Chapter 52

Son and daughter

"Lord, Lord. Are you talking about a part of the body?"

"Are you going to do something to the food? Could it be, poison?"

"During our wedding banquet, something happened with the body parts of the other clan's members."

I knew that he was planning to carry out a terrorist attack on the bloodline of the hostile organization that I had been invited to for my mafia daughter's wedding, and Jeong Geun-cheong and Tang Yingying shouted in disbelief.

After explaining in detail to my startled wife and Tang Yingying, who thought I was at her level, they finally calmed down.

"Ah, so you mean a steamed bun that comes out with a broth so hot it peels the roof of your mouth, and it's called xiaolongbao, which means a small steamed bun made in a small bamboo steamer?"

Jeong Geun-cheong, with a relieved expression, swept his hand across his chest and said.

Indeed, with the sharp mind of the Jeong family, my wife understood clearly and summarized it.

I nodded with a smile.

"Yes, my lady."

In my previous life, xiaolongbao was known by two names, but the funny thing is that not only in our country, but even the Chinese themselves use both names interchangeably.

However, the correct name is xiaolongbao (小笼包), which means a steamed bun made in a small bamboo steamer.

Since this is a dish that starts from my hands, it doesn't matter what it's called, but I decided to remove the character for 'dragon' (龙) from the name, as it is the most favored word by the people of the Central Plains.

Moreover, if this dish becomes known,

'Have you tried the 'dragon food' made by the 'dragon eater'? It's called 'double dragon' because it's made by the 'dragon eater'!'

It was clear that it would lead to something that would be mocked for a long time.

So, I settled on the name xiaolongbao, despite my regret.

Since it would take a while for the gelatin broth to be ready, I decided to make some snacks for my wife to pass the time, as I thought she needed some nutritional supplements.

She looked so frail that she might fly away if a gust of wind hit her.

For that reason, I cut the chicken and scallions I had skinned earlier into bite-sized pieces, alternately skewered them on thin bamboo skewers, sprinkled salt and pepper, and started grilling them over the brazier.

- Sizzle

The oil dripping from the chicken hit the charcoal, creating a smoky and savory aroma, along with the sweet scent from the cooking scallions.

The oil dripping from the chicken infused the skewers with smoke, and as they grilled to a golden brown, a delicious scallion chicken skewer was completed without any special effort.

Scallion chicken skewers are a timeless truth, and as the savory aroma rose, the servants, the village doctor, and even the chief steward began to glance in my direction.

However, this dish was made solely for Jeong Geun-cheong.

Although there was another person nearby,

When I offered the completed scallion chicken skewer to Jeong Geun-cheong, she asked with a flustered look.

"What is this? Lord."

"I thought you might get bored waiting, so I prepared it. Please enjoy it with Yingying."

At my words, she smiled with a grateful and bashful expression.

Then, she took the scallion chicken skewer I offered and slowly began to taste it with her cute lips.

The oil dripping from her lips as she took a bite.

'Oh wow'

"It's only salted, but it's really delicious, Lord."

"It's really delicious, Lord."

Seeing Jeong Geun-cheong's happy smile, I knew that my choice last night was not wrong.

And I wanted to stay by her side all day, but I couldn't neglect the great task of punishing the Sima clan.

I had to leave with a regretful word to Jeong Geun-cheong.

"I have to cook all night, so I need to take a nap during the day. I'll see you later, my lady."

"I'll come out later, too."

"Me too, Lord!"

Although I told her to get a good night's sleep, Jeong Geun-cheong tried to drown me in a tsunami of emotion with her adorable words, saying she couldn't rest while I was working.

Just before drowning in the wave of emotion, I hurriedly crawled out and asked the chief steward to strain the broth when it was done and to cool it in a cold place, then I headed to my room with heavy steps.

***

Late at night, Jeong Geun-cheong and Tang Yingying came to wake me up, and when I followed them, the broth had perfectly set into a jelly-like state.

I immediately started preparing.

First, I asked the servants to mince the beef.

The meat inside is beef.

Xiaolongbao can be made with pork or beef, but since it's a wedding banquet, I couldn't serve pork, which is usually eaten by commoners, to the esteemed guests. Therefore, I decided to use beef, which is a relatively traditional method.

Then, I asked the servants to mince the gelatin broth, which had solidified and turned into a paste-like substance, into a certain size, and prepared it by boiling water with star anise, fennel, cloves, and pepper.

In Korean-style dumpling fillings, no water is added, but in xiaolongbao, this boiled water is added to remove the gamey smell and to keep the filling moist.

I poured the broth into the minced beef and prepared the white part of the scallions in a 2.5:1 ratio with the meat. I added a little star anise powder and garlic, mixed it with the minced meat I had prepared earlier, and finally mixed in the egg whites to complete the filling.

While the servants were preparing a large amount of dough for making the dumplings, I finished the preparation by seasoning the filling with salt.

