69novels Chapter 468 - 380: Portuguese Egg Tarts and Millennium Duck Eggs
Chapter 468 - 380: Portuguese Egg Tarts and Millennium Duck Eggs
"Is that so? Can we make egg tarts, chef?"
"Of course, don’t forget, we have a professional baker here."
Lin Chen nodded towards Zhao Shun, who was sitting on the ground assembling equipment without distraction.
"Besides egg tarts, we can let him improvise and make something you haven’t tasted before. But it might not be tonight, the timing could be a bit tight."
"Now that you mention it, it reminds me that we can completely change our format in the future. It doesn’t have to be just main courses or snacks; we can do desserts and baking too!"
He had thought about this before, but because of his limited skills and lack of time, he didn’t dare to embarrass himself.
Now, having gained experience in baking from Raphael, and with Zhao Shun, the professional, by his side, he could confidently venture into the bread and dessert series.
Thinking this way, he felt a strong sense of anticipation that he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Bread and desserts are a specialty of Westerners. If he could refresh their knowledge in this area, the effect would definitely be more explosive than just cooking.
The most important thing is that baking doesn’t require the same caution as cooking, worrying endlessly about whether the taste is suitable.
Just make it casually and boldly!
The ingredients that can go into bread aren’t usually very strange either.
"Chef!"
Lin Chen turned to the side and shouted, "Do you have any Great Xia ingredients or dishes you’re interested in trying?"
When he had just asked the girls, the three head chefs were already listening intently, their attention instantly drawn from the equipment.
Now, hearing Lin Chen’s question, one after another raised their hands, clearly having thought of an answer long ago.
The ingredients in the cold storage and on the shelves were mostly classified and placed by them, so they had a rough idea of the ingredients list this time.
"I want to try that black egg!"
Raphael spoke first, his eyes full of curiosity, "Didn’t you introduce it to me when we were at the supermarket, saying its English name is the century egg, and it’s actually a type of pickled duck egg with a rather peculiar taste?"
"Later, I searched online, and it’s said that many people can’t accept this thing, only you Great Xia people can eat it."
"I want to taste what it really tastes like and how bad it can be."
"You mean the century egg, right?"
Lucas was quick to answer this time. The guy jumped straight up from his chair and rushed to the back shelf to grab a box of eggs wrapped in plastic bags, the eggshells slightly bluish-green.
"Those who say century eggs taste bad are just because they don’t know how to eat them. This thing shouldn’t be eaten directly like a chicken egg; it needs to be mixed with condiments or made into a dish to be delicious."
"Once you’re accustomed to the taste of century eggs, then you can possibly eat them directly. But to be honest, Great Xia people also don’t have the habit of eating century eggs alone. With delicious recipes available, why choose something unenjoyable?"
"Century egg?"
Hearing this name, Marchello got interested.
"I seem to have seen this in videos of people challenging bizarre foods from around the world, but I haven’t tried it."
"Besides this black egg, is there any other egg with a particularly unique taste?"
"Of course!"
Lucas, like a magician, pulled out another box of eggs with his other hand, seemingly anticipating their reaction.
"These are salted duck eggs, an even more famous type of pickled duck egg than century eggs."
"Its fame lies especially in the unique flavor of its yolk."
"It can not only be used for cooking but also made into sauces or seasoning powder to pair with snacks like fried chicken, and it can even be used as a filling for desserts and pastries!"
"What?!"
"Using pickled duck egg yolk to make... Wait, this name sounds familiar?"
Nagishiro Sho pondered for a moment with his chin in hand, and then suddenly pointed at Lucas, "I think I’ve seen this on your channel, didn’t you sell it when you were running a stall?"
"Hey! Good memory, remembering such old videos."
Lucas raised his chin, his eyes gleaming with pride.
"That’s right, we did make tofu with salted duck egg yolk before, but you can’t imagine the taste just by looking. You have to try it."
"Didn’t you sell crayfish at the kite festival before? Salted egg yolk was one of the flavors. Just know that it’s one of the most popular ingredients in Great Xia."
"Fair enough, we must try it!"
Hearing that this ingredient could hold such an important position in so many areas, the three of them became interested at the same time.
With salted duck egg yolks... no matter how hard one tries, they just can’t imagine what it would taste like. It’s surely not what they had originally thought.
"In that case, we won’t randomly pick. Lin, you do your thing; surprise us with something we’ve never tried or seen before."
While Lin Chen was compiling the dinner menu, Zhao Shun and Chen Dongliang finally finished assembling the last piece of equipment.
Truth be told, assembling was not that difficult.
Most of the important parts were ready-made; it was just a matter of piecing them together, similar to IKEA furniture, screwing a few bolts here and there, but a bit more complicated.
