ryethenovel Chapter 80: Half Won
Chapter 80: Half Won
More than an hour later.
At the entrance of the restaurant, Su Chen was carrying several heavy nylon woven bags in both hands.
He walked slowly, adjusting his breathing, trying to make himself walk more steadily.
The handle dug deep into his still-swollen palm, the woven bag swaying and rubbing against the wound, sending waves of burning pain through him.
He gritted his teeth and gripped the rope even tighter.
The solid weight passing through my arms brought a strange sense of peace to my heart.
His gaze fell on the semi-transparent pocket on his right.
Inside was fresh beef brisket, just bought from the butcher, its color a deep red, still slightly warm.
The scene of Chen Feng selecting ingredients in the noisy and chaotic morning market, which had occurred more than half an hour earlier, still unconsciously surfaced in his mind.
It was a meat stall in the south corner of the morning market. The stall owner was a big, bearded man with a face full of fat, nicknamed "Old Liu".
Old Liu was shirtless at the time, holding a boning knife, and impatiently shooing away the onlookers.
"Don't block the way if you're not buying! Fresh hind leg meat, take it or leave it!"
But when Chen Feng led a few people to the stall and calmly said he wanted to buy beef brisket, the bearded man's attitude changed instantly.
"Brother Chen, what do you think of this?" The bearded man chuckled, his thick, fleshy face piling up, giving off a somewhat obsequious air.
He deftly removed a large piece of freshly cut beef brisket from the hook and slammed it onto the cutting board with a showy air.
Su Chen clearly saw that Chen Feng did not reach out to take it directly, but instead leaned down slightly and gently pressed the side of the beef brisket with his index finger.
When he pressed down with his fingertip, the flesh quickly rebounded. Then, he leaned closer and smelled it.
"Old Liu, this piece won't do." Chen Feng's tone was calm, yet it carried an undeniable authority.
"Why not? Brother Chen, this is the first cow of the day, it was brought over at three in the morning, it's fresh!" Old Liu said anxiously, patting his chest to assure him.
"It's fresh, but this is the loin, the fat is too thick." Chen Feng pointed to the large, thick layer of white fat in the middle of the meat.
"Today we're going to stew potatoes, so we need to use pork belly, also known as brisket."
The meat there has layers of sinew, with three layers of alternating fat and lean meat; it has the strongest flavor and the most chewy texture.
He looked up at Lao Liu, his eyes sharp: "The soup you stewed will be full of oil, and the potatoes will become greasy after soaking."
We're looking for a clear broth and tender, melt-in-your-mouth meat; pork belly isn't suitable.
Old Liu chuckled sheepishly, scratched the back of his head, and deftly hung the piece of meat back up: "Alright, I couldn't fool you. You wait, I'll get you my most prized possession."
Su Chen was completely stunned when he heard this from behind.
In his previous understanding, weren't all beef the same?
If you have the money, just buy the most expensive one. Who has ever heard of all the theories about "level" and "fit"?
What impressed him even more was the process of selecting potatoes.
Mengmeng was squatting in front of a basket of potatoes, excitedly pointing to several round, clean, and smooth-skinned potatoes and shouting, "Daddy! Look at these! They're so pretty, like chubby babies! Buy these!"
As a result, Chen Feng walked over but didn't even look at those "pretty" ones. Instead, he picked out a bunch of potatoes that were covered in mud, had rough and yellow skin, and even had some pits.
"Mengmeng, we're buying these to eat today, not just to look at," Chen Feng explained to Mengmeng and Xingruo, who were following behind him, as he bent down to pick through the food.
He casually picked up a muddy potato and weighed it in his palm.
"Those potatoes that are washed clean may look shiny, but their skin is too thin and their water content is too high. They will disintegrate when stewed and taste soulless."
We need to buy these yellow-fleshed potatoes with some old mud still attached, as they have a high starch content. This will make the broth thicken naturally when stewed, a process known as "self-thickening".
Only these potatoes can hold their flavorful broth perfectly with beef brisket.
Xingruo listened intently from the side, and even took advantage of Chen Feng's payment to squat down and imitate Chen Feng's actions, carefully touching the texture of the mud-covered potatoes.
With her eyes closed, she gently ran her fingers across the rough skin, her eyes filled with curiosity, as if trying to memorize the sensation.
"Phew—we're here."
