"Lao Liu, are you okay?" Lin Xiao leaned over and stared at a crockpot on the stove, looking at it. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Probably not yet. Liu Mang walked over, fanned the edge of the jar with his hand, and said.

"There are good things about capitalism, at least what you can't eat at home, you can do it in China. Kong Ruiming's mouth was 'tsk': "The last time I ate bear paws was in 60 years, when I was still young, I only remember the sticky taste, it really hangs people's throats." ”

In the crockpot of the stove, it is a real bear's paw. Yesterday, Lin Xiao didn't know where to hear that there was a 'bear hunting season' in the United States, so he immediately drove a Toyota pickup truck to New Jersey for more than ten hours, and bought back more than a dozen of them.

"Is it really illegal to eat bear's paws in the United States?" Tan Shi was still a little apprehensive in his heart: "Now we are at the critical moment of applying for the World Heritage Site, don't make any trouble." ”

"Don't worry, Old Tan!" Lin Xiao patted Tan Shi on the shoulder: "It's not illegal for others to kill, how can we break the law by eating?" Besides, the state government there also encourages people to eat black bears, and the news has reported it. ”

"It's true, I also read the news, 75 black bears were euthanized in New Jersey some time ago. Li Ruonan sighed with emotion: "The animals that are protected in our country are completely scourge in the United States, because there are too many of them, which affect people's normal life, which encourages people to hunt." ”

"I'm curious, isn't there any animal protection organization in the United States? Many people killing dogs will cause public outrage, how can it be okay to kill a large animal like a bear?" Liu Mang was puzzled.

"I know that. Animals such as cats, dogs, and pigeons are often defined as companion animals in the West, and companion animals are all strictly protected by animal protection laws. Zhou Xiaolong replied.

"It's weird logic. But it's good that we can have a feast. Lin Xiao laughed: "Make six bear paws at a time, and they are all left forepaws, this kind of treatment is afraid that only the emperor has it!"

Bear's paws are also graded. It is expected that black bears have the habit of hibernation every time they enter winter or after heavy snow covers the mountains. During hibernation, the black bear often licks its forefoot with its tongue, licks the calluses on the forefoot very thinly, so that the palm is red and oozing blood, and its ** and gelatinous skin penetrate into the palm, so the forepalm is tender and nutritious.

Among the forepalms, the left forepalm is the most precious and nutritious. This is because bears eat with their forepaws and are accustomed to grabbing and eating people with their left forepaws, making them "left-handed". The right forefoot is only used for tickling, climbing trees and catching prey, so the palm of the left forehand is stained with the blood of wild juices, ant eggs and rare birds and fattened animals all year round.

In order to satisfy their hunger, bears often steal the nests of wild bees. In this way, the bear's left forefoot is often soaked in royal jelly and honey. Over time, the bear's left forefoot was soaked with blood, honey, juice, and the bear's own saliva. As a result, the left forefoot is of better quality, followed by the other three palms.

"Brother Lin, did you buy this bear paw a lot yesterday?" asked Liu Mang.

Those foreigners don't know how to deal with bear meat at all, they hunt purely for the sake of hunting, it's just a violent thing. Lin Xiao replied.

"Then can I buy some and take them home?" asked Liu Mang.

Since there are so many bear paws in the United States, let's bring more back so that Five Eyes and Silent can taste it.

"Don't even think about it, this constitutes the crime of smuggling precious animals! You can't enter the customs at all!" Lin Xiao pouted: "It's safest to keep them in your stomach." ”

"That's the only way to go......" Liu Mang felt a little regretful and walked to the crockpot on the stove.

Bear's paw cooking is complex and requires a lot of expertise. Fortunately, I came to the United States this time, otherwise as a kitchen god, I haven't even seen the traditional Chinese Bazhen, and I haven't eaten it, so isn't it smiling and generous?

Last time, Liu Mang had already done 'treading the snow to find the bear' and 'one palm of the hand' upstairs, but it was copied by him according to his imagination with the cartilage of cow tendon and pig's trotters, and it was not a real bear paw.

When the real bear paw was put in front of Liu Mang, Liu Mang knew that imagining is one thing, and really doing it is another.

Today, Liu Mang didn't do anything during the day, so he just took care of these bear's paws.

Let's talk about hair removal first, it is an extremely tedious and torturous thing.

Bear's paws are not comparable to sheep's hooves and pig's trotters, which are scalded with boiling water and scraped clean. Its fur is so thick that even if the black hair on the surface is shaved off, the rest of the hair will remain in the flesh, affecting the taste of the dish.

Therefore, Liu Mang only used boiling water to blanch and cool it nine times before using small tweezers to pluck out the thick hairs according to the records in the "Diaoding Collection", and then brought it to the dish.

Such a test of patience can only be persevered by a person like Liu Mang, who has no distractions, and if it is Lin Xiao, he will run away early in the morning.

Cleaning the bear's paw can only be regarded as a small step, because the meat of the bear's paw is relatively thick, and it contains a lot of collagen and soft tendons, so it has to be stewed before it can be made next.

According to the record of the "Tune Ding Ji", the processed bear paw is simmered for six hours in the broth that is hung out of the sturgeon.

But Liu Mangren in the United States, there is no sturgeon at all, only a large grouper more than one meter long instead.

When I lifted the lid of the crockpot, I was greeted by a slightly smelly smell.

Liu Mang knew that this breath was caused by the fact that the soup was so delicious and too strong. After careful processing, this breath will naturally disappear.

Mencius once said that I can fish as much as I want. Bear's paws, as well as I want. You can't have both, and you can't have both, and you can give up the fish and take the bear's paw.

But in Liu Mang's view, it is not impossible to have both, as long as the chef's skills are good, they can naturally be combined into one.

"Come, come, come, put all the other fried dishes on the table!" Lin Xiao beckoned.

Today is the last night of the whole team in Chicago, and tomorrow morning everyone will leave for Philadelphia in the United States.

It just so happened that Lin Xiao bought back the bear's paws, and according to the usual practice, everyone had to stay drunk and not return home for this dinner.

"Actually, this trip to the United States, it's hard work, but it's also a lot of fun!" Kong Ruiming sighed: "There is a group of like-minded friends, who have dinner and drink every day, not to mention how happy they are." ”

"That's!" Lin Xiao held a jar of wine and put it on the table: "Life is in the world, eat and drink!

"You drink less today, and you'll have to wake up early tomorrow." Gu Qianyao said.

"Men drink, women don't intervene!" Lin Xiao's eyes widened, showing the majesty of a big man, completely forgetting that he had been beaten and his nose was swollen.

"I didn't say anything, just to remind you. Gu Qianyao pursed her lips with a look of grievance: "Tomorrow my parents will come to Chicago, you can't make a mistake." ”

"What's the matter, are uncles and aunts coming?" asked Li Ruonan.

"yes, I just came to the United States to have a look. ”

"Brother Lin, then you should drink less, you don't have to go to Philadelphia with us tomorrow, let's accompany your uncle and aunt first." Liu Mang said.

"Don't worry, I'm still sure of this. Everyone, let's say okay first, I'll have three drinks tonight, and I won't drink any more death. ”

"Understand! Understand!" Kong Ruiming laughed: "Accompanying my mother-in-law and my father-in-law is a first-class event." ”

After simmering all day today, and after the juice just now, the texture of the bear's paw in the crockpot has been raked incomparably, and you can easily poke it in with chopsticks.

Liu Mang hooked the bear paw into the plate with a hook and prepared for the final treatment.

Like the last time he was upstairs, Liu Mang is still preparing to do "treading the snow to find the bear" and "one palm" today.

It's just that this time, the ingredients are genuine bear paws, not beef tendons, pig's trotters and other Xibei goods.

Liu Mang walked to the stove and lifted the lid of a pot, and there were several whole chickens soaking in the soup at the bottom of the pot, gurgling and steaming.

One Palm - This dish has appeared in the famous movie "Full of Gold". The general method is to steam the bear's paw in a steamer with the whole chicken on the bottom, and then steam it with the wild beehive until soft.

Of course, it is impossible to study whether this dish is real or not, but Liu Mang has really reproduced it.

Placed three bear paws on the chicken, then put a piece of wild honey with the hive, and finally covered the pot, and the rest was left to time.

The steaming heat of the fresh chicken soup will force out the honey in the honeycomb and drip onto the bear's paw below, evenly penetrating into it, giving it a rich and sweet taste.

The 'Snow Bear' is a little easier to make, because the bear's paws have already been stewed in soup beforehand, and now they only need to be covered with sturgeon roe, put in the refrigerator to freeze, and finally serve with crushed ice.

"Lao Liu, how long do you have to wait? Lin Xiao, whose face was already flushed, urged.

'I can't eat hot tofu in a hurry, so wait!' Liu Mang replied, then put the remaining three bear paws into a large plate covered with crushed ice and put them in the refrigerator.

Before the three bear paws were stewed, Liu Mang used sharp long nails to prick small holes in them in advance, and sewed the knife edges with fine hemp rope.

The reason for this is to allow the bear's paw to fully eat the delicious fish soup, and after it is quickly frozen, the bear's paw will form a jelly-like gelatin, and when it is served with black sturgeon roe, it is really delicious and delicious.

After about 40 minutes of waiting, Liu Mang lifted the lid of the pot, and the honey on the bear's paw had melted, pouring a layer of golden and translucent color on the whole bear's paw.

"Well, very good!" Liu Mang inserted chopsticks into one of the bear's paws, and then sent it to his mouth to suck, nodding again and again.

Next, Liu Mang transferred the bear's paws to a larger porcelain plate, ready to be steamed again.

The porcelain plate has been padded with a layer of soaked and excellent official swallows, just waiting for this to absorb the umami of the bear's paw.

Around 626 B.C., the son of King Chu Cheng wanted to kill his father in order to seize the throne, and King Chu Cheng made a request - I have arranged for people to cook bear paws, can I eat bear paws and die.

But what he didn't expect was that his son immediately exposed Lao Tzu's attempt: The bear's paw is not cooked all at once, do you want to delay the time? So King Chu Cheng couldn't even meet his request to eat the bear's paw, so he was sent to the underworld.

Since then, the saying that "bear's paws are difficult to ripen" has spread.

And Liu Mang's bear's paws, from six o'clock in the morning to eight o'clock in the evening, have gone through several processes, which took more than ten hours, and have not yet been completed.

It can be seen that the narratives of ancient classics are not groundless.

Of course, it is estimated that only Chinese chefs in the world can make this kind of delicacy, and if it is those foreigners, it is estimated that even the hair will not fade.

After more than half an hour, the 'snow and bear hunting' in the refrigerator was finally ready, Liu Mang took it out, put a few Sydney flowers carved early in the morning, and then brought it to the table.

"Wow! Hard cabbage is finally here!" everyone erupted in exclamation.

You must know that although the people sitting here are all big names in the Chinese culinary industry, there are only a few who actually eat bear paws.

"You eat first, and there's a bear's paw right away. ”

"Okay, we'll take it easy and leave you some. Lin Xiao replied and picked up the spoon.

With just a slight force, the spoon is scooped into the bear's paw without any resistance.

Scoop up a spoonful and take a look, the gum contained in the bear's paw is like a transparent jelly, trembling slightly in the spoon, attracting people's minds.

"Gollum!" Lin Xiao swallowed a mouthful of spit, and couldn't wait to put the bear paw on the spoon into his mouth.

There is a slight coolness on the tip of the tongue, which is the effect of the bear's paw after being frozen.

As soon as the frozen bear's paw meets the temperature in the mouth, it quickly melts, and the delicious taste instantly explodes, and when paired with the equally delicious sturgeon roe, it seems that people do not feel the existence of the tongue.

"It's delicious!It's worthy of being one of the eight treasures!" Lin Xiao exclaimed loudly.

"Master Liu Mang's craftsmanship is not covered! The fleshy bear paw actually has no trace of greasy, only rich collagen remains, and it is refreshing to really eat it!" Kong Ruiming also praised.

"Everyone, this 'one-handed Qiankun' is also good. Immediately afterwards, Liu Mang brought another bear paw to the table.

"Smack!" Liu Mang leaned on the bear's paw with a lighter, and the raging flames immediately burned.

If the 'Treading Snow and Finding Bears' just now is ice, then this 'One Palm Qiankun' is on fire.

The blue flame is the result of pouring a high degree of brandy, which drains the skin of the bear's paw and gives off a rich aroma.

"Then I'm welcome!" Tan Shi took the lead in reassuring the spoon, picked up the chopsticks and poked at the 'One Palm Qiankun' on the table.

After the chopsticks tear the skin of the bear's paw, the inside of the bear's paw immediately comes out of the steaming heat, and it is easy to clip a lump with a light clamp.

"Well, it's not flavorful!It's really flavorful!" Tan Shi shook his head, looking intoxicated.

Different from the 'Snow Hunt for Bears' just now, the taste of this 'One Palm Qiankun' is slightly richer, and the rich gum of the bear's paws is matched with honey, combined with the aroma of wine and meat, which is really memorable.

What's more special is that the gum of the bear's paw is far from being comparable to pig's trotters and cow's hooves. Its taste is very viscous, and it even makes people feel like they have to stick to their lips and can't open their mouths.

"It's really good!" Lin Xiao also tasted a piece, and immediately shouted: "Tomorrow I will go to New Jersey and buy all the bear paws there, and I will eat them as dinner in the future!"