Chapter 13 (1/2)

Chapter 13 – Receiving Free Labor

”One bowl of wonton with one egg! Gourmet, please taste it!”

Shu Yu personally brought over the wonton dish. Gu Zheng took out a small digital camera and took a few photos of the wonton. He had already taken a couple of photos, such as the one he had taken of the door.

Food reviews must have ill.u.s.trations. If the writing didn't have any pictures, the commentary would lose credibility. Furthermore, when it had picture, it looked more appealing and would attract more viewers. Since Gu Zheng knew that he was coming to Shu Yu's shop to write a review, he had brought his camera with him.

After taking the picture, only then did Gu Zheng sit down properly. He took out a bottle of water and gave his mouth a rinse. The work of a food critic wasn't as easy as it would seem. Since this was a serious matter, he needed to remove anything that could remain in his mouth from before. This was so he could taste it completely, and make an accurate commentary.

”These wonton are decent. These should be cla.s.sified as large wonton. It has a thick skin and is packed with filling, one mouthful is just enough. My initial impression is of it being above average!”

He used a spoon to lift out a single wonton as he spoke. If it was someone else, he wouldn't have said anything, and would've only written his honest feelings in the draft. Only then would he decide what to write, and what not to write. However, since Shu Yu and Hu Yue Yue were fellow students, he spoke a bit more.

”Large wonton? Does that mean there's small wonton?” Hu Yue Yue curiously asked.

”Of course there are. There's many different sizes of wonton. Large wontons are more common towards the south. Furthermore, they have different names depending on the region. For example, in the Sichuan Province they're called Chaoshou(抄手), in the Jianxi Province they are called Qingtang(清汤) or Yuntun(云吞). In some places they're called Baomian(包面), or dumplings(bians.h.i.+ or 扁食). The north is somewhat more unified, they all call it wonton. Over there, small wonton are more common!” (T/N: When I use the word wonton, it's referring to the north's usage of wonton, Huntun or 馄饨.)

In small wonton, the skin was a bit thicker, and it was a bit smaller. Using chopsticks to take a little bit of meat paste was enough to wrap a wonton. Small wonton and large wonton looked similar from the outside, however their taste was quite different. Small wonton were typically lighter, and when you placed it in your mouth the skin would immediately break apart. Of course, it was typically accompanied by a bowl of chicken soup. Eating and drinking together made it extremely delicious and satisfying.

Large huntun had a thicker skin, and it could be cooked along with noodles. It was also possible to use various fillings. Thus, large wontons were more common within the market.

”Indeed you are a gourmet, you know quite a lot!”

Hu Yue Yue praised. Gu zheng laughed. He didn't reply, and merely lifted the wonton into his mouth and slowly tasted it.

Dumplings were somewhat similar to foods like wonton and buns. The first ingredient would be the skin, then it was the stuffing. The skin needed to be strong yet delicate. The requirements to ferment the dough were not high, the time it took to ferment was neither long nor short. One couldn't add too much water.  This kind of wonton skin was quite strong so that when the customer bit into it, it would remain with the filling and make it even more delicious.

The wheat flour's fermentation was decent. According to Gu Zheng's scoring system, this wonton skin would score 70 points. Last time when he was in the Central Plains to taste the famous steamed dumpling, he had only give it 80 points.

That was half a year ago when Gu Zheng had personally sought out them out to try it. When he bit into the first Bianjing steamed dumpling, it had already lived up to it's name. It had a thin skin with plenty of filling and =each bite exploded with flavor. Eating it was extremely satisfying. When he thought of rumors of the difference between the local steamed dumplings to the store's, he felt they fell short.

Bainjing's had achieved the t.i.tle of number one back then and had received the approval of the Great Ancestor.  Proper hospitality was essential for a dish to become a staple dish. According to the legends, that year, the master who made the steamed dumplings had a son and a disciple.  The disciple was equivalent to an adopted son and had received the master's surname.

The master of the dumpling provided equal care towards his disciple and his son. Both the front and back of their hands were made from flesh, he wanted them to eventually achieve the same kind of unity. He didn't want the brothers to separate from each other. So he pa.s.sed his craft separately towards each of them. The son would learn to make the skin, while the disciple would learn to make the filling. The meaning was to let the son be the outside, while letting the disciple handle the internal matters.。

After the teacher became an immortal, the son and the disciple still ended up fighting. In the end, they separated from each other. (T/N: This section above was weird to translate…)

The son inherited the old master's shop, and continued to make the number one soup dumpling. The disciple went away and opened up a shop, and kept his surname. Gu Zheng had eaten from the son's establishment. The son had learned the skill to make the skin. Gu Zheng gave those dumplings 80 points. Shu Yu's earned 70, this was far from just a few points.

The reason why it only earned eighty points, wasn't because the old master hadn't taught the son well. If it was the old master, or even his son who had made the dumplings, he definitely wouldn't have given only that many points towards the skin.

He chewed on a mouthful of the skin, only after that did Gu Zheng bite into the filling.

Shu Yu had given Gu Zheng the common large amount of filling with green scallions, which was more commonly known as pork stuffing. After Gu Zheng ate a mouthful, he quietly nodded.

”The fine meat matches nicely with the Zhang Qiu leek. You used Fujian soy sauce. The only problem is that you cooked the chicken for a bit too long. If you a bit less, the flavor would be much better!”

After eating a single wonton, Gu Zheng slowly spoke, Shu Yu stared with large eyes.。

She had bought the recipe for a high price. She was clear about the ingredients required, and Gu Zheng hadn't made a single mistake. Zhangqiu onion and Fujian soy sauce. While there were some Gu Zheng didn't mention, the fact that he could name those few was already extremely terrifying.