Feng Ruoruo ate the snacks her father made, but of course she would not keep them to herself. After eating a few pieces, she immediately said, "Dad, let's go and give snacks to brother Haohao."
Hearing her granddaughter's words, Lu Cuiling asked with a smile: "Why do you want to send it to Brother Haohao?"
Feng Ruoruo replied with a smile: "Because Brother Haohao is Ruoruo's good friend, Brother Haohao comes to play with Ruoruo every day, so when Ruoruo eats the snacks made by dad, of course she has to share them with Brother Haohao, what do you think, grandma?"
Lu Cuiling pinched her granddaughter's face and said, "Okay, our little baby Ruoruo is really great. She knows how to share delicious food with her good friends."
Su Ruoxi packed the scones made by her father for her daughter, and then asked her daughter to carry them by hand. Led by her grandparents, her mother and her daughter went to deliver them to Yue Qihao.
Feng Yifan stayed at home with his father-in-law and continued to research and develop Suzhou soup and Suzhou dishes.
Before leaving, Feng Ruoruo did not forget to cheer for her grandpa and dad: "Grandpa, Dad, come on."
Su Jinrong and Feng Yifan also smiled and nodded in agreement: "Okay, keep going."
After his daughter left with her family, Feng Yifan continued to research Su Zao Tang in the kitchen.
Yesterday I tried a spice combination and the resulting Suzhou pork elbow tasted great. Today Feng Yifan plans to use yesterday's Suzhou soup to continue trying to braise other meats, such as duck.
The duck had been slaughtered and cleaned. Feng Yifan cleaned it and waited for the Su Zao soup that had been placed in the casserole yesterday to be heated up before slowly putting the duck in to stew.
Because the pork elbow was stewed in the soup yesterday, the amino acids in the pork elbow have been integrated into the soup.
So today when the soup was boiled, the aroma it exuded was stronger than yesterday, and there was a strong meaty aroma among the spices.
Sniffing the soup, Feng Yifan said to his father-in-law, "Dad, it seems that these spices should be paired with meat to better release their flavor."
Su Jinrong nodded: "Yes, that's right, just like the old sauce that our Su Ji uses to make braised pork, it needs to be stewed over and over again to make the flavor more mellow, so that the braised pork can be more delicious."
Feng Yifan listened to the gurgling sound in the casserole and said, "Dad, it looks like this duck will be more delicious today."
Su Jinrong sniffed the scent and said, "Hmm, a compound meaty aroma. It smells really good."
The effort required to develop a new dish is unimaginable.
When the dish was launched, perhaps many people would think, isn’t that the case
However, the process that this dish needs to go through from research and development to its official launch may be hard for ordinary people to imagine. The effort made by the chef in this process is as difficult as an artist creating something from scratch.
Today's pot of Suzhou-style soup is the one that Feng Yifan prepared after many attempts during the few days he returned home. It is a Suzhou-style soup that is suitable for summer.
However, if there is a slight change in season, or even some changes in temperature or humidity, or if you change the location or use different kitchen utensils and stoves for cooking, you will need to adjust the spice formula to ensure that the delicious taste of the ingredients is maximized.
Just like the duck is put into the Su Zao soup today, the aroma it produces now does not represent the final taste of the dish.
After a period of stewing, some problems may arise, which also requires the chef to make adjustments.
Feng Yifan kept his eyes on the fire in the furnace at all times, while also listening to the sound in the pot.
During the stewing process, in order to allow the flavor of the spices to penetrate the duck meat, you cannot open the lid to check. You can only listen to determine the degree of thickness of the soup in the pot.
The kitchen was very quiet, with only the sound of the firewood burning in the stove and the bubbling of the soup in the pot.
Feng Yifan waited quietly, controlling the soup in the pot to its optimal state.
Finally, as if he had seen it with his own eyes, Feng Yifan was sure that the soup was almost boiled dry, and the flavor of the soup had already permeated into the duck meat. He reached out and lifted the lid of the casserole.
In an instant, the hot steam rising from the pot, coupled with the rich aroma, filled the entire kitchen.
Looking at the casserole again, the soup has thickened thoroughly and the duck has obviously been cooked to sufficient doneness.
Next, Feng Yifan carefully took the duck out of the casserole.
Then pour some water into the casserole, cover it with the lid again and simmer it.
