Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

Seeing this pot of braised sauce reminded him of his hometown breakfast, and a food he had eaten since childhood immediately came to mind.

Glutinous rice ball.

This thing is available all over the country, with different methods and flavors in different regions, and even different names.

In their area, it’s divided into salty and sweet versions, but more people prefer the salty one, made from a mix of purple rice and glutinous rice.

The filling inside isn’t fixed; it’s just some stir-fried vegetables stuffed inside. The soul of it is those diced pickled radishes and crispy old fried dough sticks.

The most common combination in his hometown includes shredded potatoes, shredded carrots, diced green beans, shredded lotus root, and shredded taro.

They use tender lotus roots, the kind that’s crispy, tender, juicy, and whitish.

The taro isn’t the starchy kind used for desserts, but a unique variety that’s slick and tender, without turning grainy, and has a slight crispness. In their area, it’s usually called "taro girl" or "old taro," suitable for cooking with Pixian Douban Sauce or wrapping in rice dumplings with pork belly.

As he thought about it, he felt his mouth watering, truly experiencing the feeling of a diner.

"If I want to make glutinous rice balls, it’s simple, but I can’t buy that kind of taro here, so I might as well leave it out. The other vegetables are not an issue, but this old fried dough stick... Do I have to fry it myself?"

That would be a bit troublesome.

Just this one step alone would require getting up at least an hour earlier.

But it can’t be omitted; the soul of the glutinous rice ball is this crispy and flaky old fried dough stick. Without it, there’s no point in making it.

It’s no use just daydreaming here, better to directly exchange for a fried dough stick recipe and see what it’s all about.

"Eh?"

After briefly scanning from start to finish, he suddenly found out that the dough for fried dough sticks can actually be prepared the night before and kept in the fridge; he thought it had to be made fresh and fried immediately.

If that’s the case, there’s no problem at all. I can prepare it tonight.

It’s okay if there’s no fried dough expansion agent; using baking soda and baking powder as substitutes works just as well.

However, the dough for fried dough sticks doesn’t require kneading but rather pressing to avoid gluten formation, which increases the manual workload.

Turning his head to look at Lucas, the latter suddenly shivered, inexplicably feeling a chill down his spine. He turned his head in confusion but found nothing unusual.

"Strange, why do I always have a sense of foreboding?"

An hour quickly passed.

Ten minutes before lunch service, everyone hurriedly boiled some noodles, topped them with a spoonful of braised sauce, mixed them, and then each person got two freshly baked large buns, to make do with a few bites.

John, who had been waiting impatiently for an hour, couldn’t wait any longer. He blew on the buns a few times and took a bite.

The fluffy and soft bun skin gave him a marshmallow-like magical texture, but without the milky flavor of bread. It was just the pure fragrance of wheat, with a clear sweetness to the aftertaste.

What intrigued him the most, however, was the filling in the center.

In his impression, purely vegetarian pies or pastries typically use spinach and potatoes as the main ingredients, and maybe some carrots and mushrooms. It was his first time seeing Asian vegetables used as filling.

The farm indeed had a wide variety of ingredients. As the farm owner, although he had personally tasted most of them, since he didn’t understand cooking, he could only boil them in water or eat them raw, and the taste was poor.

He had eaten these vegetables raw, finding them crisp with a pronounced grassy taste at the leaves, quite juicy, but the grassy flavor was too strong, making him feel like a cow, which he didn’t like much.

Unexpectedly, when minced and wrapped inside the bun with mushrooms, it had a distinctive sweet flavor, and the grassy taste disappeared.

Moreover, the surface of the vegetables was coated with a shiny liquid that looked like oil but didn’t taste greasy, which was very peculiar.

What’s most noteworthy was the diced mushrooms mixed among the vegetable bits. Even after being diced, the thick mushrooms couldn’t hide their own texture and deliciousness, with every bite bursting with that unique juicy sensation of mushrooms.

This mushroom was markedly different from the white mushrooms he usually ate, having a unique scent and a very rich mushroom flavor, like a concentrated version of small brown mushrooms.

Even though it’s just ordinary vegetables and mushrooms, the feeling in your mouth was a strong and fragrant taste, which was quite magical.

"Amazing! What is this umami taste? It feels better than meat."

John’s eyes widened, his eyeballs bulging out, looking quite terrifying.

Lucas, of course, had eaten mushroom veggie buns before and wasn’t surprised by the taste. Instead, he thought it was slightly lacking since it was purely vegetarian and couldn’t include lard, which would make it more fragrant.

Dais and Elsa, having eaten meat buns in the morning, couldn’t forget them. Now eating these vegetarian buns, they didn’t have high expectations but were astonished by the savory flavor that hit the top of their heads with the first bite.