Su Chen placed the suitcase-sized bag of ingredients steadily at the entrance of "Human Fireworks" and breathed a sigh of relief.
Chen Feng parked the black sedan and stepped out.
After getting out of the car, he subconsciously looked up at the entrance of the bustling street, then his eyebrows twitched slightly and his steps slowed down.
"What's wrong, Brother Chen?" Su Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked in the direction Chen Feng was looking, panting.
Chen Feng originally thought that today would be like yesterday, with a group of eager, even somewhat impatient, diners crowding around him before he even entered the door.
He was already prepared to engage in a verbal battle with everyone at the door.
But now, apart from a few sparrows foraging for food on the stone path, the area in front of the shop is surprisingly quiet.
There were no long queues, and no urging.
Only a few elderly neighbors carrying shopping baskets passed by, politely nodding to Chen Feng: "Boss Chen, you're back from your shopping trip?"
"Yes, Aunt Wang, I just got back," Chen Feng replied politely, then turned to Su Chen and Xing Ruo.
A relaxed smile played on his lips:
"It seems they know I don't sell steamed buns in the morning anymore, and they've figured out our meal service hours."
They're probably waiting for lunchtime.
Xingruo also breathed a sigh of relief, patted her chest, and whispered, "Master, this is good."
When I came back yesterday morning, I was really scared.
"Those people's eyes were practically spitting fire; they were looking at us like we were some delicious food."
"That's a craving for food, Xingruo." Chen Feng picked up the heaviest bag of beef and used his shoulder to push open the slightly ajar wooden door.
"It's a good thing that no one is surrounding us; it means we've taken the initiative."
Su Chen, Xing Ruo, stop staring blankly and move the things inside. We need to deal with these beef briskets right away.
There are quite a few steps involved in preparing the beef brisket, so let's hurry.
Mengmeng skipped happily into the store, her two rabbit ears twitching behind her back, calling out as she ran:
"Let's get to work! Let's get to work! I'm the supervisor!"
The bags were neatly stacked on the kitchen counter, making a dull thud.
Chen Feng unbuttoned his coat, revealing a black short-sleeved shirt underneath.
He took a heavy cleaver from the knife rack and skillfully rubbed it on the whetstone a few times.
"Sizzle—sizzle—"
A monotonous yet rhythmic sound rang out in the kitchen.
"Su Chen, Xing Ruo, watch carefully."
Chen Feng laid the large, reddish-brown pieces of fresh beef brisket on the thick wooden cutting board.
"The first step is not cutting, but 'observing'." Chen Feng did not rush to cut; his fingers traced the marbling of the beef brisket, as if reading a secret map.
"If you cut along the grain, the meat will fall apart and get stuck in your teeth."
Cutting against the grain makes the meat tender, but if you stew it for too long, it will easily fall apart.
But the key to stewing beef brisket is achieving a good texture, so we need to cut it diagonally at a 45-degree angle.
As he spoke, his eyes instantly sharpened, and with a flash of the blade, it fell swiftly.
"Seize! Seize! Seize!"
Chen Feng's wrists were extremely flexible, and every strike he made was precise.
With each stroke, the cleaver moved with the ease of a surgeon's knife.
Soon, the whole piece of meat was cut into cubes that were almost identical in size.
"Brother Chen, why did you cut it so big?" Su Chen couldn't help but ask from the side.
"This is quite a size; will the customer be able to fit it in one bite?"
"The beef brisket will shrink a lot during the stewing process," Chen Feng replied while cutting.
"If you cut them into small pieces, you won't be able to find the meat after stewing; the whole pot will just be full of potatoes."
What we want is the kind of meat where you can feel its weight when you pierce it with chopsticks, see the texture of the tendons, and then bite into it and find plenty of juicy meat inside.
That's how you really enjoy eating it.
Xingruo wasn't idle either; she had already filled two large basins with cold water, as Chen Feng had instructed.
She was struggling to move the basin of water next to the cutting board.
"Master, can we put it in now?"
"Put it in." Chen Feng gently pushed the cut pieces of meat into the basin with the back of his knife.
"Remember to rub it a few more times to completely force out the blood inside."
Su Chen, you're strong, you take charge of this.
Don't knead too hard, or you'll break the meat fibers. Use a gentle, massaging motion.
