Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

Chapter 578: How Delicious Must It Be to Take Away a Whole Steamer of 490?

"You’ve had the pork and green onion, and the veggie and mushroom dumplings before, right? Do you want to try the other three kinds or taste them all?"

"Is there more?"

Magna didn’t answer but instead shifted the question, looking at the steamer.

"Yes, this entire steamer is extra," Lin Chen pointed to the pile of steamers just placed beside him, "It only takes a few minutes to steam these."

"Then give me the whole steamer. Eating just one of each kind definitely isn’t enough. Whatever I can’t finish, I’ll take with me."

"Okay."

Lin Chen’s mouth twitched, "Then put the box down and go find a plastic bag. These little boxes can’t hold fifteen large buns. I’ll pack them in the bag so you can eat them on the way."

"Okay, okay, I’ll go get one right away!"

Hearing that Magna planned to pack the entire steamer to go, such boldness instantly etched a deep impression in everyone’s minds.

"Are these buns really that tasty? To take so many?"

"They do smell quite good. I wonder what the taste is really like."

"I’m really curious about the taste of those two veggie buns. They looked so ordinary when wrapped; can they really be tasty?"

"Found it! The bun shaped like a little dog is the one I wrapped. I even used two shiitake mushrooms for the eyes, haha."

"Ha! I found mine too; my cabbage is inserted upright in the middle of the bun skin!"

More and more chefs found the buns they wrapped, and after they took their share, the remaining buns soon found their owners as well.

Each of the five flavors had only one bun, and they all looked the same, differentiated only by the color and shape of the filling, with a bit of filling placed on the bun mouth as a marker for those that were hard to differentiate.

Chris and Lin carried their heavy meal boxes back to their workstations, but the tables were already covered with flour, dough, and filling, with no space to set them.

Per the kitchen hygiene requirements, except for the kitchenware, nothing should touch the ingredients to avoid cross-contamination.

Even disposable paper boxes weren’t allowed.

"Here, use this underneath."

Chris, after all, worked with pastries daily and knew how to isolate heat sources. She casually took her waist towel and placed it under the paper box, gripping a large bun with thin skin with her other hand to eat.

Lin, imitating her, also took her towel and placed it under, instantly feeling no heat.

The fermented bun skin was fluffy and soft, with a slightly sweet texture. Each small pore was filled with the rich aroma of wheat.

The bun skin edge that touched the filling absorbed the corresponding flavor. The savory sauce completely soaked the bun skin, making it not at all dry but exceptionally moist.

"Is this the... pork and green onion?"

Chris only took a small bite without reaching the meat filling, but merely relying on the bun skin’s flavor, she discerned the bun’s taste.

Looking down, it was indeed, with many visible scallions mixed in the brown meatball; through the opening, the bun skin’s inner wall was entirely soaked in brown-red sauce.

"Why is there so much juice?"

She puzzledly tilted her head, unable to comprehend where these savory liquids came from.

Special marinating methods only tenderize the meat, and the presence of starch might even lock the juices within the filling, not cause it to leak.

Curiously, she took another bite.

"Poof!"

A gush of hot juice shot out, making her stumble, instinctively leaning her upper body forward.

"Hmm?????"

If she was curious before, now it was volcanic eruption!

This amount of juice was unusually excessive, spraying out like a water gun?!

Yet, she crafted this bun herself, personally placed it in the steamer, watching as it was stacked into the pot, impossible to have tampered externally.

Could the mystery lie within the filling?

Thinking of this, she hurriedly bent to scrutinize the bowls of filling.

She didn’t partake in preparing these filling procedures and was unsure what was included in them.

Indeed, wrapping them, the filling felt sticky and moist; now inspecting closely, among the tender red pork filling, she noticed many visible, semi-transparent jelly evenly distributed within.

Merely because the quantity of meat filling was substantial and placed at a distance in the center of the table, if not looked closely, the jelly’s presence was undetectable, mistaken for the glossy appearance of starch-marinated hue.

"Does anyone know what jelly was added in here?"

Unlike Lin who was shy, upon discovering the mystery, she immediately raised her head to the opposite chefs and inquired.

The other chefs evidently noted the soup-filled phenomena present in the buns, sporting surprised faces one after another.

Upon her question, everyone was taken aback.

The originally quiet kitchen grew even quieter, with only the sound of flickering flames heard.

"It’s pork skin broth jelly!"

Soon someone reacted, and with a eureka clap.

"I was responsible for cooking it!"

"I chopped it by hand!"

"Initially puzzled why jelly should be added to the meat filling, to find out its function was astounding!"

"Pork skin broth jelly??"

Chris grew increasingly puzzled, what on earth was this thing?

Making jelly from pork-skin-boiled broth?

Never having handled pork skin, she was utterly unaware of its components and functionality, assuming it required gelatin additions like jelly to solidify.

"Chop the solidified broth and incorporate it as an ingredient, then heat to melt it into soup?"

"What kind of mind could conjure this seemingly redundant method?"

Despite her puzzlement, her mouth remained active.

Carefully sipping all the soup from the bun, ensuring no hidden dangers before boldly devouring it again.

This time, her target was clear, aiming straight for the sizable meatball in the center, wishing to taste what texture the specially marinated and jelly-added meatball would hold.

"Huff~"

Chris exhaled warm air, feeling the scalding meatball in her mouth turning left and right, dare not take another bite.

Freshly steamed buns were already hot, the central meat filling enclosed by skin was hot intensified.

With this bite split open, visible white smoke rose.

The meat filling was compact yet tender, tasting some elasticity, during chewing noticeable oil flowed out, paired with rich scallion sweetness, perfectly alleviating the greasiness.

Especially under high temperatures, the grease was further reduced, leaving the mouth with pure meat aroma lingering, together with the soft and sweet bun skin, an enjoyment when consumed.