Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 532: Ordinary Family Food, Chewy Chicken Meatballs and Radish Soup

Shen Yu was very happy to have obtained a suitable knife.

She waved her hands modestly and said, "What are you talking about, Chef Liu? This is all thanks to the Emperor's grace. He gave me this knife, which is so useful. Normally, I can't cut radish into such fine and even shreds."

Another chef looked at the thin shredded radish and couldn't help but sigh: "What a pity, there is not much to cook with such finely shredded radish."

Chef Liu waved his hand nonchalantly: "It's just a carrot. What do I usually tell you? When you cook in the palace, don't think about how much money this dish costs or anything like that."

"Is there anyone in the world richer than the emperor?"

"As long as the dish is cooked well, no matter what the ingredients are, just use them. The masters' comfort is more important than anything else."

Two chefs nearby nodded in agreement, saying that what Chef Liu said was absolutely right.

A look of disapproval flashed across the face of the cook who had made the exclamation, but he quickly lowered his head and pretended to look at the shredded radish in the basin to cover it up.

Shen Yu knew that there was an abundance of food in the palace. Most of the chefs working in the palace kitchens probably had the same idea as Chef Liu, and it would be difficult to change it.

She has little power on her own, and she won't stay in the palace forever, so she doesn't want to cause trouble.

I had to pretend I didn't hear it and calmly replied, "Chef Liu is absolutely right. The most important thing is that the masters eat comfortably."

"Today I am not just cutting this radish for practice, but I want to make a bowl of radish meatball soup for the Queen Mother at lunch."

“Carrot and meatball soup?”

"This dish is something that everyone can cook at home. It's nothing special."

"The food from ordinary people's homes is on the table. The Queen Mother won't dislike it, right?"

"Yes, yes, this is a very common home-cooked dish. It would be unworthy of the royal family for the Queen Mother to eat this."

After Shen Yu showed off her skill in cutting vegetables today, the other chefs were no longer willing to underestimate her. They asked her questions without hiding anything they were thinking, wanting to see if she had any unique insights so they could learn from her.

Shen Yu nodded and smiled, "Don't worry, everyone. Radish soup is light, nourishing, and helps digestion. It's good to eat it often in winter."

"There's a saying that goes, 'Eat radish in winter and ginger in summer, and you won't need a doctor to prescribe medicine.' This shows that radish is a delicious ingredient."

"This soup is light and delicious, and the shape is elegant. The Queen Mother will not dislike it."

Chef Liu witnessed Shen Yu's knife skills today, and because of Shen Yu's arrival, everyone received the emperor's reward, so naturally Shen Yu could do whatever he wanted at this time.

He nodded happily and said, “We use mutton meatballs to make meatball soup here. I wonder if the meatball soup Miss Shen mentioned uses this kind of meatballs.

Shen Yu shook her head and said, "The Queen Mother's appetite has just improved. She shouldn't eat meatballs that are difficult to digest. Today's meatballs will be made with chicken."

Everyone said, "Miss Shen, just tell us what ingredients you want and how to cook them. We will learn some skills from you."

"If the Queen Mother enjoys eating, we will do it when you leave here."

Shen Yu was not secretive nor polite. After a little thought, he told everyone the ingredients and utensils that would be used.

The four chefs didn't have to do the preparation work; the eunuchs below quickly prepared the ingredients.

It is not difficult to make chicken meatballs, but it is still difficult to make them smooth, chewy and delicious.

Take a tender chicken less than one year old, using only the chicken breast, wash it, remove the fascia, and cut it into domino-sized pieces.

Quickly cut the chicken into minced meat. When cutting, it is best to stay away from the stove and keep the temperature low.

Now is the coldest time of winter, and Shen Yu deliberately moved the chopping board to the table closest to the small kitchen door.

It was much colder here than by the stove, but luckily the clothes he wore today were very thick, and the new kitchen knife was very easy to use, and it was quick and easy to cut. Shen Yu had finished cutting everything in no time.

Get a basin of cold water and put some ice cubes in it. Put the chopped chicken in a large bowl, then place the large bowl in the basin of ice water.

Take a piece of young ginger and a piece of scallion and chop them with the back of a knife.

Take another bowl and pour in an appropriate amount of cold water, mix the scallion and ginger foam, then use a fine white gauze bag to filter out the clear scallion and ginger juice, and place the bowl of scallion and ginger juice in an ice basin to cool it down.

When the chicken breast in the large bowl starts to feel cold to the touch, you can start adding seasonings.

First add appropriate amount of salt and four egg whites, and gently stir evenly with chopsticks.

Then add the already very cold scallion and ginger juice in several times until all the filtered scallion and ginger juice is added.

Use bamboo chopsticks to stir clockwise until the chopsticks can no longer stir and the chicken breast will not fall out when the large bowl is turned upside down.

Put the blended chicken breast back into the basin of half-melted ice and keep it in the ice for a while.

While waiting for the chicken breast to cool down, Shen Yu asked the eunuch to add cold water to the pot.

When there are dense fish-eye bubbles at the bottom of the pot, use a small round spoon for making meatballs, dip it in water, scoop up the chicken breast, shake it into a ball in the spoon, and put it into the water.

When all the round and tender white chicken breast meatballs float up, the meatballs are ready.

As soon as it was done, the four chefs who had been watching couldn't wait to pick up one each with bamboo chopsticks and taste it, not caring about the heat.

"Hey, these meatballs taste so fresh and tender, not fishy at all. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have been able to tell what kind of meat it was made of. It's so delicious."

"It tastes like soft tofu, very smooth and tender, but more delicious than tofu, not bad."

"Indeed, it tastes better than mutton balls."

"So chewy! This tastes completely different from the chicken meatballs I made. It's much better than mine."

"Hey, Miss Shen, we didn't dare to make a sound when you were making it just now. Tell us why the meatballs are so chewy?"

"We usually make meatballs this way, but the chicken meatballs are thick and loose, and have a fishy smell. We also add onions and ginger, why don't they taste good?"

"Yeah, the four of us watched you do it, and other than being soaked in a basin of ice water, there was nothing different."

The four chefs chatted one after another, asking questions non-stop as if they were so eager to learn that Shen Yu didn't know whose question to answer first.

Finally, Chef Liu waved his hand and said, "Stop talking, let Miss Shen speak."

It was still some time before lunch.

Shen Yu simply sat on the small round stool for resting and said patiently: "Actually, there's nothing special about it."

"First, I only use chicken breasts, and the fascia and fat on them are removed very cleanly. This way, the chicken meatballs are not greasy and taste refreshing."