Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

Chapter 437 - 349: Amazing Technique, Crispy Pork Intestine

"Why does it feel a bit like rubber products?"

"You’re eating the head part of the intestine, right? The texture there is meant to be a bit chewy. Try this one."

"Hmm, this thin piece is slightly better. The rubbery texture isn’t as strong. It breaks down with a bite, though you can still feel a bit of chewiness. This must be the main texture of large intestines, right?"

"Yes, to make it completely tender, you’d need to stew it for a long time, and it starts to resemble the texture of melted fat. We usually don’t do that; we want to retain some of its texture."

Lin Chen picked out another fresh piece of chitterlings from the pot, cut off the head part, and tossed the rest back into the pot.

"I’ve already used a pressure cooker beforehand to greatly shorten the stewing time. If you only use a pot, it would take at least an hour to achieve this texture."

"Pressure cooker...Hmm, indeed it’s a very suitable tool."

Raphael had come into contact with it before but didn’t see any necessity for its use at the moment.

In Western cuisine, there are few dishes that require long stewing times. If needed, you can just seal it with foil in a baking tray with meat and sauce, toss it in the oven, and it’s done. No additional operations required.

Only a few countries in Asia frequently use tools like pressure cookers.

But now his perspective has slightly changed.

If you don’t change even the cooking tools, how can you develop more new dishes?

Taking this chance to learn about Great Xia’s culinary culture with Lin, he’s prepared to learn various cooking methods so he can start experimenting as soon as he returns, lest he falls too far behind Nagishiro Sho and Chef Marchello.

After chewing the chitterlings for over ten times, feeling increasingly nauseated, he finally forced it down his throat, having a sense of certainty.

Seems you can’t let diners chew intestines for too long, as it significantly impacts the dining experience.

As this thought emerged, he even felt like laughing a bit.

Is there really a daring diner who would order something like pig intestines?

"Lin, what are you doing?"

Seeing Lin Chen prepare the egg liquid and flour, Raphael frowned, "Going to fry them?"

"Yes, but not one way, but two ways."

"Two ways?"

As soon as he spoke, Lin Chen took down a piece of intestine that had been air-drying for over half an hour, placing it next to the freshly cooked one.

The air-dried intestine had noticeably changed color, becoming completely dry.

"Hmm??"

Raphael was confused, "When was this processed? I don’t remember anything."

"Who knows where you were puking at that time."

Nagishiro Sho next to him smirked, "This was cut after stewing for half an hour, soaked in a mixture of white vinegar, syrup, and wine for about ten seconds, then hung to dry. I watched him do it."

"With a fan for half an hour, naturally air-dried for an hour to an hour and a half, I memorized it."

"...Damn it."

Raphael muttered under his breath, quickly taking out his phone to record the preparation method.

The following frying process wasn’t anything special. Both versions of crispy intestines underwent a secondary frying.

While the intestines were bubbling in the oil pot, Lin Chen quickly used white vinegar, sugar, garlic, and tomato sauce to make a sweet and sour sauce.

Smelling the pungent aroma of white vinegar and the sweet tomato scent, the two men’s eyes brightened.

Even though they hadn’t tasted it yet, they had a hunch that this method sure had a promising flavor!

Half a minute later.

Two completely different versions of crispy intestines appeared before the two.

The golden crispy crust was the regular version. Without tasting, they could imagine the flavor, but what intrigued them was the other version made with Great Xia’s distinctive preparation method.

This version retained its original form, with a dark reddish-brown color. Its surface had been completely crisped, resembling the freshly fried state of roast chicken skin.

Lin Chen swiftly sliced through, splitting the intestines into finger-width long pieces.

Without any courtesy with the two, he grabbed a piece while hot, dipped it a few times into the sweet-and-sour sauce, directly stuffing it into his mouth.

"Crunch...Crunch..."

With each bite, a clear cracking sound echoed, akin to munching on potato chips.

If it was the other version coated in batter, they wouldn’t be curious at all.

But Lin Chen was eating the uncoated, directly fried one, yet it was this crispy? The secret certainly lay in the previous sugar vinegar soaking and air drying steps.

Both hurriedly reached out, disregarding the heat, imitating Lin Chen by dipping the piece in the sauce and stuffing it entirely into their mouths.

"Crunch"

The crispy skin cracked upon response, as if adding a layer of caramel without the sweetness to the intestine’s surface.

The middle layer was soft and chewy, having a strong contrast with the crispy surface. When mixed and chewed together, there was none of that strange texture anymore.

