I'm the Culinary God

If you want the vegetables to taste good, just add some pork lard, which is a common consensus among many people.

But the best example of combining pork lard and vegetables, Lin Xu believes, is the Huaiyang dish Jade Shumai.

Blanch the vegetables until just cooked, then mix in the cooked pork lard, and it surprisingly becomes an unforgettable delicacy, truly a marvel of cooking.

Lin Xu finely chops the vegetables into a paste.

This is to sever all the fibers in the vegetables, making the filling delicious and melt in your mouth.

Placing the vegetable paste on a plate, Lin Xu estimates the amount and finds that there is still a long way to go.

Considering a steamer with ten shumai, and each shumai requiring 35 grams of filling, ten tables require over 3500 grams of filling. Plus, if someone feels unsatisfied with just one and wants more, it’s best to prepare five kilograms.

He chops more vegetable leaves for blanching, cutting nearly forty pounds of vegetable leaves to gather enough filling.

This alone shows that this seemingly ordinary snack is actually not ordinary at all.

The sheer volume of vegetables used is beyond imagination.

No wonder Huaiyang cuisine is known for its intricate details; a small shumai itself is already so particular, making it natural for other grand dishes to be complex and elaborate.

"What about these vegetable stems?"

Guo Xinghai approaches, looking at the large basket of vegetable stems Lin Xu cut off, with a puzzled expression.

He is not very familiar with Huaiyang cuisine and didn’t expect such an eating method.

Actually, dishes that only use leaves without stems are quite common in other cuisines, like hand-torn cabbage or various cabbage rolls, which fall into this category.

Lin Xu said:

"Let’s use them for cooking later; they are all stems, very crisp. Garlic and blanching should work."

"Alright, I’ll figure something out... Remember to save me a couple of shumai, I plan to study them and introduce them in my restaurant later."

Most other dishes in the shop either don’t suit the eating style of Yangcheng, or the family restaurant already has similar dishes.

Only this Jade Shumai intrigued Guo Xinghai greatly.

He wanted to learn it and introduce it in his own restaurant later on.

In Cantonese dim sum, shumai is one of the four kings, so having a different kind of shumai is worth learning, both in sentiment and in reason.

Lin Xu said with a smile:

"Just keep an eye on it when wrapping; it’s indeed quite troublesome if you say so, but once you understand the intricacies, it’s not too difficult."

After saying this, he started preparing the filling.

Add some pork lard to the vegetable paste and mix it evenly.

Pork lard can make the vegetable paste oily, tender, and fragrant.

The reason why Jade Shumai tastes soft, tender, fresh, and dense is largely due to the pork lard.

Additionally, adding pork lard first during the filling preparation can help the vegetable paste retain moisture.

Adding salt first would have a strong dehydrating effect, likely causing the bottom of the vegetable paste to seep a lot of water quickly, losing the soft and tender texture of the filling.

After adding pork lard, there’s no rush to season it; let the pork lard and vegetable paste permeate for a while.

Taking advantage of this process, Lin Xu takes a piece of Jinhua Ham that Wei Qian helped cook and prepares to cut the ham into ham cubes one millimeter square.

This step tests knife skills quite a bit.

However, for Lin Xu, it’s not challenging at all.

These ham bits act as a flavor enhancer; once the shumai is wrapped, usually a pinch of ham bits is placed on top of the shumai seal as needed.

Doing this not only enhances the appearance of shumai but also allows the ham bits to penetrate the interior filling of the shumai during steaming with the heat.

The ham is first sliced into thin pieces, then cut into fine strips, organized, and finally cut into ham cubes.

Once all cut, Lin Xu takes a handful and mixes it into the vegetable paste, leaving the rest in a bowl to use when wrapping the shumai later.

Mix the ham bits well, then sprinkle in a large spoonful of white sugar and a little bit of salt for seasoning.

With ham bits, the filling already has a salty taste.

But some salt should still be added because salt not only has a salty taste but also a good enhancing effect, which other seasonings don’t possess at all.

Continue mixing until the white sugar and salt are fully blended, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to allow the filling to relax.

All fillings, whether meat or vegetarian, should be slightly relaxed after mixing to allow the various flavors in the filling to permeate, making the finished dish tastier and more delicious.

"This filling looks pretty simple."

Ma Zhiqiang initially thought it would be quite difficult, but after watching, he realized that as long as you chop the leaves into a paste and add pork lard, ham bits, white sugar, and a little bit of salt, it’s all set.

It seems even easier than the filling for dumplings or buns.

Lin Xu said with a smile:

"It really isn’t difficult, just that some details need attention, such as squeezing the water out of the leaves before chopping them. When necessary, you can even pat them dry with a kitchen paper; you can’t squeeze out the water after chopping, as it would cause the loss of the leaves’ nutrients and umami, which is the wrong approach."

Ma Zhiqiang curiously asked:

"Can white sugar replace the white sugar?"

Always observing, Guo Xinghai said:

"It’s best not to, as white sugar not only sweetens but also melts easily, turning into sugar syrup that fully integrates into the filling, enhancing its smooth texture."

Lin Xu nodded:

"You observe very carefully; in fact, the most crucial point is that Jade Shumai’s steaming time is only five minutes. Within five minutes, not all white sugar may melt, but white sugar is different; a little heat can dissolve it."