Chapter 313: Fragrance of Zongzi

Translator: 549690339 |

“AW000~”

Shen Qian gently blew on the steaming hot sea cucumber infused with rich green onion savour, then quickly tasted it.

The thick and delicious sauce on the surface of the sea cucumber exploded in her mouth like a savoury bomb the moment she bit into it, releasing an amazing and complex savour.

The thoroughly cooked sea cucumber was soft and glutinous, full of flavor, yet the unique freshness of the sea cucumber did not disappear entirely, instead subtly blending into the green onion aroma.

The perfect fusion of savour and amazing texture brought Shen Qian an unprecedented enjoyment.

“Huh!”

After savouring for a while, Shen Qian reluctantly swallowed the sea cucumber, her face showing an expression of unsatisfying pleasure, “This is the most delicious dish I’ve ever tasted using sea cucumber.”

“Same here.” Zhou Tianhao, who had already picked up his second sea cucumber, paused for a moment as he was about to put it into his mouth.

“But speaking of it, I really haven’t had many opportunities to eat sea cucumbers, dishes using sea cucumber are quite rare in Tianhua State.”

“Then why can Qin Lang cook it?” Shen Qian asked, somewhat perplexed.

At Shen Qian’s question, Zhou Tianhao fell silent.

“Was I lucky to master this dish.”

Qin Lang laughed it off, picking up two sea cucumbers and feeding them to the nearly drooling Dan Bao and Spicy, then turned and walked towards the table.

“You guys continue eating, I’m going to start wrapping zongzi.”

Hearing Qin Lang’s words, Shen Qian and Zhou Tianhao hastily picked up a sea cucumber and put it in their mouths, then also stood up.

Delicious food should not be missed, but neither should Qin Lang’s cooking!

Dan Bao and Spicy, their faces still wearing satisfied expressions, headed towards Qin Lang.

How could they miss out on being part of the cooking process?

Hence, the remaining Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallions were devoured by Shen Qian and Zhou Tianhao’s food spirits.

Perfectly, there was one sea cucumber for each spirit, and there were none left on the plate.

After savouring the wonderful taste of the sea cucumber in their mouths, the six spirits looked at each other, then started fighting for the yuchoy sum covered in sauce left on the plate.

On the other side, Qin Lang had returned to the table and started washing red beans and mung beans, which were less in quantity compared to the glutinous rice.

The washed red beans and mung beans were mixed with the soaked glutinous rice in a large basin by Qin Lang. The mixture of white glutinous rice and a few red and light green beans looked pretty nice.

There are many ways to make zongzi, the way wrapping the leaves or the choice of filling might vary significantly in different regions, there’s even sweet and salty zongzi. Perhaps the only common point is that they all use glutinous rice.

What Qin Lang is going to make is the meat zongzi commonly made in his past life’s home.

Unlike ordinary meat zongzi, his family’s zongzi would add some red beans and mung beans, which made them look better and added a faint bean aroma.

Two overlapping zongzi leaves were folded at a right angle, and then folded again to form a small cone shape.

This is how to fold a triangular zongzi.

In the curious gaze of Shen Qian and Zhou Tianhao, Qin Lang filled the cone- shaped zongzi leaves with glutinous rice using a spoon, adding a piece of lean and fatty pork belly when it’s half full.

Then he added more glutinous rice to cover up the pork belly, filling up the entire cone area.

After that, he used the zongzi leaves to seal the bottom of the cone, tied it securely with string, and a triangular zongzi which looked like a three-sided pyramid and yet fairly round on each side, was wrapped.

“This is a zongzi?” Shen Qian watched Qin Lang’s movements, suddenly eager to give it a try, “Can I try?”

It seems not that difficult, nor does it have too many cooking steps.

“I want to try too.” Zhou Tianhao raised his hand, volunteering eagerly.

“Gurgle!”

“Chaka!”

The two little observers during the whole process also wanted to try.

Even the other six food spirits who came late after the Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallions was served, had expectant looks on their faces.

“Some delicacies hold as much meaning in their creation as in their end result.” Qin Lang chuckled, “Zongzi is one such delicacy.”

“So, let’s make zongzi together!”

Upon hearing Qin Lang’s words, everyone cheered enthusiastically, gathering around.

“Qin Lang, can we put other stuff inside the zongzi?”

“Of course, you can add ingredients like salted egg yolk, ham, or even nothing at all, and eat it dunked in granulated sugar after boiling.”

“That sounds interesting.”

“Then give it a try!”

Soon, amid everyone’s jovial busyness, two small mountains of zongzi appeared on the table.

One group of zongzi were all perfectly triangular, while the others were a bit of a mixed bag, some perfect and some oddly shaped.

The latter were the result of the efforts of eight food spirits.

Apart from Dan Bao and Lark, who had thought waves, the other food spirits all made zongzi with a partner, which naturally led to many laughs.

But clearly, both the Spirit Chefs and the food spirits were enjoying this time.

“We can eat it soon!” gazing at everyone’s eager faces, Qin Lang smiled and turned on the steamer, adding the zongzi in batches.

Zongzi that are made and then steamed retain their flavors better than those that are boiled.

Spicy volunteered and began to apply Cooking Acceleration over the steamer.

Shortly, the zongzi in the steamer were ready to eat.

“Take a taste.” After distributing the zongzi to everyone, Qin Lang picked up one of his own, cutting open the thin rope that held it together with a pair of scissors.

To differentiate the zongzi made by everyone, different colored ropes were used for different zongzi.

He skillfully peeled away the zongzi leaves wrapped around the outer surface, took a bite from the tip, and the expressions of enjoyment quickly spread across his face.

The freshly steamed glutinous rice was incredibly tender, with the red and green beans mixed within having fully absorbed the water, becoming soft and sticky.

The scent of the bamboo leaves had gradually seeped into the zongzi during the steaming process, leaving a delightful hint inside the glutinous rice.

Apart from that, there was also a hint of meaty aroma mixed in.

This was why Qin Lang chose to use pork belly, which is a fatty cut of meat, for his meat-filled zongzi, instead of using lean meat.

The fat from the pork melts during the steaming process, and the nearby glutinous rice absorbs this grease, adding a richer aroma to the rice.

Compared to the glutinous rice, there wasn’t much fat, so overall, it didn’t taste greasy at all, it only made it more delicious.

Within a few bites, all that remained from the meat-filled zongzi in Qin Lang’s hand were the leaves.

“How worthy of being mine, it’s truly delicious!” Shen Qian smiled satisfied, holding a half-eaten zongzi in her hand.

After hearing Qin Lang’s introduction, she then decisively added a salted egg yolk into her zongzi, trying out a different flavor.

“Mine isn’t bad either.” Zhou Tianhao spoke, leisurely picking up a second one.

His was ham-flavored.

Watching everyone happily tasting the fruits of their labor, Qin Lang murmured to himself.

“Happy Dragon Boat Festival.”

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The content of the bonus chapter at the end of this chapter;

[Making Zongzi]