Chapter 66: Golden Potato Shrimp Ball
Author: Black Lantern (黑色花灯)
Link: https://book.qidian.com/info/1009922190
Translated by Gumihou
Making mashed potatoes seems easy, but in fact, to make delicious mashed potatoes, a certain level of skill is needed.
First, Ye Fei carefully removed the potato skins. Next, he cut the potato into small pieces. Then, he cooked the potatoes with just enough water to cover the potatoes over high heat.
While the potato was cooking, Ye Fei dressed the 4 shrimps.
Shrimps were easier to clean than lobster. After washing the shrimps, he placed them in a small bowl of clean water, allowing the shrimps to soak up some of the clean water before starting the cleaning process.
He found a pair of scissors in the equipment cabinet provided by the System and used it to carefully trim off the shrimp head at a 40 degrees angle. Then, he used the point of the knife to poke out the shrimp’s innards in the head.
While he was picking the shrimp innards out, he found that the shrimp provided by the System had a lot of roe running down its head and back.
“No wonder this thing is so expensive, ah. The roe alone is worth a lot, this is definitely a good thing,” Ye Fei muttered to himself.
Even as he was muttering, Ye Fei had picked out the innards, along with the long intestine that ran down the shrimp’s back. The best method of getting all the dirty, inedible things out of a shrimp was to cut the back of the shrimp with a pair of scissors.
However, this method would cause the shrimp’s body to lose its integrity and shape. Still, if the end result was just for eating or making minced shrimp, it is considered the most efficient method.
After removing the innards, Ye Fei cut the tail off, along with a bit of meat still attached. This would form the decorative bit on the shrimp ball.
This way, one shrimp could be considered properly dressed. Ye Fei started on the second shrimp and repeated all his previous actions.
His movements were rather careful at first, but after two shrimps, he begin to pick up speed. It did not take long for him to dress all 4 shrimps.
By now, the potatoes were done boiling.
Ye Fei took the pieces of potatoes out with a slotted spoon and placed them onto a plate to be cooled as he looked for a clean paper bag from the bunch of tools needed to make this dish.
Well, Ye Fei called it a paper bag. It certainly felt like a paper bag, but was a lot stronger than a normal paper bag.
Once the potatoes have cooled down enough, Ye Fei placed them in the bag and carefully pressed out the air before sealing it completely.
Next, was to mash the potatoes.
Ye Fei took out a small rolling pin and ran it back and forth gently over the paper bag. After repeated rolls, the potatoes in the paper bag were quickly crushed up.
Two full minutes was enough to ensure that the potatoes were evenly mashed. Ye Fei put the rolling pin away and carefully cut open the paper bag with a pair of kitchen scissors. The mashed potato was the colour of corn flour.
There was no need to add anything to the mashed potatoes. From the smell alone, Ye Fei could tell it was good enough to be eaten just like that.
“As expected of high-class ingredients, ah. If I sell this mashed potato, I’m sure a whole line of people would appear, attracted by the fragrance alone.”
Ye Fei’s expectations for the Potato Shrimp Ball heightened even more. He is looking forward to tasting the combination of shrimp and potatoes.
After scraping the potatoes out into a small bowl, he set it aside.
That was when he cook the shrimp.
With the same pot he had used to boil the potatoes, he changed the water and placed the cleaned shrimp meat and tails and let it simmer
Cooking shrimp is an art form. That’s because shrimp is very tender. If cooked for too long, the meat will grow hard and not be as tasty. If the cooking time is too short, it would be raw.
The general cooking time for shrimp is about two or three minutes.
Once the shrimp had turned a bright red colour, Ye Fei fished them out of the pot and placed them on a plate to be cooled.
Once the shrimp cooled, he removed the shells, revealing the jade-white flesh with its bright red lines. The shrimp looked very beautiful.
He did not peel the meat out of the shrimp tail, but set them aside. As for the peeled meat, he minced them and mixed the meat into the mashed potatoes.
