A Bite of Douluo Continent

He clasped his hands together and silently chanted "Amitabha" several times, revealing the remnant soul of the monk Wensi that had just been formed in the training space.

However, Qi Han doesn't need to worry that Monk Wensi's remnant soul will dissipate prematurely. Without entering a teaching state, the consumption of the remnant soul is almost negligible.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to be preserved for thousands of years.

Qi Han first knocked on Ke Ke's door to remind him that it was almost time to open for business, and then quickly walked to the kitchen on the first floor.

He was already quite impatient to taste the Qing Dynasty Imperial Blessing Meat that he had personally cooked.

Moreover, he was also very curious about what kind of magical phenomena would occur with this three-star dish that cost 1,200 gold soul coins.

Chapter 209 The Recipe for Qing Dynasty Imperial Braised Pork (Bonus Chapter When the Book Club Reaches 200 Members)

After the usual cleaning and tidying of the kitchen utensils and table, Qi Han took a deep breath, opened the door of the ingredient cabinet next to him, carefully took out a piece of pork belly with both hands, and slowly placed it on the cutting board.

"Meow~"

Hearing the noise, Gulu, who had been taking a nap on the partition at noon, sat up. After only one glance, it jumped off the partition, leaped onto the table, and obediently squatted opposite Qi Han, its dark purple eyes fixed on the piece of pork belly on the cutting board.

This piece of meat could last me two days!

A piece of pork belly, almost the size of a cutting board.

Seeing Gulu's longing look, Qi Han smiled and said, "This time you can have a taste. After I finish making this dish, I'll use the rest to make cat food for you."

Although the prepared Qing Palace Wanfu Pork Belly is still not for Gulu to eat, this dish does not require a whole piece of pork belly. Only the lower part of the pork belly is needed. The upper part of the pork belly can be saved to make an upgraded version of cat food for Gulu.

This is a rare pig with a thousand-year history. The pork belly is also rich in nutrients and essence, which is a great tonic for Gulu.

Moreover, in a piece of pork belly, the upper part of the pork belly is much more than the lower part.

The ratio is roughly four to one.

Upon hearing this, Gulu immediately became obedient and jumped back to its spot in the partition, not disturbing Qi Han's cooking.

"Meow!"

Human, you cook first, I'll wait to eat!

After glancing at the pork belly, Qi Han made a clean and efficient cut, separating the upper and lower pork belly pieces. He then set the upper pork belly aside, leaving only a strip of lower pork belly about ten centimeters wide.

If you don't count the various seasonings, this ten-centimeter-wide piece of pork belly is all the ingredients needed for this Qing Dynasty Imperial Braised Pork.

Place the whole piece of pork belly flat in a large pot, then add scallions, ginger, cooking wine, star anise, bay leaves and other spices. Add cold water to cover the pork belly, then bring it to a boil over low heat and simmer for ten minutes.

Soon, the aroma of various spices, mixed with a faint smell of meat, wafted from the pot amidst the steam, filling Qi Han's mouth and nose, bringing a satisfied smile to his face.

Although this dish is only just beginning, the aroma is already quite enticing.

Using a slotted spoon, he scooped the whole piece of pork belly out of the pot. At this moment, the surface of the pork belly had begun to turn white and the aroma of meat began to waft out. After rinsing it clean with cold water, Qi Han quickly cut the pork belly into four square pieces with a flash of his knife.

The remaining scraps, soaked in spices, scallions, and ginger, were unfit for Gulu to eat, so they were given to Ruyi for recycling.

While felines are not edible, many omnivores within the system's mini-worlds are.

Four square pieces of meat can make four servings of Qing Dynasty Imperial Braised Pork.

One portion was just enough for Qi Han, and the remaining three portions were given to the three employees in the store to try.

Next, heat a pot of oil until it is slightly thicker than the skin of the pork belly. Once the oil is hot, carefully place the four pieces of pork belly into the pot one by one, with the skin side down, until the skin turns golden brown and small bubbles appear. Then, remove the four pieces of pork belly and place them on a flat plate.

Similarly, the pork belly should be placed with the skin side down when it is placed on the plate.

Cover the pork belly with a flat plate, ensuring that both sides of the pork belly are in contact with the horizontal part of the plate. Then, place a basin filled with water on top of the plate.

Then, place the two plates, along with the basin filled with water, into the freezer and freeze for about twelve hours before taking them out.

Of course, with the high-tech freezer provided by Ruyi, this step was compressed to two minutes.

Two minutes later, Qi Han brought out the heavily frozen meat chunks. The meat chunks had hardened and shrunk under the pressure of the heavy objects.

He carefully cut along the edges of the meat piece, skin side facing out.

