Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

Chapter 482 - 394: Innovation in Basics, Making Sandwiches Tomorrow Morning

"What is this?"

After experiencing so many shocks, egg yolk pastry and flower cake no longer stirred much emotion in them, only Shaqima firmly captured their hearts.

Besides, the meat floss they just tasted was also the same.

It’s evident that meat floss is made from jerky. Westerners’ love for beef jerky is no less than that of nomadic tribes, with many restaurants even making their own flavored jerky to sell.

Especially in restaurants like Nagishiro Sho’s, with freezers available and plenty of self-serving foods for customers to choose from, jerky is definitely a suitable item for retail.

"This is called Shaqima, originally a dessert from a minority group in Great Xia, now it’s become a staple national pastry, and almost everyone has tried it."

Lin Chen briefly introduced the origin of Shaqima to them.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to give a detailed introduction, it’s just that he himself wasn’t clear on how this thing was made.

He glanced at Zhao Shun, who seemed well-prepared, bringing out the Shaqima and immediately took out a few bowls from the kitchen.

By this time, both Lin Chen and Old Chen had already tidied up the countertop and stove, resting idly. Seeing Zhao Shun in a posture ready for a live demonstration, their interest was piqued.

A small employee who had been unemployed and at home, just returned to work for a few days, wants to show off his skills in front of Michelin Chefs?

Lin Chen couldn’t figure out where this guy got his confidence from.

But having confidence is a good thing, at least in the realm of Chinese pastries, Zhao Shun was indeed the only expert present.

He grabbed a handful of raw noodles from the bowl and shook them a few times, with flour sparsely drifting off the surface, clearly hand-cut noodles.

The noodles were about as wide as French fries, or even thicker.

The adjacent bowls contained chopped dried red dates, raisins, and crushed peanuts.

Besides that, there was just a bowl of sugar.

"Noodles??"

Everyone present was dumbfounded.

Judging by this setup, even someone who doesn’t cook can guess that the main ingredient of Shaqima is the noodles Zhao Shun is holding.

Using noodles to make a dessert, is this even a human idea?

The oil used for frying earlier was still in the iron pot, retaining quite a bit of heat, feeling warm to the touch.

Zhao Shun turned on the heat directly.

During the heating process, he kept reaching out to feel the temperature of the oil.

Once the oil temperature rose to an adequate level, he gently placed the noodles into the oil.

It wasn’t that he threw all the noodles into the pot at once; he fried the bottom first, essentially testing the oil temperature.

As soon as the noodles were immersed in the oil, they immediately covered with tiny bubbles, their originally snow-white surface instantly absorbed the golden oil, rapidly swelling into pillows of bubbles at high temperature.

He continuously moved them back and forth while frying, avoiding uneven heating that could affect the swelling and also prevent them from burning, gradually submerging all the noodles below the oil surface.

After putting them all in, Zhao Shun immediately stopped all actions, letting the noodles soak quietly in the oil without disturbing them.

After frying for a few minutes, he started flipping them slowly, and as frying continued, he flipped them faster and faster.

Once all the noodles turned golden yellow, he scooped them out to drain the oil, and started making the syrup in a separate wok.

He mixed equal parts of sugar with water, adding a little oil and vinegar, and simmered until the surface started boiling with big bubbles, then added a spoonful of malt syrup for quick stirring.

This syrup-making process was quite familiar to Marchello, not much different from when he made candied haws.

By this point, several chefs on site could more or less guess the next steps.

The freshly fried noodles looked just like snacks, but since the oil temperature wasn’t too high, the overall color was relatively light yellow, and they weren’t that crispy.

When the syrup was almost ready, he gently folded the fried noodles along with the dried red dates, raisins, and crushed peanuts, avoiding too much force that might break the noodles and affect the presentation.

This process was quite analogous to making energy bars or similar desserts, mixing a bunch of nut ingredients with syrup, then molding and pressing them before cooling.

The originally crispy noodles, once coated with syrup, quickly absorbed the remaining moisture, becoming soft and loose, even when pressed hard, they wouldn’t crumble into pieces.

Zhao Shun moved quickly, pressing out a box of Shaqima in just a few minutes.

"This needs to be refrigerated for more than half an hour before cutting, right? No need to show that step, the finished product is right here anyway."

Lin Chen nodded, in fact, after the syrup-coating step, there was no need to continue demonstrating since any Western chef would have made energy bars before.

The fact that Great Xia people actually use fried noodles to make their unique energy bars was clearly a big shock to everyone, their faces filled with surprise, but that didn’t stop them from continuing to taste.

