I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 594 - 283: Flower and Ham Mooncake is a Calorie Bomb? No, It’s a Calorie Nuke! [Subscribe Please]_2

Chapter 594: Chapter 283: Flower and Ham Mooncake is a Calorie Bomb? No, It’s a Calorie Nuke! [Subscribe Please]_2

The scale displayed 133 grams.

It was only 3 grams off from what the boss had said.

Wow, the boss is incredibly skilled, huh? Just a couple of hefts and the weight is that precise?

Just the thing for someone who’s weak, Song Tiantian muttered, unconsciously thinking of the chubby boy who had recently been riding bicycles with her at night. He’s so out of shape, sweating buckets just from riding a bike; this stuff would be perfect for him.

"President Shu... I have a friend..."

「In the kitchen.」

The bowl of Mapo Chicken Cake had already been cleaned out.

Lin Xu placed a whole pipa-shaped Ham on the workbench. Starting with the Pork Trotter section, he slowly peeled away the layer of cling wrap.

The Pork Skin was covered with mold spots and emitted a strong, moldy smell, but once this outer layer was removed, the delicious flavor would reveal itself.

Xuanwei is located in northern Southern Yunnan, at a higher altitude with dry and cold winter air.

Here, Hams are made with only a small amount of salt. This method preserves the meat and enhances its flavor while preventing spoilage.

It’s precisely because so little salt is used that the Ham’s flavor is exquisite. Top-quality Hams even possess a sweet taste, a characteristic not found in other Hams.

If Hams in other regions were made with the same low amount of salt as Xuanwei Ham, they would undoubtedly spoil and become infested with insects.

After tearing off the cling wrap and scraping off the surface Pork Skin, the Xuanwei Ham’s reddish lean meat and pristine white fat finally came into view.

The Ham still felt tender, not at all like an ingredient that had been preserved for two years.

When cutting it with a knife, it even felt like slicing fresh meat.

Recalling the last time in the back kitchen when he practically had to use a saw on the Jinhua Ham, Lin Xu softly lamented, "Indeed, same Hams, different destinies."

Wei Qian came over, patted the Ham a couple of times, and said with a smile, "This Xuanwei Ham is truly as good as its reputation. If you patted a Jinhua Ham like this, your hand would probably ache from the impact."

The two types of Ham were like trains on the same track heading in opposite directions. Their uses, preparation methods, and so on were all contrary. Jinhua Ham is suitable for making stock, stewing, and other long-cooking methods.

Meanwhile, Xuanwei Ham is better for quick stir-frying, steaming, or as a filling. Its delicious flavor can be perfectly brought out in a short cooking time.

This Ham weighed dozens of pounds, far too much to be used at once. Lin Xu cut into about half of it, sliced it into large pieces, washed them, then arranged them on a tray and placed them in the steamer cabinet to steam.

If Jinhua Ham were used for filling, it would need to be soaked for at least six hours.

But Xuanwei Ham requires no soaking. Incorporated into fillings this way, it tastes just right.

If it were also soaked, the resulting filling would become too sweet, losing that delightful surprise of finding savory, umami diced meat within a sweet filling.

Once the Ham was steaming, Lin Xu took out some Medium Flour and began to prepare the Dough.

The most representative Yunnan-style mooncake is the hard-shell mooncake. Though called "hard-shell," this term is relative, used in comparison to flaky-crust mooncakes with their distinct, separate layers.

In truth, hard-shell mooncakes are also quite crumbly.

However, their crusts are somewhat thicker and slightly firmer than flaky crusts, which is why Medium Flour is chosen.

If one prefers a hard, crunchy exterior, then high-gluten flour is the way to go. The higher the Gluten content, the harder the crust, and the crunchier the bite.

Conversely, using low gluten flour results in a mooncake crust that is less firm and more crumbly, so much so that it might give the illusion of being made from Peach Cake.

Of course, while the flakiness and crispiness of the crust are related to the flour’s Gluten content, this isn’t the only factor, as the amount of pork lard is also crucial.

If you want a flakier, more crumbly texture, use more pork lard; for a crunchier texture, use less.

Although many households have abandoned pork lard due to health concerns, its use remains widespread in Dessert Making, especially in traditional Chinese pastry making.

In fact, many pastries would drop a tier in quality without pork lard.

For the crust of the flower and Ham mooncakes, in addition to Medium Flour and pork lard, Honey, powdered sugar, and water are needed.

The crust has a specific ratio: for every half-pound of Medium Flour, 25 grams of powdered sugar, 25 grams of Honey, 100 grams of pork lard, and 60 to 80 grams of water are required.

The water ratio isn’t fixed because preparing the Dough is closely related to air humidity, temperature, and the flour’s moisture content. Therefore, the amount of water cannot be rigidly set.

One pound of flour can make about forty mooncakes. Lin Xu prepared Dough with about ten pounds of flour at once, planning to make that many today. Since both the large and small ovens were free and no one had booked them for roast whole lamb or suckling pig, he could go all out with the production.

He gathered the ingredients and kneaded the flour into a Dough that didn’t stick to his hands.

Thanks to the pork lard, this step was quite simple.

The fat acted as a lubricant, making it somewhat easier than kneading Dough with only water.

Once the Dough was ready, he placed it in a bowl, covered it with cling wrap, and then put it in the cold storage unit to chill.

Next, he found a stainless steel pot that hadn’t been used for stir-frying vegetables, placed it on the stove, and poured in some flour. He slowly toasted the flour over low heat until it turned lightly golden, then removed it from the pot and spread it out to cool.

Two types of flour are indispensable in the making of Chinese pastries: Fried Flour and starch.

Fried Flour is the flour that was just toasted until lightly golden. This flour has a rich, nutty toasted aroma and a slightly powdery texture, making it perfect for fillings.

As for starch, it is flour from which all the Gluten has been removed.

This type of flour has no Gluten, thus possessing superior extensibility and plasticity. The wrappers of Shrimp Dumplings, one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Cantonese dim sum, owe their striking translucence to being made with starch.