Chapter 114: Flower Steamed Buns (Thanks to the Alliance Leader who gnawed on this book for the tip!)

There are many good-looking pastries.

Lotus Crisps, Thousand-Layer Crisps, Dragon Beard Crisps, Plum Blossom Crisps, Boat Pastries, fruit-shaped pastries, Longevity Peaches...

Theoretically, as long as the pastry chef wants to, any pastry can be made to look very good. Steamed buns can be made into Flower Steamed Buns, and Lotus Crisps can also be made into real lotus shapes. Even more exquisite ones can even be given a unique name.

"Clear Water Hibiscus," "Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl," "Plum Occupying the Red," "Jade Rabbit Seeking Osmanthus"—you can't tell from the name alone whether it's a pastry or a milk tea flavor.

Qin Luo had not only never seen over 90% of these pastries, she hadn't even heard of them.

After all, if a pastry reaches this level, it's hard to circulate on the market.

And for many years, Qin Luo's greatest wish was to hope that one day her dear brother Qin Huai could firmly say to her:

"Did Luo Luo, if there's any pastry you want to eat, just tell your brother anytime, and brother will make it for you!"

And now, this wish had come true.

On the night of the day her second brother wouldn't let her eat Five-Diced Baozi in the morning, her big brother helped her realize it!

According to informed sources, when Zheng Siyuan asked Qin Luo if there were any good-looking pastries she wanted to eat, and that he would teach Qin Huai to make them so Qin Huai could make them for her every day, Qin Luo was busy eating a substitute for the apple-shaped pastry—a real apple—as if taking revenge.

As soon as Zheng Siyuan said this, Qin Luo almost choked to death on the apple in excitement, and then thought for 5 minutes without coming up with a single pastry.

In the end, it was Zheng Siyuan who gave Qin Luo over 30 examples for her to choose from.

"So... you finally chose Flower Steamed Buns?!" Qin Huai was still trying to mold the red bean bun into the shape of a blue fatty.

"Aren't Flower Steamed Buns good?" Qin Luo gnawed on a vegetable bun produced by Qin Congwen. "I've seen photos of Flower Steamed Buns online; dragon, phoenix, and fish flowers are super good-looking!"

"I'm just very curious how you picked Flower Steamed Buns from a series of pastries like Lotus Crisps, Dragon Beard Crisps, and Golden Silk Rolls," Qin Huai said.

No matter how good-looking Flower Steamed Buns are, they are just steamed buns, and the kind without filling, which is very inconsistent with Qin Luo's aesthetic for pastries.

For Qin Luo, the most delicious pastry in the world must be meat-filled. Next are imperial pastries, the kind that can be associated with concubines and give you the feeling of the Empress Dowager. Then come pastries with fancy names or fancy looks.

For Qin Luo, Flower Steamed Buns shouldn't count as pastries; they count as breakfast steamed buns.

Zheng Siyuan calmly wrapped wontons while listening to the siblings' conversation.

"Because I haven't heard of the other pastries Brother Siyuan mentioned," Qin Luo said honestly. "Many of them are 'this crisp,' 'that crisp.' Brother, you can't make shortbread at all; the shortbread you bake doesn't taste as good as Brother Siyuan's."

Qin Huai:?

"But I know Flower Steamed Buns are steamed buns. Brother, the steamed buns you make are delicious—buckwheat steamed buns, locust flower steamed buns, and fermented rice steamed buns are all delicious. I believe you are reliable at making steamed buns!"

Qin Huai's eyes moistened!

Did Luo Luo is truly his good sister!

When making the greatest wish of her life, what she thought of was actually all about her brother.

It was truly moving!

He must practice well...

"And those crisps and cakes Brother Siyuan mentioned, you can tell just by hearing them that they aren't meat-filled," Qin Luo swallowed the last bite of the bun. "Brother, when you make Flower Steamed Buns for me, make them meat-filled. Pork, beef, lamb, chicken—I'm not picky. If that doesn't work, shredded radish, pickled cabbage and vermicelli, red bean paste, lotus paste, or egg yolk are also fine!"

"I believe what you make will definitely be delicious," Qin Luo gave Qin Huai an affirmative look.

Qin Huai:...

Moved for nothing.

You unlucky child, do you know why a steamed bun is a steamed bun?

Qin Huai silently stuffed a tea egg to Qin Luo: "Finish eating and hurry back to school, don't be late."

Qin Luo started to roll away.

"Did Luo Luo, do you have any shapes you want to eat?" Qin Huai felt that although what Qin Luo really wanted to eat inside was buns, he should still ask if she had any favorite shapes.

