IRDFPFCIW Chapter 23

Jiang Tang planned to secretly make some pastries to entertain Lu Rongming’s old friend, so he didn’t go live.

Dim sum refers to foods such as pastries. They have a legend that dates back to ancient times when a great general was deeply moved by the bravery of his soldiers fighting day and night on the battlefield. He immediately ordered the baking of delicious pastries loved by the people to send to the front lines as a token of his “little thought”. Gradually, these pastries came to be known as “dim sum”.

There are many types of dim sum, with various production methods including buns, dumplings, cakes, balls, rolls, biscuits, pastries, and many more. The ancients emphasized using seasonal ingredients to make dim sum.

Now on planet G-7012, it was summer. Jiang Tang decided to make summer-themed lotus crisps and mung bean cakes.

Jiang Tang’s favorite lotus crisp was actually the one with coconut filling, but due to a lack of materials, he could only make a simplified version of lotus crisp.

The “lotus crisp” is named for its resemblance to a lotus flower. It has clear layers and is visually pleasing. It is crispy and sweet. Serving lotus crisps during a summer banquet brings a unique flavor.

Jiang Tang cut purple sweet potatoes into chunks and steamed them. He then added white sugar while still hot. It was a pity he didn’t have condensed milk or it would have enhanced the flavor.

Next, Jiang Tang placed the steamed sweet potatoes into a plastic bag and used a rolling pin to mash them, making the “stamen” in the middle of the lotus crisp have a more delicate texture.

He rolled the mashed purple sweet potatoes into equally sized balls and set them aside in the fridge.

Next was the dough. Jiang Tang struggled to make it and finally found a substitute for butter. He mixed it into the flour and gently rubbed it.

He then formed it into small balls using a scraper, matching the number of purple sweet potatoes.

Jiang Tang proceeded to make the oil dough, also using flour to create a wall of flour. He added the butter substitute, water, and white sugar to the center, mixing it into a smooth dough.

After covering it with plastic wrap, he set it aside for fifteen minutes. He divided it into equal portions and rolled them into small balls.

The preparations were nearly complete. Jiang Tang flattened one small ball, encased it with a small ball of oil dough, and carefully sealed it using the tiger’s mouth[mfn]the space between the thumb and index finger[/mfn] of his right hand. He placed it on the chopping board and flattened it again.

Jiang Tang then used a rolling pin to shape the sealed ball into an oval shape and rolled it up from top to bottom, doing this for all the dough before letting it relax for another fifteen minutes. He rolled it out into oval shape and rolled it up once more, allowing it to rest for another quarter of an hour.

Taking one piece of puff dough, he pressed the ends together and flattened it into a circle before wrapping a purple sweet potato ball inside, slowly sealing it round. Jiang Tang brushed it with egg liquid and lightly cut a diamond pattern on top. The cuts weren’t too deep, just enough to reveal the sweet potato filling.

After setting the oven temperature and timer, Jiang Tang placed a neatly arranged row of semi-finished pastries into the oven and turned to make the other pastry, the mung bean cake…

In his previous life, mung bean cakes were a traditional specialty and one of Jiang Tang’s favorite summer snacks.

Mung bean cakes can vary in style between the northern and southern depending on the taste. The northern Beijing-style cakes are made without any oil, so the texture is soft and not greasy. The southern styles includes Su style and Yang style and oil is added when making it. This makes the mung bean cake softer and more delicate.

The mung bean cake Jiang Tang was making leaned towards the southern style.

He took the peeled mung beans he had washed and soaked overnight and steamed them for half an hour in a steamer, then he crushed them using a food processor.

Jiang Tang crushed the mung beans until smooth and they became paste. To ensure a finer texture of the mung bean cake, he strained the mung bean paste.

Then in a frying pan, Jiang Tang melted a piece of butter substitute. Butter has a rich flavor that is more suitable for making mung bean cakes than other vegetable oils. He added the mung bean paste and white sugar, frying the mixture until it formed a ball.

Once the mung bean mixture cooled, he divided it into equal portions.

Jiang Tang had two custom molds for mung bean cakes shaped like a kitten and a little fox. After much communication with the shop owner, he finally got the molds he wanted.

Since the mung bean paste contained butter, it would easily release from the molds, so there was no need to brush oil on the mold separately.

Jiang Tang pressed half of the portions into the kitten shape and the other half into the little fox shape.

The peeled mung beans were light yellow. The neatly arranged mung bean cakes on the plate looked adorable with a delicious smell wafting from them.

Jiang Tang placed a kitten-shaped mung bean cake in front of Wen Renyuan and a fox-shaped one on the small plate in front of Lin Yucang.

Lin Yucang really enjoyed the taste of the cake. He rubbed Jiang Tang’s fingertips and narrowed his eyes while eating the cake carefully.

Wen Renyuan looked at the mung bean cake before him with a complicated expression. Why was it shaped this way?

He glanced secretly at Lin Yucang and compared the sizes of the two pastries silently.

After a long while, he couldn’t determine which one was bigger.

Just then, Jiang Tang brought a mung bean cake to his lips. Wen Renyuan’s eyes widened slightly, as the one Jiang Tang holding was the kitten-shaped one!

The light yellow cake pressed against the young man’s rosy lips. The young man slightly parted his lips, his pale pink tongue peeked out…

Jiang Tang looked at the accidentally knocked over plate in front of the little kitten in surprise: ?

He extended his tongue to lick the remnants of mung bean cake off his lips. It tasted good and was perfect for the weather.

Jiang Tang crouched down to replace Wen Renyuan’s cake with a fresh one, placing the others in the fridge to chill, so that the mung bean cakes would taste better.

Wen Renyuan stared at the newly replaced fox-shaped mung bean cake in front of him: …

At this moment, the oven timer dinged, signaling the lotus crisps were ready.

The previously cuts on the oil dough had all opened up, revealing the layers of puff dough, adorned with the purple sweet potato at the center, resembling a blooming lotus.

Jiang Tang gently picked up a lotus crisp and took a bite. The crisp sound echoing as he bit into it. The outer layer was too crispy. Jiang Tang quickly reached out to catch the crumbs.

The outside was crispy and the inside was soft, sweet but not overwhelming. Jiang Tang felt satisfied. It seems his cooking skills haven’t declined.

“Xiao Jiang, we’re back.” Lu Rongming’s voice called from outside.

Jiang Tang arranged the lotus crisps and mung bean cakes on a plate. The delicate and small pastries looked like works of art.

As Jiang Tang stepped out with the pastries, he bumped into Lu Rongming coming in. He immediately noticed the unfamiliar man following behind.

It was because the man’s impatience was especially obvious.

He was dressed very casually, with messy hair, and while he wasn’t dirty, he certainly appeared a bit unkempt.

He followed Lu Rongming with an unhappy expression, as if ready to explode with anger at any moment.

Jiang Tang suddenly recalled what Lu Rongming had said about his friend being weird and having a bad temper. Instantly, he identified the man before him as this very friend. Lu Rongming’s words were indeed correct.

The man plopped down on the sofa like a boss and cursed, “Old Lu, you really did it. You tricked me into coming to this godforsaken place. Damn your natural foods…”

Jiang Tang pressed his lips together and placed the pastries on the small table in front of the man.

As a sweet aroma wafted in, the man’s eyes landed on the pastries on the plate, and his voice grew softer.

He instinctively swallowed. “…What the hell is this?”