Free Web NovelChapter 1146: Chapter 464: Chen Meijuan: It’s Not Too Much to Flex in Front of My Son, Right? Whole Duck Bone Removal! [Monthly Ticket Request]
She took a deep breath and continued:
"From then on, I really buckled down and started learning how to cook. Whatever Lin Xu wanted to eat, I’d go learn it from your grandma and your maternal grandma. If they didn’t know, I’d ask the elders back in our hometown, ask the neighbors—wouldn’t stop until I learned it... and then I ended up becoming the best cook in the whole family."
Lin Xu was still moved, and only snapped back to reality when he heard the last sentence.
Mom, are you humble-bragging right now?
Shen Jiayue hurriedly piled on the flattery:
"Mom, you’re amazing. No wonder Lin Baobao’s cooking is so good, turns out he inherited it from you... And my bad cooking, can’t blame me, it’s all my mom’s fault."
Lin Xu said:
"You’re already great. You’ve learned how to make several dishes with the air fryer."
"Oh right, I’m super slick with the air fryer. Tonight I’ll make something yummy for Mom. You’ve gotta help me prep the ingredients though."
Ever since the last time Shen Jiayue learned to make candied iron hammers, she’d grown even more fond of the air fryer.
But there was one prerequisite for her using the air fryer: Lin Xu had to prep the ingredients for her, or they had to buy those semi-finished marinated snacks like chicken wings on skewers, Chicken Strips, chicken cutlets and so on.
Yup, Shen Baobao had mastered how to use the air fryer, but when it came to seasoning, she was still at a kindergarten level.
Soon, the oil temperature rose.
Chen Meijuan poured the chopped scallions into the glass noodles and mixed them well, then brought over a bowl of water and started getting ready to fry the Glass Noodles Meatballs.
"Mom, what are you using the water for?"
"To dip my hands. The starch and glass noodles are too sticky—if you grab them directly they’ll cling to your hands, so before you start shaping them, you need to dip your hands in water. That way the noodles can form a ball."
When the oil reached about 50% heat, Chen Meijuan dipped both hands into the water, then scooped out a fist-sized clump of glass noodles from the basin.
She quickly rolled it into a ball with her hands and then gently slid it down the side of the wok into the oil.
She didn’t immediately make the next one, but watched for a moment to make sure the oil temperature was fine before continuing, and as she worked she said:
"If the oil’s too cool, they’ll fall apart. Fifty percent heat is basically the minimum. If you want it even lower, you can only increase the amount of starch, otherwise you’ll end up with a whole pot of broken noodles."
In fact, when she dropped them in just now, two or three stray strands of glass noodles still scattered in the wok.
But that was no big deal; it was normal when cooking.
Once the Glass Noodles Meatballs went into the oil, you didn’t have to touch them—just keep frying. Only when the surface turned golden could you gently turn them with a ladle so they’d fry more evenly.
When the surface of the balls turned a deep brown, she scooped them out with a slotted spoon, shook them a few times over the wok, then put them back into the oil.
"Lin Baobao, what does that mean? Double-frying?"
Shen Jiayue felt her mother-in-law’s way of frying meatballs was a bit different.
Lin Xu said:
"There are two reasons for doing this. First is to feel the weight of the balls. If they feel light, that means they’re cooked through. If they still feel a bit springy, there’s still raw starch inside... Second, when the balls bump into each other, the insides get more airy, which helps them cook through."
The glass noodles are held together by starch, and by shaking them like this, small gaps form inside, letting the heat travel more easily into the very center of the ball.
Also, after shaking them like that, the surface of the balls becomes more uneven.
That uneven surface, once deep-fried, has a crispier, more fragrant texture and tastes better.
Shen Jiayue hadn’t expected there to be so much know-how just for frying meatballs. Watching the balls bobbing in the oil, this air-fryer fairy couldn’t help getting antsy:
"Can we make these in the air fryer?"
With that, she opened the cabinet and pulled out her beloved air fryer.
This actually stumped Lin Xu a bit. He’d never studied such a niche method, so he washed his hands and said:
"I don’t know either. Let’s give it a try."
To keep the balls from falling apart, he deliberately laid a sheet of foil in the air fryer, then rolled two balls and put them in. He turned it on and began the long wait.
"Eat, go ahead, you can eat now."
Chen Meijuan scooped the balls out of the wok and muttered to herself:
"Ever since we stopped using the old earth stove back in the village, even if I wanted the Kitchen God to have a taste, I couldn’t."
She put a few balls into a bowl, lifted it and raised it toward the southeast. This wasn’t superstition, but a kind of prayer for a happy life, hoping their current happiness could last.
Once she set the bowl down, Lin Xu put one ball into a small bowl and handed it to Shen Jiayue:
"Try it, see how it is. If this were when I was a kid, I’d have gotten a smack already by now."
Shen Jiayue giggled:
"Serves you right for fighting the Kitchen God for food."
The balls were big, giving off that unique aroma of fried glass noodles. As soon as you split one open with your chopsticks, a burst of meaty fragrance wafted out from inside.
Inside, the glass noodles were crystal clear, and because they’d added Dark Soy Sauce, they gleamed with a reddish sheen.
In both appearance and taste, it was like they’d scooped the glass noodles out of a pot of braised pork with glass noodles and turned them into this delicious dish.
Pick up a piece and bite down, and that crispy, fragrant outer layer fills you with an inexplicable sense of happiness.
Glass noodles are naturally chewy, and once deep-fried they become crisp and crunchy, while the inside still holds rich stock, making the aroma extremely intense.
This fragrance was even stronger than that of ordinary fried foods, and it tasted better too.
As for the glass noodles inside, they were fragrant, soft yet chewy, with a smooth texture. The scallion aroma and the meatiness intertwined, giving it the feel of eating a meatball.
"This is so good, Mom, your cooking is incredible!"
If there were a "Most Beloved Daughter-in-law by Mother-in-law" award today, Shen Jiayue would definitely be shortlisted. Her mouth was as sweet as if it had been dipped in honey, constantly finding new ways to praise her mother-in-law.
