Chapter 1057: Chapter 435: Shen Guofu: Is This What Double the Happiness Feels Like? I’m Loving It!

The elbow has been steaming in the pot for over an hour.

When taken out, the bottom of the plate is full of broth with floating oil droplets, all steamed out.

Carefully remove the scallion and ginger from the elbow, then carefully drain the broth from the plate.

This step requires caution; the broth shouldn’t spill, as the batter used for frying later needs all this broth for preparation.

"This elbow is really beautiful. Back home, for weddings and funerals, Pot Roasted Elbow is a must-have dish."

Wei Qian, being from Shandong, knows this dish well.

Che Zai curiously asked:

"Isn’t it cumbersome to both braise and steam it? What if it’s not steamed?"

Wei Qian shook the steamed elbow, and the meat inside jiggled.

He said to Che Zai:

"Without steaming, the meat wouldn’t reach this tender state, and if the oil and excess broth in the meat aren’t steamed out, the elbow would be very greasy and not taste good."

Steaming is an indispensable step in making Pot Roast dishes.

Without this step, the oil in the meat won’t come out, and the moisture is too high, making it difficult for the batter to stick when frying.

Only after steaming does the Pot Roasted Elbow become crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, fragrant but not greasy.

These were refined step by step by chefs of the past.

Though the method is cumbersome, no step should be omitted.

Lin Xu brought over a small basin, poured in potato starch and low gluten flour in a 2:1 ratio.

Actually, just potato starch alone would work, but adding a bit of low gluten flour increases crispness, making it tastier, though the downside is it must be eaten immediately after cooking, no delays.

Because with added flour, the fried crispy skin softens too easily, and the texture changes with a little wait.

This is also why restaurants don’t like using flour to prepare batter for frying meat.

With flour and potato starch ready, Lin Xu added two eggs, sprinkled in two small spoons of salt, three small spoons of Sichuan peppercorns, and then poured some of the original broth from steaming the elbow, stirring all the while to mix the starch into a cream-like batter.

Though called original broth, half of it is steamed-out oil.

Using oil to make the batter is another reason for the fragrant and crispy texture.

This batter is somewhat similar to that used for crispy fried chicken, though also different.

For crispy fried chicken, you can add some scallions to enhance flavor, but Pot Roasted Elbow is eaten between lotus leaf cakes together with scallion shreds and sweet bean sauce and similar condiments.

Therefore, no scallion in the batter is needed.

The batter requires a little relaxation time rather than immediate use, for a more fragrant and crispy texture when fried.

During this time, place the oil pan on the stove and heat it up with high flames.

Prepare a plate, spread batter on the plate’s bottom, and carefully place the elbow over the batter-covered surface, roughly two to three centimeters apart, tilt the plate, and gently push the elbow down, making sure the skinned side falls steadily onto the batter.

Then evenly spread the prepared batter on one side of the elbow meat.

The batter must be spread evenly; no meat should be exposed, for the elbow to have a crispy outside and tender inside after frying.

If there are exposed areas, hot oil might seep in, which not only ruins the crispness but risks eating a mouthful of grease.

Once the batter completely covers the elbow, the oil temperature in the pot reaches about five to six-tenths heated.

Lin Xu brought the batter-covered elbow to the pan, pushing it with his hand, letting it slowly slide into the oil.

No need to worry right after it goes into the oil; let the hot oil fry the batter into shape first; otherwise, the batter might easily fall off.

By this time, it was nearly dinner time. Shen Guofu and his family, along with Zeng Xiaoqi, Cui Qingyuan, and others, were sitting outside, eating the newly made candied chestnuts while waiting for dinner.

The aroma of Pot Roasted Elbow wafted from the kitchen, and Shen Guofu sniffed:

"Wow, this scent is strong. What’s Lin up to now?"

He knew there was Pot Roasted Elbow today because his daughter had posted it on WeChat Moments.

Although said, at the moment, he had to pretend not to know, or else Han Shuzhen might give him a hard time.

After all, he came to the store today with the excuse of eating Beef Tartare; mentioning only Pot Roasted Elbow would seem too insidious.

Han Shuzhen gave him a stern look:

"I don’t believe you haven’t seen your daughter’s WeChat Moments."

Still acting, Shen Guofu replied:

"What? My daughter posted on Moments? What did she post? Let me see..."

"Alright, old Shen, stop pretending. If you want to eat, go ahead, but don’t overdo it."

Upon hearing this, Shen warmly smiled:

"I haven’t had Pot Roasted Elbow in a long time, just a few bites will do, I won’t overeat."

Shen Jiayue blinked:

"Dad, you’ve exposed yourself... Mom just set a trap, intentionally leaving out the word Pot Roasted Elbow, and you walked right into it... Alas, I didn’t score well for Tsinghua University, probably a hereditary issue?"

Shen Guofu blinked too, realizing that whenever food came up, his mind short-circuited.

His brain raced, speaking before Director Han could:

"I know it’s a trap, but since your mom dug it, no matter how deep, I’d jump in, just like when I decided your mom was my lifelong love at first sight."

After saying that, he looked to the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, poetically proclaiming:

"In love, there’s neither gain nor loss, win nor lose, only willing heart!"

"Oh, stop it, talking nonsense in front of the kids, shamelessly."

Han Shuzhen kicked Shen Guofu twice under the table, but the unconcealable smile in her eyes revealed her good mood.

Clearly, old Shen’s sweet words had pleased her greatly.