Everyone is making braised vegetables. The finished products are mostly deep red, light red or maroon. The braised vegetables are ruddy in color, salty and slightly sweet in taste, crispy and delicious, and the juice is yellow and fragrant. But making it red, shiny, rich and juicy requires a little effort and know-how.
1. Ingredients selection and processing Braised rice has strong adaptability to raw materials, but the texture of the raw materials has a greater impact on the finished dish, so choosing good ingredients is still the prerequisite for making a good dish. For example, the braised pork should be pork belly, the braised pork elbow should be the front elbow, the braised chicken should be the next year's rooster, the braised fish should be about 1000 grams of carp, etc. Raw materials should be kept fresh, non-deteriorated and free of odor. When processing, it should be based on the characteristics of the raw materials. It can be whole, sliced ??(such as braised pork), cut into pieces (braised fish pieces), cut into sections (braised sea cucumbers), or minced (braised meatballs). However, it is generally not advisable to cut it too small. Too thin, otherwise the raw materials will be brittle due to long-term heating. The general requirement is to be neat and uniform, consistent in size, equal in length, and uniform in thickness, making it easy to cook and taste.
2. The meat should be stir-fried and the fish should be fried until fragrant. The so-called stir-frying means that all the meat pieces in the pot will change color, and the fat will be oily and shiny. Generally, for meat bought in the market, it is best to blanch it in water first and then stir-fry it. The purpose of blanching is to remove the residual blood and fishy smell from the meat. Do not add too much oil when stir-frying. After stir-frying, you can drain off some of the lard to make it fat but not greasy. If you are making braised fish, the fish must be fresh and fried until both sides are golden brown and there is a thin layer of crust on the surface. This step is the key to forming the luster of the braised dish, otherwise the finished dish will be dull and fragmented.
3. Apply color first, then add water, in one step. After the raw materials are stir-fried or fried, put oil in a clean pot. When it is hot, add Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and other ingredients. After the color of soy sauce adheres to the raw materials, add fresh soup or water (put enough soup at one time, do not add water in the middle, and remember to cover the pot lid), add the main ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat, and skim off the floating foam. , adjust the taste, simmer slowly over medium heat until the raw materials are crispy and tender, allowing the flavor juice to penetrate into the raw materials, and use high heat to thicken the soup. Only by using slow fire can the heat slowly enter the inside of the raw materials, making the raw materials mature and delicious. Use high heat at both ends and medium-low heat in the middle. This is the key to braised vegetables. If you add water before the raw materials are colored, the seasonings will be diluted by the water, and the finished dish will be gray and dull. The soup should be put in enough at one time. It is best to cover the raw materials for roasted meat, and less for roasted fish. If there is too much soup, it will be difficult to thicken the marinade. If there is too little soup, adding water halfway will affect the taste and color of the dishes.
4. Let’s talk specifically about “color and seasoning”. The initial coloring of braised vegetables is achieved at the same time as the cooking process. The braised fish becomes light red when fried in oil. The color needs to be enhanced by sugar, soy sauce, cooking wine, wine, etc. during formal cooking. But be careful not to apply too much color so as not to affect the color.
The taste of braised vegetables is mainly salty and slightly sweet. It is mainly seasoned with soy sauce. The amount of sugar should be moderate, preferably less but not too much.
Braised dishes pay attention to the original flavor, so the soup should be appropriate. If the soup is too much, the taste will be bland. If the soup is too little, the main ingredients will not be cooked thoroughly. Generally speaking, the soup should be about twice the amount of the raw materials. When it is cooked, When the ingredients are 1/4 full, remove from the pot. Don't tighten the sauce too much, otherwise the soup will become thicker and the characteristics of the braised dish will be lost. Don't thicken the gravy too thickly, add a little water starch to make the juice bright and the gravy bright, and the main ingredients to stand out.
Coloring and seasoning are inseparable. It has the function of seasoning when mixing colors, and it also has the function of color mixing when seasoning. This requires that when the dish is ready, the soy sauce and sugar should not be added too much to prevent the soup from being too dark and affecting the taste and color. The principle is that it should be shallow rather than deep.
5. Regarding the fire used for stewing, it is generally "slow fire for meat and quick fire for fish"
When the raw materials are close to crispy, turn to high heat immediately to thicken the soup. At this time, the taste of the dishes should be adjusted in time to ensure that the taste of the dishes is accurate, the color is red and bright, and the soup is thick when the dishes are mature.