Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

"Hurry, bring me something sweet to start with, I can’t hold my hunger!"

"How long until the savory dish is ready?"

"No dietary restrictions, put everything in! Make it as delicious as possible!"

"Almost there, just one more dish, once it’s done, we can start."

Lin Chen glanced at the time; 6:58, just right.

Not because of any rule, but the restaurant’s dining time is seven, and a qualified Western chef invariably has some compulsion.

Sautéing green beans is quite different from the previous two dishes, potatoes and carrots can be eaten raw, but not green beans.

Raw green beans contain trace toxins, if not properly cooked, it’s easy to accidentally get poisoned.

Although the chance is small, foreigners have delicate stomachs, so extra caution is needed.

Moreover, green beans can’t be overcooked, as prolonged cooking not only affects the appearance but also the taste, turning them soft and watery, losing their crisp and tender texture.

Hence, when stir-frying green beans, enough oil must be used, only then can we ensure every piece of green bean is evenly heated and retains its moisture.

The heat in frying is also crucial, the best is just cooked.

Two minutes exactly.

The flames in the pan extinguished, and vibrant green bean bits were ready, accompanied by a subtle plant aroma.

No need to wash the pan, just placing it back on the stove, Lin put on gloves and lifted the lid of the wooden barrel to start making glutinous rice balls.

In a brief three to four minutes, several diners who had already devoured the white glutinous rice balls turned their attention to him.

A spoonful of glutinous rice scooped out was surprisingly purple!

Upon closer inspection, there were noticeably mixed with pale white grains and dark purple grains, showing three colors!

"Is this also glutinous rice? Why are there so many colors?"

"No, this is glutinous rice with added purple rice, purely for coloring, looks better, and helps distinguish. The darker ones are purple rice, while the purple ones are the colored white glutinous rice, the same as that."

"So it’s dyed, though I’ve never seen rice purple to black, your Great Xia ingredients are certainly unique."

The method for purple glutinous rice balls is the same as white glutinous rice balls, except the ingredients inside are different.

Besides the three vegetables freshly stir-fried, a bit of pickled radish and ready-made pickled spicy snow cabbage were added.

He had used this snow cabbage before, stored in the cold room and forgotten, given the small quantity, he decided to use it as garnish to add flavor.

Because the pickled spicy snow cabbage is salty, he deliberately reduced the salt in the stir-fried dish.

The method for this spicy snow cabbage is simple, just sauté the pickled snow cabbage with oil and chili, add some chicken essence and sugar for seasoning, the key is that the snow cabbage must be tasty.

As a child, he often watched his mom fry fresh ones, whether as a side dish with porridge or as an ingredient in other dishes, it’s always a treat.

Here, being able to buy bagged ones is considered lucky.

Like factory workers on an assembly line twisting screws, Lin Chen and Lucas continuously scooped rice, layered vegetables, filled rice, and pressed firmly, placing each finished glutinous rice ball at the window for diners to choose.

Unless specified, the default version is regular; special requests are made on the spot, it’s no hassle.

Wilson felt his mouth filled with the rich aroma of sesame, a sweetness without being cloying, refreshing his concept of desserts.

In the realm of French cuisine, main dishes are mains, side dishes are sides, and desserts are desserts, absolutely unmixable.

Yet just now, he saw a main dish made into a dessert-like flavor, but the eating satisfaction was that of a main dish, a rather marvelous feeling.

If even the simply made sweet glutinous rice balls are this delicious, how divine would the freshly made savory purple glutinous rice balls be?

Particularly with the three vegetables cooked using flame techniques sparking his intense curiosity, eager to taste the subtle difference compared to common cooking methods.

Following queue order, he patiently waited for the third one to be made before reaching out to grab one.

While he opened the freshness bag, his gaze lingered on the faces of the two diners ahead.

Although the fat guy’s character isn’t great, his hefty appetite suggests he’s well-versed in flavors.

With merely two bites, Wilson clearly saw shock and disbelief etched on the fat man’s face.

Excellent, it looks like the taste will be quite impactful!

With a plan in mind, he didn’t hesitate much. He opened his mouth wide and took a big bite right where there were more vegetables.

This kind of sticky rice ball wasn’t the tightly wrapped kind. It was just casually pressed together, so you could easily see the filling exposed in some spots.

If you don’t want your first bite to be just rice, aiming for the part with vegetables won’t go wrong.

"Crunch"

His teeth broke through layer after layer of resistance, quickly hitting the old piece of fried dough stick inside, a crisp cracking sound echoing in his ears.

All of this was expected.