The sweet and sour sauce made with white vinegar initially has a slightly sharp impact, with a mild yet intense vinegar acidity rushing to the head, only to dissipate completely before one can react.

This sensation is akin to the wasabi in Japanese cuisine, not only does it not affect the taste, it actually enhances the freshness of the ingredients.

Even Raphael got rid of those peculiar and disgusting thoughts from earlier, nodding while chewing, and savoring the crispy intestines’ deliciousness.

What surprised him the most was that even though the intestines had been air-dried, after frying, they still retained a certain amount of juice, with a faint scented meat juice seeping out from the intestinal wall when chewing.

This unique composite flavor was something he had never experienced in his life of over thirty years, his eyes brightening with each chew, feeling like he had struck gold.

Nagishiro Sho was no different, eyes wide open and filled with amazement.

With their ample experience, they quickly understood the principle behind it.

After sugar water is air-dried, only sugar remains on the food’s surface, and heating forms a crispy shell, theoretically similar to making crème brûlée.

The exact role of vinegar is still to be confirmed, but it should have a similar effect, and also can dispel the original taste of intestines to a certain extent.

After just tasting one bite, countless types of meat already flashed through their minds.

"Lin, if this crispy technique is used on pork, beef, or chicken, wouldn’t it be even tastier?"

"Oh? It’s possible, my chef, you discovered it."

Lin Chen feigned surprise, giving a thumbs-up: "You’re right, in Great Xia we have several extremely popular foods made using this drying technique, like crispy pork belly, crispy beef brisket, and Beijing roast duck, which you guys might have tried?"

"Roast duck!!"

Both slapped the table simultaneously, speaking in unison: "Roast duck is also made using this technique? No wonder the skin can be so thin yet crispy!"

Being a representative famous dish from Great Xia, almost every top chef chooses to try this dish.

Being recognized as a world-class famous dish, and representing a country’s food, it certainly has a special significance.

Compared to eating various uncertainly authentic foods, eating those officially acknowledged is surely more reliable.

"Chef where did you eat it? I remember you seemed not to have gone to Great Xia."

"In Paris, where else, had it with Marchello, that old fellow, seemed to be a big restaurant."

"Oh~ then it should be right," Lin Chen came to a sudden realization, "because roast duck comes in grades, there’s a simple version for the general public and a deluxe version, most restaurants make the simple version, which is still different in flavor from the most traditional roast duck."

"A successful roast duck doesn’t depend on the flavor, the taste is quite similar, the most critical point is whether the roast duck skin is crispy enough; it’s the most direct and simplest way to judge a chef’s skill."

"That’s how it is."

Raphael nodded seriously, this is crucial knowledge he must grasp.

But the issue lies in that the primary condition for crispy technique is that the ingredient must have skin.

Western diners typically don’t want to eat the skin, and the skin is usually removed before serving.

"Would making it in a crispy form increase its acceptance?"

Thinking of this, his gaze drifted toward the crispy intestines wrapped in golden batter beside him.

Right, isn’t fried chicken also made with skin, and no one hesitates to eat it?

This might work!

After trying the dry-fried crispy intestines and then the batter-fried ones, the comparison of the two textures became apparent.

With the support of sweet and sour sauce, it was slightly better, but the intestines themselves are quite greasy in texture, and combined with the batter which absorbs oil, one piece might be acceptable, but eating more would certainly become overpowering.

The dry-fried ones are tastier.

Seeing the smiles appearing on their faces as they ate, John couldn’t help but become curious.

Are intestines, something so disgusting, actually tasty?

He didn’t care much for face, squeezing in to grab two pieces to stuff into his mouth.

"Crunch"

"Hmm?? It’s really quite delicious these intestines, they don’t have any odd taste at all, eating it is kind of like tripe."

"Tripe?"

Lin Chen blinked, suddenly slapping his thigh.

"Look at my memory, I almost forgot, there’s still some in the pot, also there’s honeycomb tripe and such almost ready, Nagishiro Sho tasted it last week already, chef let me get you some to try."

He opened the pot lid again, picking several pieces that look like towels with coarse surfaces and delicate fuzz along the edges.

When lifted, one can obviously see plenty of juices dripping down, gathering into a stream.

Just by looking, it’s clear these must be very juicy.

"Tripe has four types, namely rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum..."

This is knowledge Raphael surely knows but has long forgotten; now upon Lin Chen’s reminder, he starts recalling, reviewing which type is which.

"Different stomachs are suitable for different cooking methods; this type is called ’money stomach’ in Great Xia because its texture resembles ancient copper coins, and is most suitable for simmering."

"Its texture leads this part to have a straightforward characteristic: it absorbs broth!"