I'm the Culinary God

Rice cakes made from rice have a more complex process and are harder to manage manually, so machines have largely replaced human labor in this task.

Lin Xu said:

"I plan to try using the electric stone mill in the small kitchen. If it works, I’ll make more; if not, I’ll think of another way."

In the traditional method, the rice needs to be steamed and then pounded, which requires significant physical strength and often causes accidents during the pounding process.

So, Lin Xu plans to first grind the soaked rice into powder using the stone mill and then steam it.

Once steamed, it becomes simple. You just roll the rice dough into smooth sheets like making hand-rolled noodles, let them cool, and then cut them into noodles of consistent width.

As for rice cakes, it’s even simpler; you just need to use a smaller rolling pin and pound them directly.

Once the surface is smooth and the texture is soft, you shape it into a rectangular dough. After cooling, it can be sliced or cut into blocks for cooking.

Additionally, these hard rice cakes can be shaved into noodles similar to woodworking using a special blade.

Anyway, once you’ve made the rice cakes, you can basically experiment with them as you like.

There are many ways to enjoy rice noodles.

Chicken soup rice noodles, crispy meat rice noodles, lamb rice noodles, fresh meat rice noodles, beef rice noodles, sour soup rice noodles, stir-fried rice noodles, among others - each preparation method can turn this thousand-year-old delicacy into a distinctly enjoyable feast.

While eating, you can pair it with the unique dipping sauce from Southern Yunnan so that one bowl of rice noodles can deliver ten different flavors.

After consuming two bowls of rice, Lin Xu drank a small bowl of snake soup then headed to the small kitchen.

A half-basin of rice inside had been soaking since the morning, and by now, it was fully soaked, having expanded slightly and becoming easily crumble under fingers without any hard core.

Lin Xu brought out the electric stone mill, which hadn’t been used for days, gave it a wash, then used a spoon to scoop some soaked rice with water into the mill.

The low-speed motor drove the grinding plate to rotate slowly, and soon, white rice slurry flowed out from the outlet.

Lin Xu checked the texture, adjusted the flow to slow down the outflow, allowing the rice to be ground finer.

While he was busy, Shen Jiayue came over and said:

"Xu-bao, we ate so much snake; will I have nightmares tonight? I heard snakes seek revenge."

Lin Xu smiled and said:

"Even if they did, they would go after Senior Brother; he was the one doing all the work, not us."

"Oh no, isn’t Senior Brother afraid?"

"Fear doesn’t exist in Senior Brother’s dictionary. If a snake really sought revenge, he’d probably come up with a new way to cook it..."

Every Teacher’s Day, I wonder if Senior Brother still sends greeting cards to his teachers.

If he does, those teachers must recall some painful memories.

Teaching such a mischievous student must have been quite a challenge.

But Senior Brother isn’t without karma; he loved tormenting teachers and ended up marrying one, probably receiving payback for all his childhood antics from Teacher Su.

The stone mill grinds the slurry slowly but effectively.

This rice slurry is white and has a fine texture, not to mention it’s great for making rice noodles, probably perfect for steaming river noodles too.

Unfortunately, there’s no time for these now, but once things settle down, I’ll be sure to make and try river noodles, rice strips, hand-cut noodles, and rice rolls.

After grinding, the rice slurry is passed through a coarse mesh sieve to prevent any whole grains.

No need to worry about the finer fragments, intentionally leaving some in will enhance the rich rice aroma when steamed later.

The ground rice slurry cannot be steamed immediately; it needs to rest in the cold storage overnight to settle, allowing clear water to separate, and by morning, the excess water can be drained before steaming.

It’s stored in the cold storage to prevent the kitchen’s high temperature from causing the slurry to ferment.

Fermented rice slurry cannot be steamed, as it develops an acidic taste.

Therefore, storing it in a cool environment is the best solution.

Early the next morning, Lin Xu and Shen Jiayue didn’t feel like cooking at home, so they drove to the store by seven.

At this time, Ma Zhiqiang was making meatball soup, Qi Siliang was frying dough sticks, and Niu Chuan from the pastry department was steaming meat rolls. Everyone was doing their best to ensure the employees ate well.

Lin Xu grabbed a dough stick and walked into the cold storage while munching on it.

The chill upon entering made him shiver, but seeing the fully clarified rice slurry, he ignored the cold and grabbed a basin to pour out the clarified water.

He then took the remaining rice slurry outside and kneaded it into a thick batter using the dough method.

Once everything was ready, he poured it into a deep steaming tray and placed it in the steaming cabinet.

"Boss, breakfast is ready!"

Ma Zhiqiang’s words snapped Lin Xu back to reality, and he took a bite of the dough stick he had placed aside:

"Let’s eat, and everyone should eat more. You might have to help out later."

He’s unsure if the steamed slurry could be rolled out with a rolling pin or if it would be too hard, so he was giving everyone a heads-up just in case.

If the texture proves challenging, he’ll have the strong lads in the kitchen each do a physical test.

Lin Xu served bowls of meatball soup for himself and Shen Jiayue, brought them outside, then filled a small basket with dough sticks, meat rolls, vegetable pies, and sugar triangles. Their breakfast started.

At the same time, Ren Jie was driving his father-in-law’s Wrangler smoothly along the elevated road.

On the passenger seat, Chen Yan was yawning while messaging Shen Jiayue for details about the store’s breakfast.

Ren Jie had the day off, so the couple could’ve slept in, but because Old Sun had tasks for them, they woke up early.

Partly to meet the 8 a.m. deadline and partly to grab breakfast at the store.

Lin Ji’s employee meal is famously good, it’d be a shame not to enjoy it.

Seeing the delicious food pictures sent by her cousin, Chen Yan instantly felt full, grumbling:

"A few days ago, Yueyue shamelessly said she teamed up with my brother-in-law to make red stewed pork hock. I’m so annoyed, I feel like teaming up with you to foil their plans and curb her arrogance."

Ren Jie laughed:

"That’s too risky, best not to get involved... But you can join me and Grandpa Sun on today’s side job; since it’s a private gig, nothing unexpected should happen..."

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Sorry, brothers, the update was late today. I suddenly caught a cold, unsure if it’s related to a virus, feeling dizzy... writing this Chapter was quite tough... this Chapter is 5180 words; remember to save your monthly tickets for the end of the month!