txolops Chapter 107 Iced Mung Bean Soup
Chapter 107 Iced Mung Bean Soup
The Chengnan Farmers' Market was bustling with noise.
Lin Chen pushed the cart, with Wang Hai beside him, as the two weaved through the crowded flow of people.
Lin Chen went straight to a familiar poultry stall, quickly checked the quality, and ordered three hundred genuine free-range eggs.
Then I went to the vegetable section and picked out the best-looking purple-rooted scallions with the strongest scallion aroma.
Finally, the two moved to the poultry section.
"Boss, reduce the amount of broth today, no need for three chickens."
Pick me a free-range hen that's at least three years old, and clean it thoroughly.
Lin Chen stood in front of the stall and spoke.
Although the amount of stock has been reduced, the quality must not be compromised.
Only a small bucket is kept, specially for those regular customers who are used to drinking a sip of hot soup to soothe their throats.
In less than twenty minutes, the main ingredients for tonight's fried rice and soup were already loaded into the cart.
Wang Hai wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked around.
"Brother Chen, now that we've laid the foundation for the fried rice, where do we go next?"
How about we check out the fruit section? Want some chilled watermelon juice?
That stuff is the best thirst quencher in the middle of summer!
Lin Chen pushed the cart forward and shook his head.
"The watermelon juice is too sweet and has too high a sugar content."
If diners drink watermelon juice after eating fried rice, their mouths will feel sticky, which will not only fail to relieve the greasiness but will also ruin the lingering aroma of the fried rice in their mouths.
Furthermore, watermelon juice tends to separate and lose its flavor if left for too long, significantly diminishing its taste.
"Too."
Wang Hai scratched his head. "What about lemonade?"
I've noticed that street vendors selling hand-whipped lemon tea are quite popular lately.
"We already have chilled crispy radishes with a sweet and sour flavor on our stall."
If you add lemon water, the flavors will clash drastically.
Adding sourness to sourness will upset a diner's stomach.
Lin Chen rejected it again.
Wang Hai sighed: "This won't work, and that won't work either."
"Brother Chen, what are we going to do to beat the heat?"
Lin Chen remained silent, scanning the market intently.
Summer is approaching, and the temperature has risen noticeably in the evenings these past few days.
Diners are very likely to sweat or even suffer from heatstroke while queuing and eating hot fried rice.
He needs a drink.
This drink must be able to clear heat and relieve summer heat, quench thirst, and at the same time, the mouth must be clean after drinking it, so as to "rinse" the mouth and allow the diner's taste buds to regain sensitivity so that they can taste the next bite of the fried rice.
As he walked, Lin Chen stopped in front of a dry goods stall.
A unique aroma, a blend of various beans and spices, wafted over.
Lin Chen's gaze swept past bags of soybeans and red beans, finally settling on several large sacks filled with green beans in the corner of the stall.
"Got it."
Lin Chen spoke softly.
"What happened?"
Wang Hai followed Lin Chen's gaze and was taken aback. "Mung beans?"
"Brother Chen, are you planning to make mung bean soup?"
"Yes, chilled mung bean soup."
Lin Chen nodded.
Wang Hai's eyes lit up instantly: "This is great!"
Drinking mung bean soup in the summer is a time-honored remedy for relieving the heat!
If we could make a pot of that thick, creamy mung bean soup, and then freeze it solid, one sip would be absolutely refreshing!
"Boss."
Lin Chen walked up to the stall and called out to the busy dried goods shop owner, "Take a look at the mung beans."
"Alright! What would you two like to order?"
The shop owner immediately greeted us warmly, grabbed a handful of mung beans and promoted them, "Look at these bright green mung beans over here, they're so green and big!"
This is top-quality stuff; it turns a beautiful color when cooked!
Lin Chen glanced at it and shook his head.
"This type of mung bean has a thick skin, a very smooth surface, and a low starch content."
It's difficult to boil the soup until the broth is soft and fluffy, and the resulting broth is clear.
That's not what I want.
Lin Chen's gaze shifted to another rather inconspicuous sack next to him.
The mung beans in this sack don't look very bright in color; they even look a bit dark.