Su Chen rolled up his sleeves and put his hands into the icy basin of water.
The fresh meat gave off a unique tactile sensation. As he rubbed it, the originally clear water quickly turned light red, and a thin layer of oil floated to the surface.
"Brother Chen, do you think we can really sell out all 100 portions today?" Su Chen asked, kneading the meat while looking worriedly at the two enormous bowls of ingredients.
"What if everyone still wants to eat yesterday's shredded pork with garlic sauce?"
Chen Feng stopped wiping his knife and took the dry towel hanging on his shoulder to wipe the sweat from his face.
"Su Chen, being a chef is like being a general; you can't be led by the customers' mouths." Chen Feng pointed to the pieces of meat rolling in the water.
"You should surprise them, not give them 'tasks'."
Chen Feng's eyes were firm. "Fish-flavored shredded pork is 'fire,' it's intense, it's stimulating;"
Braised beef brisket with potatoes is "earthy," it represents depth and stability.
After a busy morning, everyone needs a substantial sense of satisfaction.
As long as your meat is stewed until tender and the broth is rich enough, even if they initially came for the shredded pork with garlic sauce, they will immediately switch sides once that domineering aroma enters their noses.
Believe me, your sense of smell is more honest than your memory.
"Master is right," Xingruo whispered in agreement, as she was inspecting each piece of meat.
"I smelled the meat at the market just now, and I already knew it must taste delicious."
Now the water in the basin has turned red, and the meat looks even whiter and cleaner.
Chen Feng smiled and reached out to pat Xingruo's little head.
"Xingruo has now learned to judge the appearance of ingredients."
"Daddy, what can Mengmeng do to help?" Mengmeng leaned over the stove, watching everyone busy at work with longing eyes. Because she wasn't tall enough, she was trying her best to stand on tiptoe.
"Mengmeng has the most important task; she's the foundation of our store." Chen Feng pointed to the few bags of earthy-smelling potatoes in the corner.
"Go get a small stool and sit there, and help Sister Xingruo brush off the mud from the potatoes first."
"Yes, sir! Mission accomplished! Mud monster, here I come!" Mengmeng gave a half-hearted salute, ran to the pile of potatoes, plopped down on a low stool, and began to work earnestly.
After processing the first batch of beef brisket that had bled, Chen Feng walked to the stove and inspected the two huge iron pots, the bottoms of which were polished to a shine.
"Su Chen, bring that bucket of cold water over and fill it to two-thirds full."
As Chen Feng spoke, he threw a few thick slices of ginger and some broken scallion segments into the pot, and then casually sprinkled in a handful of dark red Sichuan peppercorns.
"Remember, you must put the blanching in cold water."
If you wait until the water boils before adding the meat, the protein on the surface of the meat will coagulate instantly, locking all the blood inside, resulting in a soup with an unpleasant, fishy smell that's hard to get rid of.
That flavor, no amount of spices can mask it.
Su Chen carried the bucket and slowly poured water into the pot. He watched the chunks of meat bobbing in the cold water, listening to Chen Feng's instructions.
"Brother Chen, I've noticed that you always have a 'reason' for everything you do."
Even the order in which water is released seems to have a specific meaning.
Your reasons seem to all revolve around this pot.
"Because the pot doesn't lie." Chen Feng lit the stove fire.
With a "click," a blue-purple flame instantly rose up, illuminating his focused and serene face.
"In this world, people can lie, contracts can lie, but pots and pans won't."
If you treat it carelessly, the taste will be off by an inch.
If you treat it with sincerity, it will reward you with heavenly delicacies.
As the temperature in the pot gradually rises, tiny bubbles begin to appear on the clear water, and the pieces of meat slowly roll in the water.
"Xingruo, come and watch." Chen Feng handed the long-handled strainer to Xingruo.
"When the foam rises later, you're in charge of skimming it off."
The movements must be steady, and the broth should be skimmed until it becomes clear.
"Okay, Master." Xingruo solemnly took the strainer, her eyes fixed on the surface of the pot.
Su Chen sat to the side, watching the well-organized and clearly divided kitchen.
Although Zhang Qiang wasn't there, and although he was still a complete novice who knew nothing.
But looking at Chen Feng's steady back, and listening to the faint sound of water coming from the bottom of the pot.
He suddenly felt that he had already won half the battle of today's "one hundred copies".