After making the pastry, the next focus is the filling for the Thousand-Layer Pancake.
He put minced pork into a clean ceramic bowl, then added ginger, scallions, ground Sichuan pepper, sugar, cooking wine, salt, and other seasonings, stirring well.
It can be said that Thousand-Layer Pancake is just that simple! It doesn't require high-quality ingredients, just everyday items like flour, pork, and scallions are enough.
Finally, it's necessary to make a kind of crispy oil.
Crispy oil is poured over the pancake's surface and its meat filling after it's done, adding flavor and crunchiness while creating layers.
Zane continued by taking a small bowl, adding 10g of flour, a little salt for seasoning, and finally lard.
The reason for using lard instead of other vegetable oils is that lard is good for creating a crispy texture. So using lard to make this crispy oil is a great choice.
After adding the lard, mix well with chopsticks.
Ultimately, the filling and crispy oil are prepared and put aside.
Although adding the crispy oil directly into the filling is an option, Zane didn't do it this way!
"Very well, now it's time for the miracle to happen!"
Zane finished the preparations and closed his eyes tightly again, adjusting his breathing.
After calming himself completely, he began stacking the pastry that was over 3 meters in diameter!
There are usually two ways to make the pancake. One way is to fold it layer by layer, just like folding a quilt. The more layers folded, the more layers the Thousand-Layer Pancake will have.
This type of folding produces different shapes, such as circular, rectangular, or square.
The advantage of this method is that the shape can be tailored according to one's preference.
The other way is to create a circular shape. Instead of folding layer by layer, the dough is rolled into a circular shape after the filling is spread, then rolled from one end to the other, and sealed at both ends.
Finally, the dough is rolled into a round shape using a rolling pin and flattened into a pancake shape.
It's apparent that Zane used the first method.
After making the pancake, it's ready for pan-frying. First, heat a pan and add an adequate amount of cooking oil. When the oil is about 60% hot, add the prepared pancake into the pan and cook both sides until golden brown over medium heat.
In this way, the deceptively simple but complex Thousand-Layer Pancake is completed.
Looking closely at the freshly made Thousand-Layer Pancake, it was still very hot, constantly emitting a rich cake aroma.
Although the Thousand-Layer Pancake has scallions inside, the black specks on its surface look like black sesame. It's hard to attract customers based on this simple appearance.
However, Rindō Kobayashi, who was familiar with Zane's culinary style, was full of anticipation!
"Can I eat now?"
After swallowing, Rindō Kobayashi looked at Zane.
"Yes, of course."
Zane just nodded.
After obtaining Zane's approval, Rindō Kobayashi excitedly picked up a small Thousand-Layer Pancake.
The moment her hands touched the pancake, her widened eyes were filled with amazement!
"Wow!"
"This... this texture!"
"Am I seeing things, or is the pancake's pastry really this thin?"
"Can you guess how many layers of pastry I used to make this Thousand-Layer Pancake?"
Seeing the incredulous Rindō Kobayashi, as if anticipating this reaction, Zane asked in a mysterious tone.
"Is it... 100 layers?"
"No no no, the pastry is so thin that it takes several layers to reach a height that can be barely held by both hands, so it must be over 500 layers at least!"
Upon hearing this, Rindō Kobayashi stared at the Thousand-Layer Pancake in her hand.
After contemplating for a moment, she gave what she thought was a reasonable answer.
"Thousand-Layer Pancake."
"I made a Thousand-Layer Pancake!"
Hearing this, Zane shook his head and said again.
"Huh?"
"A thousand layers?"
"You... you actually used a thousand layers of pastry to make a Thousand-Layer Pancake!"
Doubtful!
Shocked!
Frustrated!
And finally... bewildered!
Rindō Kobayashi's emotions went through different phases because of the Thousand-Layer Pancake in front of her.
But no matter what, the Thousand-Layer Pancake made by Zane this time completely overturned her understanding of some cooking.
After all, every Thousand-Layer Pancake seen outside doesn't really require 1000 layers of pastry! The so-called Thousand-Layer is just a name.
You see, the thickness of an A4 paper is 0.104 millimeters. If it were layered 1000 times, the thickness would be 10.4 centimeters.
And only by making the pastry as thin as paper, no, even thinner because it also needs to include meat filling, its thickness must be several times thinner, even tens of times, thinner than an A4 paper to make the Thousand-Layer Pancake in front of us!
In other words, in this world, there's no chef who would go crazy enough to layer 1000 sheets of pastry and make a Thousand-Layer Pancake that can be held in your hands.
But Zane, standing right here, not only has this crazy idea, but more importantly, he has actually achieved it.
"In theory, what I adopted is the principle of layered pastry, meaning each thin layer of pastry is spread with a bit of butter in the middle."
"So, during the heating process, the butter inside will slowly melt."
"And the water in it will generate steam, using the rising force of this steam to gradually expand each thin layer of pastry, forming a distinct layered structure!"
"And then, if you're a little good at math,"
"You should understand that I used the method of folding. After each fold, roll out again, then fold again... allowing the layers of the pastry to grow exponentially."
"Of course, the top and bottom of the initial pastry layers do not have butter."
"So, with each subsequent fold, these two layers of pastry merge into one layer."
"In short,"
"The number of layers during the first fold is 3 times 3 equals 9, then minus 2 to the power of 7 layers!"
"And the number of layers during the second fold is 7 times 3 equals 21, then minus 2 to the power of 19 layers!"
"Finally, after the 6th fold, the final number of layers would be 487 times 3 equals 1464, then minus 2 to the power of 1462 layers!"
Kobayashi Rindou: (⊙o⊙)
This type of mathematical calculation problem, she would find it difficult to understand for a while.
But the final number of 1462 layers is clearly understood by Kobayashi Rindou.
Oh my!
This is just too unbelievable, isn't it?
The layers of pastry needed for this Thousand-Layer Pancake are not exactly 1000 layers but...
1462 layers!