Chapter 30 - Steamed Chicken with Chili Sauce and Stir-fried Pork with Scrambled Eggs
To think that under Marshal He’s serious demeanor lay the heart of a foodie. The corner of his lips couldn’t help but rise slightly – is this the so called ‘gap moe’?
It seemed it was actually a little cute.
Ruan Tang took a comfortable nap, and started preparing for that night’s broadcast once he got up.
It might be because the food he’s been making recently were on the sweet side, and he couldn’t help but want to eat something more intense for tonight.
After thinking a while, Ruan Tang decided to make Steamed Chicken with Chili Sauce and Stir-fried pork with scrambled eggs. The Steamed Chicken with Chili Sauce tasted very spicy and you would get a kick out of eating it. The Stir-fried Pork with Scrambled Eggs was relatively lighter but it was also tasty. He could also cut down on the spiciness for those viewers who weren’t used to it.
After deciding on the menu, Ruan Tang logged into the shopping mall and prepared to buy today’s ingredients. However, on the top page he found that the sweet noodle sauce and salad dressing were already available for sale. He was once again witnessed the efficiency of the Academy of Sciences. Ruan Tang couldn’t help but look forward to what the researchers could bring him after their meeting tomorrow.
Considering the huge number of spectators, Ruan Tang bought more when he purchased the ingredients for this time’s broadcast. It was through the blessings of these audiences that his current account balance had broken through six figures, so he also wanted to give back a little something.
This time he purchased two whole chickens, five pounds of pork loin, as well as peanuts, white sesame seeds, cucumbers, wood ear fungus and other ingredients and some necessary spices.
While waiting for the express delivery, Ruan Tang opened the Weibo account that he had just opened a while ago, ready to send a live broadcast notice, when he was shocked by the never ending notification beeps.
Alarmed, he quickly turned off the sound and found that his number of Weibo followers had reached more than 80 million in just a few hours. The number of reposts and comments has exceeded one million. His private letter box was filled with a variety of invitations.
“@ Ruan Tang v: Live Broadcast at five o’clock.”
There were too many news that he couldn’t see any at all. He had to rush to send a live broadcast notice and quickly left.
At this time, the delivery had also arrived. After doing the preparatory work, at 5:00, the live broadcast was started on time.
[Miao Miao loves to eat all the dishes of the anchor: It already sounds delicious! Expressing my love for the anchor ten thousand times! ]
[Can’t stop hugging trees: the set meal this afternoon was delicious! Anchor, I love you! Sending crystal flowers! ]
[Liu Yebai: Why is it called saliva chicken? Is it made with chicken’s saliva? What does wood whiskers meat mean? Meat made of wood?]
He really wants to laugh at the way they thought. He laughed and explained, “It is called a “saliva chicken” because it has a spicy taste. When you eat it, it will numb your mouth and your mouth will water uncontrollably. As for “woody meat”, there are scrambled eggs in the “wood whisker meat”. The color is like sweet-scented osmanthus, and the sweet-scented osmanthus is also known as “Mu Xi”, so it was called “Mu Xi Rou” at first, and later it was called “Mu Xu Rou.”
[Solitary North: I know the sweet-scented osmanthus! I have seen it in the textbook! The yellow one is beautiful!]
[Qiu Jin: Third year student of Ancient Earth History shows a stupefied face... Looks like I learned nothing in three years...]
[Soul of the Ocean Tides: Is osmanthus an ancient special product? I have only heard of plum blossoms... I’m learning about ancient literature, and by the way, can I recomment “A branch of plum blossoms”, this is my favorite Ci Pai! ! ! ]
Amidst the audiences’ spirited discussion, Ruan Tang started cooking.
He put two soup pots on the stove, put the two washed chickens in separately. He then added water, ginger and a little salt. After the water started to boil, he skimmed the top of the water to remove the floating scum. He covered it with the lids and let it cook for ten minutes.
While the chicken was cooking, he began to process the ingredients of the Stir- Fried Pork with Scrambled Eggs. Cucumber and carrots were washed and sliced for later use. The tenderloin was also sliced and then added with light soy sauce, scallion-ginger juice, and starch. After stirring well, he let it marinate for a while. Unfortunately, there was no cooking wine and allspice, otherwise the meat would be even tastier. He noted down these two seasonings on the memo pad of the light brain. When he goes to the Academy of Sciences tomorrow, he could also mention it with He Yun Yi.
He poured a half bowl of hot water and soaked the wood ear fungus into it.
The fungus was also an ingredient that wasn’t very well-accepted in the empire, and was called as a “small bomb” by the imperial people. Thinking of this, he explained: “When soaking wood ear, it is best to use cold water. If you forget to soak in advance, you can also use hot water, which is faster, but the texture might turn sticky. After soaking, use hot water to blanch it. When done this way, it won’t splatter when you sauté it.”
Ruan Tang watched as the wood ear fungus plumped up, and a dusty layer float on the surface. Ruan Tang then cracked open some eggs and scrambled them with a bit of salt. Afterwards, he took a half pot of water and blanched the wood ear fungus. After draining the water, he tore them into small pieces.
He poured the eggs into the hot oil pan. He fried them until they were half-cooked and then he scooped them out. He sautéed the tenderloin in the remaining oil. The pale yellow oil sizzled, and the original red meat was fried apricot-white. At this time, the fungus, carrots, cucumbers and eggs were also added back in. The pan was full of color. Because the color of the ingredients were relatively light, the dish also looked quite fresh and elegant.
