What is the best brine recipe?

If you ask what kind of cuisine brine belongs to, most people don’t know, but if you ask what brine tastes like, I believe everyone has tasted it. In fact, brine is a kind of Cantonese cuisine. Of course, some experts say it is Sichuan cuisine, but no matter which cuisine it belongs to, brine is extremely popular. Common vegetables and meats will have a unique flavor once they are cooked in brine. So what’s the best brine recipe?

Ingredients: 400g dried chili pepper, 50g ginger, 70g scallion, 20g star anise, 8g cinnamon, 10g fennel, 10g grass fruit, 10g pepper, 5g cloves, 8g amomum, 12g cardamom, 5g sedge, 5g bay leaf, 100g salt, 15g MSG, 50g red yeast rice, 5000g fresh soup, 2000g refined oil

(I) Method:

(1) Cut the dried chili peppers into sections. Soak other spices in water for a while and drain. Boil red yeast rice with 1200g water until it turns red, drain and keep the juice for later use.

(2) Heat oil in a clean pot until it is 30% hot. Add dried chili peppers, drained spices, and scallions and ginger and stir-fry briefly. Add fresh soup and red yeast rice water. Add salt and MSG and bring to a boil. Then simmer over low heat for 2 hours until the aroma and spicy taste are released. This is the marinade.

(II) Storage of brine

1. After a period of use, a small amount of raw material or spice residue will be left in the brine. At this time, it needs to be filtered to ensure the quality of the brine.

2. After repeated use, the brine will become thicker. Although it has been filtered, it still needs to be "cleaned", that is, clean animal blood is mixed with clean water and slowly added to the boiling brine. This is to use the adsorption and coagulation of protein to absorb impurities in the brine to make the brine clear. Some people also use lean meat to "clean" the brine.

". However, it should be noted that each pot of brine should not be cleaned too many times, so as to avoid the brine losing its freshness and fragrance.

3. The floating oil in the brine should be removed frequently. It is best to keep only a thin layer of "oil surface" on the surface of the brine. Otherwise, too much oil will easily cause the brine to deteriorate due to fat oxidation and deterioration.

4. When the brine is not in use, it should be boiled and placed in an enamel bucket, allowed to cool naturally, and do not shake it at will. In addition, bricks should be placed at the bottom of the barrel to keep the bottom ventilated. If it is summer, the brine must be boiled every day. If conditions permit, it can be stored in a cold storage. When the brine is not used for a long time, it should be taken out of the cold storage and boiled frequently, and then put back into the storage after cooling.

(III) Use of brine

1. All animal ingredients must be blanched before braising. Otherwise, if the ingredients are put directly into the pot, the amount of brine will decrease sharply, making the dish taste too salty.

2. To make a good marinade, you should often use animal ingredients with strong umami flavor to increase the umami flavor of the marinade. There is a saying in the industry that "the older the brine, the better", which speaks to this truth.

3. Raw materials with strong freshness and fragrance, such as pork, chicken, duck, goose and rabbit, should be separated from beef, mutton and various animal "offal" such as pig intestines, which have strong odors, and the brine should be used separately to ensure the quality of the brine and braised dishes.

4. During use, you should regularly check the color, aroma, saltiness and sufficiency of the marinade. Once you find that any aspect is reduced, you should replenish it in time, which is what we often say "replenish what is lacking".