Baozi Xishi's Struggle

The butcher shop here puts service first, and when buying meat, customers can choose whether it is fat or lean.

You can ask the waiter to cut the selected meat for you, whether it is chopping the ribs into pieces, slicing the meat, shredding it, or cutting it into meat sauce, they will do it according to your instructions and will never neglect the customers because you buy a small quantity.

What satisfied Shen Yu the most was that the meat filling was all cut by hand. The meat particles were distinct, fine and even. It was definitely not like the sticky lump of meat minced by modern machines. The high-speed machines broke the meat fibers and made it lose its freshness.

After listening to the master chef talk about the differences in meat filling processing in the food class, Shen Yu deliberately compared the two kinds of meat fillings. The meat filling minced with a meat grinder and the meat filling cut with a knife did taste quite different.

Unfortunately, due to my busy work, I only tried to cut it with a knife once. Usually, if I want to make some dumplings and store them in the refrigerator, I just buy the meat directly for the sake of convenience, grind it into meat filling in the store and take it home.

To the pork filling that is 40% fat and 60% lean, add the freshly soaked scallion and ginger water in several batches, and slowly beat it in one direction until the filling becomes soft, smooth and sticky. Add the best fresh soy sauce, a little pepper, and a small spoonful of sugar to enhance the flavor. After mixing evenly, pour in the boiled and cooled cooked oil, and sprinkle some fine salt to season. At this point, the filling already smells somewhat fresh and fragrant.

Li had already washed the vegetables and brought them over after controlling the water. Shen Yu also cut a whole scallion, mixed it with sesame oil, and sprinkled it on the surface of the stuffing. He mixed it again when wrapping it, and the pork and scallion stuffing was ready.

Li watched from the side, tutted her tongue and sighed, "No wonder I can't make good food. Just for this pack of meat filling, I used more than half a bowl of cooked oil and a little half a bowl of sesame oil. This oil is a precious thing, almost as expensive as the meat filling. How could I bear to use so much oil?"

Shen Yu kept moving his hands and smiled, "Mom, this pork is not as tender as mutton, and it is not delicious even if it is boiled in plain water. Therefore, we need to put more effort into the seasoning to make delicious meat. Because it is a food tasting today, I did not prepare the broth and cooking oil. If I add both, it will taste better."

As he spoke, he blanched the vegetables in boiling water, rinsed them with cold water, chopped them up and squeezed out the excess juice. He also blanched the mushrooms and chopped them up. He also took some fried gluten and chopped them up. He put them all in a bowl, poured some cooked oil and stirred them evenly. The vegetable and mushroom filling was ready.

You don’t have to make the red bean paste and candied date filling yourself, you can customize it at the bakery, and you can also make your own requests.

Whether you want whole candied beans or fine bean paste, as long as you order in advance, you can use the bean paste filling of your favorite flavor, which makes Shen Yu very happy.

No one can provide you with this service nowadays. Apart from the preservatives, the sweetness of the purchased bean paste alone is enough to make you faint. I wonder if the bean paste manufacturer adds sugar without spending money. Not everyone likes this cloyingly sweet taste. Shen Yu gave up after buying it once. The bean paste he made himself is slightly sweet and tastes good, but it is a bit too troublesome.

Unexpectedly, in this era, she tasted the cooked red beans in a bakery. The natural granules and crunchy texture, as well as the natural sweetness of the cooked beans, were there.

Yesterday, she was in the bakery, and after tasting several varieties of bean paste that were open to customers for tasting, she was so moved that she almost cried. Her excitement confused the waiter. It’s just bean paste, how could it be so delicious?

Red bean paste is also used in making cakes and pastries in restaurants, but because it is used to make five-blessing flower cakes, the flavors are adjusted before being sent over.

Shen Yu had never been to a bakery before, but when he tried some yesterday, he was really impressed. The service was really thoughtful, and they could serve any sweetness and flavor he wanted.

She had ordered the red bean paste and candied dates filling yesterday. Today, she took it and pinched a little to taste it. It was semi-granular, slightly sweet, with a hint of the sweetness of candied dates. The taste was just right.