"Zhao Shun!"
"Hey!"
Zhao Shun, who was immersed in pride, was suddenly called by name, and he shivered, thinking he had messed something up. He shrank his neck, instinctively responded, while quickly reviewing all the things he had handled earlier in his mind.
"You can make egg tarts, right? The kind from KFC."
"Huh? Egg tarts? Yeah, I can, but I can’t guarantee they’ll be exactly the same, after all, they have a unique secret recipe. I can only make them ninety percent similar."
Upon hearing all they wanted was egg tarts, Zhao Shun heaved a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat that hadn’t yet formed on his forehead.
"Then get ready to start making them, don’t make too many, just enough to taste. Also, why don’t you make some Chinese sweets or pastries for them to really open their eyes?"
"Got it!"
Ever since he came to the restaurant, he hadn’t officially made any Chinese desserts, and he was eager to do so.
Compared to dough dishes, he actually preferred making desserts.
Especially when during baking, the entire kitchen is filled with the aroma of milk and sugar; the sweet atmosphere couldn’t be better described than with the word ’happiness’.
Moreover, making desserts for Michelin Chefs felt like bringing glory to the country, further igniting the patriotic enthusiasm of the young man within him.
Without further ado, he dashed towards the kitchen.
"Old Chen!"
"Here... here!"
Chen Dongliang’s throat moved as he nervously swallowed, glancing apprehensively towards Lin Chen.
"Can you make Northeastern sweet and sour pork?"
"Uh, I’ve made it a few times, but not very familiar with it. I make pineapple sweet and sour pork more often, and I’m quite proficient in sweet and sour meat."
"No problem, they haven’t tasted the authentic one anyway, just do your best. The only requirement is for the skin to be crispy and the meat to be tender, don’t have it burnt or undercooked, can you manage that?"
"I’ll, uh, I’ll try my best."
Old Chen also headed to the kitchen, his back slightly hunched, appearing somewhat lacking in confidence.
Lin Chen wasn’t worried, Old Chen had years of experience, his culinary skills were definitely up to standard, it was just that he wasn’t accustomed to this relatively formal workplace atmosphere.
"Uh, boss."
Just a few seconds after entering the kitchen, Old Chen came back out, scratching his cheek awkwardly.
"Seems like we don’t have any pork in the fridge?"
"Right, I’ll have someone send it over, you start preparing the ingredients and batter."
"Oh, okay."
After giving instructions there, Lin Chen immediately called John and Magna, asking them to come over for dinner, and to bring some ingredients along.
Upon hearing there was a free dinner, with novel ingredients just shipped from Great Xia, neither of them could stay put and promised they’d be right over.
While waiting for the ingredients, Lin Chen took out a huge, incredibly beautiful ham.
After opening the package, a rich aroma of salty meat fragrance wafted out.
"Hiss.... Ha!"
"This ham!! Whether in color or aroma, it’s perfect, definitely high-quality stuff!"
Seeing these, Raphael and Marchello’s eyes lit up, gathering around, sniffing frantically.
"I say, you two, be careful, don’t drool on it!"
Lin Chen chuckled, wielding a sharp knife against a honing rod a few times, slicing off a few pieces of ham effortlessly as if cutting tofu.
"This is a specialty from the south of Great Xia. In fact, it’s available everywhere, but with different flavors. This one is a specialty from a city near my hometown, and it’s quite famous throughout the south."
"This type of ham is extremely salty, unlike Spanish ham which can be eaten straight; it’ll be too salty. It’s usually used in dishes or to make stock, but it needs to be soaked in water first, otherwise it can’t be eaten."
To save time, he used hot water to soak it, quickly reducing the salt content of the ham.
As for whether some flavor might be lost, he couldn’t worry much about it now. After all, they haven’t tasted the authentic version yet.
"Can’t eat it directly?"
Raphael and Marchello visibly showed disappointment, but they understood the ham-making process very well.
Since Lin Chen said it’s very salty and shouldn’t be tasted directly, it’d be no different from licking a salt shaker.
Normally, they avoid tasting overly salty foods as it could ruin their palate’s sensitivity and increase their threshold for saltiness, affecting their ability to season accurately when cooking.
However, the next second, their expressions turned interesting upon seeing what Lin Chen held.
Lin Chen cracked and rolled several duck eggs on the table, accompanied by cracking sounds, revealing a darkly translucent peculiar black egg in their view.
Most fascinating is that the translucent black egg white part grew snowflake-like patterns.
"This is the century eggs, they look amazing."
"How can duck eggs possibly turn out like this? Lin, do you know the marinating process?"