Food: Senior year internship, you take over the university cafeteria

Chapter 43 Taro Dumplings

As she spoke, tears began to fall.

Wang Sheng quickly offered words of comfort. Just then, Su Weiwei, who had finished helping to tidy up and was preparing to leave, happened to pass by and politely smiled at Wang's mother, saying, "Hello, Auntie."

The Queen Mother raised her tearful eyes and looked at Su Weiwei. This girl is so pretty and charming—hmm? Why does she look so familiar?

Su Weiwei also looked at Wang's mother, blinked, and felt that this aunt looked familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before—ah! It was in the video! The time when her senior video-chatted with his mother!

The two women almost simultaneously remembered, exchanged a glance, and smiled somewhat embarrassedly. The Queen Mother looked at Su Weiwei, who was clean and tidy.

With her pretty and delicate features, and glancing at her son, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind, and her eyes brightened again. She took Su Weiwei's hand: "Miss, you must be Weiwei? I've often heard Shengsheng mention you. Thank you for your help!"

Su Weiwei blushed slightly at the sudden enthusiasm: "Auntie, you're too kind. Senior's cooking is delicious, we all love coming here."

Looking at this "familiar" scene, Wang Sheng had a premonition that his mother might start "imagining" again, so he quickly changed the subject and arranged for his mother to rest in the small off-campus house he had temporarily rented (originally prepared for extremely busy times).

The next day, this mother, who doted on her son, would bring another unexpected reward to "Shengji" in her most simple way.

The next day, noon.

The busy preparations for breakfast and lunch had come to a temporary halt, and the kitchen was unusually quiet. Wang's mother, however, couldn't stay idle; she helped tidy up inside and out, her eyes filled with heartache as she watched her son handle everything methodically.

"Shengsheng, you've been working so hard from morning till night. Look at you, you've lost weight." Mother Wang muttered, her gaze falling on a few taro pieces in the corner that hadn't been processed yet. They were some leftovers from making osmanthus sugar taro yesterday; they weren't big, but they looked excellent.

Suddenly, she remembered something, and her eyes lit up: "That's right, since I don't have anything to do this afternoon, Mom will make you some dumplings! We'll use taro! Back in our hometown, taro dumplings are so fragrant, good for the spleen and stomach, and easy to digest! Try Mom's cooking!"

"Taro dumplings?" Wang Sheng had never tried them before and was quite curious. Seeing his mother's eager expression, he knew she wanted to show her concern in this way, so he smiled and agreed, "Okay, I'll learn from Mom too."

Without further ado, the Queen Mother washed her hands, quickly peeled the taro, cut it into small pieces, and steamed it. While the taro was steaming, she began mincing the meat, choosing a good cut of pork shoulder with a good balance of fat and lean. She added minced ginger, minced scallions, salt, light soy sauce, a little sugar, and sesame oil, stirring clockwise until the mixture became sticky.

After steaming the taro, mash it into a smooth paste with a spoon, let it cool slightly, and then mix it with the prepared minced meat in a certain proportion. As she did this, the Queen Mother explained, "The taro paste shouldn't be too hot, otherwise it will ruin the freshness of the minced meat. The proportions are also important; too much taro paste will make the dumpling filling fall apart, and too much meat won't be fragrant and tender enough. It has to be just right."

The well-mixed taro and meat filling has a light grayish-purple color and exudes the unique fragrance of taro and meat.

Next came kneading the dough. The Queen Mother didn't use regular flour, but added some potato starch: "Adding a little starch makes the dumpling wrappers more translucent and smooth, and it goes well with the taro filling."

While the dough was resting, the Queen Mother quickly prepared a simple dipping sauce: minced garlic, chili oil, light soy sauce, vinegar, a little sugar, and sprinkled with roasted sesame seeds.

After the dough has rested, roll out the wrappers, fill them with filling. The Queen Mother's dumpling-making technique is quick and beautiful, and the dumplings, shaped like ingots, are neatly arranged on the cutting board.

"Mom, your cooking is amazing!" Wang Sheng exclaimed sincerely. The confidence and fluency his mother displayed in the kitchen were the wisdom accumulated over decades of life.

