Food: Starting with Wonton Noodles

Hearing Lin Wenhui's exclamation, Uncle He also came in.

Seeing the bamboo-pressed noodles and wonton wrappers that Zhou Yu had prepared, he pinched them with his hands.

The skin is very thin, and the noodles are very elastic.

The dough and wrappers still seemed to retain the warmth of being handmade.

The unique aroma of duck eggs mixed with flour still lingers in the air.

Even the bamboo poles still exude a fragrance.

Even though it hasn't been wrapped into wontons or cooked into noodles yet, Uncle He can already imagine what this bowl of wonton noodles will taste like.

Uncle He examined Zhou Yu's hands closely again. They were long and slender, and although there was still some flour residue, there was not a trace of callus.

If you're talking about those hands being able to make white dishes, he'd rather believe Zhou Yu was a pianist.

Originally, he only wanted to give his old friend's son face, but he never expected that Zhou Yu would give him such a shock.

"Uncle He, is it because you don't have enough time to open the shop? We'll help you pack up right away."

Lin Wenhui thought Uncle He was in a hurry to open the evening market, so he pulled Zhou Yu to start cleaning up the kitchen.

Uncle He stopped Lin Wenhui and said to Zhou Yu, "What's your name, friend? Would you mind cooking a bowl of thin noodles with your noodles?"

"Hello Uncle He, my name is Zhou Yu."

Zhou Yu nodded. To be honest, he was also very curious about the taste of the noodles he made.

Cantonese wonton noodles also have another name: Xi Rong.

This is because in the past, bowls were divided into large and small bowls, and wonton noodles were mostly sold on the street and were eaten by manual laborers, so they were mainly served in large bowls.

But wealthy young masters in Xiguan also liked to find food on the street. In order to distinguish themselves from ordinary laborers, they specifically ordered that the noodles be served in small bowls with fewer noodles but the wontons remained the same. So it was called "small bowls" and gradually the pronunciation changed to "small wontons".

Since Zhou Yu only prepared the ingredients for making noodles, Uncle He moved out the minced pork and soup base that he had prepared for opening his shop.

Zhou Yu didn't stand on ceremony and started wrapping wontons.

His technique was very skillful; one wonton after another was constantly transformed in his hands.

Uncle He stared intently.

Lin Wenhui found it amusing and said, "Uncle He, when did you develop a hobby of admiring other people's hands?"

Uncle He: "What do you know? Your friend's dumpling-making skills are superb. You can learn all of that. Look at the wontons he makes. He only needs to scoop out the filling once for each one, and they are all the same size."

"And look at his wonton wrappers, even though they haven't been cooked yet, you can already vaguely see the filling inside, which shows how thin the wrappers are."

Lin Wenhui was also amazed by Uncle He's explanation: "Wow, that's true. Zhou Yu, I didn't expect you to be so skilled."

At this time, Zhou Yu had already started cooking wontons. He also praised, "Uncle He, your soup base is amazing. It must have been simmering for several hours. And nowadays, very few shops still use local dried flounder to make soup base."

Another key secret of Cantonese wonton noodles is the soup base, and the key ingredient in the soup base is dried flounder.

This fish is not expensive; it's a local seafood variety, but because few people eat it, it's not widely sold in the market.

Therefore, most wonton shops use MSG and seasoning packets, while those with a slightly better conscience will buy dried flounder powder.

Uncle He: "You know your stuff. This is dried flounder that Wenhui's dad specially collected for me. Every year when the north wind blows, I dry a batch of dried flounder to make soup base."

By this time, Zhou Yu had already cooked the wontons.

He took three bowls, first putting spoons in each bowl, then placing four wontons on each spoon, then spreading noodles with lard on top, and finally pouring broth over them.

After sprinkling on some leek sprouts, Zhou Yu placed the noodles in front of the two men.

Lin Wenhui looked at the delicious-looking wonton noodles with mixed flavors and aromas, feeling conflicted.

There was no way around it; he had a deep psychological trauma related to Zhou Yu's cooking skills.

Seeing that Uncle He was about to pick up his chopsticks, he hurriedly said, "Uncle He, be careful, eat slowly."

Uncle He rolled his eyes at him: "What? Are you worried the noodles aren't good, or are you complaining that my filling and broth aren't good enough?"

After saying that, he ignored Lin Wenhui's affectation, scooped up a spoon, and mixed the noodles and wontons together. He praised, "It has perfect color, aroma, and taste, and this is a traditional craft."

Seeing Lin Wenhui's curious expression, he continued, "Traditional noodles are very particular. When you eat wonton noodles at a restaurant, they just serve you a bowl of noodles with wontons on top."

"Actually, this is just for aesthetics, but not for taste. No matter how good the noodles are, they will easily become mushy if soaked in soup for too long. Therefore, traditional wonton noodle shops will place a spoon at the bottom, put the wontons in the middle, and put the noodles on top to allow customers to better enjoy the food. This way, the soup and noodles can be separated as much as possible, so that even if customers do not eat the noodles immediately, they can still enjoy the noodles at their best."

Then he added, "Actually, this spoon has another use."

Zhou Yu brought out the bright red Zhejiang vinegar at just the right moment.

Uncle He praised, "Your friend is quite knowledgeable. Does he know why vinegar is added? Because people in the south usually add alkaline water, so it will inevitably have an alkaline taste."

"So, this spoon isn't actually for drinking soup." Uncle He poured a ladle full of red vinegar. "It's for adding vinegar. The red vinegar will neutralize the alkaline taste in the noodles."

As he spoke, Uncle He picked up a mouthful of noodles with his chopsticks and exclaimed, "It's chewy and fragrant!"

At this moment, Lin Wenhui couldn't resist either, and he started eating noodles just like Uncle He.

His eyes lit up the moment the noodles entered his mouth.

Although I ordered red vinegar, the noodles weren't sour at all. Instead, they had a refreshing aroma, the gluten was chewy and delicious, and the egg flavor filled my mouth when I bit into them, along with a unique umami taste.

After being cooked, the wontons become translucent, and the wonton skin is so thin that the shrimp and filling inside are clearly visible.

He picked up another wonton, expecting the chopsticks to break it, but found it very easy to pick up.

He took a bite, and crab roe and shrimp jumped out of the wonton wrapper, dancing in his mouth. He couldn't help but start chewing.

He took another sip of the soup, and its delicious flavor made him exclaim, "Wow, how can you cook this so well! This noodle soup is amazing!"

As he spoke, he quickly finished his wonton noodles, then complained, "There's just too little."

Uncle He laughed and said, "The traditional serving of fine wontons is nine qian of noodles and four wontons. After all, how could the food of a young master from Xiguan be as rude as yours?"

Seeing that Zhou Yu hadn't eaten yet, Lin Wenhui looked at the noodles in front of Zhou Yu and tried to snatch them away.

Zhou Yu, quick-witted and agile, exclaimed, "Hey, I haven't even had lunch yet!"

He quickly grabbed his bowl and started eating. Holy crap, I cooked these noodles myself? He was almost moved to tears by his own cooking skills.

At that moment, a voice rang in his ears:

[Ding! Your wonton noodles have satisfied two new customers, successfully unlocking a new feature.]

A screen of light flickered before his eyes.

[Master Chef System]

[Today's satisfied customers: 3 (Unlock customer wish list, click to view)]

Today's settlement reward: None (pending settlement)