Chapter 296 Braised Pork

It’s called a tasting, but in fact it’s more like a test.

Xu Qingguang could smell the "ulterior motives" in these dishes just by the smell.

Chef Tang has put in a lot of effort behind the scenes. If you only pay attention to the surface of the dishes, you will be confused by their appearance and ignore the interesting things inside.

This table of dishes is a welcome treat, and also Chef Tang is showing off his muscles and trying to compete with Xu Qing.

Let’s see if he, the youngest top chef in history, is qualified enough.

Xu Qing found these little thoughts among the chefs very interesting.

He likes the surprises hidden in the dishes and the intrigues among chefs as they compete with each other in skills.

This kind of "intrigue" makes him much more comfortable than intrigue mixed with power.

Because the chef's mind is pure when cooking, no matter how many "secret tricks" or "surprises" he adds, the purpose is to make the dishes more delicious, the taste more rich and tempting, and make diners enjoy the food and give praises.

Compared with the complicated conflicts of interest, such pure thoughts and purposes appear clear and lovely.

No matter how many such "secret tricks" Xu Qing came up with, he would accept them all.

"Okay, then I'll taste the braised pork first."

Xu Qing said as he picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and put it into his mouth.

The characteristic of Shanghai cuisine is its thick oil and red sauce, which means that the dishes are strong in flavor, high in oil, sugar and bright in color, especially braised dishes.

When talking about braised dishes, we have to mention braised pork, also known as Dongpo pork. It is called this because the method of braised pork became widely spread in the world after being improved and promoted by Su Dongpo, and gradually evolved into the braised pork that people are familiar with.

Su Dongpo has a poem called “Ode to Pork”, in which he said that pork is “the rich won’t eat it, and the poor don’t know how to cook it”. Rich people don’t eat cheap food like pork, and poor people don’t know how to stew pork to make it delicious.

It was because of Su Dongpo's deep love for pork that he not only improved the cooking method of braised pork, but also often wrote poems and lyrics for it, which made braised pork a household delicacy.

Braised pork is a home-cooked dish not only in Shanghai, but also in different places, with different cooking methods, numbering as many as 20 to 30.

The most common way is to cut the pork belly into small cubes, stew it with water, and then add soy sauce, rice wine, onion, ginger, etc. for seasoning.

Some people who are more particular will first fry sugar to make sugar color, and then put the pork belly in, so that the white pork belly is coated with a layer of bright red color. This bright red color and the method of frying sugar color are commonly known as "red stew".

Those who don’t want to stir-fry sugar color can use soy sauce instead. Although the color is not as bright, it still looks good.

Shanghai braised pork is cooked based on the traditional method, but with a stronger sweetness, more oil, brighter color and richer flavor, that is, thick oil and red sauce.

Therefore, the taste of Shanghai braised pork is sweeter, and it is fat but not greasy, crispy but not mushy, sweet but not sticky, and thick but not salty.

The braised pork in Xu Qing's mouth is just like this. The carefully selected pork belly is fat and lean, with distinct layers of fat and lean meat, even and natural, and the delicate and fluffy fat and the tight texture of lean meat form a sharp contrast, bringing visual beauty.

The alternating layers of fat and lean meat not only add richness to the taste, but also allow the whole piece of meat to better lock in the gravy during the cooking process, achieving the excellent effect of being fat but not greasy.

When you bite lightly with your teeth, you can feel the different tastes colliding between the tip of your tongue and your teeth.

The skin of the braised pork is fried until slightly crispy. When you take a light bite, the fat slowly melts in your mouth, bringing an indescribable smoothness and delicateness.

The lean meat becomes very soft due to long-term stewing, and the firm texture becomes delicate and soft. It melts on the tip of the tongue with a light sip, leaving behind the fragrant gravy.

The fats of lean meat and fat penetrate each other, achieving a perfect balance, giving the lean meat a rich aroma of fat, while the taste of the lean meat also makes the slippery fat become fat but not greasy.

After a long period of stewing, the meat fibers of the braised pork are soaked with rich soup, and every bite is an ultimate temptation to the taste buds.

At the same time, the ultimate seasoning of Shanghai braised pork adds a different flavor to the already delicious pork belly.

The cooking method of Shanghai braised pork combines the fragrance of soy sauce, the sweetness of sugar, the mellow and warm rice wine and the subtle aroma of a variety of spices. These flavors blend together during the slow-cooking process, forming a complex taste with distinct layers and harmonious unity.

The richness of rice wine is used to remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor of the pork belly. The unique sweetness and slight bitterness produced by the fermented rice wine make the braised pork more intriguing and tempting.

The pork belly is seasoned with the aroma of soy sauce. The unique salty and fresh taste of soy sauce makes the already wonderful taste of the pork belly more vivid. The rich aroma of the fermented sauce cleverly brings out the aroma of the pork itself, making this unique fragrance even more tempting with the embellishment of delicious flavors.

The sweetness of sugar not only coats the pork belly with a bright red coat, making it delicious, but also enhances the flavor of the pork belly with its sweet taste. Under the action of high temperature, sugar and pork react ingeniously, producing an attractive aroma that makes people deeply intoxicated at the first sniff.

It is a perfect fusion of salty sweetness, sweetness and freshness, and the aroma of wine and meat. It is unforgettable once you taste it, and your taste buds are intoxicated by this ultimate taste of sweetness, fatness and tenderness, making you unable to stop.

In addition to these common features, Chef Tang also added some clever flavors.

It is an uncommon spice, or rather a Chinese medicinal herb.

Since ancient times, Chinese medicine and food have been of the same origin. Medicinal materials used to treat diseases are also delicious foods on the table. And this intoxicating delicacy can also nourish the body.

After receiving the medical book from Mr. He, Xu Qing worked hard to identify the medicinal materials.

With the help of his extraordinary five senses, he can tell what 80% of the medicinal herbs in the world are just by smelling or tasting them.

Chef Tang deliberately selected Chinese medicinal herbs that ordinary people rarely come into contact with as spices, but in Xu Qing's mouth, the taste of these herbs became clear and distinct.

The unique fragrance and bitterness of Chinese medicine, as well as the rich flavor it contains, make the braised pork in your mouth more complex and delicious in addition to its sweetness.

This complex flavor not only does not affect the taste of the braised pork, but instead makes it more mysterious, hiding more charm behind the distinct sweetness.

Just like a beauty with a veil, her looming appearance inspires a lot of reverie and makes the taste in the mouth even more graceful and charming.

(End of this chapter)