When preparing hot pot base and making brine, spices are generally used to increase the fragrance to cover up the bad smell of some hot ingredients, such as fishy smell, smell, odor, etc.
In the actual operation process, the spices are often fried directly in the pot or boiled in brine to make the fragrance overflow. This is obviously not the right thing to do, as it can give the hot pot base or brine an off-flavour and bitterness, as all the spices have not been pre-treated.
As we all know, the aroma of spices mainly comes from the volatile compounds such as alcohols, ketones, phenols, aldehydes and esters, mushroom hydrocarbons, etc., but there are also some impurities in spices that can produce peculiar smells and bitter tastes, which will affect the taste of hot pot and brine. Therefore, before using the spices, the peculiar smell and bitter astringency must be removed to ensure the purity of the aroma of the hot pot bottom and the brine.
Here, I will introduce you to some tips for removing spices.
The spices used in hot pot and brine can generally be divided into two types: aromatic and bitter. Aromatic spices include star anise, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, bay leaves, citronella, etc.; bitter spices include cardamom, kaempfera, grass fruit, sand kernel, angelica, galangal, etc., all of them contain impurities that will produce peculiar smell and bitter taste, because of their different contents, so the method of removing the difference is also different.
1. Dedifferentiation treatment of aromatic spices
Because aromatic spices contain fewer odors and bitter and astringent impurities, they can be soaked in water to remove foreign odors, and soaking spices in water is not only a process of rising hair and water absorption, but also a process of removing odor and bitterness, but when dealing with different spices, the water temperature and time of soaking are different. Strictly speaking, each spice should be soaked separately.
Star anise: The aroma mainly comes from anethole, and there are a small amount of anisaldehyde, limonene and other fragrance components. The aroma of star anise is stronger, and the peculiar smell and bitterness are relatively small, but because the meat is thicker, the water temperature for soaking is best around 50 °C, and the soaking time takes 3 hours.
Cinnamon bark: The aroma mainly comes from cinnamonaldehyde, as well as eugenol, pineene and other fragrance components. Although the cinnamon has a small peculiar smell and bitter taste, it is not easy to remove the fragrance because of its thick skin layer and oily nature, so the water temperature during soaking is higher - about 70 °C, and the soaking time is relatively long - about 4 hours. Also, it is best to break the cinnamon bark when soaking.
Clove: The aroma comes from ingredients such as eugenol, eugene, vanillin, acetate, etc. Because the fragrance of cloves is strong, the amount should not be too much, otherwise it will produce a stuffy taste. At the same time, because its peculiar smell and bitter taste are smaller, and the oiliness is larger, the water temperature of the soaking should be controlled at about 40 °C, and the soaking time is 3 hours
Cumin, bay leaf, citronella:
The aroma of cumin mainly comes from anethole, as well as fenone, anisaldehyde, pinene and other components. The aroma of bay leaves is delicate and attractive, with a mixed scent of cinnamon and camphor. The role in cooking is mainly deodorization, and the flavor enhancement is secondary. The aroma of citronella mainly comes from citral, but there are also small amounts of citronellal and other components. When soaking these three spices, the water temperature should be around 30°C for 2 hours.
2. Dedifferentization treatment of bitter spices
Because there are many peculiar smells and bitter and astringent impurities in bitter spices, they are generally soaked in liquor to remove differences. This is because the volatilization and osmotic effect of alcohol makes it easier to remove off-flavors and bitter tastes from spices. However, when dealing with different spices, the length of the steeping time also needs to be flexible.
Cardamom: The aroma components are relatively complex, mainly including lutene, citene, dipentene, linalool, cardamom ether, etc. The aroma of cardamom is stronger, but the peculiar smell and bitterness are also larger, because the fruit is large, full and firm, so it should be soaked in white wine after it is broken, and the soaking time is usually 2 hours. Note: White Roll should be rinsed with water to remove the sulfur smell remaining on the surface before soaking it in white wine.
The aroma of grass fruit mainly comes from linalool and other flavor components in volatile oils. The aroma of grass fruit is stronger, and it also has a certain deodorization effect, but the peculiar smell and bitter taste of grass fruit are relatively large. Therefore, the smoky smell on the surface should be washed away with clean water first, and then soaked in white wine for 2 hours.
Kaempfera, sand kernel, Angelica dahurica, galangal: The aroma of kaempfera is mainly derived from borneol, kaempferol and other components. Sand kernel contains a certain amount of oil components, and the fragrance comes from various flavor components in sand kernel oil, including dextrocamphor, borneol, bornyl acetate, linalool, nerolidol, etc. The fragrance of Angelica Angelica comes from Angelica Ether, Bergamot Lactones, Angelica Angelica and other ingredients. The fragrance of galangal comes from ingredients such as camphorol, eugenol, and eucalyptol. The time for these four spices to soak in white wine is about 1 hour.