"Doraemon!" "Brother, although the Doraemon you made yesterday didn't look very much like it, it was super awesome. I got 92 likes on my Moments!"

"I want to eat Doraemon Flower Steamed Buns!"

"But I don't want blue. The one you made yesterday had no color, and I've seen blue food online; it looks too disgusting. Can you make it yellow?"

Qin Huai felt that Qin Luo still had some redeeming qualities: "I have the same intention!"

Zheng Siyuan, who was silently wrapping wontons:...

The rites are collapsing, the music is ruined, truly ruined.

That day, Qin Huai started practicing Flower Steamed Buns.

It must be said that Zheng Siyuan's teaching approach was very correct; Qin Huai's practice of Flower Steamed Buns was significantly smoother.

Of course, it couldn't reach the heaven-defying level of the apple-shaped pastry, but at least it was better than the animal-shaped buns.

Flower Steamed Buns, as the name implies, have many flower shapes.

During the feudal dynasty era, Flower Steamed Buns were tribute offerings for the imperial family to enjoy throughout the four seasons. With the development of history and the collapse of the dynasty, Flower Steamed Buns, like many secret imperial pastries, flowed into the folk.

Unlike some imperial pastries that were lost as they were passed down, Flower Steamed Buns are one of the very few that have been carried forward. Although the essence of Flower Steamed Buns is just good-looking steamed buns, their shapes are indeed a bit too good-looking.

Birds and beasts, flowers, birds, fish, and insects, dragons and phoenixes, fierce tigers driving away evil, the Eight Immortals celebrating longevity—with the enrichment of ingredients and the refinement of tools, Flower Steamed Buns have almost galloped ahead in the track of shape involution. Not only are there related competitions every year, but the award-winning works can also make people exclaim after one look:

What, you say this is a pastry?!

So, does Zheng Siyuan have this level?

Of course not.

Admittedly, Zheng Siyuan is a highly skilled pastry chef, but the talent point of finger technique, like knife work, for a balanced pastry chef like Zheng Siyuan, only needs to reach a certain level; it doesn't need to be too high.

The degree of involution of Flower Steamed Buns in finger technique is the same as that of Wensi Tofu in knife work. These two actually cannot affect the taste of the dish much, but they can improve the "class" of the dish.

Making people sigh after one look.

Damn, awesome.

Qin Huai wanted to practice Flower Steamed Buns, so Zheng Siyuan naturally started teaching from the simplest flower shapes.

A flick of the dough, a pinch, a clip and twist with chopsticks, and a flower that looked like it could be taken to bake Butterfly Crisps was born.

"How come you know everything?" Looking at Zheng Siyuan making Flower Steamed Buns so skillfully, Qin Huai couldn't help but sigh.

In his view, Zheng Siyuan was simply too omnipotent.

As a Su-style pastry chef, he could make all varieties of Su-style pastries, Boat Pastries, fruit-shaped pastries, imperial pastries, and even Flower Steamed Buns.

He could also make soup, and his knife work was not bad either.

Qin Huai felt that Zheng Siyuan had no right to sigh that he himself was outrageous; in his view, Zheng Siyuan was the truly outrageous one.

"It was all taught to me by my father," Zheng Siyuan said. "My father learned it all from my grandmaster."

"I also often feel that my grandmaster was omnipotent. He was proficient in savory dishes, and his pastry skills weren't bad either. Although Master Huang was good at Su-style and Huaiyang cuisine, it is said that my grandmaster also knew Lu cuisine and Sichuan cuisine, but because of regional restrictions at that time, people in our area didn't eat these two types of dishes much, so Master Huang couldn't learn so many styles, and grandmaster didn't teach much either."

"My father did learn many styles of pastry, but my father only learned them broadly and not deeply. When I was a child, my father and Master Huang always told me what the pastries made by grandmaster were like and what they tasted like, but I had never seen the real things, nor had I seen photos."

"My father said grandmaster drifted for half his life, had no children, had a scar on his face that disfigured him, and had an old injury on his leg that always made his walking difficult. Master Huang said grandmaster's accent was actually Northern, but he never mentioned his past, and never said he wanted to go North to take a look."

"I have never seen grandmaster, but I admire him very much," Zheng Siyuan said.

"I admire him very much too," Qin Huai nodded, pointing to the flower just clipped out. "Why do I feel my flower is a bit strange?"

"You used too much force just now; try again after releasing thirty percent of your strength."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 115 =====