Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 160 - 129: Duck Blood Hotpot, Beer Duck, and White Cut Chicken (Part 2)

"At the same time, duck meat braised with beer is more tender than when braised with plain water."

"Aside from beer, there are various spice and seasoning recipes across different regions of Great Xia, with no fixed formula. It's primarily to suit the local people's taste, which is why it's called beer-braised duck; only the main ingredient is fixed."

"What I'm about to make now is based on the braised beer duck, adding some spiciness to create a stimulating flavor that can fully awaken the diners' taste buds."

As they listened, Elsa and Dais nodded their heads, with Elsa even taking out her phone to take notes, her attitude towards learning being extremely earnest.

"This one here is called white-cut chicken, characterized by..."

"And then there's this, duck blood and chicken blood..."

"The method for preparing organs is..."

After the explanation, Lucas returned just in time with the ingredients.

"Beep beep beep——"

Once the chicken was done soaking, Lin Chen turned off the alarm, filled a basin with ice cubes, and poured them into cold water. He then took the whole chicken out to soak, quickly cooling it and further enhancing the springy texture of the chicken skin.

The soaked chicken skin displayed a more noticeable yellow color than before, somewhat resembling free-range chickens raised by local farmers, though the coloration wasn't as vivid.

The chicken need not be soaked in ice water for too long, just enough for the skin to tighten properly—about ten minutes should suffice.

The instant shift from high temperature to low temperature causes the broth and oils that have seeped into the chicken to quickly solidify, forming a gelatinous layer inside.

While the chicken was soaking in ice water, Lin Chen sprinkled a few millet peppers and dried red chilies into the duck broth, added the hotpot base, and continued to simmer, while also cooking some rice.

He chopped some ginger and scallions, mixed them with some sugar and sea salt, and poured a few ladles of hot oil over them.

"Sizzle——"

"Sizzle——"

As the hot oil was poured in, the scallions and ginger emitted a faint fragrance.

Dais and Elsa, having never seen the oil pour technique before, watched wide-eyed and recorded the process with curiosity.

"Chef, is this the dipping sauce? If this step can be completed in front of guests, don't you think the experience would be even better?"

"Hmm?"

Lin Chen looked at her in surprise, giving a thumbs up: "Impressive, that's what I had in mind. We in Great Xia like to complete certain cooking steps in front of guests, and this oil pouring process is perfect for that."

"But you have to be extra careful to prevent the oil from splattering; a slight touch would cause burns."

He prepared five servings of dipping sauce according to the number of people and set them aside. He then took two small saucepans, placing them on the stove, and added half a block of hotpot base to each, along with garlic, scallion, and ginger to sauté, then added a bit of soy sauce, oyster sauce, and Sichuan pepper, cooking for two minutes for the flavors to blend fully.

The broth leftover from soaking the chicken was also not wasted, replacing water in the base mix.

Since the chicken broth already had a salty taste, there was no need to add more salt for seasoning.

He poured the chicken blood and duck blood into separate saucepans, letting them slowly boil along with the soup base.

The aroma of beer, beef tallow, chilies, and the meat fragrance of chicken and duck filled the air in the kitchen, tantalizing everyone into sniffing eagerly.

Even Jiang Shuqi, who claimed not to be too hungry a while ago, found herself starting to crave as she smelled the aroma. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

With three pots boiling simultaneously, and seeing no issues, Lin Chen took a medium-sized frying pan, drizzled a little peanut oil in it.

Fortunately, none of the people present were allergic to peanuts, as the unique aroma of peanut oil is something olive oil cannot replace.

He quickly cut some garlic slices, green peppers, and millet peppers, throwing them directly into the pan to stir-fry quickly.

Turning the heat up to the maximum, within just ten seconds, the aroma of garlic slices and red and green peppers was released, permeating the air with a spicy, pungent fragrance.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

"Wow, it's so choking...cough cough, this dish should be really spicy, I'm already drooling thinking about it, I'm starting to worry about tonight."

Lin Chen was unfazed, quickly adding the prepared organs, pouring a circle of oil, adding some rum, and shaking his wrist vigorously.