This is a process of expanding the volume of the soup, and it is also a way to preserve the old brine. You cannot wash the pot, nor can you pour out the soup in the pot. You must add water to the original soup. Then boil it over high heat, and then simmer it over low heat. When the soup is concentrated, filter it out and save it.
Of course, all impurities in the soup need to be filtered out, and when you stew it next time, you need to add spices again as needed.
This is a relatively complicated process, but this seemingly complicated process is the key to ensuring that the braising soup can be preserved.
After adding water and bringing it to a boil, Feng Yifan controlled the fire to a low heat.
While the duck was slowly simmering over low heat, Feng Yifan started to process it.
Carefully separate the duck meat.
Because the duck is stewed for a long enough time, the duck meat can be easily removed and the bones and meat can be separated very easily without any effort.
Seeing this, Su Jinrong suddenly said, "The duck has been stewed for too long. Although the flavor is easier to infuse into the duck meat, it is not conducive to the duck meat becoming a dish. If you want to use the duck as it is now to make dishes such as duck breast, I am afraid it will be difficult to form a shape, right?"
Hearing his father-in-law say this, Feng Yifan also understood what his father-in-law meant, but he thought about it and said, "Dad, I actually have another way to make a dish with this duck meat."
Having said that, Feng Yifan immediately started to put the disassembled meat back together.
Then use the torn duck skin to wrap the minced meat to make cylindrical meat rolls.
Feng Yifan used a frying pan, smeared some duck oil on the bottom of the pan, and slowly fried the duck skin wrapped duck meat rolls over low heat until golden brown. He then took them out one by one, cut them into oblique slices and placed them on a plate.
Watching his son-in-law's series of production processes, Su Jinrong was also a little surprised.
Feng Yifan handed the duck meat roll to his father-in-law and said, "Dad, try my Suzhou-style duck meat roll."
Su Jinrong picked up a piece with chopsticks and fanned it in front of his nose to smell the flavor.
Because it is fried with duck fat, it retains the rich aroma of duck meat, and combined with the flavor of spices, it really makes people appetizing just by smelling it.
Then, Su Jinrong put one piece into his mouth.
Crunch.
When you bite it, you first taste the crispy fried skin, followed by the juicy duck meat.
Both the duck skin and the duck meat inside exude the flavor of spices, and because duck fat is used, the flavor of the duck itself is not lost. It is really a great dish.
After tasting it, Su Jinrong nodded: "Well, it's great. It seems that you have really mastered the use of this Su-style soup. This Su-style duck roll is great, but the taste is still a little thin. I think it should be paired with some sauces or vegetables to make the taste more diverse and not so greasy."
After hearing what his father-in-law said, Feng Yifan was confused at first, but soon understood what his father-in-law was thinking.
"Dad, do you mean that we should prepare a sauce with vegetables to increase the taste and reduce the greasiness?"
Su Jinrong nodded: "Yes, there is no seasoning in the Su Zao soup itself. It simply uses spices to enhance the flavor of the duck meat and highlight the taste of the duck meat. After your processing, the duck roll is indeed very delicious, but the disadvantage is obvious, that is, it is a little greasy and the taste is too monotonous."
His father-in-law's reminder made Feng Yifan immediately think of a more Western approach.
Add some sauce to the food to enrich the flavor of the dish itself and make the taste more complex.
There may be some differences from the Chinese method of cooking it directly into the food.
But doing so is equivalent to giving diners a variety of choices.
You can simply taste the flavor of the food itself, or you can taste a variety of flavors through the sauce.
Thinking of this, Feng Yifan quickly began to pick vegetables in the kitchen, and finally he chose celery and apples.
After chopping both, add oil to the pan and stir-fry the scallion and ginger first to bring out the aroma. After taking out the scallion and ginger, add celery and apples and stir-fry, add some salt and soy sauce, season and reduce the sauce like braising, and finally add some lemon peel fragments.
After preparing a sauce, Feng Yifan poured it on the duck rolls on the plate and handed it to his father-in-law to taste again.
Su Jinrong was a little surprised to see this behavior. He didn't expect his son-in-law to do this.
This is definitely a combination of Chinese and Western cooking methods, but just smelling the aroma of the sauce made Su Jinrong have a stronger appetite.
Pick up a piece of sliced duck roll with sauce and put it in your mouth to taste it carefully.
The skin is still very crispy and the duck meat inside is still as delicious and juicy.
But when paired with the sauce, the taste in the mouth instantly changes wonderfully.
The duck rolls no longer have the greasy feeling they had before, and the flavor of the duck itself has also been well neutralized, making it easier to eat.
The texture of the duck meat preserved by Feng Yifan creates a certain sense of comfort between the lips and teeth when people chew it.
Su Jinrong savored it for a while, then looked up at his son-in-law and said, "Hmm, it tastes good."
Feng Yifan smiled when he heard this: "Thank you, Dad."
Su Jinrong continued, "When you cooked the vegetable sauce, you added the soup base from the duck, right? And you didn't use duck fat to fry it, but rapeseed oil instead, which neutralized the odor of the duck itself and made it taste better."
Feng Yifan couldn't help but admire his father-in-law. Although his father-in-law is old now and his legs and feet are still not so convenient after the stroke, his tongue is still very powerful.
"Dad, you're right. My idea for this vegetable sauce is to neutralize the greasiness of the duck rolls and remove some of the peculiar smell of the duck meat."
Su Jinrong nodded with satisfaction: "From this point of view, your summer Su Zao Tang recipe is a success."
Feng Yifan disagreed: "Dad, it's too early to say we've succeeded. We still need to try and make further adjustments."
Su Jinrong was stunned at first, then agreed with his son-in-law: "Well, you are right, we must continue to try and strive for perfection."
In the kitchen at home, the father-in-law and son-in-law worked hard to restore Suzhou soup and develop new dishes using Suzhou soup.
Feng Ruoruo followed her grandparents and mother to Yue Qihao's house, bringing snacks for her brother Haohao.
Standing at the door, Feng Ruoruo couldn't help but shout inside: "Brother Haohao, Ruoruo is here. Have you finished your homework? Ruoruo brought you some snacks made by Ruoruo's father. They are delicious."
In the countryside, the gates of houses are usually not closed during the day, so Feng Ruoruo walked in while shouting.
Yue Qihao’s grandmother came out first, and when she saw Feng Ruoruo, she liked her very much.
"Hey, our Ruoruo is here? Are you here to bring some snacks to Brother Haohao?"
Feng Ruoruo turned around, took out the snacks from the basket in her mother's hand and said, "Yes, grandma, I'm here to bring snacks to brother Haohao. This snack was made by my father and it's delicious."
Qi Yan followed and said, "Thank you, Ruoruo, for remembering to give it to brother."
The last person who ran out of the room in a hurry was Yue Qihao.
When Yue Qihao heard his sister's shouting, he couldn't wait to run out, but he still had a little homework left, so he finished the last bit before running out.
Feng Ruoruo saw Brother Haohao running out and asked with a smile: "Brother Haohao, why are you running so fast?"
Yue Qihao smiled innocently and said, "I, I just finished my homework."
When Feng Ruoruo heard that her brother had finished his homework, the little girl immediately said happily: "Great, Brother Haohao, you have finished your homework. You can eat the snacks that Ruoruo brought you. This snack is made by Daddy. It is very delicious. Come and try it quickly."
Yue Qihao's grandmother said, "Sit down first, let's see what Ruoruo's father's snacks look like."
After hearing what his grandmother said, Yue Qihao quickly turned around and ran into the main room to move a chair.
They brought out chairs one by one and placed them in order for Feng Ruoruo, her grandparents and her mother to sit down.
Feng Ruoruo put the snacks on the table and said to her grandmother, aunt and brother from Yue's family, "Hurry up and try some. The snacks my father made are not available outside. They are very delicious."
Lu Cuiling reached out and pulled her granddaughter back to her side, smiling and saying, "Okay, don't keep praising your dad here, let grandma, aunt and brother have a taste first. You like dad's snacks, but they may not like them. Come on, do it first."
After hearing what her grandma said, Feng Ruoruo obediently sat down on the small chair between her mother and grandma.
But the little girl kept urging them: "Grandma, Auntie, Brother, please eat quickly, it's really delicious."
Yue Qihao's grandmother finally said, "Okay, if Ruoruo is so enthusiastic, let's try it quickly."
Then Yue Qihao, his grandmother and his mother each picked up a piece and started eating.