After roughly mixing the meat and potatoes together, he added the appropriate amount of milk and white sugar, as well as some chilli powder and pepper before mixing it again.
Naturally, the seasonings could be changed according to your taste. If you don’t like spicy flavours, there’s no need to add chilli powder.
Once everything has been added, Ye Fei scraped the mixture out and formed it into a ball before rolling it out into a cigar shape. This way, it is easier to set out the 4 portions of shrimp and potato per the recipe. After sticking the shrimp tail in, Ye Fei kneaded the mixture into a ball and set it aside.
They looked like little round balls with a tail, very cute.
After that, he gently rolled the balls of shrimp and potato in breadcrumbs.
Once that was done, it was time to fry it.
He switched the pot for a wok and after turning on the fire, Ye Fei dropped two boxes of Top-Grade Rose Oil in. The blocks of fat melted into oil, and a unique fragrance filled the kitchen.
Ye Fei breathed in deeply, saliva nearly dripping out the corner of his mouth.
“This fragrance, I’ll never get tired of it even after a lifetime, ah.”
Not long after that, the Rose Oil was hot enough for frying and he carefully lowered the 4 Potato Shrimp Balls in.
As soon as the balls hit the oil, a sizzling sound rose and a wonderful aroma of shrimp, potato and rose filled the air. The combined fragrance of the Rose Oil as well as the unique fragrance of the potatoes nearly caused Ye Fei to float into the sky.
“Your mom, how high class, ah. The smell alone is already irresistible. Who knows what actually eating it is like? I’m really looking forward to it.”
In fact, he was not the only one filled with expectations for tonight’s snack. Little Sharpie was busy licking his lips and thinking: Fragrant, so fragrant, sooo fragrant, ah. Just what is this guy doing? Why is it so fragrant? It smells even more fragrant than the stir-fried meat left on that fellow’s hand, ah. Oh, daddy must eat one!
The Rose Oil continued to bubble around the Potato Shrimp Balls, sending out little bursts of fragrance into the air and up Ye Fei’s nose.
Ye Fei wiped his mouth and gulped.
He kept his eyes on the balls as they bobbed in the frying oil, slowly changing colour from a pale yellow to golden yellow.
“F*ck, just the colour alone is too amazing, ah.”
He muttered as he flipped the Potato Shrimp Balls with a slotted spoon.
When it looked like it was about 6 or 7 parts done, he fished out the balls and lowered them onto a plate.
Resisting the urge to swallow the Potato Shrimp Balls immediately, he waited for the oil to [1] heat up again before returning the balls to the oil.
This way, the Golden Potato Shrimp Balls would be even more crisp and beautiful on the outside.
The second frying did not take long. A minute or so later, Ye Fei fished out the Golden Potato Shrimp Balls and placed them on a plate.
He was very excited about the prospect of eating something delicious soon.
“Top grade mashed potatoes, top grade minced shrimp, top grade oil, top grade seasoning… everything is top grade here. If the flavour is not super top grade, I’d feel sorry for these ingredients, ah.”
Ye Fei moved the plate with the 4 little Golden Potato Shrimp Balls to a small table and [2] just… stared at them.
Suddenly, a dark shadow flew over. [2] By the time he managed to react, there were only 3 Golden Potato Shrimp Balls left on the plate.
Ye Fei, “@#$%&!!”
“Your mom, ah, Sharpie! How dare you?! Get the hell out of here! Get out! Get out! Get out, ah, ah, ah!”
It felt like 10,000 alpacas were stomping through his heart. He was so angry he nearly went mad.
It took him so much effort just to make 4 little Golden Potato Shrimp Balls. He had not even eaten one yet but the little dog had already run off with 1. How awful, ah!
Gumihou: …rose, potato and shrimp? *Gags*
[1] Actually, the twice frying is to do a second fry once the oil is hot again. Not to wait for the fried things to cool first before frying. (Wrong info, fixed)
[2] Some small adjustments to improve the text
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