The surface of the beans is somewhat rough and not shiny at all, looking as if it is covered with a layer of very fine gray fuzz.
Lin Chen reached directly into the sack and grabbed a handful.
The beans made a soft rustling sound in my palm.
Lin Chen brought the mung bean to his nose and took a gentle sniff.
It has a fresh bean fragrance, without any musty smell or the dusty smell of old goods.
"Boss, I want these edible mung beans."
Lin Chen opened his palm, his tone resolute.
Upon hearing this, the dry goods store owner was taken aback for a moment, then immediately gave a thumbs up.
"Oh my, young man, you're a true expert!"
Nowadays, many people only look at how good-looking mung beans are when buying them, specifically choosing the shiny, bright ones.
Actually, if you really want to make mung bean soup and enjoy that sandy, creamy texture, you have to use these hairy mung beans!
It bursts open as soon as you boil it, and all the sand dissolves in the soup—it's delicious!
The shopkeeper smiled and asked, "Expert, how much do you want?"
"Weigh out twenty jin for me."
Lin Chen said.
"Okay! I'll install it for you right away!"
The boss took a large plastic bag and started filling it with beans.
After buying the mung beans, Wang Hai was about to put the bag into the cart.
"Wait a moment."
Lin Chen stopped him, turned to the dried goods shop owner, and asked, "Boss, do you have any Lao Huang rock sugar here?"
Yes, yes, yes!
The shop owner nodded quickly, pulled out a large cardboard box from under the stall, and opened it to find it full of large chunks of light yellow rock sugar.
"Look, this is genuine polycrystalline yellow rock sugar, it hasn't been bleached or purified at all."
Lin Chen picked up a piece of yellow rock sugar.
This rock candy has an irregular shape and its color is not a transparent pure white, but rather has the original yellowish hue of sugarcane.
If you get a little closer, you can smell a sweet aroma of sugarcane.
"Brother Chen, when we make porridge at home, don't we usually use those individual pieces of white rock sugar that you buy in the supermarket?"
That one looks cleaner and is cheaper too.
Wang Hai asked, somewhat puzzled.
Lin Chen put down the rock candy in his hand and shook his head.
"Single-crystal white rock sugar is too pure and only has a single sweetness."
If you use white sugar when making mung bean soup, it will make your throat feel sour and salty, and the more you drink, the thirstier you'll become.
Lin Chen pointed to the yellow rock sugar in the box and explained to Wang Hai, "To make top-quality mung bean soup, you must use this kind of old yellow rock sugar that hasn't undergone extensive processing."
It retains the aroma of sugarcane and has a mild sweetness that doesn't irritate the throat.
The mung bean soup made with it not only neutralizes the slightly astringent taste of mung beans, but also leaves a cool, sweet aftertaste in the throat after drinking it, making it absolutely thirst-quenching.
"A slight difference in ingredients can make a world of difference in taste."
After listening to Lin Chen's words, Wang Hai nodded repeatedly in complete agreement.
"I'm impressed, Brother Chen, I'm truly impressed."
No wonder so many people are scrambling to buy your stuff.
There's so much intricacies involved in choosing even a simple ingredient!
If I were to buy these, I would definitely pick the best-looking mung beans and pair them with rock sugar; the resulting dish would definitely not taste right.
"You can't lie in the restaurant business."
"If you put your heart into the ingredients, diners' palates will be able to taste it."
Lin Chen turned to the shopkeeper and said, "Boss, give me ten catties of this yellow rock sugar."
Pay along with the mung beans.
"Alright! That'll be 120 yuan in total! Scan the code here!"
The boss grinned from ear to ear as he weighed the item.
Wang Hai scanned the code and carried twenty catties of mung beans and ten catties of yellow rock sugar into the cart.
Looking at the top-quality ingredients that Lin Chen had personally selected in the cart, Wang Hai was now filled with unprecedented anticipation for the new drinks he would be launching tonight.
"Brother Chen, all the ingredients are ready!"
Wang Hai pushed the cart, full of energy, "Shall we go home now and make some soup?"
"Walk."
Lin Chen nodded, turned around, and strode out of the bustling fresh food market.