Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 357: Enthusiastic about learning to make flower cakes

Several people were excited and prepared to learn how to make flower-shaped cakes from Shen Yu.

Shen Yu couldn't help but laugh. Even when he was making the reunion cakes, he didn't see Li and the others with such happy and impatient expressions.

Shen Yu smiled and said, "Today, we will not only make flower cakes and pastries, but also some fried wonton stews."

"Qi Xi said that Master Lu and the two masters have been very busy these days. They finish work very late every day, and they are hungry but have no ready-made meals to fill their stomachs."

“I thought of making some easy-to-eat food for 7-Up to take back with them.

Mrs. Li nodded and said, "After Mr. Lu and the county magistrate came to the restaurant to eat, there were more and more guests, all because the county magistrate also liked to eat."

"It's only right to send them some food."

"It's a pity that he and his masters don't have time to come to the restaurant for dinner. If they were willing to come, we would be willing to make some midnight snacks for them every day, which would be very good for the restaurant's business."

"The food in the restaurant is much more complete than that in the county government. It's easy to get whatever you want."

Zheng Sanniang smiled and said, "Mr. Lu is really good-natured. Since he is hungry, why doesn't he ask Chef Xu to make him something to eat?"

Zhou Dalang shook his head and said, "If it were me, I wouldn't want to do that either. When you're hungry, if you only eat vegetables, you'll get hungrier. It's better not to eat anything. Meat is still more delicious."

When these words were spoken, everyone burst into laughter, and they all said that what Zhou Dalang said made a lot of sense.

People have always loved meat.

After laughing for a while, Shen Yu asked everyone to wash their hands, moved the dough board to the middle of the kitchen, and everyone gathered in a circle to start teaching how to make flower-shaped pastries.

Although he was only responsible for wrapping the stuffing and carving the patterns, Shen Yu still taught from the beginning. In case there was a shortage of manpower, he could start doing it immediately without being in a rush.

Restaurants have to knead dough every day because they sell steamed buns, sauce-flavored cakes and the like.

Except for Yutao who was young and lacked the strength to knead the dough, everyone else was adept at it.

So when it comes to preparing the water-oil dough and the pastry, Shen Yu just talked about the ratio of oil to water and asked everyone to remember it.

Next, Shen Yu taught how to make the crust, wrap the fillings, and carve the patterns. He asked everyone to follow him step by step.

Just like when he taught Wen Yuan and others at Guang'an Temple, Shen Yu first demonstrated and then asked everyone to follow suit.

After finishing the task, Shen Yu would point out any mistakes made and everyone would do it again until they had learned it.

When it comes to making the same flower-shaped pastry, the Li family members learned much faster than Wen Yuan and his friends.

One reason is that the restaurant makes noodles every day and has rich experience.

Secondly, when making small reunion cakes, Li, Jiang and Yutao had already made many of these cakes with thin skin and rich fillings.

The only difference is that the small reunion cake is made of snow skin, which is pressed with a mold after being wrapped.

Flower pastry is made of puff pastry that is wrapped and then carved into different flower shapes before being fried in a pan.

Shen Yu taught very easily and everyone found it not difficult to learn.

Especially the three ladies, Li, Jiang and Zheng Sanniang, because they knew that they would have to go to Guang'an Temple to make cakes and pastries after learning it, they were extra serious and careful when learning it, striving to do their best.

But after more than half an hour, everyone had learned how to make flower-shaped cakes and pastries, and the only thing that needed some practice was carving with the knife.

Shen Yu looked at the forty or fifty pastry bases on the table and said hurriedly, "Let's stop practicing making this flower pastry today."

"Cakes and pastries are sweet, and we can't eat too much in one meal. Let's practice tomorrow. There are still a few days before the Wanshou Festival, so we have plenty of time."

Li and her friends also felt that they made too much and couldn’t finish it.

In order to prevent the appearance of the Huasu cakes from being seen by the people in advance, the finished cakes could not be taken to restaurants for sale or given away. They could only let 7-Up take some away and eat some at home.

Several people prepared the fillings and crusts of the cakes and pastries, and Shen Yu placed the cut wonton skins, fillings and a bowl of water on the dough board.

She smiled and said, "We are going to fry some crispy pastries later, and we can make fried wontons at the same time."

“After the wontons are fried, they taste crispy on the outside and delicious in filling. They are best eaten right after they are fried.”

"You can also use boiling water to make a midnight snack. It's very convenient. After it's done, ask 7-Up to take some home."

Everyone was very interested when they heard that fried wontons could be made into a midnight snack by simply mixing them with boiling water without having to cook them on the stove.

Many people asked how to eat it after it’s fried. Wouldn’t it be bland and tasteless if they just soaked it in boiling water for a while?

Shen Yu smiled playfully: "Of course we can't just add boiling water, we need to add secret seasonings. When it's done, you'll know once you taste it. Let's make the Yuanbao wontons first."

Hold a wonton wrapper in your left hand, and use a stuffing pick in your right hand to pick up the filling and put it in the middle of the wrapper.

Use a stuffing spoon to dip a little water on the edge of the wonton wrapper and fold the square wonton wrapper in half.

Turn the folded wonton over with the belly facing your fingers, dip the edges and corners in a little water, and fold it in half again towards the center.

A Yuanbao wonton with a round belly and shape like a small ingot is ready.

Everyone tried it a few times. Although they were not skilled and wrapped the wontons slowly at the beginning, after a few times, they could all make good-looking Yuanbao wontons.

In less than an incense stick of time, more than a hundred plump Yuanbao wontons were wrapped.

Turn up the fire on the small stove, place the flat-bottomed soup pot for frying the flower-shaped pastries, add most of the oil in the pot, and when the oil temperature is right, start frying the prepared flower-shaped pastries.

Worker Li and his colleagues could not help but marvel at the process of the flower-shaped pastries blooming and blossoming in the oil pan.

After frying, place the cakes on a colander to drain the oil. After they cool slightly, they can be placed on the prepared large tray.

Everyone gathered around and looked at it carefully.

Li praised: "No wonder the abbot is so happy, this cake is really beautiful. Although it cannot be compared with the flowers on the flower cake, it is beautiful in a different way. It is a bit like, a bit like..."

Li couldn't think of the right words for a moment, so Jiang said, "It's a bit like a jade carving. After the petals are fried and unfolded, they are slightly translucent and look especially like jade carvings or porcelain."

Everyone nodded after hearing this and said that it was exactly like that. They would not even want to eat such cakes if they held them in their hands.

Only forty or fifty Huasu cakes were made this time. Although the pan was not big, they were fried quickly by dividing them into two batches.

Then put the wrapped Yuanbao wontons into the pot in several batches and fry until the skin is golden and crispy, then you can remove them and drain the oil.

Shen Yu smiled and said, "The fried Yuanbao wontons can be eaten directly. They will cool down later. You can try them."

Everyone waved their hands. Li smiled and said, "We had lunch late, so we're not hungry yet. We're just curious about the method of brewing it with boiling water."