After the filling was ready and the dough had risen, Shen Yu kneaded the dough neatly, divided it into portions, rolled out the dough, and started wrapping the dumplings. He first wrapped the red bean paste and candied dates filling, then mixed the pork and green onion filling and wrapped them up. Then he sprinkled some fine salt and a little bit of sugar on the vegetable and mushroom filling and quickly wrapped them up.

Mrs. Li was watching from the side and asked curiously, "Can this vegetable filling be delicious? Isn't it the same as the vegetable dumplings we have at home?"

Shen Yu smiled and said, "Mom, you will know when you try it after it is steamed."

Li had already boiled a pot of water. He added a piece of firewood and the water in the pot began to boil again. The meat-filled buns cooked slowly and needed to be steamed for a long time, so they were placed on the bottom layer. Next came the buns with vegetable and mushroom fillings, and those with red bean paste and candied dates fillings. There were not many of these two kinds of buns, and each took up half of the steamer. Because the steamer was large, there were a total of forty buns in two layers.

After closing the lid of the steamer, Li concentrated on adding firewood, while Shen Yu silently calculated the time. Slowly, an alluring fragrance drifted away with the steam. Yutao and Yucheng carried water bucket by bucket together. At this time, the two large vats were full.

Both of them had sweat on their foreheads and their faces were flushed, but they refused to go into the house to rest for a while. Instead, they crowded at the kitchen door and looked inside.

Yu Cheng sniffed and said with a smile: "Big sister, these buns smell so good. When can we eat them?"

Yutao was also looking intently at the steaming steamer with a look of longing on her face.

Shen Yumo calculated that the buns on the top layer should be almost done, so he used a cloth towel to pad his hands and took the first layer down, then picked up the lid of the steamer and put it back on.

When the heat from the steamer dissipates, large, white and plump buns with fine and even folds appear. The bun skin is snow-white, and the left half of the bun is faintly green, which is filled with vegetables and mushrooms. The right half is slightly ochre red, which is filled with red bean paste and candied dates.

The meat filling that is still steaming in the pot needs to be steamed for a while before it is cooked through.

Li added more firewood and turned to Yutao and Yucheng who were still sniffing at the kitchen door and said, "What are you two still standing there for? Go wash your hands and faces. You look sweaty. Come over and eat the buns after you're done.

After hearing this, Yucheng cheered and pulled Yutao away.

Shen Yu pinched the bun. Hmm, the dough was soft and it bounced back when pressed. Not bad, not bad. The dough was fermented just right. I wonder how the filling is.

Pick all the buns in the steamer into a bamboo winnowing basket, and fill most of the basket with stacks of them. After finishing all this, the meat buns are almost cooked.

Li removed the firewood and put out the fire at the bottom of the pot. Shen Yu asked her to wash her hands as well.

As soon as the steamer was taken off, a strong aroma of meat wafted out, suppressing the sweet aroma of the vegetable and mushroom buns and the red bean paste and candied date buns. The fragrance was rich and overbearing.

The two little ones came over after washing their hands and faces. Li asked them to carefully carry the winnowing basket filled with buns to the table in the house. Yutao agreed, but Yucheng refused to leave because he could smell the aroma of the meat buns. He stared at Shen Yu without blinking, watching her take the steamer, watching her wave her hand to fan away the heat from the steamer, and watching her put the big, white and plump buns into another winnowing basket.

Li washed her hands and saw Yucheng still standing at the kitchen door staring blankly. She raised her hand and patted him on the head: "Silly boy, if you keep looking at me, you'll start drooling. Hurry up and help your elder sister get some buns."

Yucheng then touched his head with an embarrassed smile, and went to help Shen Yu carry the winnowing basket. However, Shen Yu was afraid that the buns were too hot, and Yucheng was young and might get burned if he couldn't carry it steadily, so he asked him to wait in the house.

She picked up the winnowing basket full of meat buns, walked into the house and put it on the table. Yucheng followed behind her like a little tail.