Chapter 23: Qin Lang's Suggestion

"Alright, that’s enough. You can stop now."

After thoroughly assessing all aspects of Cao Dongdong's performance, Qin Lang rubbed his temples and called a halt to Cao, who was eagerly preparing to make his next dish.

This guy had some significant problems.

Cao Dongdong possessed decent knife skills and had a good technique for kneading dough, but his seasoning and heat control were a complete disaster. The most severe issue was his seasoning. Cao Dongdong would choose his seasonings solely for the purpose of making the dish look like the reference model—in short, he added seasonings not for flavor, but for color. As for seasonings that didn't affect the color, he added them entirely based on whim. Furthermore, Cao Dongdong seemed to have a peculiar obsession with sugar; he insisted on adding it to everything, regardless of the flavor profile.

Correcting these issues in a short amount of time to help him pass the Gourmet Examiner assessment would be much more difficult than Qin Lang had initially anticipated.

Unless... he took a different approach.

Qin Lang’s hand paused on his forehead, a thoughtful glint appearing in his eyes.

Kneading dough, color adjustment, and sugar...

"Dongdong," Qin Lang looked up at him. "How about I teach you how to make a pastry?"

If it were pastries, Cao Dongdong’s problems would be relatively minimized. After all, he was already quite good at the most difficult part: kneading dough. He might actually be able to master the most challenging part—laminating the pastry. As for the coloring required by many pastries, Cao Dongdong should be up to the task; after all, he was already capable of using simple seasonings to make food that looked fine but tasted like hell. And since the guy loved sugar so much? In pastries, he could add as much as he wanted.

"Pastry?" Cao Dongdong blinked in surprise. "I’ve never learned that before."

"It’s fine, you should be able to learn it. If not, we'll try something else." Qin Lang thought for a moment, then took out a piece of paper and wrote down a list. "Here, go buy these."

He couldn't be expected to prepare the ingredients for Cao Dongdong as well.

"You got it!" Encouraged by Qin Lang’s confident tone, Cao Dongdong felt a sudden surge of confidence and headed out. There was a well-stocked wet market right at the entrance of the residential complex, and within minutes, Cao Dongdong had returned with everything on the list.

After verifying the ingredients, Qin Lang pulled out a mixing bowl. "What I’m going to teach you today is a simple pastry called Egg Yolk Pastry."

"Guru?" Danbao tilted its head, looking interested. Egg yolk? Was it the egg yolk it was thinking of?

"That’s right, the one you’re thinking of." Qin Lang gave Danbao a reassuring look. "I’ll save a few for you when they’re done."

"Guru! (≧‿≦)"

Danbao’s eyes lit up instantly. Hurray, it had its own share!

Seeing Danbao so happy, Qin Lang smiled and turned his attention to Cao Dongdong. "Get your notebook out and write down the proportions as I say them."

"Oh, right!" Cao Dongdong nodded quickly, preparing to take notes.

"40 grams of white sugar, 100 grams of lard..." As he spoke, Qin Lang added the ingredients to the bowl and stirred them evenly. "Then add 300 grams of medium-gluten flour and 100 milliliters of warm water."

For Qin Lang, ingredient ratios were second nature, but since Cao Dongdong hadn't reached that level yet, he could only rely on rote memorization for now. After kneading the dough until it was smooth, Qin Lang wrapped it in plastic wrap.

"Let it rest for half an hour." He glanced at Cao Dongdong, who was scribbling furiously, and added, "This step is to allow the moisture to penetrate the subtle, uneven parts inside the dough, making it more uniform."

"What we just made is called the water-oil dough," Qin Lang explained. "Next, I’m going to make the oil-pastry."

"200 grams of low-gluten flour, 100 grams of lard, kneaded into a dough." After finishing the vigorous kneading, Qin Lang wrapped it in plastic wrap. "Let it rest for 20 minutes."

"These two things make up the crust of the Egg Yolk Pastry," Qin Lang said, turning to Cao Dongdong. "Next, we prepare the filling."

"Divide the red bean paste into 25-gram portions, roll them into balls, and flatten them." Qin Lang demonstrated in slow motion. "Place the salted duck egg yolk in the center and use the gathering technique to wrap it up."

After finishing one, he pointed to the remaining red bean paste and egg yolks. "Now, you try."

"Okay." Cao Dongdong put down his notebook, took a deep breath, and stepped forward to mimic Qin Lang’s movements.

"Apply pressure evenly!"

"Don't press too hard!"

After some guidance from Qin Lang, Cao Dongdong looked at the salted egg yolk perfectly encased in red bean paste in his palm and beamed. "I did it!"

"Not bad." Qin Lang nodded. After checking the time, he unwrapped the rested water-oil dough and the oil-pastry.

"Everything before was just preparation. Now, we’re doing the hardest part: laminating the dough."

"Divide the water-oil dough into 20-gram portions and the oil-pastry into 15-gram portions." As he divided them, Qin Lang explained, "Lamination is divided into two methods: 'big-package' and 'small-package.' Big-package lamination involves laminating the dough as a whole and then dividing it, while small-package lamination involves dividing them first and then laminating individually." He paused. "Pop quiz: are we doing big-package or small-package?"

"Guru!" Danbao, who had been listening intently, eagerly chirped the answer.

"It should be small-package." Cao Dongdong, having finished his notes, followed up, then couldn't help but ask, "So, what exactly is lamination?"

"Watch closely."

Qin Lang smiled without answering. He quickly took a piece of water-oil dough, flattened it, placed a ball of oil-pastry inside, wrapped it up, and rolled it into a tongue-shaped strip. He rolled it up like a carpet, rolled it out into a strip again, and rolled it up once more.

"Now, it's your turn," Qin Lang said, looking at Cao Dongdong.

Cao Dongdong rubbed his hands together, eager to try. Soon, all the dough portions were finished, and he covered them with plastic wrap.

"Now, let them rest for twenty minutes."

Because the filling of the Egg Yolk Pastry was quite large, the crust needed to be rolled very thin to wrap around it, making the resting step crucial. Taking off his gloves, Qin Lang looked at Cao Dongdong, who was frowning in thought.

"Did you get it?"

"Your technique just now..." Cao Dongdong said, a bit uncertainly. "The water-oil dough wrapped around the oil-pastry, like a sandwich when pressed flat."

"And by rolling it out and folding it, you’re turning the water-oil-dough/oil-pastry structure from a single layer into multiple layers?"

"And by rolling it a second time, the layers become even more numerous?" Cao Dongdong’s eyes grew brighter and brighter, as if he had grasped something.

Huh?

Qin Lang looked at Cao Dongdong in surprise. He understood the purpose of lamination after just one demonstration. This guy’s aptitude was higher than he had imagined.