Chapter 391: Chapter 220: Can Chicken Breast Actually Be This Delicious? The TV Station’s Invitation! [Seeking Monthly Ticket]_2
Shen Guofu reminded, "This piano is a limited edition Steinway..."
Before he could finish, Han Shuzhen gave him a sidelong glance. "What? I can’t even touch it?"
Shen Guofu was speechless. Normally, it pains you greatly if the nanny wipes it with a regular cloth, and now I kindly offer a reminder, and I’m the one in the wrong? Grandmothers really do have unlimited tolerance for their grandchildren.
He gave a sheepish smile. "No, I was just worried about Dundun’s paws getting hurt by the piano keys."
「In the kitchen.」
When the chicken breast had completely cooled down, Lin Xu took it out of the ice water and began to shred it. "When tearing it, there’s no need to tear it too thinly; just slightly thinner than chopsticks is fine. After deep-frying and then dry-frying, the chicken strips will be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, giving a more layered texture and making them more delicious."
Shen Baobao, who was at the side, found this dish very interesting. It needed to be hand-torn into strips, which seemed quite stress-relieving.
After tearing all the chicken strips, Lin Xu took a clean cheesecloth, placed the chicken strips inside, wrapped them up, and squeezed tightly.
"What are you doing that for?" Shen Baobao asked.
"To wring out the excess water. This saves time in frying."
Actually, there was another method: directly put the torn chicken strips into a frying pan and dry them out by pan-frying. This would save more oil but require more cooking time.
After squeezing out the water, he poured the chicken strips into a bowl and started seasoning: two small spoonfuls of salt, one small spoonful of pepper, and one small spoonful of Sichuan peppercorn powder. After stirring evenly, he added a couple of handfuls of low-gluten flour.
First, he tossed the bowl a few times to allow the flour to evenly coat the surface of the chicken strips. Then, he separated any strips that stuck together, ensuring each one was fully covered with flour.
Next, he heated oil in a wok to deep-fry the chicken strips. The oil temperature could be a bit higher for this step since the chicken was already cooked. The main purpose of deep-frying was to dry and crisp up the surface of the strips.
When the oil was about sixty percent hot, Lin Xu grabbed the flour-coated chicken strips and scattered them into the wok.
While adding them, he explained the key points to the camera Shen Baobao was filming with, "Don’t stir them right after putting them in. Let the chicken strips firm up before turning them; otherwise, the flour on the surface might come off."
After a while, when the chicken strips had turned golden brown and hardened, he used a ladle and chopsticks to separate any that were sticking together. He deep-fried them for one more minute before removing them to drain the oil.
While frying the second batch, Lin Xu pinched one strip, intending to taste it, but Shen Baobao, standing nearby, snatched it away.
"Wow, it’s crispy and tingly! So delicious!"
"This is only half-finished. The flavor will be even better after it’s dry-fried."
Once all the chicken strips were fried until dry and crispy, he poured out the oil from the wok, leaving just a little bit of oil at the bottom. He put the wok back on the stove over low heat.
Without waiting for the oil to heat up, he grabbed a handful of Sichuan peppercorns and slowly stir-fried them. When they became fragrant, he added chili strips and stir-fried for another minute, then poured in the fried chicken strips.
He continued to stir-fry over low heat.
By this time, a spicy aroma had wafted out, and the chili strips had released their red oil. Lin Xu grabbed some dried chili powder, added a handful of roasted sesame seeds, and two small spoonfuls of sugar.
He continued to stir-fry for another minute. Once the chicken strips were coated with the shiny red chili oil, the dish was ready to be plated.
Today, two whole chicken breasts had made a large, full plate.
The spicy fragrance made Shen Baobao, who was in charge of filming, crave it completely; she was eager to try it even before filming ended.
But Lin Xu wasn’t finished yet.
He spoke to the camera, "When dry-frying, you can add vegetables like celery, celtuce, or even fried potato strips to enhance the color and create a more diverse texture."
He was in a hurry today, so Lin Xu didn’t add these. Besides, this wasn’t a restaurant; there was no need to increase the volume of the dish with extra ingredients.
After filming, Lin Xu brought the plate of chicken strips to the dining room. Shen Guofu walked over quickly, "Ah, that’s the flavor!"
The numbing and spicy chicken strips had such an enticing aroma. It was the kind of dish that made those who normally only drank about 100ml of liquor want to start with 250ml, and those who could handle 250ml aim for at least 500ml as a baseline.
Too bad I have a workout session tonight and can’t drink.
Soon, dinner was served. Auntie Liu had made fried pumpkin with aromatic herb, shrimp salad, blanched asparagus, and cold seaweed strips, paired with barley porridge and mixed-grain flatbreads.
Looking at the dinner on the table, Lin Xu finally understood his father-in-law’s earlier expression. All these dishes were potent for cutting oil and shedding fat. Just looking at them for a while felt like losing half a pound, let alone eating them.
"Honey, come eat!"
For the first time in a week, Shen Guofu was filled with such anticipation for dinner. To think that just a few days ago, I wouldn’t even glance at chicken breast when it was placed in front of me. Yet, after my son-in-law prepared it this way, it’s become my biggest motivation for eating dinner. Shen Guofu, oh Shen Guofu, are you still that famous Gourmet Prince? If Old Tan and the others found out, how could I show my face?
"What a delicious smell..."
Having eaten lunch very late, Han Shuzhen hadn’t originally planned to have dinner. However, with her son-in-law at home, she felt she should at least come and sit down to make an appearance.
When she arrived at the dining room, she suddenly smelled a delightful spicy fragrance. Looking closer, she saw an additional, vibrantly red dish on the table, from which the spicy aroma emanated.
Is this...
She examined it carefully and then exclaimed in surprise, "Isn’t this Numbing and Spicy Chicken Strips? I haven’t had this dish in so many years."
No wonder Old Shen was so eager just now.
She smoothed her skirt and sat down next to Shen Guofu.