.
Put the abalone and sea cucumber into the pot together, scoop in the broth, and reduce the sauce together.
During the sauce reduction, a little dark soy sauce can be added for color, and when the abalone sauce is almost reduced, add a little starch water.
Scoop out the abalone and sea cucumber from the pot and serve them separately in bowls.
…
"Huh?"
"Could this be…"
The subsequent series of baozi filling preparations greatly surprised Nakiri Mana!
Standing at the pinnacle of the culinary world, she naturally understood that the seafood ingredients Chu Yang used totaled eight kinds: shark fin, abalone, sea cucumber, dried scallops, crab, shrimp, cuttlefish, and flounder.
Yes, these are what are often called the Eight Delicacies of the Sea in the Celestial Dynasty's culinary world.
First.
It's the Eight Delicacies of the Sea, not the Eight Seafood Delicacies.
Because in ancient times there was no cold chain, sea fish would die as soon as they left the sea, and by the time they were transported back inland, they would have long since spoiled.
Generally, only coastal areas could eat fresh ones; inland areas mostly had dried fish, and most people wouldn't eat or cook them.
Normally.
Only wealthy families could eat some.
For example, in "Dream of the Red Chamber," the list of New Year's gifts presented by Wu Jinxiao included "fifty catties of sea cucumber…twenty catties of dried razor clams…fifty pairs of large prawns, two hundred catties of dried shrimp…"
"The baozi skin is made from a thousand-year-old dough starter using natural fermentation."
"The filling, on the other hand, consists of eight kinds of seafood."
"And."
"In terms of steaming technique."
"It's not steamed in a steamer, but rather placed in a small bamboo boat and steamed in a clay pot!"
"Heh, such a baozi dish is truly unheard of!"
Facing a dish she had never seen in her life, Nakiri Mana's thoughts, at this moment, were like a lake surface gently stirred by a breeze, creating layers of delicate ripples.