After a short wait, the first batch of dough prepared by the servants arrived, and I started rolling it out with my hands.

As the rolling pin moved under my hands, the dough, which was like round beads, began to flatten into palm-sized circles, and soon became flat, round dumpling wrappers.

The edges were thin, and the center was slightly thicker.

Dumplings are a dish that requires a lot of work, but they are relatively easy to make in terms of preparation and process.

However, xiaolongbao, while being a type of dumpling, is a very delicate dish.

This delicacy of xiaolongbao is due to a few special characteristics it possesses.

First, the concept of xiaolongbao is to fill the dumpling with a gelatinized rich broth, and when the xiaolongbao is steamed, the gelatinized broth liquefies at high temperatures, releasing a rich broth when eaten.

For this reason, when the gelatinized broth maintains its shape, it looks relatively pretty, but if the ratio of the gelatinized broth is too high, it will all turn to liquid in the steamer, mix with the filling, and the dumpling will collapse and become like a pancake.

On the other hand, if the gelatinized broth is too little, it will be absorbed by the wrapper and filling, and almost no broth will come out.

Therefore, the ratio of the gelatin broth in the filling is very important.

The next most important thing is the wrapper.

If the wrapper is too thick, it will absorb too much of the broth inside, making it disappear, and if it's too thin, it will tear, so it must be rolled out very carefully.

Moreover, the top part of the xiaolongbao is where the wrappers overlap in a spiral shape, so if it's not thin, the overlapping wrappers may become too thick and not cook properly.

Therefore, when rolling out the wrapper, the edges should be thin, and the center should be relatively thicker to support the thin xiaolongbao.

I took the first batch of dough, placed the prepared filling on it, and made the first xiaolongbao by folding the dough with my index and thumb of my right hand at equal intervals.

As the dough was folded in a circular motion, a small pouch was formed.

When the small pouch was completed on my hand, my wife and Tang Yingying exclaimed in admiration.

"Ah, so that's why it's called 'bao' (包)."

"It looks like it can fit in one bite."

Hearing Jeong Geun-cheong's admiring voice, I looked at her and asked.

"Would you like to try making one together?"

"Me?"

At Jeong Geun-cheong's question, I nodded with a smile.

Since there were many guests, I needed to make a large number of xiaolongbao, so it wasn't bad to have my wife try making one, especially with her curious expression.

However, looking at her face, she seemed to be wondering if she could do it well, so I added a few more words.

"Of course. Since we need to make a lot, we need help, and in the place where I lived, they say that a woman who makes pretty dumplings will give birth to a handsome son, so why don't you try making one?"

At my words, Jeong Geun-cheong, who had been pondering, made a shy expression and nodded.

"Y-Yes, I would like to try."

Jeong Geun-cheong, who had been pondering, now had a very enthusiastic expression.

During holidays, if someone didn't want to make dumplings, adults would use this as a competition, and it seemed to be a good way to draw attention in any situation.

I immediately handed a wrapper to my enthusiastic wife.

Then, Tang Yingying, who was standing nearby, asked in a hesitant voice.

"Lord, can I try making one too?"

"Sure, you can try."

Tang Yingying, drawn in by the widespread attention, also joined in.

I immediately rolled out another piece of dough and handed it to Tang Yingying.

Then, I rolled out another piece of dough and demonstrated how to make it.

First, I placed the wrapper on my hand, put an appropriate amount of filling in the center, and then, using my other hand, pinched the edges of the wrapper together in a consistent manner to close the opening.

The distance between the thumb and index finger holding the dough should be consistent so that when viewed from above, the dumpling has a very regular spiral shape, making it both visually and taste-wise appealing.

"Here, this is how you do it. When you pinch the wrapper, you need to do it at a consistent distance to make a very pretty shape."

"I'll try."

As my explanation ended, Jeong Geun-cheong, with a determined look, started making a dumpling, and Tang Yingying, not wanting to be outdone, also started making one.

Leaving them to wrestle with a single wrapper, I made a few more dumplings, and a short while later, Jeong Geun-cheong asked in a trembling voice.

"Lord, how is it?"

Turning my head to look at Jeong Geun-cheong, I saw a plump, cute dumpling in her hand.

She seemed to have a good knack for it, as the xiaolongbao she made, though it took some time, was very round and beautifully shaped.

If this shape really represented the appearance of a son, it would be a cute, round shape.

"Oh, my lady, you did very well. You seem to have a talent for it."

I couldn't help but praise her with a very pleased expression.

She then had a very happy and bashful expression, rubbing her burning cheek with the back of her hand, as if she was embarrassed by my praise.

However, with this level of skill, she deserved even more praise, so I immediately continued my compliments.

"The dumpling is very pretty, as if you've made it many times! So, you will give birth to a very handsome son..."

But as I continued my praise, I realized that the handsome son Jeong Geun-cheong would give birth to would be my son.

The making of the dumpling