Chapter 85: Chapter 84: Soaring to the Sky

Zhang Zhen glanced inside the steamer and asked Fu Yu, “How long does it need to steam?”

Fu Yu, busy fermenting the dough, casually replied, “About 20 minutes. When the rice flour turns a jade color, it’ll be ready.”

Zhang Zhen: “…”

Did he have to sound so professional?

Jade color?

What color is jade, anyway?

Zhang Zhen silently took out his phone and started a 20-minute timer.

The Eight-Filling Longevity Peach requires kneading and proofing the dough.

When Fu Yu first saw the requirement, he felt a bit troubled.

After all, this proofing was quite time-consuming, potentially taking up to an hour and a half, and at the fastest, forty minutes.

However, upon seeing the methods in the specialty banquet recipes, Fu Yu felt relieved.

This guide thoughtfully provided a quick method for proofing dough.

Normally, dough fermentation requires adding yeast powder, which takes a long time to ferment properly.

But according to the specialty banquet recipes, adding sugar and baking powder takes only 10 minutes to get it done.

Fu Yu marveled secretly at how magical this was.

He began following the method step-by-step.

Mix sugar and yeast powder together, pour in warm water.

Stir until the sugar and yeast powder dissolve in the water.

Then, pour the flour into a separate bowl and mix it with the baking powder.

Create a well in the center and pour the water mixed with yeast powder and sugar into it.

Slowly start kneading the dough.

Add the water gradually.

While kneading, Fu Yu also looked up the last Longevity Peach recipe.

Keyword: bean paste.

The first Longevity Peach on the first page matched up.

Auspicious Longevity Peach.

Compared to the previous two, this Longevity Peach seemed simple but actually required additional preparation of the bean paste.

Fu Yu quickly skimmed through the preparation method, memorized it, and focused on the dough kneading.

Once the dough was kneaded, he covered it and put it in the fermentation box to proof.

Fu Yu set a timer for ten minutes.

Then he began making the Auspicious Longevity Peach.

The characteristic of the Auspicious Longevity Peach is its large size, full filling, realistic shape, and a particularly festive look.

So the ingredients are generous as well.

Just the flour alone requires a full pound.

Fu Yu followed the recipe for kneading.

grams of yeast powder.

He shook the bag, not enough, added more.

grams of baking powder, just right.

Sugar in a suitable amount.

In the past, seeing the words “suitable amount” gave Fu Yu a headache.

How many grams are suitable?

Too much and it’ll be too sweet, ruining the taste.

Too little and it won’t be sweet enough, not tasty!

At times like these, Fu Yu would secretly feel grateful.

Luckily, he had the skill of absolute tactile intuition.

Even if he added ingredients with his eyes closed, he didn’t worry about the balance of proportions.

Once the dough was kneaded, it was also placed in the proofing machine, this time set for eighteen minutes.

“Fu Yu, come take a look, it seems like it’s almost done steaming.”

Zhang Zhen, noticing the timer reached 20 minutes, didn’t dare turn off the heat immediately, calling Fu Yu to check the results.

Fu Yu lifted the lid and took a quick look. The timing was perfect.

So, he turned off the heat and, wearing gloves, took out the container.

The cooked powder was just out of the pot and was really hot.

Fu Yu set the container aside to cool.

Started making the red bean paste.

Fu Yu’s understanding of red bean paste was limited to the bean buns his mother made, the red bean bread sold in supermarkets, and the sticky bean buns commonly seen in winters.

In his impression, bean paste usually had the skins removed, and the tastiest bean paste had a grainy texture.

It typically required no chewing and would quickly melt in the mouth, providing a smooth feeling when swallowed.

However, Sun Mingze mentioned that the Longevity Peach he had eaten contained bean paste with both bean skins and grains, and it was exceptionally delicious.

Considering this, Fu Yu decided to research bean paste preparation methods again.

And upon seeing the information, he suddenly realized.

Bean paste and bean puree are actually two different things.

The ones he usually ate were bean puree.

What Sun Mingze described was bean paste.

The characteristic of bean paste is that it offers the texture of both bean skins and grains.

Moreover, good bean paste has soft skins and doesn’t feel coarse when eaten.

There were pre-soaked red beans in the kitchen.

Fu Yu took them out, rinsed them, and started simmering them.

In fact, the best method was to bring them to a rapid boil on high heat, then turn off the heat, leaving the lid on to retain heat for four to five hours, after which they could be cooked again and allowed to stand for another four to five hours.

This way, the red beans would be perfectly intact, making them ideal for either bean puree or bean paste in terms of taste.

But time was short now, and he didn’t have the conditions to do it slowly.

So Fu Yu opted for another, more time-efficient method.

He put the cleaned red beans directly into a pressure cooker.

Added just enough water to cover the beans.

Added the standard amount of rock sugar.

Set a timer for thirty minutes.

Fu Yu’s series of actions was swift and smooth.

Yao Shi and Zhang Zhen watched in stunned silence nearby.

This was hardly the work of a red-hand chef!

Clearly, he was a seasoned pro on the white-hand side.

Yao Shi watched Fu Yu kneading dough, slightly surprised, but finally breathed a sigh of relief…

It seemed this kid really knew how to make Longevity Peach.

And his technique looked quite practiced.

Only he didn’t know when he developed such a skilled talent.

During his school days?

Yao Shi himself learned from a master back then, never attending a formal culinary school.

But he heard enough from others to get the gist.

Culinary schools mainly taught basic culinary operations.

Chopping, flipping the pan…

Synthesizing theory with practical learning.

The result often was the acquisition of theoretical knowledge, but somewhat weaker in practical application.

So these culinary school graduates, only truly started honing their culinary skills after being hired into the kitchen.

The saying “the master leads the door, the first two years are foundational” applies here.

Zhang Zhen was equally astonished.

When Fu Yu started kneading the dough, even just watching his skilled maneuver, Zhang Zhen was awestruck.

This was just like white-hand and red-hand work.

An outsider sees the excitement, an insider sees the details.

Zhang Zhen wasn’t well-versed in white-hand methods, but even an outsider could see that Fu Yu’s operations were like flowing water.

This kid was truly extraordinary!

No wonder the boss wanted to hire him.

A feeling of acknowledgment rose spontaneously.

At the same time, an unfamiliar emotion was quietly surfacing.

Zhang Zhen felt an indescribable pressure.

It was as if he had a presentiment of being overtaken by the rising tide.

However, this thought quickly disappeared.

After all, the kitchen differed from other industries.

To stand out in this field, talent was one aspect; the main thing was to patiently hone culinary skills.

Culinary skills aren’t something that can be mastered overnight.

Even their boss, Yao Shi, got to where he was through years of arduous practice.

Zhang Zhen, armed with decades of culinary experience, wasn’t worried Fu Yu would surpass him immediately.

But in his mind, he did hold Fu Yu in higher regard.

If this kid continued to develop this way, he was destined for greatness!

If well nurtured, he could surely become the next Yao Shi—no, perhaps with luck, he might soar to great heights!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep