Liu Jinfei’s dish was Mapo Tofu which he would be able to finish in less than an hour. Meanwhile, because Lin Xiao had chosen to make hand-pulled noodles, this only meant that he needed some time to spend on resting his dough. Making use of the waiting time, he went to prepare the other ingredients he needed for his dish.
The scent of the aromatics filled the kitchen, overwhelming the restaurant staff that was watching the two chefs working in the kitchen. They couldn’t help but hope that Director Shen would agree to Miss Qiao’s request, so they would be able to get a little taste of what Liu Jinfei and Lin Xiao were making.
“Hmm, I’m not even sure if the serving they are making is enough to feed all of us here.” Shen Lingqing then nonchalantly replied as she rested her chin on one hand, watching the two chefs focus on their dishes.
She heard Qiao Lian sigh next to her. Shen Lingqing knew that her a.s.sistant had been a foodie since they were younger. In fact, Qiao Lian wouldn’t waste her chance to eat with Shen Lingqing whenever they were back home. Qiao Lian really liked having a hotpot with their friends.
Back to the two busy chefs, Shen Lingqing had noticed that Lin Xiao had already mastered how to make perfect dough for his hand-pulled noodles. Making the perfect dough involved using three basic ingredients such as wheat flour, water, and a little salt. However, another intangible ingredient plays an important role in making perfect dough, and that was none other than one’s patience.
The finished dough should be soft, smooth, and elastic; thus, it could be easily pulled into desired shapes without breaking. If one paid attention to the rules, anyone could make perfect dough with ease.
In Shen Lingqing’s opinion, using all-purpose flour with medium gluten was the best for hand-pulled noodles. That was to say that the protein content should be 10 to 11 grams per 100 grams of flour. However, the gluten level of all-purpose flour varies depending on the location where it was being sold.
Flour high in gluten such as bread flour could be used for this recipe, but it’s harder to work on. Due to its strong, super-elastic gluten; the dough would tend to shrink back and break more easily when pulled.
“Wow, Miss Lin. I think your father had really mastered making hand-pulled noodles a long time ago. Look how confident and precise his movements are,” Qiao Lian voiced out what Shen Lingqing was thinking at that moment.
Lin Xiaoyu smiled proudly as she looked at her father. She knew well how her father worked hard to get where he was right now, although she had to admit her father never gained the recognition he deserved until Shen Lingqing came to Savory Alley.
Lin Xiao had never been recognized for his skills or asked for his opinions before because the Zhang brothers had monopolized the executive and took it upon themselves to decide how to manage the restaurant. It was only after Shen Lingqing replaced the previous management did Lin Xiaoyu and the others feel that their opinions matter.
“Of course, he learned it from my mother when she was still alive. He worked hard to perfect his skills, so he could cook my mom’s favorite dish while she was sick,” she said in response to Qiao Lian’s compliment.
Lin Xiaoyu remembered how her mother loved this hand-pulled noodle dish her father was currently making. When her mother was still alive, cooking in the kitchen when she was younger was their favorite way to bond and spend time together. So this dish had a special place not only in her father’s heart… but in hers as well.
“I have to agree. Chef Lin has already mastered the hand-pulling technique, so much that he even knows the perfect ratio between water and flour and how much salt he needed to use to the dough,” Shen Lingqing agreed with her a.s.sistant.
“Huh? Is there rocket science about adding salt? I thought it was added to give flavor to the dough itself,” Qiao Lian asked.
“The purpose of adding salt to the dough isn’t just for giving it taste, Lian. The salt tightens the gluten network and stabilizes the starch granules, keeping them intact even as they absorb water and swell,” the Shen princess explained.
Most of the time, people had no idea that there was scientific reasoning behind each cooking method they were using in the kitchen, but that was expected… since most of them learned the method from their elder family members.
The flour-water ratio Lin Xiao used was 2:1 in weight. After the first kneading, his dough needed to be medium-firm, which would get softer over time. He then allowed sufficient time for the dough to rest.
This was a critical part of making dough. The moment any form of liquid—such as milk or water—made a contact with wheat flour, the individual gluten proteins in the flour would start to unravel and hook onto one another, creating strong bonds. With time, an elaborate network of these interconnected gluten proteins would form. That would hold the dough together, giving it the elasticity and stretchability needed for the dish.
As Chef Lin continued to work on his noodles, Shen Lingqing realized then that he was planning to make Biang Biang Noodles, a kind of hand-pulled noodles that was seasoned with chili, garlic, and Sichuan pepper. This kind of noodles offered a delectable taste and texture.
Of course, this wasn’t the first time Shen Lingqing would taste a Biang Biang Noodle dish because her Uncle Lingyu’s specialty cuisine was the Sichuan Cuisine. So her tongue had already gotten used to the spicy dishes that could make others cry from too much heat.
Shen Lingqing liked its pungent fragrance. It was simply irresistible in her opinion. She had built up immunity and was able to eat any spicy food, unlike her mother.