Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle

As Qin Huai expected, heavy seasoning is needed to prepare the sea cucumber filling.

The surface of sea cucumber fried in oil becomes slightly crispy, not only altering its texture when eaten but also making it easier to absorb the seasonings. Qin Huai watched as Zheng Siyuan added various spices one by one, stirred, left to set, scooped out, and diced the ingredients.

Then he mixed the sea cucumber with crab yellow sauce, simmered it over low heat, and then stewed it as if he were cooking the filling for Three Meat Buns.

The aroma of the filling was already very rich.

It wasn't the kind of rich bun filling like Three Meat Buns; it was the rich aroma of a dish. People who walked by without knowing the background would find it hard to imagine Zheng Siyuan was making bun filling, probably thinking he was making a dish and reducing the sauce over high heat.

Qin Huai wanted to taste it.

As the saying goes, to know the taste of a pear, you must taste it yourself. Qin Huai thought this, and he did just that.

"Can I have a taste now?" Qin Huai asked.

Zheng Siyuan stepped aside, allowing Qin Huai to scoop a spoonful. Qin Huai, unreserved, who had been watching and smelling it all along and was feeling hungry, directly scooped a large spoonful, blew it cool, and had a taste.

Delicious.

Again, this filling would definitely be great for mixing noodles.

The taste was mainly provided by crab yellow sauce, full of crab roe flavor, with a slight heaviness from the starch. Not fishy, no strange smell, the sea cucumber integrated well without much presence. Apart from the obvious non-crab yellow texture, slightly crispy from being fried and then stewed, it hardly had a presence in this filling.

Zheng Siyuan wasn't wrong; Double Crab Bun relies on crab roe for flavor and sea cucumber for texture.

The role of the sea cucumber is to blend in seamlessly.

An exquisite showcase of the master's seasoning skills.

Qin Huai took two seconds to savor the taste and then finished the remaining filling in small bites, asking, "Does the Double Crab Bun made with fresh crab roe taste the same?"

Zheng Siyuan honestly replied, "I don't know, I've never tasted it either."

"When you first asked me, I already told you, I only know the crab yellow sauce version of the Double Crab Bun, and so does my dad."

"The other recipe was bought by a guest and given to my master. He later took it back. According to my master, he wasn't the creator or the owner of the recipe; he only learned and used it briefly. He wasn't qualified to pass it on to others, not even his own apprentice."

"So my dad actually didn't learn how to make the fresh crab roe version of the Double Crab Bun; he only has a vague idea and hasn't deliberately researched or learned it."

"But my dad has tasted it. If you want to know, you can call and ask him now, but I can't guarantee he'll be able to explain it clearly."

"No need," Qin Huai replied.

He had confidence in Zheng Da, knowing that Zheng Da's expressive abilities wouldn't suffice.

"I'm just curious. I think the two types of Double Crab Bun should taste different. As for which is better, I can't say; they surely both have their merits." Qin Huai commented.

"My uncle says the same." Zheng Siyuan nodded, "The recipe given by Uncle Wang, didn't you show it to both my dad and my uncle? I privately asked my uncle what the Double Crab Bun made with fresh crab roe tastes like. It's been so long that he can't recall specifics, but he did say the two flavors are different."

"It's like twins, no matter how similar they look, they are still different individuals, and parents and relatives can tell them apart."

"Not to mention the two Double Crab Buns are made differently, so the flavor differences are even greater. My master told me that the customer who brought the recipe, especially liked eating both types of Double Crab Bun together, feeling that was the only way to fully enjoy Double Crab Bun."

Qin Huai suddenly felt great respect for Xu Nuo, worthy of being the younger son of a factory director. While ordinary customers found fermented rice with steamed bun fragrant, Xu Nuo was already pioneering an extravagant way to eat both types of Double Crab Bun together.

It was indeed grand, magnificently grand.

During their chat, Zheng Siyuan turned off the fire, scooped out the filling to cool, and began wrapping the buns.

Qin Huai joined Zheng Siyuan in wrapping.

"Since you tasted the filling, what do you think the filling for Double Crab Bun should be like?" Zheng Siyuan asked.

"Hard to say." Qin Huai frowned, feeling genuinely unsure.

Before tasting the filling, he only had a vague concept of Double Crab Bun. Even after tasting it, he still only had a vague concept.

"I think it's delicious, but it's hard to imagine this is actually a bun filling," Qin Huai confessed, "For a bun filling, isn't it a bit too heavy-flavored?"

"It's almost like those strange red oil hotpot bun fillings, you know what I mean? It gives me the feeling of forcing a good dish into a filling and stuffing it in a bun."

Zheng Siyuan remained silent.

Qin Huai didn't immediately notice Zheng Siyuan's silence because he was lost in his own thoughts.

Qin Huai continued, "Yes, that's the feeling I had when tasting the filling. The aroma made it seem like a dish, even if not a dish, it should be a noodle topping."

"Normally, fillings for buns, unless it's something unorthodox like guo'er, are clearly distinct from dishes. There is a clear distinction, from stewing, frying, to seasoning; you can usually tell at a glance whether it's for pastry filling or meat cooking dish."