Gourmet: Midnight Vending

Chapter 542 - 427: Nine-Turned Pork Intestines with Shiso Plum Flying Fish Roe Popping Beads

Moreover, in Chen Mo’s opinion, the recipe provided by the dining car has a very fatal flaw so far.

That is, it hasn’t adopted the method of deep frying!

Looking at the somewhat unappealing intestines, Chen Mo felt that if they were fried in oil, it would be a different story. In Lu Cuisine, there’s a saying: everything that is braised must be fried first.

This follows its own cooking logic.

The technique of braising involves creating a tasty sauce and letting the flavors seep into the ingredients. Boiled ingredients don’t absorb flavors, but ingredients fried in oil lose moisture and can then absorb the soup again.

So, looking at those shimmering, fatty, quivering sections of the intestines, Chen Mo shook his head and continued to stir the white sugar in the pot with a black spoon.

Until the sugar color turned a pig-blood red, he quickly added the cut segments of intestines into the pot, gently stirring them with a black spoon to coat the surface evenly with the sugar color.

Although Chen Mo’s movements were gentle during this step, they were quick. Because once the sugar color reaches this point, it can darken quickly if not watched, and then the color wouldn’t look right.

Then he added the prepared minced scallions and ginger, along with minced garlic to the pot.

He poured in soy sauce, cooking wine, and the archived clear soup along with white sugar.

The black spoon continued to gently stir, turning the flame to a faint low heat, simmering the soup in the pot until it was almost completely dried out.

At this moment, he added a small amount of lard to the pot to prevent it from sticking.

Then came ground sand ginger, cinnamon, minced garlic, followed by some chopped cilantro and cooking wine, with a small amount of pepper oil.

The black spoon gave it a slight stir, and it was ready to be served on a plate!

"Is this dish seasoned twice?"

Chen Mo didn’t have time to think more as he held the plate up for careful examination.

Originally looking at the fatty and pale intestines, after this round of seasoning and braising, they were now a bright red. Even the fat lumps that looked a bit nauseating earlier now seemed somewhat appetizing.

And because they weren’t deep-fried, upon close inspection, one would find that the sections of intestines appeared soft and glutinous.

"What delicious dish are you making?"

Chen Mo looked up to see Granny Chen standing at the door, having appeared sometime unknowingly.

"Weren’t you resting?"

"At my age, haha, how could I fall asleep easily? Lying down is as good as resting."

Granny Chen stepped out. She wasn’t tall enough to see what was happening on the dining car, so she got on the car and came to Chen Mo’s side, seeing the colorful plate of intestines on the counter.

"Huh? Nine-Turned Pork Intestines? Looks pretty good. Can I have a taste?"

"Uh." Chen Mo picked up some chopsticks, "But this is only my first attempt, so the intestines might be different from what you expect. It would be great if you’d help me taste it."

Granny Chen looked at Chen Mo with eyes full of admiration.

This young man was neither impatient nor arrogant, and he spoke politely. What started as her curiosity to try the dish turned into her helping with the tasting, all because of Chen Mo’s words. He really knows how to talk.

Given the situation, Granny Chen went ahead without hesitation.

Taking the chopsticks, she was about to reach for it when Chen Mo immediately pointed to one piece, "Try this piece first."

Granny picked a piece of intestine near the edge of the plate. The sensation from the chopstick tip was very soft and glutinous. It was noticeable that the intestine hadn’t been deep-fried, as the chopsticks sank right into it when they reached the surface.

This texture surprised Granny Chen a bit.

She slowly ate the intestine, feeling a bit hesitant because, with her current teeth, such chewy food was not quite suitable for her.

But just as this thought surfaced, it disappeared immediately.

As she ate the piece of intestine, Granny Chen’s eyes noticeably sparkled, as if there was a gleam in them.

Soft, glutinous!

Although it didn’t melt in her mouth, as soon as the teeth bit down lightly, the intestine was easily broken. Despite this, one could still feel how tender the intestine was!

It didn’t have that overcooked toughness; this was quite marvelous.

Granny Chen nodded, "Sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, salty. All five flavors are present, with excellent taste. Well done."

Chen Mo eagerly watched Granny, "Is there anything else? Do you think there’s anything lacking in this bite of intestine?"

Granny Chen furrowed her brow as she carefully savored the experience she just had, "If you must point out a shortcoming, there is indeed one."

"Oh? What is it?"

Granny Chen looked at Chen Mo, sensing his genuine curiosity. It was clear that he cared deeply about the flavor of this dish, so she said, "It’s lacking a certain taste, the flavor of the ingredient itself. Well... of course, this is just my personal preference. It’s not to say that this Nine-Turned Pork Intestines isn’t delicious."

The piece of intestine from earlier was specially selected by Chen Mo, a piece of intestine completely defatted and without the inner lining.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo pondered a bit, feeling that Granny Chen made a valid point.

Because the fats inside this piece of intestine were meticulously cleaned out by him. Plus, it was cooked for so long and flavored with lots of broth, so what one mainly tasted was the texture of the intestine along with the broth flavors, which made sense.

"Then please try this piece!"

Chen Mo pointed to a piece on the plate that looked slightly thicker.

"Oh? There’s a difference?"

Granny Chen picked it up for a closer look. The sensation when picking up this piece with chopsticks was distinctly different from before.

As the chopsticks withdrew, there was a soft, bouncy resistance, almost as if... as if something was wrapped inside the intestine. She didn’t think much and ate it directly!