"Oh, it's just everyday food. Practice makes perfect," the Queen Mother said with a smile, though a hint of smugness lingered in her eyes.

Put the dumplings into the pot, bring the water to a boil three times, add cold water twice, and when the dumpling skins become translucent and the fillings are plump, they can be taken out.

The plump white dumplings are served in a large blue-and-white porcelain bowl. Through the thin, resilient skin, you can vaguely see the grayish-purple taro and meat filling inside.

Dip it in the bright red and tempting sauce, and take a bite—

The outer skin is smooth and chewy!

The filling is soft, chewy, and savory! The smooth and delicate taro paste blends perfectly into the meat filling, bringing a unique texture and a sweet taro aroma. It perfectly balances any potential greasiness of the meat filling, leaving only a mouthful of fresh, chewy, fragrant, and smooth flavor! The sour, spicy, and garlicky dipping sauce is the finishing touch, elevating the overall flavor to its peak!

"Delicious!" Wang Sheng's eyes lit up. These taro dumplings have a unique texture and harmonious flavor, offering both the warmth of home cooking and a touch of sophistication. They definitely have the potential to become a hit!

Su Weiwei, Zhao Gang, and the others were also drawn over by the aroma, and after tasting them, they exclaimed in delight, "Auntie, these are so delicious! I've never had dumplings like these before!"

"Taro and minced meat are such a perfect match! So tender and flavorful!"

"Auntie, could you teach us?"

The Queen Mother was beaming with pride, repeatedly saying, "Of course, of course! If you want to learn, Auntie will teach you!"

Just as Wang Sheng was carefully savoring and pondering the key points of making taro dumplings, [Ding!]

[The host is being learned and practiced a new family-inherited culinary skill: Taro and Pork Dumplings (Wang Family Recipe).]

[Self-Study Skills Proficiency Panel] Activated!

[Current Skill: Taro and Pork Dumplings Proficiency: 25/100]

[Tip: Repeated practice and instruction will improve proficiency. Reaching a proficiency of 90/100 signifies mastery of the essence, granting system certification and potentially triggering special rewards.]

[Related Notification: The host has mastered the skill "Clay Pot Soup (Basic)", current proficiency: 68/100.]

Once your clay pot soup proficiency reaches 90/100, you can upload your results to the system and receive a cash reward of 100,000 yuan!

The panel reappeared! And this time, it was directly linked to the progress of the clay pot soup! The notification of the 100,000 cash reward made Wang Sheng's heart flutter!

Taro dumplings are a new product with huge potential, and clay pot soup is just one step away from "monetizing"!

Learning the family's traditional dumpling-making skills from his mother triggers the proficiency panel, leading to inspiration for a new product with great market potential.

Meanwhile, his skill level in making clay pot soup is nearing the target, and a cash reward of 100,000 yuan is within reach!

Looking at the remaining taro and dumpling filling, and then at his mother, Wang Sheng quickly formed a plan.

"Mom, your taro dumplings are sure to be a hit! I'm thinking of launching them as a new product in our store. What do you think?" Wang Sheng asked his mother for her opinion.

"Sure! What's wrong with that! I'd love for it!" Mother Wang was overjoyed. "It's just that—I'm worried about delaying your business and not being able to finish quickly enough."

"That's easy." Wang Sheng already had a plan in mind. "We can launch two flavors first: taro and pork dumplings, and also—pickled cabbage and pork dumplings."

"Pickled cabbage?" the Queen Mother asked, puzzled.

Wang Sheng smiled and pointed to the jar of Northeastern sauerkraut that Brother Liu had given him: "It's top-quality sauerkraut right here, it would be a shame not to use it. Sauerkraut dumplings are appetizing and refreshing, and have a wide appeal. It's just that—" He paused, "Our breakfast and late-night snacks are already quite full, and we are indeed short-handed and have limited space."

19

He thought about Brother Liu's position and his desire to improve his business.

"Perhaps—we can cooperate."

77

"I'll invest myself, and then have Brother Liu combine it with Northeastern sauerkraut dumplings..."