Chapter 57: Crab Roe Soup Dumplings

Although the crab roe soup dumpling is also a variety of dumpling, its preparation differs significantly from that of ordinary dumplings. This distinction lies primarily in the dough wrapper. The wrapper of a crab roe soup dumpling tends to be quite resilient, oily, and smooth, lacking the soft and fluffy texture of standard dumplings.

The advantage of this is that the rich soup inside the crab roe soup dumpling is safely retained within the wrapper rather than being absorbed by the dough.

Once the dough wrapper was prepared, Heath tied up the giant purple crab and placed it into the steamer to begin the steaming process. While the crab was steaming, Heath needed to attend to another task, which involved the crab meat.

The filling for an authentic crab roe soup dumpling uses very specific ingredients: crab roe and crab meat. Furthermore, the broth required for the soup dumplings must be chicken broth. While the chicken broth and crab roe were relatively easy to handle, the crab meat presented a headache for Heath.

Heath had not forgotten what he had seen earlier using the ingredient identifier. Although the crab roe of the giant purple crab is a top-tier delicacy, its crab meat is notoriously unpalatable. If the crab meat of the giant purple crab were to be mixed into the crab roe, the entire batch of soup dumplings would likely be ruined.

"If only there were crabs with firm and flavorful meat," Heath sighed. He hadn't purchased any crabs today, as he certainly hadn't anticipated making crab roe soup dumplings. Since he lacked suitable crab meat, alternative methods were required.

After a moment of hesitation, Heath retrieved a tree fruit from the ingredient cabinet. It was an Oran Berry, which Heath had bought for the plant roots needed by his Farfetch'd. However, Oran Berries are also edible, though they possess a somewhat sour taste. Heath tasted a small piece; eating it directly was out of the question because it was far too sour, bearing a resemblance to a lemon.

Yet, if handled properly, this ingredient could be a fine choice for making crab roe soup dumplings, provided Heath had a few other items on hand.

"Good thing I still have this," Heath muttered, peering into his refrigerator before pulling out a piece of pork belly. This was the leftover ingredient from when he had previously prepared pan-seared pork belly.

Even without crab legs, a top-tier chef must learn to make the best of available local ingredients or devise alternative methods to complete a dish. A cook who cannot prepare food without specific ingredients is technically a chef, but their capacity for innovation and future development remains inherently limited.

Such cooks can only be described as constrained by dogma, capable of executing only those recipes that have already been invented and verified.

For the pork belly, Heath selected the middle section where fat and lean meat alternate. He finely diced both the fat and lean portions into tiny cubes, making them as small as possible. Next, he extracted the juice from the Oran Berry, poured it over the diced pork belly, and mixed in a bit of honey. Heath had briefly considered condensed milk, but it was too sweet, whereas honey struck the exact right balance.

Once thoroughly mixed, he set the mixture aside for later use. Heath took the opportunity to simmer the chicken broth, but the heat was too low. To catch up with the steaming time of the giant purple crab, Heath summoned Charmander and had the little Pokémon use its flames to rapidly increase the heat.

Afterward, he extracted a portion of the chicken broth and simmered it together with the diced pork belly. Then, carrying the bowl of broth, Heath walked into the lounge, woke up the Snorlax, and asked it to use its abilities to quickly cool down the chicken broth. Soon enough, the broth solidified into meat jelly inside the bowl.

Heath nodded with satisfaction. With that, all the preparatory steps were complete.

Heath picked up a kitchen knife, retrieved the steamed giant purple crab, and skillfully cracked open its shell. Immediately, a generous heap of vibrant crab roe came into view. Heath could not help breaking into a smile. People in this world apparently did not appreciate crab roe very much, generally preferring to eat only the crab meat.

However, for someone from China who had tasted crab roe, such a supreme ingredient was naturally deeply satisfying. Heath was extremely fond of crabs rich in roe, and the roe of the giant purple crab looked exceptionally fresh. Heath gently scraped out the roe, making a quick mental estimate. This amount should be enough to wrap twelve crab roe soup dumplings; he only wondered if Ho-Oh would be able to finish them all.

Combining the crab roe and the chicken broth meat jelly, he wrapped them into soup dumplings, placed them back into the steamer, and cooked them over high heat for about seven minutes until they were ready to serve.

"Why is it taking so long?" Ho-Oh complained with dissatisfaction. Heath was taking far too long this time, and there was no particularly enticing aroma to speak of. Ho-Oh began to suspect that Heath might actually be stumped by this crab.

"Fine cuisine requires a bit of patience, esteemed customer," Heath replied calmly. At this point, it was just a matter of waiting for the soup dumplings to finish steaming, and there wasn't much else for him to do.

"Hmph! If they don't taste good, I won't pay!" Ho-Oh snorted twice and sat back down. Meanwhile, other customers arrived at Heath's food cart, eager to buy Braised Chicken Rice.

Once Heath had served those three customers, the crab roe soup dumplings were finally done. Heath opened the steamer and carefully lifted the soup dumplings out one by one, arranging them on a tray. Since his plates could only hold three crab roe soup dumplings at a time, Heath ended up serving Ho-Oh four plates.

"What is this? It smells faintly of crab." Ho-Oh twitched her delicate nose, looking with curiosity at the food Heath had placed before her.

"These are crab roe soup dumplings made from the giant purple crab you saw earlier. They are very hot, so please consume with care," Heath offered a reminder, though he felt it was hardly necessary. This was Ho-Oh, after all; if she could burn her mouth on soup, that truly would be a rare spectacle.

With eager curiosity, Ho-Oh picked up a crab roe soup dumpling with her chopsticks. As the dumpling was lifted, it bounced slightly up and down, and a rich fragrance wafted out. Ho-Oh could actually see the liquid soup sloshing inside the wrapper, causing her to involuntarily swallow a mouthful of saliva.

Next, Ho-Oh blew gently on the crab roe soup dumpling before taking a bite.

A rush of rich broth instantly burst through the broken wrapper, flooding into Ho-Oh's mouth. The flavor of the crab roe blended harmoniously with the chicken broth, making her taste buds feel as though they were exploding with delight. Anyone else would have been gasping and panting from the scalding temperature of the broth, but Ho-Oh felt nothing of the sort; she even took another bite.

Within the delicate crab roe were tiny, droplet-like morsels that released an exquisite fragrance upon biting, followed by a faint trace of sweet-and-sour flavor. This sweet-and-sour note was extremely subtle, perfectly complementing rather than overpowering the taste of the crab roe and chicken broth.

"Ah~" Ho-Oh flushed slightly as she let out a sound of supreme contentment. These crab roe soup dumplings were simply too delicious.

Meanwhile, Heath's expression turned rather peculiar. What kind of reward was this?