Free Web NovelChapter 684: Chapter 610: Northeast Dessert Beauty Icon – Bird’s Nest Snowy Red Bean Paste
After Wang Fan scooped out the pork lard residue, he no longer paid it any attention and instead blew up a balloon.
Then he turned off the nearby heat, dipped something from the pot with chopsticks, and quickly spread it onto the balloon.
The camera zoomed in continuously, and the audience finally saw the transparent threads attached to the balloon.
Watching Wang Fan’s operation, Zhang Tao laughed and said, "Boss Wang’s current step gives me a sense of déjà vu. It seems that in the first match, the contestant Fernando did something similar."
"Really, that contestant’s sugar work was quite good, just a bit too dismissive, thinking he could defeat Boss Wang with just that."
"But what’s Boss Wang doing with this? Using magic to defeat magic?"
"It seems a bit different though; that French contestant’s was in sheets, while Boss Wang’s is fine lines wrapped in circles."
"Could it be forming a dish too? Maybe it’s for plating?"
After watching yesterday’s five matches, the audience had gained some awareness of the intricacies within desserts.
Wang Fan wrapped the sugar threads around the balloon, and before long, it was densely wrapped, with half the balloon already enveloped in sugar.
Yet he didn’t stop, continuing to wrap it layer by layer, until it was three to four centimeters thick, before finally stopping.
Taking advantage of the sugar threads not being too hard yet, he directly flipped the balloon over and gently pressed it onto a tray of icing sugar.
Slightly pressing down to create a flat bottom for the sugar threads, he released his grip on the balloon’s mouth.
"Puff..."
The balloon quickly deflated, with the continuous sound of cracking. Some sugar threads inside the base snapped with the balloon’s deflation, leaving the audience deeply concerned.
"Could it be a failure?"
"It shouldn’t be, right? In theory, this is similar to caramel-coated sweet potatoes, which Boss Wang should be able to handle perfectly."
"Probably not a big deal, given how thick it is, breaking a few threads won’t matter."
"Just afraid the whole thing might crack."
The audience’s worry did not materialize; only the innermost threads broke, not affecting the overall shape of the base.
After completing this step, he checked the time, seeing twenty minutes remaining, and simply stopped all actions, standing idle as time passed by.
The dessert he was making was the Northeast delicacy—Snow Velvet Bean Paste, a dessert said to be a favorite of Emperor Qianlong, rooted in the Northeast after an Imperial Chef returned home.
If in the Northeast and unsure what to eat, but afraid of pre-made dishes, ordering a Snow Velvet Bean Paste is always a good choice.
This dish’s preparation is lengthy, so typically no restaurant serves it during lunch or dinner, except for the Southern little princesses.
A coquettish "Brother," makes both boss and chef happily oblige.
But what restaurants serve is usually the basic version; Wang Fan’s creation was a supreme upgraded plus version, the kind most people cannot afford.
Most Chinese dishes should be eaten hot; Snow Velvet Bean Paste is delightful both warm and cool, but Wang Fan’s version was unique, requiring it to be served to judges while still warm.
Phooey, what hot dish, dessert! Hot dessert!
After chiding himself for his wording, Wang Fan estimated the time and turned the stove back on.
The pale blue flame rose, and after filtering out impurities, the lard went into the pot, soon emitting a rich fragrance.
Many oils can serve as frying bases, but the rich aroma of lard is unmatched by any other oil.
Additionally, lard contains mostly saturated fatty acids, remaining more stable under high heat, making it less likely to produce harmful substances and relatively healthier.
However, cooking with lard has a drawback; if care is not taken, Snow Velvet Bean Paste may become Gold Velvet Bean Paste.
With one hand, Wang Fan meticulously controlled the oil temperature—120 degrees is ideal, too low would leave it undercooked and prone to collapse, a bit higher and it would change color.
Beside him on the right, sat a bowl of freshly mixed cream, and a plate of bean paste balls coated with starch. He picked up a bean paste ball, rolled it in the cream, adjusted its shape at the bowl’s edge, and placed it into the 120-degree oil.
Wang Fan only put six balls into the pot, wanting to maintain the perfect temperature—six was the maximum, just enough for the three judges, two each.
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle..."
The 120-degree oil didn’t pop, the fine bubbling sound informed Wang Fan clearly about the Snow Velvet Bean Paste’s status.
The cream, containing starch, began to harden and set under the heat, and a rich aroma started to waft through the air.
When the fragrance reached a certain point, Wang Fan swiftly retrieved three Snow Velvet Bean Paste balls with a skimmer and held them with chopsticks, placing them in the Bird’s Nest base he made earlier.
Yet it didn’t end there. In another pot, sugar was heating on low flame, and he took up chopsticks again, dipping them in the sugar syrup to circle over the Snow Velvet Bean Paste. Soon, layers of delicate sugar threads encased the three plump Snow Velvet Bean Paste balls.
Compared to the base, the top layer was much thinner, and through the fine threads, the snow-white Snow Velvet Bean Paste inside was still visible.
However, this final scene was unseen by the audience, as Zhang Tao, the sly old dog, had long signaled the cameraman to zoom out, leaving the audience watching Wang Fan’s busyness but clueless about its outcome.
