Chef at the University Canteen-Chapter 295 - 228: Can’t Eat Without Chili Peppers

Since Sanjin Ramen does not add oil, salt, or other substances like pembash, the dough-making technique becomes quite important.

First is the ratio of flour to water. To bring the dough to its best state, under normal circumstances, 500g of flour needs about 300g of water.

If there's too much water, the dough becomes sticky and clings to hands; too little water makes the dough dry and hard, impossible to stretch out.

Moreover, the process of kneading the dough is also crucial.

When kneading, you should first turn the flour into a flocculent state and knead it together, then continue using a method of combining kneading the dough with dipping it in water.

That is, while kneading the dough, dip your hand in a bit of water, and once the water is fully incorporated with the dough, dip in a bit more water and knead again. Repeat this process until the dough reaches the ideal state.

Jiang Yu kneaded the dough until smooth, then covered it with a new piece of damp cotton cloth, setting it aside to rest.

Resting the dough requires at least half an hour; the longer the rest, the easier it is to stretch the noodles, making the final ramen smooth and delightful to eat.

Of course, during the waiting period, Jiang Yu naturally was not idle.

The previously heated chicken broth in the soup pot was boiling by now, so he took out the pre-soaked wild mushrooms, rinsed them twice under the tap, squeezed out the moisture, and placed them in the chicken broth to continue simmering over low heat.

Next, Jiang Yu cleaned the purchased pork, chopped it into minced meat with a kitchen knife, then added an egg to the meat, along with an appropriate amount of salt, chicken essence, starch, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and other seasonings, stirring clockwise with chopsticks until evenly mixed.

After achieving the right consistency in the minced meat, he added a suitable amount of warm water, continuing to stir until it regained its strength, repeating three times.

Then he picked up the minced meat and repeatedly kneaded it in the bowl, before squeezing out round meatballs from between his thumbs and index fingers.

Jiang Yu then put the finished meatballs directly into the chicken broth, waiting for them to cook through.

After making the meatballs, he proceeded to prepare a dish of scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Just as he was about to serve it, Jiang Yu suddenly sensed someone behind him. Turning around, he saw Pan Jingchen leaning on the kitchen doorway, watching him with a faint smile.

Seeing that Jiang Yu noticed him, Pan Jingchen didn't attempt to hide, smiling openly and explaining:

"I was drawn in by the aroma from the kitchen and couldn't help but take a look."

"Are you starving?"

Jiang Yu laughed and casually asked, "What kind of ramen would you like? Round or flat? How thick?"

Pan Jingchen, full of curiosity, asked, "You know about that too?"

Jiang Yu smiled and said, "It's not a secret. Ramen is just one form, but there are many varieties."

Ramen can be divided by noodle shapes into three main categories: round, flat, and diamond, where each category can also be subdivided into different thicknesses.

For those who prefer flat noodles, choices include leek leaf, thin wide, wide, very wide, and belt-wide.

Leek leaf is about the width of a chive leaf, roughly 5 millimeters wide, while belt-wide is about 30-40 millimeters.

For round noodles, there are six options: hair-thin, thin noodle, three thin, two thin, one thin, and double column.

Hair-thin noodles are about the thickness of fine wire, with a diameter of approximately 0.5-1 millimeters; double columns are around 5-7mm in diameter.

Of course, round ramen has no "limit"; a skilled ramen master can pull noodles thin as spider silk, and a needle of one millimeter can pass through more than thirty strands, which is truly awe-inspiring.

However, this classification of ramen thickness seems to originate from the Ganzhou Golden City Beef Noodles standard, while Sanjin Ramen hasn't been known for such classifications.

Hence, today Jiang Yu combined elements from both places, using Sanjin Ramen's dough-making techniques with the thickness classification of Ganzhou Golden City Beef Noodles.

Pan Jingchen tilted his head and said, "Then give me a bowl of flat, wide noodles. I prefer them chewy, with some bite."

"Alright, just wait for a bit, it'll be ready soon."

Jiang Yu nodded, setting aside the plated scrambled eggs with tomatoes, cleaned the pot, poured in clean water, added a pinch of salt, and brought it to a boil.

By this time, the dough sitting aside had finished resting.

Jiang Yu sprinkled some dry flour on the board, kneaded the rested dough into a long strip, rolled it evenly in dry flour, pressed it flat, and then used a rolling pin to roll it out.

After rolling the dough into a long rectangular sheet about 1-1.5 centimeters thick, he cut it into thin strips with a knife.

After cutting enough for a bowl, he stopped, holding each end of the strip in his hands, gently shaking it up and down, stretching it into flat noodles about 1 centimeter wide, then dropped it directly into the boiling water.

The ramen was placed into the pot one strip at a time, and by the time the last strip was in, the previous ones were already cooked. Additional boiling for 1 to 2 minutes was enough.

After making a sufficient bowl of flat ramen, Jiang Yu took a large bowl, scooped up the cooked noodles, then turned to the soup pot that had been kept warm, stirred it with a ladle, and poured a generous scoop of chicken broth into the noodle bowl.

Sprinkling some chopped green onions over the noodles, Jiang Yu brought it out.

The steaming bowl of chicken broth with meatballs and mushrooms ramen was brought out, and Pan Jingchen, who was lounging idly on the sofa, immediately brightened up. She jumped up from her seat, eyes wide open, staring at the bowl of crystal clear and incredibly fragrant ramen in front of her with a look of delight: