I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 883 - 377: Times Have Changed, Sir! Modern Recipes for Lost Court Cuisine Are So Simple!

Chapter 883: Chapter 377: Times Have Changed, Sir! Modern Recipes for Lost Court Cuisine Are So Simple!

From this perspective, the "crispy" in the dish’s name really fits it well.

Apart from the good texture, kelp also combines the five flavors of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty. Paired with the rich aroma of pork skin, it offers a distinct taste.

Quite nice, better than I imagined.

Although these days dishes with the word "Imperial" are often seen as a scam, this crispy kelp just corrected the name for Imperial cuisine.

This was made using a pressure cooker, and I hurried to complete the task without soaking it.

If you follow the master’s advice, use a clay pot to stew it for two hours and then soak it in the broth until the temperature drops, the taste and texture of the kelp would probably be even better.

After everyone tried it, Lin Xu took a few freshly roasted fish jerky downstairs to feed Dundun and took the opportunity to draw a lottery with the little guy.

Having already obtained one lost dish, I wonder what this time will be.

After the lottery, the result soon came out:

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining a Perfect Level Imperial lost dessert — Crystal Sugar Jade Paste."

Jade Paste?

Isn’t that the same as green bean jelly?

Just as he was thinking, an overwhelming amount of experience surged into Lin Xu’s mind, and as he processed it, his expression gradually became strange.

This so-called Jade Paste is actually made from kelp.

Kelp?

Can it be made like this?

Lin Xu was taken aback, completely not expecting that this dessert he had obtained was made using kelp as a main ingredient.

Generally, kelp is better stewed with dishes; even for desserts, it’s usually in Cantonese sweet soup like kelp green bean paste. I didn’t expect that this dessert called paste could also be made with kelp.

What a coincidence, just a while ago the master was saying many kelp desserts from the palace have been lost, and now here’s one popping up.

Since there’s still some time, Lin Xu plans to make this Crystal Sugar Jade Paste. Whether it tastes good or not isn’t crucial; the main goal is to see what’s unique about this lost dessert.

Making Crystal Sugar Jade Paste isn’t hard; boil kelp in crystal sugar water until it’s soft and mushy, then mash it into a paste, filter it through a muslin cloth, cool it down till it solidifies, and then drizzle with crystal sugar water or osmanthus honey to eat.

In terms of preparation, it’s not very difficult.

Moreover, kelp is cold in nature, has the effects of clearing heat and promoting diuresis, and can lower the three highs. Eating more is good for the body, especially for those who often have internal heat; they can eat kelp to regulate their body.

But with such a simple method, why was it lost?

I should look through the set of rare "Imperial Food Records" given by Professor Ren and Professor Tian; maybe I’ll find the answer.

"Good son, thank you for helping Dad draw such a good dessert."

Lin Xu patted Dundun’s big head, then went upstairs, took out the pressure cooker for making desserts, washed it clean, cut the kelp into strips and put them in, and then added a handful of brown sugar.

To let the kelp cook to softness faster, Lin Xu also added a little bit of baking soda and half a spoon of salt.

After putting everything in, he added mountain spring water to cover the kelp, and cooked it on high heat.

The system’s tutorial uses a clay pot, boiling the crystal sugar over a charcoal stove for more than five hours — this is the original palace method, even the time is calculated in bygone hours.

But it’s not so troublesome nowadays.

The restaurant’s planetary engine is countless times more advanced than the Imperial Kitchen’s charcoal stove, plus the pressure cooker’s boost, the five-hour simmer, which is ten hours, can now be done in half an hour.

Additionally, the mashing process can be replaced by a blender, and filtering doesn’t need the flimsy muslin, instead using a fine mesh sieve.

In short... times have changed!

However, this time Lin Xu doesn’t plan to finish it in half an hour; he plans to let the kelp soak in the crystal sugar water a little longer, absorbing as much of the crystal sugar’s sweetness as possible.

"Lin Xu, what kind of syrup are you preparing? It feels weird to only put in kelp."

Guo Xinghai, deeply studied in Cantonese sweet soups, originally thought Lin Xu intended to cook green bean paste, but he hadn’t put any green beans in from start to finish, leaving him puzzled.

Lin Xu replied with a smile:

"I just looked up some information; kelp is rich in gluey substances, so I wanted to try and see if boiling and mashing it could make it solidify like jelly."

Guo Xinghai gave him a surprised look:

"Your idea is really... right now it’s cold, and eating it like this might easily cause diarrhea, be careful."

Right, it’s autumn-winter season now, and eating too much might upset the stomach indeed.

Lin Xu thought for a bit and decided to replace the crystal sugar syrup for pouring with caramel.

Crystal sugar water is cold-natured, has the effect of clearing heat, but caramel is different; caramel is hot-natured, has a warming effect.

This won’t completely neutralize the cold nature of kelp, but it might help a bit.

After half an hour, Lin Xu turned off the heat.

Twenty minutes later, he opened the lid.

Inside, there was a strong kelp aroma, with a slight hint of sweetness in the scent.

He scooped out the kelp, chopped it a bit, put it in the blender, added a bit of the broth, and blended it into kelp puree.

The fine greenish-brown mush looked mediocre in appearance, but a spoonful tasted quite good.

A hint of sweetness, along with the smooth texture, reminiscent of nutrient paste made from spinach.

After blending all the kelp into a puree, he filtered it through a fine mesh sieve to remove the residue, making the texture even smoother.

He poured it into little bowls, placed them on a tray, and brought them to the cold storage for the kelp puree to cool and solidify.

Taking advantage of this time, Lin Xu cooked some caramel sauce using brown sugar, so it could be tasted once done.

"Xu Bao, quickly see if the sweater I bought is pretty!"

By almost eight o’clock, the few who went shopping just returned to the shop.

Lin Xu came out from the kitchen, and Shen Baobao, wearing a pink sweater, spun around immediately.

"My Baobao looks beautiful in anything."

"You praise me like this, I’ll get conceited, ah! We also went to the pet shop and bought Dundun a pink little sweater, so we’re matching now!"

You bought pink for Dundun?

Lin Xu said:

"Dundun is a boy, be careful he gets upset if you dress him in pink."

"It’s precisely because he’s a boy he should wear pink; macho pink, to enhance Dundun’s sense of intimidation."

Wearing a pink little sweater won’t increase his intimidation by much, but it might increase his chances of being cuddled. These uncles and aunties can’t help but give him a squeeze upon seeing him.

As they chatted, Chen Yuanyuan asked: 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Little brother, do you have something cool? We ran around and ate lots of spicy snacks; now my stomach feels fiery hot, I even took off my jacket."

Zeng Xiaoqi nodded:

"Me too, I ate a bellyful of hot skewers; I’ll never go shopping with you two again, just makes me fatter."

Something cool?

Lin Xu smiled and said:

"I do, in fact. Hold on a moment, today’s new dessert, you can be my taste-testers."

Hearing this, Zeng Xiaoqi and Shen Baobao’s eyes lit up instantly.

Wow, there’s a new product to try?

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A few days ago, I wrote about "Moonlight Sonata," so I added it to my playlist and looped it for a few days. I remember about seventeen or eighteen years ago, I tried to practice this piece at the school piano room, but I failed. Time flies, the once young boy chasing the wind has now become a greasy fat man making a living by writing... Thinking about it is really wistful, so could I ask for a monthly ticket?