The dough is kneaded, and the meat filling is mixed.
As soon as he returned to the workbench, Jiang Yu rolled up his sleeves, washed his hands clean, and energetically began wrapping baos.
Back when he worked part-time at a restaurant, probably because of his handsome appearance and gentle personality, he mainly did waiter jobs and didn't need to help much in the kitchen, especially with things like making baos, which he didn't do very often.
Precisely because he did it rarely, Jiang Yu's speed was not fast, you could even say it was somewhat slow.
A skilled pastry worker could probably wrap 6-10 baos in a minute without needing to roll out the dough, but Jiang Yu was far behind, at most able to wrap about 4 baos per minute.
Moreover, since he had to roll out the dough himself, wrapping 2 complete and well-shaped soup baos in a minute was considered decent.
But as the saying goes, practice makes perfect. The more baos you wrap, the better your skill naturally becomes, and as your technique matures, your speed increases.
What's more, Jiang Yu had the Gourmet System on his side.
Although the Gourmet System was somewhat "underwhelming," only offering food preparation recipes without instantly elevating his culinary skills to an admirable level or providing a virtual platform for learning cooking, Jiang Yu could distinctly feel the change in his cooking skills as he continuously wrapped baos.
Skills related to knife work, stir frying, and heat control will be put aside for now; his frequently used basic pastry skills such as dough kneading, rolling, striping, portioning, rolling, and filling were visibly improving at a rapid pace.
In other words, with the blessing of the Gourmet System, his culinary talent was dramatically enhanced.
Once he learns a skill, it often takes very little time to go from beginner to proficient.
The duration depends on the number of actual practice sessions, meaning each practice session brings progress to Jiang Yu.
Progress from just one or two tries might seem negligible, but when the number increases, the speed of improvement becomes quite impressive.
The most direct improvement was probably in his filling technique.
In the morning, when he first started wrapping soup baos, his filling technique was still somewhat rough; as he pinched the dough upwards, he often couldn't control the force properly, inadvertently tearing the soft dough, which significantly lowered his success rate in wrapping baos, making 2 baos a minute quite good.
But after practicing filling techniques for quite some time now, Jiang Yu's bao-making movements were as smooth as flowing water. In just a few blinks, a perfectly shaped soup bao with beautiful, abundant pleats appeared.
In just a short minute, he could wrap 6 baos, and most importantly, these baos were almost identical in size and shape, as if made from a mold.
Even if a master pastry chef came to evaluate, there probably wouldn't be much to criticize.
If one had to find fault in an egg, they might say Jiang Yu's speed in wrapping baos still had room for improvement...
The line outside was getting longer, and Jiang Yu didn't dare let them stand idly waiting, so he hurriedly wrapped for over half an hour, quickly placing the baos into the steamer, igniting the flame to start steaming.
After completing these tasks, he didn't dare rest for even a breath, hurriedly returning to the workbench to continue wrapping.
As for the soup baos steaming in the pot...
Wasn't there Hu Zhihai? It was all left to him to handle!
…
"Why hasn't the line moved at all?"
Xiaoqi felt quite aggrieved; she originally didn't have an appetite and didn't want to come to the cafeteria, but not only was she dragged here by Tongtong, she was also "forced" to queue together.
Although there were big trees providing shade at the cafeteria entrance, in Jiangzhou, during summer, if there's no air conditioning, the atmosphere inside and outside feels the same, even the air you breathe is sizzling!
"I just asked, this shop wasn't planning to open today, but someone found out the soup baos here are really delicious and collectively requested the owner to open for business. The owner is now working overtime wrapping baos, probably almost done."
Tongtong, a native of Jiangzhou, didn't particularly like noodles, especially not soup baos, which she perceived as a rather greasy food, not piquing her interest.
But her lack of interest wasn't important; what mattered was that Xiaoqi was from the North, growing up eating noodles.
Moreover, since everyone said the soup baos here were delicious, Xiaoqi might enjoy them too, perhaps even eat several more.
Before coming to the cafeteria, Tongtong was worried about what to buy for Xiaoqi to eat, hoping she would take a few bites. But now, there's no need to worry, this shop it is.
Since everyone praised it, it must be good.
After a pause, Tongtong turned to glance at Xiaoqi, noticing beads of sweat on her fair forehead, looking a bit worn out, she couldn't help but feel a bit tender-hearted,
"Why don't I alone wait in line here while you go inside the cafeteria to rest, there's air conditioning."
"It's okay, I'll stay with you."
Xiaoqi shook her head; she wasn't foolish, knowing full well Tongtong was queuing under the scorching heat not because she wanted to eat soup baos herself, but because she specifically wanted to buy them for her.
Even though Xiaoqi really didn't have an appetite this moment, not wanting to eat anything, it didn't hinder her feeling touched.
Friendship between girls is often unpredictable, with surface-level close interactions turning into infighting and mutual harm; finding a genuine friend who sincerely looks out for you is truly a blessing from past deeds, how could she not cherish it?
If she really went inside the cafeteria for air conditioning and left Tongtong alone queuing in the steamer-like heat, she would truly be a fool.
"Dan..."
Xiaoqi initially wanted to persuade Tongtong not to queue; she truly couldn't eat, not even thinking of soup baos; even if delicacies from all over the world were presented to her, she wouldn't be interested at the moment.
But before she could say the whole "Tong" in "Tongtong," Tongtong interrupted:
"Hey? There seems to be some movement ahead!"
Xiaoqi lifted her head suspiciously, seeing a stir in the line ahead, it seemed something happened, everyone's face showing some excitement.
"What is it? What happened?"
"Not sure, could it be that sales have started?"
Tongtong took two steps forward, craned her neck for a glance, and suddenly froze, her nostrils twitching slightly as if she smelled something, her expression gradually becoming more lively, she turned around joyfully calling,
"Xiaoqi, quickly smell this, it's so fragrant! Is this the aroma of the soup baos from the shop?!"
"Can it be smelled from this far?"
Xiaoqi was visibly skeptical but still sniffed vigorously; indeed, a faint scent of green onions seemed to waft into her nose uncontrollably, instantly arousing her appetite.
Before she could think further, someone ahead yelled loudly:
"They're starting to sell! Starting to sell!"