The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 274 Four Joys Dumplings Grade A

Soak in starch water twice.

Qin Huai fell into deep thought after hearing what Cao Guixiang said.

Soaking meat in starch water is a very common cooking technique, but it is rarely used in plain cooking because this method is usually used to make the meat taste more tender and smooth, and is usually used in frying and stir-frying.

When Qinhuai makes meat-stuffed pastries, what they usually need to consider is how to make the meat firmer and better lock in the juice.

Qin Huai thought quietly for a few minutes. Cao Guixiang did not say a word during the whole process. She just smiled and waited for him to finish thinking.

"Excuse me, how long does it take to soak in starch water twice?" Qin Huai asked.

"I don't know." Cao Guixiang shook her head. "I don't know how to make Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls, and I can't tell you the exact time and amount. But I think this is a good way to improve the texture and taste of the meat, much better than adding scallop water."

"Scallop water is a good way to enhance the flavor, but it is not suitable for Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Dumplings. The meat-filled glutinous rice dumplings in Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Dumplings are more of a link between the two, and a fusion and compromise, so there is no need to highlight their freshness too much."

After hearing what Cao Guixiang said, Qin Huai knew that although Cao Guixiang could not make four-happiness dumplings, she must be a master chef.

She knows a lot about Four-Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls.

"Okay, thank you for your reminder, I'll try it now."

Qin Huai was also a man of action when it came to improving the recipe. He decided that the method Cao Guixiang suggested would be useful, so he put the meat filling he had just prepared aside and looked for any chopped meat filling.

Aunt Wang is not here today as she has gone back to her parents' home to celebrate the New Year. The main force in cutting the meat is the second son-in-law of the village chief.

The new batch of meat filling had not been chopped yet, so Qin Huai could only make dumplings first. Before making the dumplings, he went outside to see if Qin Luo was still arguing with Zhang Zhiyun. If they were over, he would let the child go into the house to do the test paper.

I haven’t finished the papers assigned by the tutoring teachers yet.

Qin Huai left, but Cao Guixiang had no intention of leaving. She walked around the kitchen, watching each portion of stuffing being made without moving her hands, and finally glanced at the helper chopping the meat from a distance, and then found the auntie who was cutting candied fruit with sleeves on.

"Girl, do you have any more sleeves?" Cao Guixiang asked.

The woman cutting the candied fruit didn't recognize Cao Guixiang and thought she was a new helper who was very close to Qin Huai so they could chat before working. She enthusiastically handed her a new pair of flowery sleeves: "Yes, there is an apron too, I'll get it for you over there!"

Two minutes later, Cao Guixiang, wearing a red apron with flowery sleeves, had fully integrated into the kitchen. Like all housewives who integrated into the kitchen, she found a class for herself in the Qin family's big kitchen during the New Year.

After assigning Qin Luo today's test-taking task, Qin Huai returned to the kitchen and was stunned to see Cao Guixiang's outfit.

"Grandma Cao, you..."

"Let me help." Cao Guixiang said with a smile, picked up a large meat chopping knife from the knife rack, and walked to the chopping board.

The helpers in the meat chopping group naturally made room for Cao Guixiang. Today, the main force, Aunt Wang, was not there, and everyone thought that Cao Guixiang must be Qin Huai's new helper in meat chopping.

The village chief's second son-in-law enthusiastically introduced the work tasks to Cao Guixiang: "This meat needs to be cut first and then chopped, and it needs to be done with great force. Wait for me to see if there are any other requirements."

The second son-in-law of the village chief forgot his words while speaking and started taking out his cell phone.

Cao Guixiang answered quickly: "The meat should be in a state between firm and loose. The stuffing itself does not need to lock in the juice, but it cannot be too loose. It does not need to be as chewy as meatballs, nor as soft and weak as crushed meat patties."

"Yes, yes, yes! That's it!" The second son-in-law of the village chief actually didn't quite remember what the specific request was, but he felt that what Cao Guixiang said was absolutely right.

Seeing Qin Huai coming back, Cao Guixiang smiled at him and said, "I have nothing to do, my old man and Secretary Qin still have a lot to talk about. I see you are a little overwhelmed here, so I volunteered to help chop the meat. Master Qin, you don't mind, right?"

"I don't mind, I don't mind." Qin Huai said repeatedly, standing still and not moving, watching how Cao Guixiang chopped the meat.

Cao Guixiang selects the meat before chopping it.

The advantage of going to the countryside is that the quality and freshness of the ingredients are guaranteed. At Huangji, if Huang Anyao wants to get such high-quality fresh pork from the supplier, he may have to pay extra money and call the supplier in advance to emphasize that Huangji has an important banquet that day and must have the best quality pork. In this case, it depends on the supply of the supplier, and it is not necessarily possible to get the best quality.

But in Qinjia Village, especially during the Chinese New Year, if Qin Huai wanted to pick a pig in the village in the morning, the pig would be cleaned by the best butcher that morning and appear in the Qin family's big kitchen. An hour later, the pork would be turned into meat dumplings and returned to the family.

The vegetables and meat that appear in the Qin family are carefully selected by the villagers.

Cao Guixiang picked out a few pieces of lean meat.

There is almost no fat, and the color and texture show that they are all good parts. It must be the kind that will be delicious when used to make stir-fried meat.

Dice the meat.

Cao Guixiang looked like just an ordinary housewife in her old age, but the moment she held the kitchen knife, her whole demeanor changed. Not only was her knife skills sharp, but every time she chopped, she was extremely powerful, making the second son-in-law of the village chief next door look like a lazy apprentice.

Soon, Cao Guixiang cut several pieces of lean meat into equal-sized cubes that were difficult to distinguish with the naked eye.

The speed was so fast that everyone around was stunned.

The village chief's second son-in-law was shocked, thinking that his role as the person in charge of cutting meat today was in jeopardy, and he quickly asked the people around him: "Is she selling hand-made beef balls too?!"

"Where is her shop? Her cooking skills seem to be much better than Sister Wang's."

Qin Huai: ...6
Cao Guixiang was not idle. Cutting the meat into cubes was only the first step in making the meat filling. The really difficult part was actually chopping the cubes into semi-minced meat.

The concept of this step is very similar to the fine and coarse chopping when making crab meat lion head, except that the purpose of making crab meat lion head is to use a rough knife to chop the shredded meat and diced meat into minced meat.

The meat filling for the Four Happiness Dumplings does not need to be so coarse. The meat needs to be chopped into a state very close to minced meat, and then minced again finely.

Cao Guixiang said that she didn't know how to make four-happiness dumplings, but it was not obvious at all when she was chopping the meat.

The way she chopped the meat was so perfect, so perfect that it seemed as if she had been secretly making four-happiness dumplings at home for the past few years.

Cao Guixiang even had the leisure to chat with Qin Huai.

"Master Qin, I heard from Secretary Qin that you learned how to make dim sum by yourself by looking at recipes," said Cao Guixiang.

"I guess so. When I was in elementary school, I bought a book called "Snacks Encyclopedia" at a flea market. I learned a lot of snacks from that book."

"But I also have many masters in Gusu who taught me. Master Huang Shengli and Master Zheng Da from Huang's Restaurant taught me a lot. I learned how to make Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls from Master Zheng."

Cao Guixiang nodded, thinking that this was reasonable. First rely on your own talent to find your way in, and then make rapid progress under the guidance of a famous teacher. Otherwise, it would be too abnormal to rely entirely on self-study.

Even more perverted than she was back then.

"Who is your master?"

"I don't have a master." Qin Huai said, "Master Huang and Master Zheng are both half of my masters, but I don't have a true master."

Qin Huai felt a little embarrassed as he spoke: "Actually, I know that Master Zheng really wants to take me in as his apprentice, but I really don't have this idea. I always feel that..."

"It's almost the fate of a master and an apprentice." Cao Guixiang asked with a smile. Seeing Qin Huai also smiled, she took it as Qin Huai's tacit agreement. "This is normal. I don't know if chefs nowadays still accept apprentices like I did back then. When I was an apprentice, the master was like half a parent, sometimes even more important than my own biological parents."

"Taking on a disciple is about fate. In fact, becoming a disciple is also about fate. If you feel that fate is not there, don't force it. A forced melon is not sweet. If it really doesn't work, being a nominal disciple is also good."

As she was talking, Cao Guixiang had finished chopping the meat filling.

Putting it in a bowl, Cao Guixiang put down the knife: "You can divide it into several portions and try a few more times."

"Although I have a master, I don't have an apprentice. I didn't mean to not tell you how long to soak it, but I really don't know how to use this method for white pastry."

"I have never taught an apprentice, and I don't know how to teach. You can only try it yourself while I watch." Qin Huai took the basin: "You are already a good teacher."

Through the knife skills demonstration just now, Qin Huai has already determined in his mind that Cao Guixiang's cooking skills may be better than Huang Shengli's.

Huang Shengli couldn't chop up meat filling that he didn't understand but was very suitable for dim sum while chatting with people under such a vague description.

Qin Huai was still looking at the meat filling in the basin, and he felt like he saw the love filling in his dreams!

Who in the family would understand? It seemed like he fell in love at first sight with a plate of minced meat.

What beautiful meat filling, what lovely color, what delicate knife skills, and what exquisite texture.

Who would have thought that a seemingly ordinary, slightly plump old lady could have such excellent knife skills.

This knife skill must be at the master level!
No, it might even be above the master level, but Qin Huai himself is too unskilled to know what is above the master level.

Qin Huai followed Cao Guixiang's instructions, divided the meat filling into several portions, and began to soak them in starch water.

Soaking in starch water is a very vague term.

Qin Huai initially thought that Cao Guixiang's suggestion of soaking the meat in starch water might involve some other method besides soaking, such as soaking the meat filling in starch water and kneading it to allow the meat filling to fully absorb the starch water.

