I'm the Culinary God

After the cut, he didn’t lift the knife away, letting the duck’s arterial blood run along the blade into the small basin.

To let the blood drain more thoroughly from the duck’s body, he even had to hang the duck upside down, body on top and head below, so the blood could flow out more completely.

After bleeding out a few ducks, he put a small spoonful of salt into the basin of duck blood, then quickly stirred with chopsticks, letting the salt, Rice Wine, and duck blood mix thoroughly.

This way, it effectively prevents the duck blood from coagulating.

"It looks so cruel... If we eat this Rice Wine will we count as drunk driving?"

Chen Yan wanted to lean in for a closer look, but she couldn’t bear scenes of killing, so she stood off to the side, trying to distract herself by focusing on the Rice Wine.

Lin Xu said:

"No. Once the Rice Wine goes into the pot the alcohol evaporates... Besides Rice Wine you can also use Rice Vinegar, that also effectively keeps the blood from clotting."

Once the duck blood was beaten loose, the water on the stove had already come to a boil.

Lin Xu put the duck into a big basin and poured in water cooled to about ninety degrees, scalded it for around a minute, and started plucking the feathers.

Unlike plucking chicken, duck feathers are harder to pull, and in winter ducks grow a layer of fine down on the surface, which makes the plucking even more difficult.

Yue Liyue came over and helped while saying:

"Duck feathers can be collected and sold, you know. Those high-end down jackets use this kind of duck down, it’s really warm."

Dou Wenjing said:

"Back in my hometown, chicken feathers could be exchanged for money. When we were kids we even traded chicken feathers for candy, but it seems that’s gone now."

Shen Jiayue cared more about the eating. Looking at the duck’s fuzzy body, she asked curiously:

"Why are the ducks Old Huang sent over so clean? This fluffy look is kind of creepy."

"The ones Old Huang sends are machine-cleaned, and the breed’s different too... In a bit I’ll run a blowtorch over this one, it’ll come out spotless with nothing dirty left on it."

Seeing that the ladies all looked like they wanted to help, Lin Xu pointed at the cabinet beside them and said:

"There are soybeans in there, take them to the living room and sort them. Just pick the plump ones. I’ll fry them later and toss them in when braising the duck—supposedly the soybeans done this way are really good with rice and very tasty."

As soon as they heard there was work to do, everyone sprang into action.

They couldn’t help with the high-level stuff, but this kind of small task was no problem.

They took out the soybeans and bustled off to the living room, all hands on deck.

When most of the duck feathers were plucked, Lin Xu picked up the blowtorch and started blasting the duck with flame.

After charring the duck into a "crow," he washed the black ash off the surface with clean water, and the whole duck immediately looked much cleaner.

Next he cut off the duck’s tail, then followed the cut to open the duck’s back and took out the innards.

Working as he talked, Lin Xu said:

"The offal from four ducks will be about a small basin, just right for a pot of duck offal stew. With the Blood Duck on top of that, it should be enough to eat."

Hearing that, Shen Jiayue quietly sent a message to Shen Guofu.

Geng Lele, on the other hand, picked up her phone and WeChatted Yan Lin:

"Godma, Brother Xu is making Blood Duck at home, and later he’s doing Soy Sauce Meat too. Are you guys coming over to eat?"

Yan Lin replied:

"Your godfather and I are off to soak in a hot spring. We won’t be back tonight, you all go ahead and eat."

Hot spring?

Tsk tsk tsk, the lives of rich people really are so plain and unpretentious.

Geng Lele put away her phone, then followed Dundun upstairs to check out the little guy’s latest toys.

Once the ducks were all slaughtered, and counting today’s diners, Lin Xu chopped one duck into small pieces to make Blood Duck, used two to make Soy Sauce Duck, and rubbed the last one all over with Sichuan peppercorn salt, then hung it up to make salted duck.

He was in the middle of all this when Che Zai showed up with two kitchen helpers to deliver the meat.

Along with them were several jugs of Original Soy Sauce and other needed seasonings.

"This meat is fresh off Old Hu’s truck, still warm. He says it’s perfect for Garlic Paste Pork."

Lin Xu felt it—sure enough, the hind leg meat was warm. He cut off a piece of hip weighing about three catties, scraped and washed the Pork Skin, then put it into a pot with salt, Sichuan peppercorns and star anise, and Scallion and Ginger, and simmered it over low heat.

After chopping the duck into pieces, Lin Xu deliberately saved a duck leg and put it into a small pot to boil in plain water, intending to give it to Dundun later.

He chopped the rest of the duck into small chunks, and by this time the soybeans had been sorted.

He rinsed them twice with clean water, then set a wok on the stove, poured in oil, and tossed in the soybeans before the oil got hot, stir-frying over low heat.

Over in Yongzhou, when they cook duck they almost always add some soybeans; not only does it enhance the aroma, it also makes the dish more substantial.

When the soybeans started popping in the wok, he scooped them out.

Then he prepared garlic, green Erjing chili, small chili peppers, dried chili, and tender ginger as the supporting cast, and once everything was ready he began cooking.

In restaurants, Blood Duck is usually made with two-to-three-month-old ducklings. Those ducks are very tender, and the finished dish has a crisp bite—you can even chew through the bones.

But at home, it’s usually ducks raised by the family, eaten all year from New Year’s on, so no one specially chooses ducklings.

Blood Duck made with adult ducks has a chewier texture and a stronger, richer aroma.

Lin Xu slicked the wok, then added two spoonfuls of Tea Oil. When the oil was hot, he threw in the chopped duck and stir-fried it hard over high heat.

Duck meat has a high water content. To bring out the best aroma, you have to stir-fry it first to drive off the moisture; the off-odors will escape with the steam, and the duck will taste better.

Just like with Fried Chicken, the way to tell if the duck’s moisture has cooked out is to watch the fat at the bottom of the wok: if the fat is clear and bright, the water’s gone; if the fat looks cloudy, keep frying.

You can’t add seasonings or aromatics at this stage—just keep frying in hot oil.

Before long, the surface of the duck turned golden brown, and the oil in the wok turned back into a clear golden color, which meant it was about ready.

Lin Xu added the garlic, dried chilies, and small chili peppers to the wok, stir-fried them, then splashed in Light Soy Sauce and Dark Soy Sauce and kept tossing.

Once the aroma came out, he poured in stock and began braising.

Taking advantage of this time, Lin Xu cleaned up the duck offal and mixed up some dry yellow sauce and Northeastern Big Sauce, getting ready to make duck offal stew.

He was busy at it when Shen Guofu and his wife arrived with Tan Yajun.

"Whoa, that smells amazing."

As soon as he walked in, a look of surprise spread over Tan Yajun’s face. The fragrance of the Tea Oil reminded him of his trip to Xiangxi last year.

"Just from the fact that Little Xu is using Tea Oil, I can tell tonight’s meal won’t be anything less than great."

Tea Oil is expensive and very fragrant; it’s the oil of choice for Xiang cuisine.

Old Shen was about to say a few polite words when he suddenly saw the worktop in the kitchen covered densely with pork, and immediately burst with joy.

Whoa, that’s a lot of meat.

Are we celebrating New Year’s early today or what?

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This Chapter is 5,200 words long. Asking for a Monthly Ticket!