Chapter 340: Surprised?

Before beginning to thicken the sauce, Qin Huai first had to confirm whether the thickening process was exactly as he had seen and imagined it.

From an academic perspective, thickening relies on the characteristics of starch—water absorption, adhesion, and a smooth, glossy finish—when it gelatinizes in water. By drizzling the starch water into the pot just as the dish is nearing completion, the soup thickens, increasing the ingredients' ability to cling to the sauce, thereby improving the dish's appearance and flavor.

Furthermore, there are many types of starch used for thickening, the most common being mung bean starch, wheat starch, potato starch, sweet potato starch, and corn starch. Different starches have different properties and are suitable for different dishes.

Of course, corn starch and potato starch are the most commonly used; basically, the vast majority of dishes are thickened with potato starch.

Crab roe sauce is clearly not part of that "vast majority."

It must be thickened with mung bean starch.

Mung bean starch has excellent transparency and its stability is superior to other starches in various aspects. However, its water absorption is very poor; if a chef's skill is lacking, it is very easy for the thickened dish to clump, making it highly demanding for the chef.

Cao Guixiang certainly hadn't specifically instructed Qin Huai on which starch to use for thickening, but the recipe Tan Weian provided stated it very clearly: the crab roe sauce must be thickened with mung bean starch. Since Tan Weian's great-grandfather was likely the creator of the double crab bun, he must have had his reasons for leaving behind this recipe.

Qin Huai possessed a wealth of theoretical knowledge about thickening, which had been touched upon previously when Huang Jia gave him theoretical lessons. Considering Qin Huai was a pure pastry chef who rarely needed to use thickening for dim sum, Huang Jia hadn't explained it in depth, just mentioned it in passing.

After all, before meeting Cao Guixiang, Qin Huai had never imagined that thickening could be so difficult, or that the level of one's thickening skill could be so important to a dish.

Thickening is essentially a very common cooking technique. Like Go, understanding the rules and learning it is simple, but the nuances involved in delving deeper are profound.

Let's put it this way: everyone knows Zhao Rong's cooking level—it's the level of an average household, the kind of level that gets crushed by the 10-yuan stir-fry shop next to the Qin family breakfast shop.

Zhao Rong knows how to thicken.

But if you were to ask Zhao Rong if she knows how to flip the wok, she would ask you to confirm what flipping the wok means. Does it count as flipping the wok if you lift the pot like they do in TV dramas, or does it count if you just stir the food around randomly with a spatula?

After asking, Zhao Rong might tell you quite confidently that she knows how to flip the wok. Isn't it just waving the spatula? Simple, she can guarantee the food won't fly out.

At this point, the person asking the question would also realize that Zhao Rong does not know how to flip the wok.

From this, it is clear that Qin Huai's previous feeling that thickening was not difficult and easy to pick up was not without reason, because it looks very simple.

Just pour the starch water into the pot and stir, right? Anyone with hands can do it.

But how to thicken it well—that is where the difficulty lies.

Qin Huai first asked Seeing Zang Liang if his understanding was correct, then gestured in the air. Seeing Zang Liang felt Qin Huai's movements were fine and, confirming that Qin Huai had indeed watched the Master Cao he mentioned thicken the sauce and had learned it quite well, pointed out a few points Qin Huai needed to pay attention to.

What the crab roe sauce should look like when adding the first round of starch water, the difference between a thin thickening and a normal one, and when to add the second round—it was all explained clearly and distinctly.

Seeing Zang Liang's ability to express himself was quite good; he would surely be a good master in the future.

Qin Huai nodded to indicate he understood.

"Thickening itself isn't actually difficult. Even without anyone teaching, an ordinary person can practice a few times at home following online tutorials and succeed, but that is merely success."

"Different dishes have different requirements; stir-frying, stewing, and braising have different requirements for thickening. Speaking of it, thickening is just pouring starch water into the pot, but what kind of starch water, how to pour it, what movements to use, and where to pour it are actually techniques."

