Free Web NovelChapter 533: Chapter 445: The Unique Aroma of Rapeseed Oil, Golden Fried Dumplings
Old Chen and Zhao Shun never expected that the beautiful waitress would bring them dumplings, and they didn’t even have time to thank her, only watching her back as she walked away.
Zhao Shun hadn’t tasted the dumplings today either. The filling was made by Old Chen. With Old Chen’s many years of experience, if he still needed to taste the filling of the dumplings before cooking, it could be said that all those years of experience had gone to waste.
Seeing a few guests staring intently at the half-transparent steamed dumplings in front of them, comparing them with the dumplings they were making, someone quickly noticed something was off.
"Strange, why is the shape of this dumpling different from the other two? How is this one made?"
A young guest who had finished wrapping five dumplings early pointed at the plump dumpling in the takeout box and looked at Zhao Shun, curiosity once again igniting in his eyes.
The crescent-shaped dumplings were already easy for him. Although the willow leaf dumplings were a bit crooked, at least he managed to wrap them successfully. He was confident that after making a few more, he would fully master it.
Even though Zhao Shun couldn’t understand what he was saying, he could more or less guess.
He casually picked up a dumpling wrapper, scooped a spoonful of filling, and placed it on top. These two steps seemed no different from before.
But in the next second, Zhao Shun’s actions changed.
Instead of wetting the edges with water, he used the back of the spoon to flatten the surface of the meat filling, making it tightly adhere to the center of the wrapper without moving.
Folding the wrapper in half and pressing it firmly, he pinched both sides of the dumpling with the tiger’s mouth of his hands, pressing and releasing, and a plump dumpling quietly lay in his palm.
"?????"
The young man was dumbfounded, his mouth slightly open, clearly still processing the demonstration he just witnessed.
He hurriedly raised his hands and mimicked Zhao Shun’s previous motions in mid-air, seemingly trying to find that feeling.
Although there was no limit to the number of dumplings he could make himself, only five could be fried in the pan.
Even if he wanted to try again, it wasn’t convenient to take raw dumplings back to the hotel room, as such hot weather wouldn’t allow for long storage, so he reluctantly suppressed his excitement.
The next second, he suddenly sensed something wrong.
"Wait a minute!"
"Water!"
"You didn’t wet the edges with water when you were pinching the dumplings, right?"
The young man knew the Great Xia person in front of him couldn’t understand what he was saying, so he pointed to the bowl of water in front of him, then pointed at the plump dumpling he just wrapped.
Zhao Shun realized, nodded, and demonstrated once more how to make the plump dumplings.
"Actually, with freshly made handmade dumpling wrappers, there’s no need to wet them with water; they can be sealed on their own. It’s the store-bought wrappers that need water because they’ve been dried and dehydrated, making them hard to stick, so you need water to help."
"Having you dip in water is purely for convenience when you buy store-bought wrappers at the supermarket in the future. It helps you form a habit so that the wrappers don’t fall apart."
Lucas, who was filming nearby, noticed no one around could help translate for Zhao Shun, and the group of diners all looked puzzled, so he took on the role of translator.
"That’s how it is."
Once Zhao Shun finished demonstrating, he didn’t care whether others understood and picked up his own takeout box, not caring about the filling, and stuffed it into his mouth.
The fresh dumpling wrapper’s texture was noticeably different from that of store-bought ones; you could tell the difference in one bite.
As someone who makes pastries, he only eats handmade dumplings and would never buy frozen ones.
With a single bite, the rich juices burst in his mouth.
Unlike the clear broth in soup dumplings, this juice was rich with the fragrance of lard, salty and delicious with a hint of the sweetness of bamboo shoots, and a faint aroma of spring onions.
The dumpling wrapper was very chewy, the shrimp was bouncy and full, and the diced bamboo was crisp and fresh. The combination of textures was incredibly satisfying.
It even gave him a sense of being home again.
Bamboo shoots are a specialty of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai. Using bamboo shoots as a filling for making buns, dumplings, pancakes, and Qingming cakes is a common practice.
Every summer, not eating bamboo shoots is like not experiencing summer.
"They even put lard in it, nice one, Old Chen!"
"Hehe, lard makes it tasty. Your dumpling wrappers are pretty good too, better than mine."
The two exchanged compliments across three meters and continued to focus on finishing the remaining dumplings.
The dumplings they made were about the size of southern dumplings, only as long and wide as two fingers, so eating three or four in one bite was simple.
Though northern big dumplings were satisfying to eat, their appearance wasn’t quite suited to the restaurant’s atmosphere.
They didn’t need to savor the taste of the dumplings, stuffing them into their mouths ravenously, making the foreign guests salivate.
Everyone increased their speed, quickly wrapping up their remaining dumplings, not even bothering to wash their hands, grabbing a box of dumplings from the bag and stuffing them directly into their mouths.
The crisp diced bamboo and the chewy dumpling wrapper quickly conquered them. Their eyes widened in disbelief at how dumplings could taste like this.
