Chapter 965: Chapter 404: A Wonderful Day Begins with Showing Off on Moments! The Time-Consuming Braised Goose Feet!

Otherwise, sooner or later, his reputation would drag him down.

After finishing his instructions, he took his cup of yam juice and got in the car.

Arrived at the Yanjing Hotel.

As soon as he walked into the kitchen, he saw Meng Kaifang, who had talked Qi Siliang out of a job, holding a basket of cleaned goose feet and whispering something to Qi Zhentao.

"Hey, Director Lin is here. What tea would you like? I’ll get it for you right away."

Meng Kaifang looked friendly, as if he were visiting relatives.

Lin Xu raised the yam juice in his hand:

"No need, I’m drinking this... Why are you preparing so many goose feet?"

Before Qi Zhentao could answer, Meng Kaifang interjected:

"Last night, my senior saw that the quality of the braised sauce you made was very high. He got the itch to make some Braised Goose Feet. This is a famous dish in Cantonese cuisine, as good as bear’s paw when done right."

Lin Xu, who had never eaten bear’s paw, couldn’t imagine that taste.

That’s the downside of being young.

Back in the 80s, when hunting wasn’t banned, eating bear’s paw wasn’t difficult. Unlike now, where if you ate a bear’s paw, you’d end up bald and living in the South Campus.

After reflecting, he looked at Qi Zhentao and asked:

"Chef Qi, is it difficult to make Braised Goose Feet?"

"Not difficult, not difficult. Your Tiger Skin Chicken Feet are so good, they’ve become a signature of Lin Ji’s Food. Making goose feet should be no problem for you."

Hearing this, Lin Xu became interested.

After getting the braised sauce, he had been eager to turn this high-end sauce into something tangible.

If it’s similar to chicken feet, he could try it later.

If it works, they could introduce it at the restaurant.

After all, Lin Ji currently has clients who don’t care about the cost. If you’re willing to try something new, they’ll dare to try it. There’s no reason not to earn this money.

He finished his yam juice, tossed the empty cup into the trash, and began to learn.

For making Braised Goose Feet, the first choice is the goose feet of the Lion’s Head Goose, which are relatively large, with plump and golden flesh, making them an ideal choice for high-end goose feet dishes.

If you’re not concerned about appearance, you can also use the feet of the Black Brown Goose, which are relatively smaller with black feet, but being small has its advantage as the meat is firm enough.

However, for the Yanjing Hotel, the ingredients must be the best.

Now, in the basin, all these goose feet are from the Lion’s Head Goose. The outer layer of keratin has been removed, and after washing them twice, Qi Zhentao put them in a pot to blanch.

Blanching can remove impurities from the surface of the goose feet, improving the texture of the meat.

Put the goose feet in the pot, add water, splash in some liquor, bring it to a boil, then remove the goose feet and soak them in cold water to set their shape, making them easier to fry.

During the soaking, use scissors to cut off the tips of the goose toes.

The reason they weren’t cut initially is that after blanching, the meat around the toe tips shrinks, revealing the base of the toe tips, allowing them to be thoroughly cleaned.

After cutting them off, continue to soak.

Meanwhile, Qi Zhentao began preparing the marinade needed for the goose feet. A pot of stock, a few dried onions, several heads of garlic, a few pieces of ginger, and spices like star anise, bay leaves, and cinnamon.

Once everything is prepared, heat the pot with oil, and fry the spices, dried onions, and garlic at a low temperature.

After frying, put them in a clay pot, pour in the stock made from pork bones, mother hen, and Jinhua ham, then add salt, crystal sugar, dark soy sauce, and light soy sauce, and simmer on a low flame on the stove.

At this time, take out the soaked goose feet.

Pat dry the surface moisture and fry them in the oil.

This is similar to making chicken feet, but unlike chicken feet, which are small and don’t require long frying, goose feet require a longer frying time.

While frying, it’s important to adjust the oil temperature actively.

Initially, because you need to quickly dry out the surface of the goose feet, the oil temperature should be slightly higher, about 60% hot.

After putting them in, cover the pot. When you no longer hear popping sounds from inside, it means the surface moisture has evaporated.

At this point, lower the heat to reduce the oil temperature to about 40% hot.

Using this simmer-frying method, fry the goose feet through, so that when marinated, they’ll be delicious.

Fry for about ten minutes until the goose feet are cooked through, then turn to medium heat to raise the oil temperature again, extracting any excess oil from the goose feet to prevent them from being too greasy.

Take out the fried goose feet. If you like oily food, you can put them directly into the stock. If not, soak them in warm water to remove the excess oil.

Next comes a three-hour long simmer on low heat.

This cooking method makes the goose feet cook until the bones are soft and the meat is tender, melting in your mouth. When the marinated goose feet are cooked with the braised sauce, the texture is mouth-watering just to think about it.

"This dish is delicious for sure, but it’s labor-intensive. Starting from the braised sauce, with all the stock and goose feet combined, nearly thirty hours have gone into it. It’s very time-consuming."

With Qi Zhentao’s remarks, Lin Xu finally understood why the hotel’s Braised Goose Feet with Sauce could sell for ninety-eight yuan each, and in even higher-end places, the price could exceed a hundred yuan.

Judging by the time and effort spent, it definitely seemed worth it.

The goose feet wouldn’t be ready until noon, so Lin Xu casually chatted with Qi Zhenhua and Meng Kaifang before heading to the Soup Department.

After the head chef there quit in a fit of rage yesterday, the Soup Department now only had some assistants and apprentices, lacking a pillar of support.

Lin Xu thought they hadn’t started work yet, but upon entering, he found all the stoves cooking ingredients, and the aroma of the soups was rich.

All the stocks needed by the restaurant, like beef bone broth, pork bone broth, chicken soup, and braised sauce, were being cooked.

The oldest assistant chef was holding two racks of lamb, studying how to make lamb soup.

"You can’t make lamb soup just using lamb ribs; the flavor won’t be rich enough. You need to use leg of lamb, preferably the hind leg; that way, the soup will be more robust and flavorful. You don’t even know this?"

"Oh, Director Lin is here? We used to use different concentrated soup bases, rarely making real broth ourselves... Just asked the warehouse for some leg of lamb, but they won’t give it to us, saying they’ll order some lamb spine later to make broth with the bones."

Just after dealing with the Soup Department yesterday, today they want me to handle the warehouse?

Lin Xu wasn’t in the mood for this, so he called out:

"Qi Siming!"

In less than a minute, Qi Siming, wearing skull earrings, walked in: 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"What’s up, Boss Lin? What do you need?"

Lin Xu said:

"Starting today, you’ll also be the head chef of the Soup Department, and you can go to the warehouse to get whatever ingredients they need."

The person in charge of the warehouse is probably another godson or apprentice of Qi Zhentao, and arguing about it would make a mountain out of a molehill and make things awkward for Qi Zhentao.

So it was best to leave it to Qi Siming.

If Qi Siming can’t get the ingredients, then there would be some good shows to watch!

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This Chapter is 5,200 words. Please vote for me, brothers!