"To put it bluntly, this is also about practice making perfect. Once you find the 'feel,' you'll know how to thicken. You all say the crab roe sauce I thickened isn't right; maybe it's because I haven't found the 'feel' yet. Let me practice a few more times and I should be able to find it."

"Sigh, what exactly is this 'feel'? Why do I have to find a 'feel' for thickening? Where are there so many 'feels' to find? How do you all know what the 'feel' is, and why am I the only one who doesn't?" As Seeing Zang Liang spoke, he shifted from an expressive type rich in theoretical knowledge to a "feel" type, without even realizing it himself.

The leader of the "feel" faction, Qin Huai, comforted him from the side: "It's normal that you didn't find the 'feel' the first time you made it today. Like Zheng Siyuan, make it for a few more days and you'll find it. Zheng Siyuan actually knows how to make double crab buns; next time there's an opportunity, let him make them for you to taste. It might not be a success, but eating them should help you find the 'feel'."

While Qin Huai was still comforting him, Zheng Siyuan had already started making the crab roe sauce.

The steps were identical, showing his proficiency.

Soon, it was time to thicken.

Seeing Zang Liang helped Qin Huai mix the starch water, handed it to him, and stood at a distance from the cooking station where he could clearly see the crab roe sauce in the pot, teaching and explaining as he watched.

"Look, the crab roe sauce in the pot is starting to bubble and boil slightly. It's not time yet; in about ten seconds or so, that will be the best time to reduce the sauce and thicken. Don't be nervous for your first time thickening; don't just dump all the starch water in for the sake of speed. You must drizzle it; you have to find that 'drizzling' feel."

Just as Seeing Zang Liang finished speaking, Qin Huai moved.

Actually, Qin Huai didn't know when the best time was either, but as Seeing Zang Liang said, it's a "feel." The timing for thickening depends on the chef's feel; if you feel it's the right time, then it is the best time.

Just as Seeing Zang Liang said the last few words, Qin Huai could no longer hear his voice.

He stared at the pot, watching the glistening crab roe sauce gradually boiling due to the high heat, and when a small bubble swelled up and then popped with a *snap*, the "feel" came.

The "feel" told Qin Huai: *Now. Quick, drizzle your starch water. *

Every time Cao Guixiang cooked and needed to thicken, Qin Huai had watched her movements for drizzling the starch water.

Qin Huai knew what Seeing Zang Liang meant by "drizzle."

Fast, flamboyant, and elegant.

Every time Cao Guixiang thickened like this, the range of motion was large and looked very flamboyant, but her overall state was very nonchalant, as if the old lady had casually picked up a bowl of starch water, circled her hand once, and the starch water drizzled down along the edge of the bowl into the pot, thickening the dish in the blink of an eye.

And it was indeed in the blink of an eye.

Qin Huai imitated Cao Guixiang's style, took the starch water, circled the pot once, and the starch water poured down, drizzling onto the crab roe sauce.

It was almost instantaneous.

From feeling it to taking action, to finishing the drizzle, Qin Huai had originally thought he would hesitate, struggle, probe, make mistakes, and then fail.

As it turned out, none of that happened; the moment he felt it, everything else flowed in one go. He didn't even have time to reflect on whether his movements were flamboyant or if he had imitated her well; he just felt it was quite good—it was that "feel."

Watching the starch water drizzle into the pot, Qin Huai felt something was still missing. He turned his head in confusion to look at Seeing Zang Liang, who was dumbfounded, his mouth emitting a silent *WTF*.

"Is the thickening... why do I feel like... am I..."

Qin Huai's voice woke Seeing Zang Liang from his daze.

"WTF!"

"Stir! Stir after thickening!" Seeing Zang Liang's scream almost tore through the kitchen. "WTF, why haven't you stirred yet?"

"Grab the spatula, stir, stir!"

Qin Huai hurriedly grabbed the spatula and stirred randomly, perfectly demonstrating the "sorry, first time thickening, no experience, only remembered the first step and forgot the second" scenario.

Although it was a pity that the stirring was a step slow, it wasn't a big problem—just a minor failure. It was edible; he would leave this portion of crab roe sauce for Ouyang, letting him mix it with noodles or rice as he pleased.

Qin Huai felt he had demonstrated it quite well.

Although there was a small failure, it wasn't a big deal. Most importantly, from the expressions of Seeing Zang Liang, Tan Weian, and Zheng Siyuan, Qin Huai could tell that his movements just now were flamboyant enough.

Qin Huai turned off the heat, and the crab roe sauce was out of the pot.

Zheng Siyuan didn't even rush to continue processing this pot of crab roe sauce, instead looking at Qin Huai with an incredible gaze, his tone filled with: *I know this might be relatively reasonable for you, but this is just too unreasonable. *

"You found the 'feel' for thickening?"

Qin Huai nodded, not very certainly: "I think I found a bit of it. How was my thickening just now? Was that movement like what I told you—the movement needs to be large and flamboyant, but not *really* flamboyant?"

As he spoke, Qin Huai repeated the movement of drizzling the starch water: "Anyway, it was roughly like this, it was this state. I can't really explain the specific content, but if it really doesn't work, I'll ask Master Cao tomorrow."

Zheng Siyuan was still staring at Qin Huai: "How did you find that 'feel'?"

"What 'feel'?" Qin Huai didn't quite understand Zheng Siyuan's meaning.

"When you were thickening just now." Zheng Siyuan paused, seemingly searching for adjectives, "Very decisive, and very calm."

"Clearly a second ago you were still listening to Seeing Zang Liang, but the next second you ignored him." "I can tell, your hands moved before your brain. Although it was your first time thickening and your movements weren't proficient and looked very inexperienced, there were definitely problems if one insisted on finding them, but your timing was excellent, and your drizzling movement was beautiful."

"Your sauce was truly drizzled down."

Zheng Siyuan pursed his lips, seemingly thinking of adjectives again: "Like a waterfall pouring down, that kind of drizzle."

"No, not a waterfall, but it was very smooth, a drizzle with a lot of 'hand-feel'."

"How did you know to thicken at that moment? Seeing Zang Liang didn't even remind you."

"I feel that the timing he thought of might have been one or two seconds later than the time you chose."

Qin Huai didn't know how to answer for a moment. When making up lies, he could make them beautiful and speak them right away. But when telling the truth, it required testing his expressive ability; for Qin Huai, the truth was harder to tell than lies.

"It's just... I felt it."

"Do you all understand that 'feel'?"

"When I looked at the crab roe sauce in the pot, I felt that it was that very second it needed to be thickened."

"I actually don't have much consciousness of how to thicken specifically; it might be subconsciously imitating Master Cao's style. After all, I really have watched Master Cao thicken many times; she basically has to thicken whenever she makes a big dish."

"What you just said about the starch water pouring down like a waterfall... isn't that normal? Master Cao is like this every time she thickens. I thought you all weren't—I thought it was that your thickening methods were different. I feel I only drizzled a little bit; Master Cao's drizzle is much more beautiful than mine."

Zheng Siyuan:...

Seeing Zang Liang:...

Tan Weian:...

"How about I try one more time?" Qin Huai asked tentatively.

Zheng Siyuan thought for a moment, nodded, and continued to process the unfinished crab roe sauce.

Stir-fry.

Theoretically, the thickening for stir-fried crab roe sauce and stewed crab roe sauce is different. As the one who understood thickening best among them, Seeing Zang Liang should have told Qin Huai, but at this moment, Seeing Zang Liang suddenly didn't want to talk.

He really wanted to call his master and ask his respected master-cum-uncle: he understands that seasoning requires finding a "feel," but does thickening require it too?

Master, if one finds the "feel" for thickening, can one thicken such a beautiful sauce? Can one drizzle the sauce down like a waterfall?

Master, why haven't you told me about such an important technique before? You should have said so earlier; if you had, I would have found the "feel" for thickening and the "feel" for heat control together.

*Wuwuwuwuwu*, how can someone find this kind of "feel" on their first time thickening? Although he had many problems with thickening and his stirring was even a bit unwatchable, his "feel" was really good.

*WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF. *

Qin Huai thus began his second thickening.

He found that this time, the "feel" wasn't as good as the last.

When he stared at the crab roe sauce, he didn't have the impulse he had the first time: *It's now, drizzle! *

But his timing was still okay—normal, not too bad.

Most importantly, his starch water this time also poured down.

Seeing Zang Liang, watching Qin Huai thicken from the side, had already started holding a bowl in the air and thickening in the air. His wrists turned left, then right, and his face was full of big question marks, his whole face asking: *How was such a beautiful sauce thickened? *

*How did he manage to make the movement so large, yet so dashing, getting it done in a 'swish'? *

*Isn't it said that thickening is easy to enter but hard to advance? *

*How did Qin Huai advance before he even finished entering? *

The crab roe sauce was out of the pot.

The four of them tasted it in silence.

To say how good Qin Huai's thickening was, it wasn't *that* good; there were many details with problems, it could only be said to be very beautiful.

But at the same time, there were no problems.

Seeing Zang Liang, who hadn't understood why the three of them said his crab roe sauce tasted wrong, suddenly knew after tasting it.

His tongue told him that this portion of crab roe sauce indeed seemed more suitable for bun filling than the previous one.

Seeing Zang Liang felt he had so much to say, so many *WTFs* he wanted to send to his friends, but all his words turned into silence at this moment, and in the end, he could only squeeze out one sentence.

"How did you find the 'feel'?"

Zheng Siyuan had actually already asked this question just now.

But Seeing Zang Liang wanted to ask it again.

He had eyes, a brain, and experience. As a professional chef, Seeing Zang Liang knew Qin Huai definitely hadn't lied to him; he definitely was thickening for the first time, because he even forgot to stir after drizzling the starch water.

Qin Huai's first timing was excellent, one could even say it was a flash of inspiration, but the second time was very standard.

This showed that Qin Huai had truly found the "feel"—when the "feel" was there, everything was right; when the "feel" wasn't there, it just wasn't there.

But how on earth was this done?

"I really find it hard to explain," Qin Huai said. "I can only repeat to you what I said to Zheng Siyuan earlier."

"I've been making dim sum like this since I was a child."

"Many times, it's not that I know how, but that I feel it should be like this, so I do it, and the final product turns out quite good."

"Thickening just now was the same; I felt it was that time, and I should learn to thicken like Master Cao. I actually didn't imitate it very well, but I just did it subconsciously."

"This is the 'feel' I'm talking about."

Seeing Zang Liang didn't understand, but Seeing Zang Liang was greatly shocked.

Seeing Zang Liang looked at Tan Weian, who hadn't spoken from beginning to end, patted his good buddy, and asked in a low voice: "Is Qin Huai always like this? How are you so calm?"

"Do you know how awesome his thickening movement was just now? How beautiful it was when the sauce drizzled down? *WTF*, if I could thicken such a sauce, my master could laugh himself awake in his dreams at night."

Tan Weian twitched the corner of his mouth: "Heh."

"What kind of reaction is that?"

"A reaction of not understanding," Tan Weian said calmly. "Regarding this thickening technique of mine, to tell you the truth, I didn't really understand it."

"And those 'feels' you all mentioned just now, to tell you the truth, I have never understood them."

"My junior high English teacher said to go by 'feel' when encountering questions you don't know how to choose, but I have never chosen correctly either; I just don't know what a 'feel' is."

"Ever since Zheng Siyuan told me Qin Huai made apple dim sum to this level on his first try, I feel there is nothing that can shock me anymore."

"You all who can find the 'feel,' go find it; tell me what it is once you find it."

"I'm tired, destroyed."

Returned early, have time to update, leave request cancelled.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 341 =====