"Whoosh~"

Flames flared up brilliantly, illuminating the whole kitchen, prompting Dais and Elsa to take two steps back in fright, their faces showing clear astonishment which soon turned into excitement.

Lin Chen constantly jostled the frying pan, taming the roaring flames as if they were under his command, burning only inside the pan while various colored ingredients visibly danced in the flames.

The flame subsided quickly, lasting only about ten seconds or so.

He added soy sauce, oyster sauce, two spoonfuls of chicken broth, and continued to stir-fry quickly, letting the broth reduce before plating.

The chicken and duck giblets stir-fried over high heat were bright in color, exuding a rich wok fragrance and the fresh aroma of peppers.

He brushed a bit of peanut oil on the surface of the white-cut chicken to enhance its aroma, sliced it, and plated it.

The chicken blood and duck blood were more or less cooked, bubbling and bouncing in the spicy red oil.

The beer duck needing a bit more time, couldn't resist his craving and decided to eat first.

"Come on, everyone, don't just stand there, grab your utensils and dig in!"

Dais and Elsa helped carry the dipping sauce, white-cut chicken, and stir-fried giblets on a tray, while Lin Chen carried a saucepan in each hand as they headed outside.

It was Jiang Shuqi's first time in a proper western restaurant kitchen, even though it wasn't open for business yet, the experience was rare, and she was busy capturing footage with her camera.

Upon hearing the call to eat, she dashed outside eager to partake.

Lucas was also filming, almost mimicking her position and angle closely, claiming it was for learning purposes.

"Friends, can you grasp this? Watching our Great Xia head chef cook live in the kitchen of a high-end western restaurant not yet open across the ocean, and then enjoying the meal in such a beautiful garden setting, who can understand this!!"

Seeing Jiang Shuqi's camera focused on capturing the dishes as she mutters to herself, Lucas followed suit.

"Family, who can understand this..."

"Shut up!"

Jiang Shuqi rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Can't you be a little more original? Piggybacking on the master's popularity is it? Joint videos cost extra, you have to pay more!"

"Master, you're already so rich, can't you stop talking about money all the time and show some understanding for your apprentice~"

"Just joking, else where do you think my money comes from? I earned it through my own hard work! Sure, the family has money, but I also can earn my own, alright!"

"Then...let me owe you first, I'll pay once I've earned enough."

"??? Which nice person collaborates on videos on credit? You...forget it, considering you're my apprentice, just this once, okay!"

"Thanks, Master~~"

"Finished filming or not?"

Lin Chen rubbed his hands together, "Once done, eat quickly—stir-fried giblets and blood need to be eaten hot, otherwise they'll have a gamey taste when cold."

The two set their cameras and began a food broadcast in front of the lens.

Though she often saw Lucas filming, such a formal shooting process was a first for Lin Chen too.

It was just like others' food broadcast videos—starting with a close-up, picking up a piece close to the camera, saying something like letting the fans taste it first, then putting it into their mouth and showing a blissful expression.

Jiang Shuqi's food broadcast seemed relatively natural, without any frills, purely demonstrating how elegantly a beauty eats.

Meanwhile, Lucas appeared to follow an exaggerated route, making funny faces, which Lin Chen found hard to watch.

With the two filming like that, the three of them hesitated to join in and eat, so Lin Chen asked Dais to grab two bowls, serving each a bit of the dishes, handing it over to them.

"Try the blood first, just eat it directly, the white-cut chicken is best tasted first in its original flavor before dipping in the ginger sauce."

"After all, these were caught and slaughtered by your hands, such a significant experience can't go uneaten."

The two nodded, having already intended to taste how it was like.

Especially Dais, filled with curiosity.

Compared to fish heads, organs and blood were nothing out of the ordinary, but they hadn't tasted this style and flavor.

Using chopsticks to gently pick up a piece of tender chicken blood along the edge of the bowl, its color lighter than that of duck blood, making it relatively easy to differentiate.

"Slurp"

Without effort, the silky chicken blood slid naturally into the mouth, melting over the taste buds.

There was no strange taste at all, just a simple smoothness, tenderness, softer than tofu, with the overall flavor profile being spicy, fresh, slightly sweet upon savoring.