The result was no, it was just pure bubbles.

Let the minced meat take a bath in starch water.

Out of caution, Qinhuai soaks the first portion for 1 minutes to see the effect.

Then I didn't see any effect.

Qin Huai looked at Cao Guixiang again, and seeing that Cao Guixiang didn't say anything, he soaked it for the second time.

Also soaked for 5 minutes.

There is no apparent effect.

Seeing that Cao Guixiang still didn't say anything, Qin Huai could only start to mix the meat filling without knowing why.

The meat filling of Four Joys Glutinous Rice Balls is very simple to prepare, because it does not require too many seasonings. It pursues the simple and original pork flavor, the most rustic taste.

Qin Huai began to prepare the stuffing and stir it normally.

Stir hard.

Stir...eh.

This meat filling...why is it so obedient?

In Zheng Da’s words, how come this meat filling suddenly has so much soul?

How come he is so cooperative during the stirring process? It seems that the feeling is better when kneading.

This means that when the filling is prepared and wrapped into the glutinous rice balls, put into the pot and cooked, the taste will be smoother and more palatable when taken out and eaten.

Does soaking twice in starch water have such magical effects?
Starch water is so scary!
Seeing that Qin Huai had discovered the secret, Cao Guixiang didn't say much. She glanced at the time and thought that she could go outside to listen to some gossip before returning.

Cao Guixiang's family lives in the city, so it takes a long time for them to go back.

Seeing Cao Guixiang was about to leave, Qin Huai hurriedly called her: "Grandma Cao... No, Master Cao, can you wait another quarter of an hour? I will make two complete four-happiness dumplings now, and you can taste them after cooking them before you leave."

Cao Guixiang stopped and said, "Okay."

Qinhuai quickly wraps the dumplings and cooks them in one pot.

There are only 8 dumplings in total, and they are cooked very quickly. While cooking the dumplings, Qin Huai took the time to wrap some more. He glanced into the pot after wrapping one, feeling a little nervous and absent-minded.

Cao Guixiang was watching Qinhuai making glutinous rice balls with great interest. While watching, she was making them in the air, and it seemed that she wanted to learn as she watched.

The dumplings are ready.

Qin Huai was stunned.

He held the wrapped glutinous rice balls in his hands and was reluctant to put them down.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

He even wanted to imitate Qin Luo and He Cheng and hug Cao Guixiang's thighs, crying and shouting: Master Cao, Master Cao, please don't leave, Master Cao, please stay for two days, I beg you, Master Cao, please stay for two days!

【Four Joys Dumplings Grade A】

Is this grade A?

So fast, so suddenly, without the slightest bit of preparation, and just like that... it became A-level.

Just soak the meat filling twice in starch water and it will be grade A.

At this moment, Qin Huai had two villains in his heart, and one villain was roaring: "Are you stupid? What does this have to do with starch water? This has a lot to do with the meat stuffing chopped by Cao Guixiang!"

Another little man screamed: "Are you stupid? What are you doing standing there? Isn't there even a chair in the kitchen? Can't you see that Master Cao is still standing? Hurry up and bring a chair to Master Cao so he can sit down! Where's the tea? Hurry up and serve the tea!"
"Master Qin, are the four-happiness dumplings cooked?" asked Cao Guixiang.

Qin Huai hurried to fish it out, saying as he did so: "Master Cao, please don't call me Master Qin. Just call me Xiao Qin."

"He Cheng, quickly move a chair for Master Cao!"

Qin Huai served out two bowls of dumplings, let them cool, and then went straight to pour tea.

Alas, the old branch secretary asked for leave today, so the tea is not good. It was a bad idea. I should have learned how to make tea from the people at Zhiweiju when I was at Huangji.

At this moment, Qin Huai finally understood what it meant to regret not having enough skills until you need them most.

"Master Cao, you must be thirsty. Have some tea to moisten your throat." Qin Huai handed over the teacup respectfully.

Cao Guixiang was a little confused by Qin Huai's enthusiasm, but she was very used to people's sudden enthusiasm, so she took the teacup and drank most of it out of courtesy.

Qin Huai took out his cell phone and showed a humble smile that only belonged to Master Qin.

"Master Cao, let's add each other on WeChat."

"If I encounter any problems in making dim sum in the future, can I ask you on WeChat?"

"Sure." Cao Guixiang nodded readily. "Ask me any questions you have. I'm an old lady and don't have much to do at home after retirement. I remember Secretary Qin said that your family lives in Qiu County."

"Qiu County is very close to the city. You can come to the city to play when you have time after the New Year. It's a good opportunity for you to come to my house and discuss the mold with my husband Zhang."

"Xiao Qin, you treat us today. When we come to the city, we will treat you. I will cook you a table of my specialties so that you can also taste my cooking skills."

"Of course! Master Cao, I will send you a message on WeChat before I go to the city!"

(End of this chapter)