"That's truly astonishing! Is this your original technique? If a move like this appeared in the Japanese culinary world, it would definitely cause a massive sensation!"
As she spoke, Nakiri Leonora also approached Dylan's side, her face flushed with excitement. To think such a top-tier genius was her daughter's master – she had truly struck gold!
"An old master taught it to me. Back then, he saw my exceptional talent, treated me like his own son, and passed on all his skills to me."
Thinking of the old man with the walking stick, a faint smile appeared on Dylan's face.
Dough King Luo Gen... Back then, he had cheekily used words to provoke him, insisting on competing, then stealing his techniques during the match, and shamelessly asking for corrections afterward.
After he did this many times, Luo Gen naturally understood his intentions. Seeing his truly astonishing talent, and not wanting his own skills to be buried, Luo Gen finally allowed Dylan to perform the disciple ceremony on his 30th challenge attempt.
It totally wasn't because Dylan kept lighting firecrackers near his outhouse, leaving Luo Gen helpless, forcing him to reluctantly teach some basics just to get rid of him, only to have his core skills learned instead! Absolutely not!
"That must have been a highly respected old master, to have developed such an incredible technique! Can you tell me the name of this move? But why can the dough fly in the air, and why does it form a shape resembling a giant serpent?"
Hearing Dylan's description, an expression of reverence appeared on Nakiri Leonora's face. A dough master capable of creating such an amazing technique must surely be the world's number one dough master!
"This technique wasn't created by an individual but is a family inheritance, perfected over generations, ultimately forming the ultimate skill: 'White Luo Serpent Coiling Chain'!"
While taking out the remaining ingredients for the shumai from the refrigerator, Dylan answered Leonora's question. After a moment's thought, he added, "The so-called White Luo Serpent Coiling Chain doesn't rely on strength to knead the dough. It relies on the rotational movement of the fingers, the rotational movement of the back of the hand, plus the rotational movement of the staff. Only by unifying these three can one execute the most authentic White Luo Serpent Coiling Chain!"
"In other words, the essence of dough work lies in rotation!! The breadth and depth of rotation you can achieve determines the skill of the dough master!"
Recalling the words Old Man Luo had taught him back then, Dylan spoke fluently. Seeing Nakiri Alice beside him listening with utmost seriousness, a strange feeling arose in his heart.
He remembered being just as serious back then, unwilling to waste a single second, eager to absorb knowledge and improve his culinary skills.
"What a unique insight! I'm starting to look forward to the dish made using this technique!"
"Rest assured, it definitely won't disappoint you. After all, what I'm about to make is the true Golden Ratio Shumai!"
Dylan revealed a mysterious smile as he spoke, then turned his gaze towards the cutting board before him, where Jinhua ham, sea shrimp, eggs, and spinach lay.
"The true Golden Ratio Shumai?"
Hearing Dylan's words, Nakiri Leonora murmured with her mouth slightly open, while Alice stood quietly beside her, watching and waiting for his performance.
After witnessing such an incredible technique, both mother and daughter crowded around Dylan, neither willing to leave.
Since they weren't disturbing his cooking, Dylan didn't shoo them away. He simply peeled the shrimp with lightning speed, then used the back of his knife to pound the shrimp meat into a paste, mixing in some small chopped pieces for texture.
The pork and Jinhua ham were rhythmically pounded into paste using the previously customized iron rods. Increasing speed and force could reduce the time needed; this was still the Chaoshan beef ball method, which made the meat texture resilient and springy.
As for why not use only Jinhua ham? Firstly, its meat is relatively dry; excessive pounding would turn it into shredded meat rather than paste.
Secondly, cured products are generally quite salty. Soaking can dilute the saltiness, but it would also cause the unique flavour of the Jinhua ham to be lost.
As a top-tier chef, Dylan naturally wouldn't make such a basic mistake.
So, he devised a new solution: mixing fresh pork into the Jinhua ham and pounding them together with the iron rods until fully integrated.
This way, the Jinhua ham's flavour could be preserved to the greatest extent possible, while also preventing it from being too dry – the most suitable processing method currently available.
Of course, the "true Golden Ratio Shumai" he spoke of couldn't possibly involve just this minor change. More importantly was the ratio of eight to five.
Five divided by eight yields 0.625, not the golden ratio of 0.618. As the saying goes, a miss is as good as a mile. Only by achieving true balance could it be called Golden Ratio Shumai!
This would be difficult for others. Achieving such precision down to the decimal point would typically require a high-precision digital scale; otherwise, reaching this level is nearly impossible.
For regular shumai, a five-to-eight ratio is sufficient. If every single shumai required weighing on a digital scale, the customers would be the ones cursing.
But, he was a man possessing both Super Touch and Super Sight! As soon as the filling passed through his hands, he could instantly determine its weight.
He placed the mixed meat paste, shrimp paste, cooked egg yolk, and blanched spinach into separate bowls. With that, the filling part of the shumai was complete.
"Brother Dylan, let me help with rolling the shumai wrappers next! I might not be good at much else, but when it comes to rolling shumai wrappers, I'm a pro!"
Seeing Dylan pause his actions and turn his gaze towards the nearby dough, Nakiri Alice quickly spoke up. She was very confident in her wrapper-rolling skills! She could definitely help!
"This time, we're not rolling paper-thin shumai wrappers. They need to be even thinner than paper. The technique and requirements are slightly different. Just watch from the side this time; you can help me next time."
Although touched by Nakiri Alice's desire to help, she really couldn't assist much with this particular dish. It was better for her to rest.
"Aww... What a pity."
Hearing she couldn't help, disappointment instantly clouded Nakiri Alice's face.
"Don't worry. Once I teach you everything I know and your cooking skills improve, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to help me."
Seeing Alice looking a bit downcast, Dylan couldn't help but offer words of comfort. Hearing him, the girl nodded listlessly.
"I'll work hard! Sooner or later, I'll be able to help you!"
"I'll be waiting for that day."
Looking at Nakiri Alice's young but determined little face, Dylan felt his heart melt. Human cubs are truly adorable!
At seven or eight years old, they were at that fragrant, soft stage, perfect for cuddles.
Thinking this, Dylan reached out and playfully pinched Nakiri Alice's face. Her fair cheek was instantly molded into various shapes, looking quite amusing.
Faced with Dylan's cheek-pinching, Nakiri Alice not only didn't resist but actively tilted her head up, grinning, clearly wanting to curry favour with him.
Nakiri Leonora took all of this in, covering one side of her face with her hand, unable to stop the broad smile spreading across her lips, almost overflowing with an "auntie's fondness".
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