The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 162 This is... rice?!

Not making fried rice?
Egg Baby tilted its head, looking puzzled.

Meanwhile, Qin Lang had already begun his preparations.

The dish he's making today uses rice as the main ingredient, but it's not actually rice.

In the past, there were many ways to cook rice, and there was even a saying that "rice can be cooked in a hundred ways," which shows how rich and colorful the food culture is.

So after Lu Suzhi revealed the theme of this assessment, Qin Lang wanted to show something different from his previous life.

His choice was rice.

Many people may be unfamiliar with rice noodles, but everyone knows about cold noodles.

Liangpi can be divided into two types: wheat flour noodles and rice noodles. The former is mainly made of wheat flour, with Hanzhong wheat flour noodles being the most famous, while the latter is mainly made of rice, with Qin Town rice noodles being the most famous.

Both have their own characteristics, and what Qin Lang needs to do today is the latter.

Wash the rice and soak it in hot water at around 60 degrees Celsius.

This step is to speed up the soaking process of the rice. Ordinary rice husks need to be soaked in water for at least eight hours, but Qin Lang obviously doesn't have that time.

So he chose to pursue technology!

After setting the thermostat, Qin Lang turned to start making the soul of Qin Town rice noodles: chili oil.

Add half a pound of rapeseed oil to the pot, then add ginger slices, onions, scallion segments and celery. Fry until all the ingredients turn a light golden brown, then remove the ingredients. Next, add more than ten kinds of spices such as Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, galangal, cloves, and cinnamon to the hot oil, and then add chili powder.

As the heat was activated, a strong spicy aroma wafted over, causing Danbao, who had curiously come closer to sniff, to gasp in surprise and quickly back away, his eyes filled with fear as he looked at the pot.

"Step back a bit," Qin Lang reminded him with a smile, turning the range hood to its highest setting while holding his breath, adding a little white wine, and then adding chili powder.

After stirring evenly, the chili oil in the pot has turned an enticing red color, and the aroma is no longer as pungent as before. With the stimulation and mixing of various spices, it has become a mouthwatering spicy flavor.

Pour the chili oil and the leftover bits at the bottom into a bowl and set aside. Qin Lang then began preparing the other ingredients needed for Qin Town Rice Noodles.

Chili oil is the soul of rice noodles, but a truly authentic Qin Town rice noodle dish requires more than just chili oil.

It also requires the combination of three seasonings: broth, vinegar water, and garlic water, to bring out the final perfect flavor.

Use the side of a kitchen knife to crush the peeled garlic cloves, then grind them. Once the garlic in the mortar is thoroughly mashed into a paste, add it to water at a ratio of 1 part garlic to 5 parts water, add a little sesame oil, stir well, and set aside to let the garlic flavor fully infuse into the water.

Pour three catties of water into a pot and add spices such as fennel seeds, dried chili peppers, bay leaves, cardamom, and star anise. Boil over high heat for three minutes. Once the broth turns a green tea color, remove the spices and set them aside. Set the broth aside separately.

Add a little oil to the pot. Once the oil is hot, add shredded scallions and ginger and stir-fry quickly until fragrant. Then add three ounces of fragrant vinegar. After the vinegar boils, add an equal amount of water. Finally, add the spices that were skimmed off when making the broth.

Once the vinegar water in the pot boils, remove all the solids and set the vinegar water aside.

In this way, the preparatory steps required to make Qin Town Rice Noodles are basically completed.

Qin Lang turned his head to look at the rice in the thermostat, took out a few grains and crushed them casually. After seeing that the rice had been soaked to the point where it could be crushed with a little force, he nodded in satisfaction, "We can start making rice noodles now."

"Gulu~"

As the pungent spiciness subsided, Egg Baby returned to Qin Lang's side, watching his actions and swallowing hard. Although it still didn't know what Qin Lang was going to cook, based on its past experience, the more complicated Qin Lang's steps were, the better the food would taste. So this meal was sure to be delicious!
Under Danbao's watchful eye, Qin Lang scooped out the soaked rice, adding water as he went, until all the rice was blended into a smooth and even rice paste. After passing it through a sieve, he began to scald the rice paste.

Slowly add boiling water to the rice batter while stirring to ensure even heating. Only in this way can the steamed rice noodles achieve a soft, chewy texture.

Pour a layer of the scalded rice batter evenly onto the bottom of a frying pan, then heat it over a double boiler until the rice batter solidifies and bubbles appear on the surface. Carefully peel it off.

A layer of rice skin, bigger than a face, was steamed like this.

Qin Lang followed the same method, and soon there were more than twenty layers of rice paper piled up on the table next to him.

The steamed rice noodles were rolled up and cut into strips about one centimeter wide. As Qin Lang grabbed a handful, the soft, glutinous, off-white rice noodles trembled and revealed their final form.

Egg Baby's eyes slowly widened.

If it weren't for watching the rice gradually turn into rice noodles, it would be hard to believe that the two are the same thing!
"It'll be ready to eat soon."

Qin Lang smiled and took out a few small bowls, laid a layer of blanched bean sprouts on the bottom, added a portion of rice noodles, seasoned with a little salt and MSG, and then added a spoonful of sauce, half a spoonful of vinegar water and a spoonful of garlic water.

Finally, take a small piece of rice paper, dip it directly into the chili oil, and then place it on top of the small bowl.

A small clump of rice paper coated with chili oil is a deep red color. The chili oil gradually seeps into the rice paper below, thus completing the overall seasoning.

One advantage of this method is that it prevents the residue from the bottom of the chili oil from getting into the rice noodles, which would cause a bitter taste.

Finally, add a few blanched celery stalks.

And just like that, an authentic Qin Town rice noodle dish is made.

"Gulu gulu?"

Danbao swallowed hard and urged impatiently.

"Don't worry, let me mix it for you."

Qin Lang smiled, picked up a pair of chopsticks, mixed the sauce and oil from the rice noodles, and then put a piece into his mouth to chew.

Egg Baby: "?"

You promised to mix it for me, but how come you ended up eating it?
Ignoring the bewildered Egg Baby, Qin Lang was engrossed in the soft and chewy rice noodles.

The freshly cooked rice noodles have a rich aroma of rice, mixed with a strong spicy, vinegary, and garlicky flavor. They are smooth and have a lingering aftertaste.

He subconsciously picked up a second chopstick, but before he could put it in his mouth, Danbao next to him had already eagerly poked his head out of his body and bit into the chopstick, eating the rice noodles clean.

After chewing a couple of times, Egg Baby's eyes lit up, and without saying a word, he buried his head in the rice noodles that had already been mixed in the bowl and started showing off.

The corner of Qin Lang's mouth twitched.

"You eat first, I'm going out to take it for the assessment."

(End of this chapter)