I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 675 - 309: The Irresistible Rice Companion Dish - Chestnut Braised Pork! Million Fans Reward! [Subscribe Please]

Chapter 675: Chapter 309: The Irresistible Rice Companion Dish - Chestnut Braised Pork! Million Fans Reward! [Subscribe Please]

"Damn, what is this hellish game?"

Lin Xu played Sheep Tag for a while before promptly quitting. Playing other games was supposed to be relaxing, a way to enjoy the fun of clearing levels. But this game offered no fun, only depression.

I’m so sorry, my delicious sugar-roasted chestnuts.

Lin Xu opened his regular 3D billiards game and managed a three-win streak, which finally cleared away the gloom in his heart.

Feeling cheerful, he opened the latest anime he was following and started to peel and eat the tasty chestnuts while watching.

Can’t deny it; these things are really addictive.

He peeled off the cracked outer shell, revealing the egg-yolk-like chestnut meat inside. The soft, glutinous texture when chewed gently was simply irresistible.

The weather had turned cold, and the season for eating chestnuts had arrived. This delicacy was truly versatile. It could be made into sugar-roasted chestnuts, added to various desserts, or even used in porridge, rice dishes, and stews with meat or chicken. Basically, chestnuts were up to the task for any culinary creation one could imagine.

Perhaps the only drawback was peeling them. Chestnuts needed to be eaten hot. Once they cooled, the shell became difficult to peel. Even if one managed to peel off the hard outer shell, the inner membrane was also difficult to remove.

When he had almost finished eating, he got up and went to the next booth. By then, Zeng Xiaoqi, Shu Yun, and Dou Wenjing had all left with their sugar-roasted chestnuts. Half of the stone-roasted ones remained. As for those boiled and coated in syrup, the three women had divided them all.

Tsk, they claim it’s too sweet and not tasty, yet their bodies are quite honest, aren’t they?

Lin Xu carried the stone-roasted chestnuts to the small kitchen. He scraped aside the pebbles he had used for roasting them. They were still very hot, and he guessed the temperature wouldn’t drop anytime soon. He buried the chestnuts among the pebbles, covering them to keep them warm enough to be slightly hot to the touch.

By the time Shen Baobao got off work, there would be no need to re-roast the chestnuts. Care had to be taken not to bury them too deep, otherwise the residual heat from the pebbles would scorch the chestnuts.

「In the kitchen.」

Wei Qian, after finishing his tasks, brought over the unroasted chestnuts. Braised Pork Belly with Chestnuts simply meant simmering chestnuts with braised pork. This required advance preparation, particularly reserving enough time to make the Braised Pork Belly. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

To make this dish, the first step was to prepare the chestnuts. Use a kitchen knife to score a cross on each chestnut. After scoring all of them, dump them into a pot of boiling water. Soon after being placed in the pot, the chestnuts cracked open. After boiling for about ten minutes, fish out the chestnuts and peel them while hot.

"It’s time to test your ’Heartless Iron Hands’! Come on, let’s see who isn’t afraid of the heat," Wei Qian called over the nearby kitchen assistants to help.

"Chef, are these chestnuts cooked?"

"They’re cooked... Hey, why are you stuffing that in your mouth? We’re making Braised Pork Belly with Chestnuts tonight. Anyone who eats chestnuts now won’t get any Braised Pork Belly later!" Chef Wei playfully threatened them, then said, "Tonight, not only will we have Braised Pork Belly with Chestnuts, but I bet the boss will also make Stone Cooked Chrysanthemum. You’d better save your appetite for the good stuff tonight. What’s so special about these plain boiled chestnuts?"

Hearing about the delicious food to come, all the kitchen assistants perked up. The staff meals at the restaurant were becoming increasingly lavish. If photos were posted online, they would definitely stir up a buzz. Whenever they saw envious online comments praising the great meals at Lin Ji, everyone felt a strong sense of pride.

Our Lin Ji staff meals are just that awesome!

Tonight at dinner, they had to show it off too. Couldn’t they score a bunch of likes?

Many hands make light work, and the boiled chestnuts were quickly peeled.

Wei Qian then fetched some pork belly. First, he scorched the pork belly skin with a blowtorch to remove impurities and any gamey smell. Then, he cut it into two-centimeter cubes, chopped some Scallion and Ginger, and prepared to start cooking.

Although it was called cooking, it was actually the method for making Braised Pork Belly. However, there was an additional step—frying the chestnuts.

For the Braised Pork Belly with Chestnuts, to make the chestnuts even tastier than the meat, they needed to be fried in hot oil before being added to the pot. The high-temperature frying thoroughly released the chestnuts’ natural fragrance. Moreover, after frying, the chestnuts wouldn’t disintegrate during stewing and wouldn’t end up crumbly.

He heated a wok and added enough oil to fill it halfway. When the oil reached medium heat, he added the chestnuts to fry them. Since the chestnuts were mostly cooked during the ten minutes of boiling, the oil temperature shouldn’t be too high; medium heat was sufficient. Fry them over medium heat for two minutes. Once the surface of the chestnuts turned slightly golden, he removed them and also poured out the oil from the wok.

He then placed the wok back on the stove, heated it, and tossed in the pork belly cubes. This step could be done without adding extra oil, as the pork belly itself contained plenty of fat that would render out during stir-frying. This made the pork belly fragrant but not greasy. The rendered fat was perfect for stir-frying the aromatics.

However, not too much fat should be rendered out, or the Braised Pork Belly would lose its melt-in-your-mouth texture. Generally, stir-frying until just a little fat remained at the bottom of the wok was sufficient.

Once some fat had rendered, he added a few slices of ginger and a handful of Crystal Sugar to the wok, continuing to stir-fry. He stir-fried until the Crystal Sugar melted and coated the meat surface with caramel. This way, the sugar caramelized as the meat seared.

This method of searing the meat and caramelizing the sugar together saved cooking time but was quite challenging to execute. It’s not recommended for those without a solid culinary foundation.