readsfreenovel Chapter 200 Steamed Buns
Chapter 200 Steamed Buns
While kneading the dough, Bai Ling explained to the tribespeople, "The taste is different. The buns should be softer and taste better."
In Bai Ling's opinion, steamed dumplings made from tapioca flour taste better than steamed buns made from wheat flour.
He can eat steamed buns every day, but he can't stand eating steamed dumplings every day.
Bai Ling didn't know how to describe the taste of the buns to the beastmen, so she could only say, "They're delicious. The bun skin is soft and slightly sweet, and the filling is fragrant. Let's make a variety of fillings this time."
Bai Ling plans to make three kinds of fillings: celery and pork, chives and pork, and leafy greens and pork.
The day before yesterday, the orcs in the tribe killed a horned beast, and there was still half of the beast meat left uneaten, which can be used to make minced meat.
Bai Ling prepared ten basins of dough. According to Bai Ling's experience, such a large basin of dough could make at least sixty or seventy large steamed buns. Six basins of dough would make six or seven hundred large steamed buns. Each clansman could eat at least two. Although they wouldn't be full, they would be able to taste the flavor of the steamed buns.
The beastmen who were cooking decided to make some more steamed dumplings so that if they couldn't get enough from the buns, they could eat steamed dumplings instead.
*
At lunchtime, all the orcs knew that Bai Ling was going to make a delicious dish. Many orcs circled around the pottery basin, and some even wanted to lift the lid to see what was inside.
However, the children stopped them.
Knowing that Bai Ling was going to make delicious food again, the children spontaneously stood guard around the earthenware pots. They strictly forbade any beastman to approach the pots, and even more so, they forbade the beastmen to lift the lids to reveal what was inside.
"Ling said that there is magic in the pottery basin, and the magic will stop working if you open it."
"You can't open it to look; you can only open it when we're cooking this afternoon."
"I will protect these pottery basins; none of you are allowed to lift them."
……
The beastmen weren't angry when the children stopped them; instead, they became even more curious about what was in the earthenware pot and how it was going to be made into buns.
Unable to find answers here, the beastmen went to ask Bai Ling's family. Most of them went to ask Chen, forming a circle and asking him all sorts of questions, asking what the steamed buns were like.
Chen had never eaten steamed buns before, and he didn't know what they looked like, but that didn't stop him from boasting about how delicious they were.
"I've never eaten steamed buns, but I have eaten noodles. They were the best food I've ever eaten, even better than the stewed and roasted meat my brother makes."
"The noodles are soft and fragrant. The best way to eat them is to slice up the stewed meat and put it in the noodles."
"Steamed buns are also made of flour, so they will definitely taste good, so you don't need to worry."
One of the orcs said, "We're not worried; Ling's food is sure to be delicious. We're just curious about what the steamed buns actually look like."
Chen: "You'll find out by dinner time. There's no use in being anxious now."
Indeed, delicious food takes time to prepare, and there's no use in rushing it now.
The beastmen couldn't find out what the buns tasted like, but their interest didn't diminish at all; on the contrary, it increased.
All the orcs were looking forward to what delicious food they would have for dinner!
*
After chopping the celery, boil it in water. Chop the leafy greens and blanch them in water. Wash the chives and chop them into small pieces. Also, mince the meat of the horned beast.
Bai Ling left all of this to the tribespeople to do. He cleaned out the entrails of the horned beast and put them in a pot to braise.
Braised offal requires a lot of seasonings. Bai Ling added spices, flavoring powder, and a lot of scallions, ginger, and salt to ensure that the braised offal would not have any unpleasant odor.
The chopped minced meat needs to be stir-fried. This is what Bai Ling does. He first stir-fries the minced meat that is placed in the celery. He puts oil in an iron wok, heats the animal fat to 50% heat, puts in the minced scallions and ginger and stir-fries them until fragrant. Then he pours in the chopped minced meat and stirs it quickly. After the minced meat is cooked, he puts it into a ceramic bowl, adds spice powder and stirs it.
The minced meat in the chives is stir-fried in the same way as the minced meat in the celery, but after the minced meat is cooked, no flavoring powder is added.
Finally, the meat filling in the leafy greens was stir-fried. Leafy greens have a slightly bitter taste that can't be removed even by blanching. This bitter taste needs to be neutralized with animal fat. Bai Ling added a lot of animal fat when stir-frying the meat filling, and the meat filling in the leafy greens was mostly fatty meat.
The dough hadn't risen yet, so Bai Ling helped the orcs prepare the dishes for dinner. Tonight, they wouldn't be having stewed meat; instead, they would make a pot of bone broth, a pot of mung bean soup, steam some cassava cakes and dumplings, and steamed buns made by Bai Ling as the main dish. The side dishes would be stir-fried winter melon, cold salad, and braised horned beast offal.
The beastmen had to prepare food for more than 300 beastmen and take care of the children and cubs in the tribe. Their work was not easy. Bai Ling did not go to work in the fields today, but stayed here to make dumplings. Of course, he could not just make dumplings, he also had to work.
*
When the dough had risen, the orcs who were still working stopped what they were doing, and even the orcs who were tending the fire came over. They all exclaimed in amazement because the dough in the earthenware pot had grown bigger.
When Ling was kneading the dough, the dough was less than half the size of the earthenware basin. Now the dough has filled the entire basin and become bulging. When you pull it apart with your hands, you can see that it is full of small holes.
Bai Ling sprinkled a layer of flour on a clean wooden board, then sprinkled a layer of alkali extracted from wood ash. She then scooped all the dough out of the basin and placed it on the wooden board, even kneading the dough that was still sticking to the bottom of the basin with flour.
Next comes kneading the dough. This step, though simple, is very important. If the dough isn't kneaded properly, the taste of the buns will be greatly diminished.
Bai Ling kneaded the dough repeatedly until it became smooth and firm, then she could wrap the buns.
Knead the dough into a long strip, cut it into small pieces with a knife, press each piece down with your palm, and then roll it out into a circle with a wooden stick.
Bai Ling planned to make steamed buns with a large filling of leafy greens and meat first. He used chopsticks to scoop out a large ball of meat filling and placed it on the bun wrapper. Then, he placed his left hand on the bun wrapper, with his thumb on top and the other four fingers supporting the wrapper. He placed his right index finger on the bun wrapper and the other four fingers underneath. With both hands moving together, the bun wrapper spun in his palm and quickly closed up, turning into a beautiful steamed bun.
After placing the wrapped buns in a straw basket, Bai Ling suddenly remembered something and said, "Put the other earthenware pots in a shady place. The dough has already risen, and it won't do if it stays in the sun any longer; it will turn sour."
Upon hearing Bai Ling's words, the beastmen surrounding him immediately sprang into action, placing the basin of dough in a shady spot. After setting it aside, the beastmen quickly returned to continue watching Bai Ling make dumplings.