pjbooks Chapter 101 Holy crap! What smells so good!
Chapter 101 Holy crap! What smells so good!
Chapter 101 Holy crap! What smells so good!
finally.
Wang Sheng had selected enough swimming crabs here.
After returning home, he wrote down the techniques in a small notebook, intending to teach them to his apprentices and his mother if needed.
He can rely on his eye for ingredients, but they can't.
at this time.
Crabs scurried about in the plastic basin, their bluish-gray shells gleaming moistly under the tank light.
Wang Sheng rolled up his sleeves, put on thick rubber gloves, and reached inside.
With precise fingers, avoiding the waving claws, they pinched the sides of the crab shell and scooped out these menacing "generals" one by one, tossing them into a larger stainless steel basin next to them.
Counting them, there were exactly fifty-four, no more and no less.
"Mom, that's all."
Wang Sheng wiped the thin layer of sweat from his forehead. "These fifty largest and most vigorous ones are for the students. The remaining four, my daughter and I will have a special meal together."
Watching from the side, Wang's mother still looked a little uneasy: "Fifty portions? Son, how many students will be left at school during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday? It looked so deserted on my way here. Won't fifty portions of stir-fried crab be enough? These crabs aren't cheap, they won't keep well—"
Wang Sheng grinned, his eyes filled with confidence honed through repeated trials: "Mom, don't worry. Good things will always be appreciated. Besides, the first fifty to arrive are a little surprise for Mid-Autumn Festival. Whether you get to eat them or not depends on fate."
He pointed to the food piled up in the corner, "We've also prepared plenty of garlic and breadcrumbs for the typhoon shelter-style sauce."
Looking at her son's confident demeanor, Wang Ma thought of the long queues that usually formed at window number 07, and swallowed back the nagging that was about to come out of her mouth.
This child seems to have changed a bit ever since he started fiddling with this little window.
Dissecting, coating, and frying fifty crabs is no small task.
Without delay, Wang Sheng immediately began preparations.
He put his gloves back on and moved quickly.
Place the crabs one by one under running cold water and carefully scrub them with a stiff brush to remove any remaining mud and dirt from the crevices of their shells, their bellies, and the joints of their legs.
Water splashed, and the crab's claws futilely paddled through the air. Wang Sheng's movements were quick and steady, as if he possessed some kind of precise muscle memory.
After cleaning, the crucial step is to dismantle the crab.
His technique was exceptionally skilled.
Open the crab's navel, break open the shell, and remove the inedible parts such as the gills, stomach, and heart.
Next, cleanly and neatly split the crab in half along the joints of its body. Then, gently crack the crab claws with the back of a knife to make them easier to flavor and eat.
After preparing the crab pieces, he took a large bowl and poured in a sufficient amount of cornstarch. He then added the drained crab pieces (including the shells) to the bowl in batches, quickly and evenly coating them with a thin layer of cornstarch. The coating helps to lock in the moisture of the crab meat and also makes the shell crispier when fried later. Soon, a small mountain of coated crab pieces piled up in the bowl.
Heat a large pot of oil until it reaches 60% of its maximum temperature (about 180 degrees Celsius). The oil should be calm, and when you insert a chopstick, tiny bubbles should appear around it.
Wang Sheng put the crab pieces coated in flour into the oil in batches.
"Sizzle—!"
A crisp sound erupted instantly, and dense golden bubbles surged in the oil.
He carefully used long chopsticks to stir the crabs to prevent them from sticking together. Once the crab shells turned red and the crab meat had set, he quickly removed them to drain the oil. This step was mainly to set the shape and lock in moisture; it didn't need to be fully cooked.
The kitchen was filled with the unique aroma of deep-fried seafood.
Wang Ma watched in a daze.
She remembered that her son was too scared to even watch fish being killed when he was little, but now he handles these live crabs with the skill of a seasoned pro.
Did you really develop this skill after taking over the window service?
The soul of Typhoon Shelter Crab – Garlic Sauce: After preparing the crabs, Wang Sheng began to prepare the core garlic sauce for Typhoon Shelter Crab.
Peel a large amount of garlic cloves and chop them with a knife (do not use a garlic press, retain some texture, but not too coarse).
Prepare the following: homemade breadcrumbs made from dried steamed buns (more fragrant and crispy than store-bought ones), fermented black beans (slightly chopped), dried chili pepper segments (adjust according to your spiciness preference), and salt and pepper powder (containing Sichuan peppercorn salt and five-spice powder).
In a separate pot, pour in a generous amount of cooking oil.
When the oil temperature reaches 40% (about 120 degrees Celsius), Wang Sheng pours in most of the chopped garlic.
Stir-fry patiently over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a spatula to prevent burning.
This takes time; once the minced garlic turns golden and crispy, releasing a rich garlic aroma, immediately remove it along with the oil and drain it for later use.
Golden garlic is the soul of Typhoon Shelter style; the cooking time is key, otherwise it will burn and become bitter, ruining the dish.
Leave some oil in the pan, add crushed fermented black beans and dried chili pepper pieces, and stir-fry over low heat until fragrant.
Next, pour in the breadcrumbs and continue to stir-fry until the breadcrumbs become dry, slightly yellow in color, and give off a caramelized aroma.
Now, pour all the previously fried garlic (along with the oil) back into the pan and mix it with the breadcrumbs, fermented black beans, and chili peppers. Quickly stir-fry until evenly coated, ensuring each grain of breadcrumb is coated with the golden garlic and oil.
Sprinkle in an appropriate amount of salt and pepper powder (salt, a little sugar, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and five-spice powder) for seasoning. The entire kitchen is instantly enveloped in a complex and domineering aroma of salt, fragrance, garlic, and spiciness, so intense that it seems to penetrate the walls.
To merge into one.
The last and most crucial step.
Pour the fried crab pieces back into the pot and mix them with the stir-fried typhoon shelter seasoning.
Wang Sheng lifted the large wok, and with a forceful flick of his wrist, tossed and turned it several times. The golden garlic and crispy breadcrumbs, like a golden sandstorm, evenly coated each piece of bright red crab shell and plump crab meat.
"Out of the pot!" Wang Sheng poured a huge ladleful of incredibly fragrant Typhoon Shelter Crab into a large stainless steel insulated tray. The aroma, like an invisible hook, instantly filled the spacious second-floor cafeteria, overwhelmingly powerful.
[P.S.: You can try adding more following the steps. It looks difficult, but it's actually not simple. The author has tried it and it's quite delicious.]
Meanwhile, Ji Kai, a third-year student from the School of Economics, was rubbing his sleepy eyes and shuffling to the first floor of the cafeteria in his slippers.
I had no classes during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, and last night I played a game of Cannon with my roommate until the early hours of the morning. I slept until almost 11 o'clock before being woken up by hunger.
"Tsk, there's really not much people around."
He looked at the few windows on the first floor, which were selling only bland, watery stews, wilted vegetables, and meat slices thickened with cornstarch like paste. They didn't look appetizing at all.
"How about we try our luck on the second floor? What if there are still some comrades holding their posts?"
With the hope of finding a bargain, Li Kai slowly walked up to the second floor.
Most of the windows had their cold, rolling shutters drawn, and the entire floor was empty except for the sound of the cleaning lady pushing her cleaning cart.
Just as he was about to leave in disappointment, an extremely domineering and alluring fragrance wafted into his nose.
"Holy crap! What smells so good?"