Immediately, even before he could chew, he could distinctly sense a charcoal-like smoky aroma quietly seeping through the gaps between the grains of rice.

It was almost exactly as the hotel staff had described earlier, much like the scent of charcoal, yet not entirely similar.

Chewing more carefully, besides the crispy fried dough stick, the carrot shreds and potato shreds also had a crunchy texture, making a snapping sound when bitten, nearly indistinguishable by texture alone.

Only the presence of green beans was stronger; they burst with juice with a ’pssh’ when bitten.

The seasoning for the three vegetables was very light, almost as if no salt had been added.

Just as he was puzzled, a faint flavor like pickled food began to emerge, salty and spicy, with a rich aroma, instantly elevating the flavors of all the mixed ingredients significantly.

He pondered for a long time before finally figuring out how to describe the sensation.

It was like eating a piece of crispy German roasted pork knuckle, which might not taste much on its own, just stunning in texture, and even a bit greasy when eaten too much.

But when paired with German sauerkraut, it instantly eliminates the greasiness of the fat while also elevating the overall flavor of the pork knuckle.

The pickled vegetables in the rice ball served the same purpose.

Its presence, initially subtle, then dominantly emerged, conquering the taste buds, launching one wave of attack after another.

The chewy grains of rice retained their texture even when chewed, but the carrot and potato shreds turned into a mashed potato-like texture when chewed, complemented by the crispy dough bits and the salty, appetizing pickled mustard greens, creating a delightful blend of textures.

The more he chewed, the more appetizing it became, as if the sweet sticky rice ball he’d eaten before was just an appetizer, and now he was having the real main course.

Besides him, all the diners who had already tasted the purple sticky rice balls showed similar expressions on their faces.

"Even though it’s the same rice, just with different ingredients added, the taste turned out to be completely different. This is incredible!"

"I’ve only had rice-based desserts like rice pudding, which is made from crushed rice slurry. Who knew that whole rice could be made into something sweet. It’s so delicious!"

"Where can I buy this sticky rice and the wooden bucket? I want to buy some to make it for my daughter to try."

"Are you stupid? Why buy it if you can’t make it? There are ready-made ones here, just buy a few more to take home."

"You’re the stupid one! I’m here on a trip, okay? I have other plans on my itinerary, and they’ll spoil long before I get home!"

"I also want to buy some of this sticky rice to make at home myself. Is it difficult?"

As more and more diners tasted the delicious sticky rice, more people began to inquire about it.

The method of making sticky rice isn’t really a secret, nothing worth hiding, so Lin Chen explained it to them generously.

"You can usually buy it at Great Xia Supermarket, look in the rice section or ask the supermarket staff. I’m not exactly sure what the translated name is, it should be called ’sticky rice’ or something like that, but as long as the supermarket staff are Great Xia People, they’ll definitely know what it is."

"Additionally, cooking sticky rice is a bit unique compared to regular rice, it can’t be boiled. The simplest method is to steam it in a wooden bucket like me."

"Sticky rice needs to be soaked in water at least two hours in advance, overnight is most convenient, then drain the water and dry it. Add damp gauze inside the wooden bucket, lay the sticky rice on top, poke a few holes on the surface with a spoon to allow steam to pass, then cover and steam it on the pot, make sure there’s water in the pot and the wooden bucket is above it."

"Using this steaming method, you need to spray water on the surface of the sticky rice with a spray bottle every ten minutes. Otherwise, the sticky rice might be undercooked, and it takes a total of forty minutes, spraying water two to three times."

"There’s another simpler method: after soaking the sticky rice, add water and boil for three minutes, drain the water and let it cool naturally, then steam it. You still need to poke holes in the rice, but you can skip the water spraying step. The steaming time is also around forty minutes."

After listening to Lin Chen’s explanation of the steamed sticky rice steps, some curious young mothers immediately started sweating.

No wonder this rice is so delicious; it turns out to be so troublesome to make, with so many steps. It’s dizzying!

Who can remember all this!

Foreign households typically don’t have rice cookers, nor do they usually cook rice dishes.

To be honest, the ones who are relatively skilled at making rice dishes are in the South American culinary scene, where things like bean and meat paste rice started to spread out slowly.

The preparation process is straightforward: mix ready-made bean paste with diced bell peppers and ground beef, toss in raw rice, sprinkle with lots of spices, pour in store-bought broth, cover with aluminum foil, and bake in the oven for two to three hours.

Even with such straightforward rice dishes, many homemakers find it tedious; upon hearing the multiple steps needed for steaming sticky rice, they immediately quashed any impulsive ideas.