Each cut is made only about two millimeters from the edge. When the cut is about to be made through, stop cutting and use the other hand to grip the piece of meat and rotate it. Continue cutting along the other side to make a thin slice about two millimeters thick. Repeat this process until a square piece of pork belly, no more than ten centimeters long and wide, is cut into strips nearly five meters long.

This cutting method is a great test of the stability of the knife, but Qi Han, who has mastered the skill of a proficient knife, moves the knife with lightning speed, making people tremble with fear, for fear that he will use too much force and cut the pork belly in half.

After cutting all four pieces of pork belly into long strips like this, Qi Han patiently rolled them into five-pointed shapes. After cutting the square pork belly into strips and rolling them into five points, the shape of a flower naturally appeared.

Qi Han used two bamboo skewers to hold the pork belly in place, preventing it from losing its shape in the following steps, and then began the next step.

炖。

Take a large pot, put four pieces of pork belly into the pot, add appropriate amounts of scallions, ginger, cinnamon, star anise, bay leaves, cooking wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rock sugar and fermented bean curd as seasoning, then pour in cold water to cover the pork belly, and simmer over low heat for about an hour.

With the help of advanced technology, this time was also greatly shortened. After about two minutes, the meat in the pot was stewed to the right consistency, tender but not falling apart.

Take four small bowls, invert the four portions of pork belly into the bowls, add red dates, chestnuts and lotus seeds on top of the pork belly, then pour two spoonfuls of the broth left over from stewing the meat, and put them all into a steamer to steam for two hours.

Two minutes later, Qi Han carefully took out four small bowls, placed three of them directly into the insulated lunch box, and then covered the last small bowl with a small cup. He then quickly flipped it over so that the pork skin inside the small bowl was facing up again, and the various ingredients that had been covering the pork belly were scattered around the inside of the small cup.

With a slight adjustment to the plating, this Qing Dynasty Imperial Blessing Pork is now ready.

The Qing Dynasty-style braised pork belly was neatly arranged in an exquisite small cup. The skin facing upwards had a slightly rounded and lustrous sheen, was tender and fragrant, and bloomed like a flower bud. Even after such a long period of cooking and processing, it still maintained its shape.

The pale yellow fat is extremely thin, with almost no greasiness visible, only a soft and tempting texture that is visibly appealing, interspersed among the yellowish-brown lean meat.

The Wanfu Pork is garnished with lotus seeds, chestnuts, and red dates. These ingredients, which have absorbed the essence of the pork belly during the "braising" process, have a slightly yellowish-brown color. Their own sweet aroma blends perfectly with the rich meaty fragrance of the pork belly, completely eliminating any greasiness and leaving only an irresistible meaty aroma that makes you want to take a bite.

As the Qing Dynasty-style braised pork in the small cup was completely plated, the surrounding天地元气 (heaven and earth energy) surged violently, then rushed in from all directions, like the ocean embracing all rivers.

Qi Han was already very familiar with this scene.

His expression was calm yet tinged with curiosity.

What will this strange phenomenon be this time?

The previous story of "fish belly hiding sheep" was inspired by the presence of dragon-scaled fish in the ingredients, which led to the unusual phenomenon of a carp leaping over the dragon gate.

As for the boiled cabbage, because the jade apricot and delicate vegetables in the ingredients were carved into the shape of lotus flowers by Qi Han, the strange phenomenon of golden lotuses growing in the Jade Pool appeared.

Both seem to have something to do with the ingredients themselves.

So, could this strange phenomenon be related to pigs?

Chapter 210 Strange Phenomenon: Celestial Light Illuminates the Heavenly Palace (Congratulations to EDG on their championship victory, bonus chapter added)

The fog condensed again, but the strange phenomenon that appeared was not the pig-related phenomenon that Qi Han had imagined.

This strange phenomenon seemed a bit different from the others. The fog in mid-air kept condensing, but for a long time no images appeared. There was only a thicker and thicker fog, giving people a strange sense of oppression.

Just as Qi Han was being affected by the fog and a feeling of oppression was gradually rising in his heart, a nine-colored celestial light seemed to descend from the ninth heaven and shine on the fog.

Under the illumination of the nine-colored light, the fog seemed to have met its nemesis, melting away like ice and snow, finally revealing the scene hidden within.

At that moment, Qi Han felt an inexplicable urge to break free from his shackles and constraints.

As the fog dissipated, the scene hidden within made Qi Han's pupils shrink sharply.

It was a celestial palace floating in the sky, with green tiles and flying eaves, radiant with light.

Countless celestial birds flew tail to tail beside the celestial palace, chasing and playing in the air. Divine dragons peeked out from the clouds, occasionally revealing a section of their bodies covered in golden scales.

Within the celestial palace, countless figures could still be vaguely seen, among whom seemed to be immortals gathering and fairies dancing, as if the past had reappeared.