"Don’t be surprised, there’s nothing to be surprised about. This is the castrated version," Lucas shrugged, beginning to describe the original to the two women. "The traditional method uses lard. That’s what gives the real aroma. Inside this, there’s only vegetarian oyster sauce and Matsutake umami, purely relying on mushroom umami extract."

"What?!"

Dais opened her mouth in disbelief, "Such delicious buns are actually the low-end version?"

Next to her, Elsa pondered with interest. She suddenly thought of the sakura ramen, where they also added lard, providing a truly rich aroma.

After finishing the bun, slurping on the noodles suited the two women’s light taste.

The thick sauce enveloped every noodle, along with diced ingredients coated in the sauce, bringing various crunchy textures with every chew.

"Is this crunchy thing the bamboo that pandas eat? I didn’t know bamboo could taste this good!"

"Uh... it is bamboo, but it’s not fully grown. We call it bamboo shoots, a type of delicacy from the mountains, a seasonal specialty you can only find near the mountains."

Lin Chen ate his noodles quickly, swallowing without much chewing, yet still managed to explain to Dais.

"Fresh bamboo shoots come in many kinds—spring shoots, winter shoots, thunder shoots, stick shoots, and so on. Depending on the season and type, countless delicious dishes can be made."

"However, this chilled version doesn’t taste as good, though it still has a decent texture. It’s made with the tip of the shoot, which is tender, juicy, and provides a crispy texture. If we get fresh ones next time, I’ll make some for you all to try."

Being Jiangsu and Zhejiang People, the best companions for bamboo shoots are salted meat and pickled vegetables, a gourmet delight he has enjoyed since childhood, available only for a few months each year.

Apart from the quality of the shoots, the flavor of the pickled veggies and the salted meat is equally important. Missing any of the three makes it impossible to perfectly recreate the taste of home abroad.

Lin Chen quickly finished off a large plate of mixed noodles, casually tossed the plate and chopsticks onto the dishwasher rack, and continued to wrap his dumplings.

Having seen John’s reaction, he was worried that this bland-tasting zhajiangmian might be too plain. But Dais and Elsa’s feedback was unexpectedly positive, which eased his mind.

Thinking about it, back home, most of those eating this kind of zhajiangmian at noodle shops were women. Maybe women prefer this light and refreshing flavor?

Anyway, there are chili oil and soy sauce in the food truck’s condiment area. If customers find it bland, they can add some themselves, so it’s no big deal.

He didn’t think it was bland himself, guessing that most customers would accept it.

Lucas also sped up his eating. He wasn’t planning to make handmade lemon tea again at noon. Not to mention if there are enough fragrant lemons, his arms were so sore that they could barely lift, continuing would mean amputation tomorrow.

He would just stick to help cooking noodles at noon, no fancy tricks.

While they were still eating in the kitchen, a young guy in a logistics and security uniform walked in from the beach area and peeked around the kitchen door.

"Hello, is there anything I can help you with?"

With keen hearing, Lin Chen immediately noticed his presence.

Lin Chen knew this guy; he had come to pick up breakfast not too long ago.

"Hehe, it’s like this."

Scratching the back of his head shyly, the guy grinned and walked in.

"I wanted to ask if I could order something in advance and take it away later? If not, I’ll just stand first in line, just worried if I stay here too long, my boss might catch me and yell."

"Hmm?!"

Those eating immediately perked up their ears, sensing some gossip from the guy’s expression and tone.

"Who are you buying for?"

"A girlfriend or someone you’re flirting with?"

"A staff member at our hotel?"

"Haha, no, no, don’t spread rumors!"

The young guy waved his hands embarrassingly, his face red, pointing outside: "It’s, those two lovely ladies at the front desk. They asked me to bring them some food, saying they want to eat dishes made by Chef Lin."

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Upon hearing the words "front desk," everyone’s expressions subtly changed.

If remembered correctly, Elise and Vanessa were seen downstairs this morning.

These two are total repeat offenders!

The young guy seemed to be smitten, with pink bubbles popping up in his eyes.

Dais and Elsa exchanged a glance, finding it amusing but not intending to reveal the truth.

Lucas frowned and gave the young guy a disappointed look, sighed silently but said nothing.

Seeing the place was about to open for business, John decided not to disturb them further, greeted, and turned to leave.

Just as one foot stepped out of the kitchen, he seemed to remember something and turned back.

"Oh, Lin, I finished the list of useless farm ingredients you asked me to, but forgot to bring it. Can I email it to you later?"

"Sure, that’d be more convenient. Thanks, Mr. John."

Lin Chen nodded and asked the young guy, "How much would you like to buy?"

"What’s the usual serving size?"

"Not sure, for a girl, four or five buns should be enough to fill her up, but there’s also noodles for lunch. You could buy one noodle serving for them to share, and bring some buns. How about that?"