Free Web NovelChapter 1108: Chapter 451: A Record-Breaking Giant! Sweet Dish Time—Osmanthus Glutinous Rice Lotus Root!
Especially in late autumn, the ground is covered with golden leaves. After its fame spread, people can fill this place just by taking wedding photos.
After all, who can refuse a grove covered with golden leaves?
While chatting, Lin Xu noticed that by the water, although the lotus leaves had dried up, they hadn’t fallen and were still intact, so he picked a few.
Shen Jiayue asked curiously:
"What are you picking them for, Xu Baby?"
"For steaming lotus root balls. They can be used at the bottom to prevent sticking and also give the steamed balls a gentle lotus fragrance, making them taste better."
Upon hearing this, Shen Jiayue also picked a few:
"We’ll put them in the car to take home later, so you can steam a lotus-flavored delicacy for me tomorrow morning."
After saying this, she said to Han Shuzhen:
"Mom, why don’t you and Dad stay at our place tonight? Let Dad enjoy his game, and we can all eat something nice tomorrow morning."
"Sure, your dad secretly bought a game console and finds it boring to play alone at home. Tonight would be a perfect opportunity for him to indulge."
Shen Jiayue immediately took on a wise adult tone and advised:
"Mom, it’s great for you to play with Dad. Games are really fun. The more I play, the more I realize why games are called the ninth art. Some of them are really well-made."
Han Shuzhen waved dismissively:
"Tch, I’m not playing. Dundun... do you want to pick a leaf too? Come, Grandma will hold you to pick one."
Lin Xu finished picking the lotus leaves and prepared to head to the kitchen to make lunch. Mrs. Sun followed him and asked quietly:
"Little Xu, just now you mentioned using lotus leaves to steam meatballs. How exactly do you do it?"
"It’s very simple, Aunt Sun. I’ll teach you in a moment. You’ll get it right away; it’s not difficult at all."
"Alright then, Aunt Sun will help you today."
At the kitchen door, Lin Xu first used a hose to rinse off the large chunks of mud on the surface of the lotus root.
Once clean, he brought it into the kitchen, ready to prepare the glutinous rice lotus root.
Glutinous rice lotus root involves stuffing soaked glutinous rice into the lotus root, sealing it, and then simmering it in sugar water. As people often drizzle osmanthus honey over it when plating, it’s also known as osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root or osmanthus honey lotus root.
This is a typical Jiangnan dish, though it has now spread nationwide and has become a favorite for many.
After washing the lotus root, cut it into segments. Generally, surface lotus root is short and thick. Use a peeler to remove the skin, then wash it again. Then, bring over the soaked glutinous rice for preparation.
Cut the lotus root slanting at one end and begin stuffing the slots with glutinous rice.
The slanting cut makes sealing easier and more secure, so it doesn’t break easily.
Seeing Lin Xu doing this, Mrs. Sun washed her hands and started to help as well. It’s straightforward, not difficult at all, but remember to gently poke each slot with chopsticks to ensure no gaps.
Once filled, place the cut-off piece back on and seal it with a toothpick, completing a glutinous rice lotus root.
With many people today and more expected later, Lin Xu made ten segments of lotus root.
If there are leftovers, Mi Lan can take some home.
Once everything is ready, place them in a large pot, add enough water to cover the lotus root, and add several large pieces of brown sugar, along with a small bowl of washed, pitted dried red dates.
Adding red dates enriches the lotus root’s flavor and enhances its red, beautiful color.
Boil the pot of water on high heat, cover the pot, and turn to medium-low heat to simmer.
The lotus root needs to simmer for more than an hour and a half to be done, so it’s crucial to start early to not delay lunch.
With the heat adjusted, Lin Xu didn’t rush into making the meatballs; instead, he took out the large fish from the sink, tapped its head a few times with the knife’s back, and pierced beneath the fish head, between the pectoral fins, with the knife tip.
This is the fish’s heart area. Piercing it allows the blood to drain out as much as possible.
"There’s a method like this?"
Aunt Sun was amazed. She had never specifically drained blood when killing fish at home.
Lin Xu explained:
"Draining the blood makes the fish meat whiter and tender, with much reduced fishiness. If the heart area is hard to target, you can cut at the tail root, which also drains the blood clean."
"I’ll try it next time Old Sun catches a fish."
Once the fish was almost blood-free, Lin Xu used an electric fish scaler to carefully scrape off the scales.
He’s a perfectionist; if he bites into fish scales while eating, he’ll immediately lose his appetite.
Especially the scales on the fish belly and back, which are easily overlooked.
Having scraped the scales clean, he cut open the fish belly to remove the innards.
With the fish being large, the innards were plentiful. Lin Xu removed a whole basin of them, intending to make them into spicy dry-pot fish intestines later.
Then he used a kitchen knife to slice behind the pectoral fins, chopping off the whole big fish head, splitting it open from below, and removing the gills, teeth, and some connective tissues from the mouth.
Flipping the fish head, he cut shallowly in the thick-fleshed areas, smeared scallions, ginger slices, a bit of salt, Light Soy Sauce, and Rice Wine evenly for marination.
While busy, Mi Lan came in with two cups of hot tea. Seeing the fish head already detached, she asked curiously:
"How are you going to prepare this fish head, Lin? Braise it, or with chopped peppers?"
Lin Xu smiled and shook his head:
"Neither. I’m planning to make Yanjing’s famous fish head stew with pancakes. It’s cold, and we need to eat more warming dishes."
Fish! Head! Stew! Pancakes?!!!
Mi Lan and Aunt Sun were quite surprised.
Because at home, they never seem to make it taste like it does in restaurants.
Since Lin Xu is making it today, the flavor is guaranteed to be spot on.
Moreover, he might reveal the secret of making delicious fish head stew with pancakes.
Thinking about this, Mi Lan curiously asked:
"Can I watch you make it?"
"Sure, there’s no secret to it, just mastering the technique allows you to make it at home."
Aunt Sun, upon hearing this, showed a puzzled expression:
"Your Uncle Sun asked me to make it several times before, but each time it came out either fishy or lacking flavor, and the broth wasn’t as thick as in restaurants. Did they thicken it there?"
Lin Xu shook his head:
"This has nothing to do with thickening; it’s because the collagen in the fish head hasn’t been fully stewed out...watch me cook later, and you’ll understand the secret behind tasty fish head stew with pancakes."
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I originally wanted to update earlier, but I was too tired in the evening and ended up napping for an hour. This Chapter is 5000 words, asking brothers for monthly tickets!