Extraordinary phenomenon: Celestial light illuminates the heavenly palace!

Although the strange phenomenon wasn't related to pigs, which slightly disappointed Qi Han, the stunningly beautiful scene of the celestial palace still greatly impressed him.

Shaking his head, Qi Han shifted his attention back to the Qing Palace Braised Pork.

Carefully picking up his chopsticks, he broke off a piece of the rolled-up Qing Palace Wanfu Pork and put it in his mouth. As he chewed, he felt the rich aroma of the meat slowly melt in his mouth, and a satisfied expression appeared on Qi Han's face.

The pork skin is heated and then cooled during the boiling and cold water washing process, becoming tight and elastic. After being deep-fried, it loses all its moisture and becomes extremely crispy. Then, it reabsorbs moisture through freezing, stewing, and steaming.

Through such a complex cooking process and repeated changes, the pork skin has a unique soft and tender texture. This texture is extremely special and rare, and it is completely different from any meat dish with skin that Qi Han had eaten before. It has a slightly glutinous feel to its softness, as if it will melt in your mouth with a gentle bite.

The lean meat of the pork belly is first boiled to medium-rare, locking in the juices inside. The scallions, ginger, and various spices remove all the fishy smell. In the subsequent frying process, the lean meat is only slightly heated, removing some of the moisture.

During the subsequent freezing process, the juices inside the lean meat freeze, and the slight expansion in volume creates a softer texture, making it less dry. Even without the neutralizing effect of the fat, it still has an excellent taste.

During the subsequent stewing and steaming process, countless drops of broth seep into the tender tissues of the lean meat, not only replenishing the lost juices but also allowing the flavors of the spices to penetrate deeper into the lean meat, giving it an excellent taste.

The most ingenious part of this dish is how it handles the fatty parts.

Although the lower pork belly has alternating layers of fat and lean meat, there is always a layer with the most fat, which is undoubtedly the layer of fat that is right next to the skin.

During the deep-frying process, almost all of this layer of fat is lost with the hot oil, leaving only a loose structure similar to oil residue.

The subsequent heavy pressure process causes the pork belly to shrink even more. However, the part of the pork belly that is most easily deformed is not the skin and lean meat, but the fat that is loose between the lean meat tissue. This is also the area that deforms the most under heavy pressure.

Under immense pressure, the fat was almost squeezed outwards and cut off along with the meat during the subsequent cutting into cubes. The remaining portion was frozen and then stewed, with only a small portion retained. This ensured that the fat retained its unique texture without being too greasy and causing a clash in texture with the other parts.

This dish is not only delicious but also rich yet not greasy, so you won't get tired of it even if you eat it often. Because of its unique cooking process, it has a much lower fat content than normally cooked pork belly, so you can truly eat it without gaining weight.

The more Qi Han savored the unique flavor of the dish as it melted in his mouth, the deeper his respect for Zhao Guibao grew.

What a genius it must have been to create such groundbreaking dishes in an era when science was almost nonexistent.

A serving of Qing Dynasty Imperial Blessing Pork isn't a large portion. Although it can be stretched into strips of pork belly nearly five meters long after being cut, it's still just a piece of meat about ten centimeters long and wide. Qi Han ate almost all of it in a few bites.

Only when not a single scrap of the Qing Dynasty-style braised pork was left in the small cup did Qi Han reluctantly reach for the side condiments.

Chestnuts, red dates, and lotus seeds.

Chestnuts, along with many meats and vegetables, can be cooked into dishes through stewing or other methods, and they all taste pretty good, although they are relatively niche.

Many people's understanding of chestnuts is still limited to roasted chestnuts or sugar-roasted chestnuts.

But in reality, the flavor of chestnuts is not limited to that. After being steamed for two hours, the chestnuts in the Qing Palace Wanfu Pork become extremely soft and almost melt in your mouth. The flavor of the Qing Palace Wanfu Pork itself also slowly permeates into it during the steaming process.

The chestnut's unique chestnut aroma blends perfectly with the rich and savory flavor of the Qing Palace Wanfu Pork. The surface is also coated with the broth from the Qing Palace Wanfu Pork, which slowly melts as Qi Han chews, creating a completely different experience from eating meat directly.

Even though he knew he was eating chestnuts, Qi Han somehow felt like he was eating meat.

These chestnuts are no ordinary fruit; they are a new species created by hybridizing Blue Star chestnuts with plant-type soul beasts from Douluo Continent. After being cultivated for ten thousand years, the resulting fruit has an unimaginably delicious flavor.

After eating just one chestnut, Qi Han's initial regret about finishing the meat almost completely dissipated.

A smile appeared on his face as he quickly picked out all the chestnuts from the small cup and put them into his mouth.