txolops Chapter 58 4 Happy Steamed Dumplings
Chapter 58 4 Happy Steamed Dumplings
Six o'clock in the morning.
As dawn broke, the early summer morning breeze carried a slight chill.
Lin Chen got dressed and gently closed the bedroom door without waking Tangtang, who was still fast asleep.
He went downstairs and came to the entrance of the alley in the urban village.
Wang Hai was already straddling the driver's seat of the tricycle, peeling a tea egg in his hand. When he saw Lin Chen walking over, he immediately swallowed the food in his mouth.
"Good morning, Brother Chen!"
Wang Hai grinned, full of energy.
"morning."
Lin Chen walked over, opened the passenger door, and got in. "Let's go to the farmers' market."
"Alright!"
Wang Hai turned on the ignition, and the tricycle drove smoothly along the empty street, heading towards the comprehensive farmers' market.
The two arrived at the market at 6:15 a.m.
The farmers' market at this time of day is different from the retail market at 8 or 9 o'clock. It is mainly filled with wholesalers from major restaurants and breakfast stalls who come to buy goods. It is noisy and the pace is very fast.
The two were familiar with the route and first went to prepare the ingredients for their evening stall.
"Boss lady, twelve trays of free-range eggs, the usual."
Lin Chen stood in front of the poultry and egg stall and said crisply and decisively.
"Wow, you're here early today!"
The proprietress deftly pulled out twelve trays of eggs, tied them with rope, and handed them to Wang Hai.
Wang Hai loaded the eggs onto the tricycle and placed them securely.
Afterwards, the two went to the grain and oil store and carried two 50-pound bags of old rice, and went to the vegetable stall and took three bunches of fresh scallions with short white parts.
Finally, we arrived at the stall selling live poultry and fresh meat, and bought two free-range hens and four broken pork bones to make a clear soup for dinner.
"Brother Chen, the 150 portions of ingredients for tonight's stall, plus the complimentary soup base, are all here."
Wang Hai dusted off his hands and took stock of the contents of the truck bed.
"Um."
Lin Chen nodded.
"So, next, we should buy the ingredients for Tangtang's lunchbox, right?"
Wang Hai rubbed his hands together and leaned closer with a curious look on his face. "Brother Chen, you said yesterday that you weren't going to make fried rice, so what kind of good thing are you planning to make for our little princess?"
I've been thinking about this the whole way here.
Lin Chen did not answer immediately, but turned around and walked towards the other end of the market while speaking calmly.
"Bento boxes are made and taken to kindergarten, but by the time they're eaten at lunchtime, they're definitely cold."
As Lin Chen walked, he analyzed, "Children's stomachs are weak, and eating greasy food when it's cold can easily cause diarrhea."
If you're cooking regular stir-fries or meat dishes, they tend to develop an oily or fishy smell after cooling, and the taste will be significantly diminished.
Wang Hai, standing beside him, nodded in deep agreement: "That's true."
When I used to work as a food delivery driver, those cold takeout meals had that congealed oil smell that made even adults lose their appetite, let alone children.
"So I plan to use traditional Chinese pastry-making techniques."
Lin Chen stopped in front of a stall selling fresh seafood.
"Pastries?"
Wang Hai was taken aback. "Steamed buns?"
"Make Four Happiness Steamed Dumplings."
Lin Chen calmly offered a name.
"Four Happiness Steamed Dumplings?"
Wang Hai's eyes widened. "This name sounds like it belongs to a high-end restaurant."
How was this done?
"One of the traditional famous snacks."
Use the juices of four different colored vegetables to make the dough, and wrap it into small, delicate steamed dumplings.
Lin Chen looked at the large glass tanks on the seafood stall and explained in a calm tone, "These steamed dumplings have four corners, each filled with a different colored filling. They have auspicious meanings and vibrant colors, which are most likely to whet children's appetites."
Moreover, steamed noodles are easy to digest, suitable for both hot and cold consumption, and won't harden even when cooled, maintaining a soft and chewy texture.
After hearing Lin Chen's description, Wang Hai couldn't help but give him a thumbs up.
"Amazing! Brother Chen, it has to be you!"
Even making a bento box for the kids is done with such care!
Wang Hai exclaimed excitedly, "With these colorful four-happiness steamed dumplings, Tangtang was definitely the coolest kid in the whole class at kindergarten this lunchtime!"
Lin Chen didn't reply; his attention was already focused on the ingredients in front of him.
"Boss, give me half a pound of fresh live prawns."
"It needs to be lively and energetic."
Lin Chen pointed to the water tank and said.
"Okay!"
The seafood vendor picked up a net, scooped up half a pound of live shrimp, put them in a bag, weighed them, and said, "Twenty-five yuan."
Lin Chen paid, took the live shrimp, and turned to walk towards the fresh meat stall across the street.
"Boss, cut a piece of tenderloin, the tenderest part, without any fat or tendons."
Lin Chen stared at the pork on the cutting board and made his request.
The stall owner could tell from his voice that he knew what he was doing, and deftly cut off a piece of lean pork tenderloin and handed it to him.
"Brother Chen, what kind of filling do you put in our Four Happiness Steamed Dumplings?"
Wang Hai, carrying a bag of live shrimp, followed Lin Chen as they continued to wander through the market.
"The main filling is made by mixing pork tenderloin and fresh shrimp and then mincing it into a paste."
Shrimp enhances the flavor, while pork tenderloin ensures a tender and smooth texture.
Lin Chen walked methodically, his eyes scanning the vegetable stalls on both sides. "As for the 'Four Joys' filling in the four corners, you need four different colored ingredients."
Lin Chen stopped in front of a vegetable stall.
"Big sister, please get me a few fresh shiitake mushrooms, half a carrot, and a small handful of sweet corn kernels."
Lin Chen picked out several vegetables with distinct colors.
"Of these three, shiitake mushrooms are dark brown, carrots are orange-red, and corn is golden yellow."
One more color is needed.
Lin Chen said as he paid.
What color are you missing?
Wang Hai asked.
"green."
Lin Chen turned to the stall next to him and said, "Big sister, give me another small handful of the tenderest peas."
"Okay!"
After buying the fillings, Lin Chen led Wang Hai to the seasoning and dried goods section.
"These are the fillings, but what about the vegetable juice and dough I mentioned earlier?"
Wang Hai kept asking questions like a curious child.
"To extract vegetable juice, the color must be pure."
Lin Chen walked up to a stall selling fresh vegetables.
"Give me a small handful of spinach, half a purple cabbage, and two red dragon fruits."
Lin Chen pointed to the items on the stall.
Looking at the things Lin Chen bought, Wang Hai mentally went through the colors: "Spinach is green, purple cabbage is purple, dragon fruit is red... plus the white of ordinary white flour."
Goodness gracious, Brother Chen, this dough looks like a color palette!
"For children, visual appeal accounts for half of their mealtime experience."
Lin Chen packed the vegetables he bought into a bag. "They'll only open their mouths if the colors look nice."
"Brother Chen, you've really put your heart and soul into being a father."
Carrying large and small bags of lunchbox ingredients, Wang Hai couldn't help but exclaim, "These four-happiness steamed dumplings are so delicious, even the kindergarten teachers would probably drool over them, let alone Xiao Meng."
All ingredients have been purchased.
In addition to the 150 servings of fried rice and a bucket of clear soup base for his evening stall, Lin Chen had several more plastic bags filled with fine ingredients.
"Everything's ready, let's go."
Lin Chen glanced at his watch; it was just past seven o'clock.
"Alright! Let's go back to the manor!"
Wang Hai quickly walked to the tricycle and placed the ingredients he had prepared for Tangtang's bento box into a clean cardboard box next to the driver's seat, afraid that they would be crushed if mixed with the bulky ingredients in the back.
Lin Chen opened the passenger door and got in.
"Brother Chen, hold on tight."
Wang Hai climbed into the driver's seat and gripped the handlebars with both hands.
Lin Chen nodded: "Drive steadily, don't jostle the live shrimp."
Don't worry!
Wang Hai turned on the power switch.
"Squeak—"
The tricycle made a steady, low hum as it slowly drove out of the bustling farmers' market.
The morning sun had fully risen and was shining on the two of them.
The tricycle, loaded with groceries, drove along the same road it had come from, heading towards the rented rooms in the urban village.