Because the meat and the eggs were all salted in advance, Ruan Tang only sprinkled a little over the dish. With a few jolts of the pan to evenly stir-fry it, it was basically done. He added a little bit of sugar to cut through the umami.
Finally, he sprinkled a bit of chopped green onions. The fragrant green onion immediately spread its aroma. The heat was turned off, the dish was put on the plate, and the fragrant Stir-Fried Pork was done. The various ingredients had a bright sheen and the rich colors were very beautiful.
“The Stir-Fried Pork with Scrambled Eggs is finished.” As soon as he finished that sentence, the audience suddenly swarmed.
[The April turtledove flicks its feathers: Wow, the anchor’s dishes are getting more and more beautiful. This Stir-Fried Pork with Scrambled Eggs looks super appetizing!]
[Following broadcasts to learn cooking: the method looks very simple, but the taste is very good! Very fresh and tasty!]
[Drinking plain boiled water in the middle of the night: Truth be told, I’ve been eating since the anchor fried the eggs... orz]
At this time, the two chickens were almost cooked. Ruan Tang turned off the electric stove, but didn’t open the lid. He continued to let it stew for ten more minutes, continuing to use the remaining heat to keep the chicken fresh and tender. When the time was up, he put the chicken in ice water to cool it down. This would make the chicken skin more elastic.
Taking advantage of the waiting time, Ruan Tang started making chili oil, which was the essence of the dish.
First, he crushed the dried chili pepper into powder with a blender. In a pan, he added a small amount of cooking oil, adding in the shallots, garlic, ginger and white sesame seeds, using low heat to fry these until they turned fragrant. Unfortunately, there weren’t any star anise, cinnamon and other spices like that, otherwise it would have made the oil even more fragrant.
He took a large bowl, put in the powdered chili peppers and the white sesame seeds. He waited for the oil to start to smoke slightly. When the oil temperature reached 230 degrees, he used a heat-resistant ladle to pour a large spoonful of hot oil into the bowl. The chili peppers powder and white sesame seeds were suddenly boiled by the hot oil, and a thick and spicy smell burst out. Even Ruan Tang couldn’t help but to lean his head away to avoid the choking smell.
However, those who liked to watch the anchor cooking at close range were unlucky.
[Can’t stop hugging trees: Ah! Can’t stop sneezing! ]
[Miao Miao loves to eat all the dishes of the anchor: God, my eyes hurt...]
“Sorry, sorry, the chili can be kind of suffocating. Everyone, please stay a little farther away.”
After the oil temperature cooled a little, Ruan Tang took another spoonful of hot oil and poured it on the pepper powder in the big bowl. The scent became even stronger.
Finally, he poured all the oil left in the pan into the bowl. The bowl was completely bright red and the chili oil was finished.
At this time, the chickens were basically cooked. They were soaked in ice water. The chickens that have just been hot let out a small amount of steam. After the chickens had cooled, Ruan Tang cut it with a kitchen knife into quarters. He took one of the quarters and cut it into neat, even pieces. He then placed it on the plate. The white chicken on the plate and still looked quite bland. Next, he took sautéed ground peanuts, three teaspoons of chili oil, three teaspoons soy sauce, a spoonful of mild vinegar, half a spoonful of white sugar, half a spoonful of salt, as well as minced ginger and white sesame seeds, put them in a small bowl to make a thick sauce. This was then poured evenly over the white chicken.
The white and tender chicken was poured over with red pepper oil. The sauce was dripping over it, and people couldn’t help but drool at the sight. No wonder it was called saliva chicken.
Ruan Tang said: “And it’s done. Let’s try it.”
[Purple Sunlight: I’m a little scared, it looks very spicy...]
[Flowers do not sleep: Ah, no matter, I must eat and see for myself! ]
[Qing Han Leng You:! ! ! ! God, I didn’t know there was this kind of taste! !]
The chicken was cooked until it was very tender. The skin was full of elasticity, soft and slippery. When it entered your mouth, it seemed to be full of life. When it slips into your throat, the spicy pepper oil that it had been drenched with, fills the entire mouth with scorching heat. Saliva kept secreting. Although it was painfully spicy, it made one’s stomach feel even more hungry and empty. It made them want to fly to the anchor’s home, and eat up that entire plate of chicken.
The steamed chicken tasted extremely refreshing, and the fragrant and spicy seasonings left a rich aftertaste. Many of the viewers became more and more eager to eat. The more they ate, the more they wanted to eat, and they just couldn’t stop.
These two dishes that seemed to be very simple drew endless praise.
When everyone had tasted it, he said, “I am going to draw the lottery now. Today, I will also draw ten lucky viewers and send them these two dishes.”
This sentence led to countless viewers starting to line up with prayers and wishes, all wanting to win this precious prize.
“User ‘HE’ gave the anchor a meteor shower.”
[HE: The chicken is delicious.]
Ruan Tang: “...”
It turns out that He Yun Chen liked to eat spicy foods.
“Congratulations to Gold coins fall down, Dancing in the moonlight, Lou Gao Mo Du, Rustling leaves in the forest... To the ten lucky viewers, the delivery will be sent later. Everyone, please check and accept.” After reading out the list of winners with a smile, he also added, “I have to go out tomorrow, so the live broadcast in the morning will be done earlier at eight o’clock.”
[haynes: Wow, the live broadcast is actually earlier tomorrow. Fortunately, the anchor said something. Otherwise, I might have missed it!]
“Well, today’s live broadcast ends here. See you all tomorrow.” He smiled, said goodbye to everyone, and then closed the live broadcast.