I'm the Culinary God

"Crispy pork chips? Isn’t it made with pork fat? Is it made with pork belly?"

Shen Jiayue also wanted to learn. Although the air fryer can’t do it, as the queen of small kitchen appliances, I can use a rice cooker.

Once learned, not only can I render pork lard, but I can also eat crispy pork chips, a win-win!

Lin Xu said while cutting the meat:

"Fat or pork belly works, pure lean meat is also fine, it doesn’t really matter what kind of meat you use. But personally, I think pork belly has a better texture."

When making crispy pork chips, all kinds of meat need to have the skin removed.

If you cook it with skin, not only will it splatter oil everywhere, but the dried pork skin will be as hard as a belt and difficult to chew.

Pork belly shouldn’t be cut too large, regular dice-sized chunks will do. If it’s too large, it won’t fry thoroughly; if it’s too small, it will shrink once fried, affecting the texture.

Lin Xu soaked the cut pork belly in clean water for a while to remove as much blood as possible.

Meanwhile, he began to prepare the ingredients needed to make crispy pork chips.

Salt, white sugar, soy sauce, sweet wine, ginger slices, star anise... The ingredients and seasonings are simple, even less than those used in everyday stir-frying.

But it’s this simple seasoning that can create a flavor that makes one crave crispy pork chips if not eaten for a few days, and it has even become an unforgettable nostalgia for Guizhou people.

After soaking the meat, Lin Xu scooped it out with a slotted spoon.

Add a large iron pot, fill it with water, and put the pork inside for blanching.

Blanching can clean out the blood and impurities in the pork, resulting in a whiter lard.

Once the water boils, skim off the foam, then scoop out the meat chunks and rinse them clean.

Put it back into the pot, add a large bowl of clean water, and add the prepared ginger slices and star anise, simmer over medium heat.

The initial steps are the same as rendering lard, except making crispy pork chips takes longer, thoroughly extracting the fat from the meat.

Generally, pork grease contains about twenty percent fat, making it crispy outside and tender inside.

But the oil content of crispy pork chips is lower, so they taste crispy.

In addition to the long cooking time, seasoning is added when making crispy pork chips, unlike the unseasoned pork grease.

Simply put, crispy pork chips are a flavored version of pork grease cooked for a longer time.

As there isn’t much water, the pot boils quickly, with chunks of trembling pork belly simmering, initially sending steam from the pot.

But as the cooking time extends, the originally simmering water turns into transparent oil.

There wasn’t much at first, but soon the lard began to accumulate.

Lin Xu stirred the pot with a spoon a few times to heat the meat evenly and facilitate oil release.

"Looks so simple, Xu Bao, do you reckon I can render lard myself?"

Shen Jiayue thought it didn’t seem difficult, and the urge to try grew inside her.

Lin Xu smiled and said:

"It’s probably not necessary, what if you get splattered by hot oil?"

It’s fine to play with air fryers, but rendering lard isn’t something to risk, especially with her clumsy hands; there’s no need for such risks.

"Alright then... Yan Bao’s engagement dinner is tomorrow, what gift do you think fits?"

This question indeed stumped Lin Xu.

Last birthday, the themes of chief chef and little cop were used; doing the same for an engagement could be repetitive.

He thought of suggesting a gold bar but realized this was a typical gift from his father-in-law, so he dismissed the idea.

"Any good suggestions? Oh, did Yan Jie decide on a place in our community for the house?"

"Yes, but they won’t move out until after the Spring Festival, so we’ll have to wait... How about buying a couple of antiques, fits Yan Bao’s penchant for sophistication."

Is it really okay to say this about your sister-in-law?

Lin Xu had no objections:

"Alright, you handle it."

After simmering for about twenty minutes, the oil in the pot significantly increased, and the pork belly chunks had shrunk quite a bit, turning golden.

Pick out the slightly dried ginger and star anise with chopsticks, then use a large strainer to scoop out the excess lard.

But don’t scoop it all out, leave a little.

At this point, add a large spoonful of sweet wine.

Sweet wine, commonly known as sweet rice wine in the kitchen, is often used in Sichuan and Southwest cuisine as a seasoning.

This glutinous rice-brewed rice wine carries a rice aroma and alcohol fragrance while also softening the meat. When poured into the slightly burnt pork grease, it better penetrates the fats inside.

Simply put, it squeezes out the excess fat.

Soon, the oil in the pot increased, and the pork grease became drier, its color shifting from golden to reddish-brown.

Lin Xu added two spoons of salt to season the pork grease.

After the salt dissolved in the pot, he poured in sweet rice wine again.

At this point, the fat content in the lard was already low, further frying wouldn’t extract more oil, so more sweet rice wine was added to extract the fat.

Adding sweet rice wine also effectively lowers the pot’s temperature to prevent the crispy pork chips from burning and turning bitter.

After adding sweet rice wine, Lin Xu added three spoons of white sugar, and a large spoon of light soy sauce, with half a spoon of dark soy sauce.

Light soy sauce adds the soy aroma to the crispy pork chips, while dark soy sauce is mainly for color.

Continue simmering.

The pork grease in the pot became smaller, while the oil increased again.

Shen Jiayue looked at the crispy pork chips, now turned reddish-brown, and curiously asked:

"Is it done?"

"Not yet, needs some more time."

When the moisture evaporates, Lin Xu scooped out the excess lard again, leaving only a bit at the bottom.

Then added sweet rice wine for the third time.

The pot quickly bubbled, the rapidly flipping, now date-red colored grease in the pot.

When the oil at the bottom becomes transparent and the grease turns like stones, producing a crisp clinking sound while stirring.

Crispy pork chips, done!

Lin Xu poured it onto a tray, and Shen Jiayue couldn’t wait to taste it, nearly burning her hand trying it.

"Don’t rush, let it cool first... I’ll go to the pastry section to get some noodles to cook, eating them with the crispy pork chips might bring back the feeling of enjoying crispy pork noodles in Guizhou."

He hurriedly left the small kitchen to get noodles from the pastry section.

Meanwhile, at Yanjing Hotel.

Ye Lixin picked up the phone on the office desk and called the HR manager:

"Has Lin Xu’s household registration been submitted?"

"It was submitted, but..."

The HR manager mumbled, making Ye Lixin frown, wondering if something had gone awry again?

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This Chapter is 5,200 words, asking for monthly tickets!