I Am A Gourmet: Just Eight And You Want Me To Start A Roadside Stall?

Chapter 76: The Recipe for Chicken Feet and Preparing Oden

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

After Xu Le spent ten minutes on the skipjack tuna, there was still not a single piece of scales removed. He panted heavily and said, “Stop playing for a while and help me see how I should deal with this thing.”

Lu Yuxi bounced over and seemed as though she was watching a show. “Hehe, who can stump the little Master Chef?” The system always provided Xu Le with the processed skipjack tuna while the one he had was collected by his father. Without tools, it was impossible to remove the scales.

“Do you want to buy a scaling box now?”

Lu Yuxi took out her phone and searched through the shopping app. Her eyes immediately widened as she said, “I think it’s more convenient to go out and buy the processed skipjack tuna.”

Xu Le looked at the price on the app. It cost from a few hundred to a thousand yuan. He immediately agreed with Lu Yuxi’s suggestion. “We should know what to save on. Skipjack tuna slices are the same, even their preservation method is the same, so there should not be any difference in taste.”

The two of them reached a consensus immediately. Lu Yuxi dragged Xu Tian to the supermarket to purchase some ingredients that they had not bought.

Before they left the house, Xu Le was still reading her a list of items. “Passionfruit, cinnamon, skipjack tuna, and some carrots… Remember, Tiantian is growing out her teeth now, so don’t buy her any sweet food.”

“Got it.”

Lu Yuxi held onto the railings at the porch as she changed her shoes. When Xu Tian heard that her brother did not allow her to eat sweet food, she turned around and made a face at him.

“Bleh bleh bleh…”

“You heartless little thing, aren’t I taking care of your teeth?”

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Xu Le did not know whether to laugh or cry. He turned around and walked into the kitchen to prepare the chicken feet that Lu Yuxi wanted to eat.

The chicken feet was soaked in the water for 20 minutes in advance. He washed away all the blood and dirt before taking them out to remove the nails.

Then, he boiled a pot of boiling water. While the water was boiling, he poured the processed chicken feet into it and blanched it. This step required him to boil it for about eight minutes.

Xu Le took advantage of this time to scoop half a basin of ice from the refrigerator and added them into ice water. After a while, there was mist forming outside the container due to the temperature difference.

When the time was up, he scooped out the chicken feet and placed them into the ice water, soaking them for another 20 minutes.

This step not only removed the oil on the surface of the chicken feet, but also made it more crispy. It also made it easier to remove the bones.

Coincidentally, he had bought six or seven catties of chicken feet last night. Xu Le planned to cook all of them that day and bring them to school to sell as snacks.

The sour and spicy lemon chicken feet was delicious but difficult to debone, so he only made one-third of the portion. He planned to use the remaining to make tiger skin chicken feet.

After removing all of the chicken feet nails, he cut out some ginger and dried chili peppers and mixed them with a suitable amount of black beans.

He added fresh water into the pot and poured in the chicken feet, ginger slices, and wine. After boiling it, he removed the froth. This way, he could remove most of the stench of the chicken feet.

It would be ready after boiling at high heat for about two minutes.

Xu Le scooped the chicken feet out of the ice water and used the kitchen paper to dry them.

He also wiped the chicken feet that were about to be fried in the oil pot to prevent the oil from splashing from the pot.

As for the portion that he planned to make the sour and spicy chicken feet, he kept them in the fridge to freeze it. After freezing it, the meat would take shape and it would be easier to remove the bones and not damage the appearance.

Then he heated the oil until it was 70% hot. When he placed the chicken feet in, it started to be deep-fried. When the surface of the chicken skin expanded and formed bubbles, it would be ready.

He poured hot water over the chicken feet. This step ensured that the chicken feet could absorb the water, expand and soften, producing beautiful tiger skin patterns.

After Xu Le fried the chicken feet, he started to stir-fry the spices in the remaining oil in the pot. When the oil was 40% hot, he poured dried chili peppers, ginger slices, and black beans into the pot.

After the base ingredients were stir-fried, it could be poured onto the chicken feet that were fished out of the hot water. Then, he started to season it.

Xu Le skillfully put in a suitable amount of salt, 13 spices mix, soy sauce and oyster sauce, and finally a small amount of white sugar to lift the taste.

After stirring it evenly, the coat of dark soy sauce on the chicken feet had already coloured the meat. It looked very tempting, but at this point, it was still not complete.

He divided the chicken feet into several plates and filled them up. Then, he placed them in a steaming pot and started the fire.

There were still 40 minutes before it would be ready. After it was done steaming, the taste of the sauce would completely blend into the chicken feet.

The tiger skin chicken feet was just waiting to be served, and it was almost time for the sour and spicy chicken feet that was frozen in the freezer. After he took them out, he used a sharp knife to cut each toe on the back of the foot, separating the main bones from the flesh. Then, with a gentle twist, he pulled out the thickest bone.

Next, he needed to change into a pair kitchen scissors to cut the toe bone and remove the bone.

The process was troublesome and strenuous. It took a lot of effort just to remove the bone of a chicken feet.

No matter how good Xu Le’s cutting skills were, he had to be patient and do it bit by bit. Fortunately, he could concentrate fully on cooking and did not find it boring. Therefore, he finished cooking within an hour. Usually, a chef would need two to three hours to fully debone the chicken feet.

The soul of the sour and spicy chicken feet lay in the perfect sauce, lemon slices, a handful of millet chili, the appropriate amount of garlic and coriander, two spoons of fragrant oil, six spoons of light soy sauce, and nine spoons of vinegar.

After the mixing was done, the doorbell rang. Lu Yuxi seemed to have come back just at the right time. She showed off her shopping bag to him. “I’ve bought everything!”

“Give me the passionfruit. This is the last ingredient I need for the chicken feet.”

“Alright!”

Lu Yuxi washed the passionfruit and used a fruit opener to open it. Then, she dug out the juice and yellow flesh inside.

She mixed it evenly with the ingredients that she had prepared beforehand and dipped her fingers in it. She could not help but put it into her mouth to taste it and immediately tasted the extreme sourness from it.

Meanwhile, Xu Tian giggled at the side.

Xu Le’s sharp eyes suddenly noticed that there was something that looked like white cream stuck to the corners of their mouths. It was as if they had finished eating secretly and had wiped their mouths clean.

He said, “What did you eat outside without telling me?”

Xu Tian’s expression stiffened, and Lu Yuxi immediately denied, “No, no. Look, I’ve bought the skipjack tuna. Hurry up and cook the oden. Otherwise, we won’t be able to prepare it in time.”

“Wow, it smells so good! Brother, what’s in the pot?”

“Tiger skin chicken feet, it’s going to be ready soon. I’ll let you have a taste then.”

“Mm mmh!”

When Xu Le stopped asking, Lu Yuxi and Xu Tian looked at each other and smiled secretly.

Lu Yuxi stayed in the kitchen to help out. In fact, Xu Le had already finished most of the steps and was only left with placing the ingredients through the skewers.

There were rice cakes, shrimp meatball, beef balls, kelp knots, konjac jelly, beancurd roll, fish tofu and bamboo shoots – all kinds of dishes that dazzled the eyes. Lu Yuxi hummed a song and began to put them on the skewers.

Xu Le stood on his tiptoes as he boiled the oden soup. He poured the skipjack tuna into the water and boiled it for five minutes before scooping it out. After leaving the flavor behind, he poured in soy sauce and wine. The faint smell of alcohol quickly evaporated as the soup boiled, leaving only a rich fragrance.

Steam filled the air..