Shaqima’s unique soft and moist texture was the complete opposite of the hard, tooth-breaking texture of energy bars, needing no effort while chewing, just a light nibble with the teeth and you could bite a large piece.

The fragrant aroma of frying mixed with the evident flavor of syrup, along with the nuts and seeds, every bite bursting with a happiness bomb of caloric bliss in the mouth.

Even though they knew this stuff would make them gain weight, everyone was still enthusiastic. Before long, they’d divided up the sachima cleanly.

Only the egg yolk pastries and flower cakes were each left with seven or eight pieces, seemingly not very welcomed.

But after eating for two and a half hours now, more than twenty kinds of dishes plus ten desserts, it’s definitely time to be full.

Let Old Chen pack the remaining small desserts in fresh-keeping bags for anyone to grab in the next couple of days if they want.

Glancing at the time, although it’s not very late, continuing to have the employees work two or three hours more to prepare tomorrow’s breakfast and lunch seems a bit excessive.

Is there anything that doesn’t require much preparation time, can be ready in about ten minutes or half an hour, or be prepared while making?

As he pondered this, Marchello gathered Raphael and Nagishiro Sho, mumbling about something and occasionally glancing over here.

Seeing this, Lin Chen simply stopped thinking, his sharp sixth sense told him something was definitely going to happen next.

He didn’t have to wait long, Marchello, like a representative, quickly walked over.

"Lin, let’s discuss something."

"What?"

"After discussion, we’ve unanimously agreed that you Great Xia People have an extremely strong ability in innovating with basic ingredients, but since most of what you use are ingredients particular to Asia, or even Great Xia, we’d like you to innovate with Western basic ingredients once."

"It’s just right that tomorrow is Monday, you resume business operations, and probably haven’t set a breakfast plan yet?"

"I heard you’re making Great Xia-style pizza for lunch tomorrow, that’s great, it just gave us inspiration."

"If it’s convenient, for breakfast tomorrow, could we ask you to make sandwiches?"

"Sandwiches?"

Lin Chen blinked, not expecting to be thrown such a task.

It’s not hard, really, it’s actually overly simple.

What sandwich innovation? No need to think of something temporarily, just bring out the flavors back home and make it, isn’t it done?

Marchello clearly anticipated this too, opening his palm.

"Of course, we’re not asking you to innovate on the spot, just as long as the flavors are different from here, we mainly want to see how you pair ingredients."

Sandwiches are something found worldwide, every country surely has its unique flavors, but generally lean towards traditional sandwich flavors.

Nagishiro Sho just confirmed that their Japanese sandwiches are similar to Western ones too, mostly featuring scrambled eggs or beef, and also include seafood or mushrooms.

And sandwiches aren’t limited to using toast, various kinds of bread can be used.

Like croissant sandwiches, muffin sandwiches, baguette sandwiches, and others; even directly using bread.

Lin Chen was initially confused about the difference between sandwiches and hamburgers here, but gradually figured it out.

The meat in burgers is patties made from flattened meatballs, usually beef patty burgers, while chicken or pork is categorized as sandwiches.

Another obvious difference is that burgers look like burgers, while sandwiches come in various strange shapes.

Triangular, long, hollow ring-shaped, and so on.

Yet with more innovative shops popping up, the line between sandwiches and burgers is becoming blurred, and differentiation is hardly cared about, as long as what’s made is delicious.

"Of course I can."

Lin Chen didn’t need to think before agreeing, "Just right, I was fretting over what to make for breakfast tomorrow, the employees all seem worn out, and pushing them to prepare meals feels too much."

"Oh?" Marchello raised an eyebrow, chuckling as he patted his shoulder, "But you don’t appear like that yourself, I’ve heard you’re like a robot, not needing rest from morning till night?"

"No, no, how could that be, my endurance and recovery ability are just stronger than ordinary people, though I work hard, I eat a lot too!"

Lin Chen wiped his sweat, spinning some nonsense to cover things up.

His increased food intake is true; since his body functions were enhanced, he feels hungrier faster, and his food intake has increased by nearly half.

Every time he finishes a meal, he feels hungry again in two to three hours, even if he ate till full, it’ll be completely digested in four to five hours at most.

Since sandwiches must be made, you need to discuss it with Zhao Shun and Lucas.

These two are both young, surely often buying sandwiches to eat.

As for Old Chen... Judging by his looks, he doesn’t seem like someone who eats sandwiches.

"What? Let us make sandwiches tomorrow morning?"

Upon hearing this news, Zhao Shun instantly became interested.

"So the question is, does Orléans chicken fillet count as our flavor? Or is it considered Western flavor?"