"No wonder pandas like eating bamboo shoots—they’re crisp, refreshingly tasty, with a plant-like fragrance and a lot of juice."
"When I visited the zoo, I heard the crunching sound when pandas chewed bamboo, and I wondered why bamboo was so crisp and what it tasted like. Now I finally understand!"
"Delicious, delicious! These pure vegetarian dumplings have such a rich mushroom flavor; they taste even better than meat ones!"
"The shrimp ones are delicious, the pork ones are delicious, the mushroom ones are delicious—each has a different flavor, it’s amazing! No wonder dumplings are one of the most famous traditional foods of Great Xia. Why didn’t I try them sooner?"
In everyone’s bag, there are also small condiment bottles with vinegar and chili oil. Sharp-eyed customers spot them, and without hesitation, open and pour them into the gaps of their boxes.
"Aren’t the fried dumplings ready yet?"
The young male customer had just tasted a pink shrimp and bamboo shoot dumpling, and his appetite was instantly awakened. Eagerly, he picked up a brown mushroom dumpling, dipped it in the chili oil and vinegar, and looked expectantly at the beautiful waitress who had just returned.
"It will be ready soon. Both kinds of dumplings take about the same time to cook. The fried dumplings were put in later, so they should be ready in a minute or two."
"Alright, thank you."
The man nodded and thanked her, then quickly popped the chili oil and vinegar-soaked steamed dumpling into his mouth.
At the moment of biting into it, the elastic texture of the dough is apparent—firm yet soft, with a slight sweetness.
A rich mushroom aroma bursts forth as the dumpling skin breaks, and he can distinctly taste several kinds of mushrooms with completely different textures.
Some are soft and juicy, others are crispy and bouncy, some are slippery, and some taste almost like meat.
The various mushroom textures combine together, paired with the crispiness of the bamboo shoots, and a subtle yet noticeable oil fragrance.
Surprisingly, it gives him the illusion that it’s even more delicious than the shrimp dumplings!
The oil fragrance in the shrimp dumplings is obviously derived from meat oil—this much he can tell.
But the oil used for the mushroom dumpling leaves him puzzled.
Since they are vegetarian dumplings, logically, they should be made with vegetable oil.
Olive oil? Soybean oil? Palm oil? Avocado oil?
He thinks hard but can’t figure out which oil gives off such a distinctive aroma, leaving him intensely curious.
Suddenly, the air becomes filled with an increasingly rich fragrance, one so enchanting it penetrates deep into the soul.
At this moment, every diner around raises their heads and takes a deep breath, their faces filled with bliss.
"Ah... oh!!"
"So fragrant, so fragrant!"
"What is that smell? It’s so fragrant, it seems several times more fragrant than butter!"
"Is it the aroma of the fried dumplings?"
"It must be the aroma of the fried dumplings!!"
Countless eyes collectively turn towards the food cart, where they see Lin Chen holding a large wooden lid in one hand and stirring with a spatula in the other.
Soon, two waitstaff approach; one is holding a register book, seemingly communicating with the head chef about the number of orders.
The steamer baskets can be taken down for operation by the two women, but the iron skillet is too hot and heavy, requiring Lin Chen to initially pack the dumplings before handing them to Elsa and the others for packaging.
Before long.
Under the eager gazes of the crowd, boxes of fried dumplings piled like small hills are placed on trays and passed through the service window.
"Will guests numbered one to six please come over to collect your fried dumplings? Also, would the patrons whose numbers are called please come to get your dumplings."
"Number nine, thirteen, fifteen, twenty-one..."
Under Nicole’s direction, many customers, who had prepaid and weren’t interested in the experience of making dumplings, stepped forward joyfully.
They had previously collected their steamed dumplings but hadn’t finished them before receiving the freshly cooked fried dumplings.
The closer they got, the more intense the exquisite fragrance became.
Though similar in shape to the steamed dumplings, the fried dumplings offered a far stronger visual impact.
The semi-transparent dumpling skin was completely soaked with a certain golden oil, and the bottoms carried distinct toasty brown sear marks, making a ’ka-ka-ka’ sound when tapped with chopsticks or forks.
"Everyone, please don’t rush to eat the fried dumplings!"
During distribution, Nicole and Su reminded loudly.
"The internal temperature of freshly fried dumplings is near a hundred degrees, and there is scalding hot juice inside, eating them now might cause burns."
"We suggest everyone eat the steamed dumplings first; it’s better to let the fried ones cool down for a few minutes before eating."
Hearing their warning, many eager diners quickly pulled back, hurriedly tossing the dumplings back into their boxes.
"That was close; I almost got burned."
"I thought it felt scalding hot even before biting into it; thankfully, I didn’t bite down!"
No wonder they were so impatient—the unique oil aroma was incredibly tempting, enticingly wafting to their noses.
Coupled with the golden, crispy-bottomed visual of the fried dumplings, their deliciousness surely far surpasses that of the steamed ones, making it hard for anyone to resist taking a big bite.
