Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 312 How to make that twice-cooked pork? Can you teach me?

"You keep being so polite, but are you going to let me have my meal?"

As he spoke, he picked up the plate of twice-cooked pork and moved it towards Chef Jiang, saying smugly, "I'm not bragging about Miss Shen's cooking skills. It's absolutely delicious. You'll know once you try it."

Chef Jiang then sat down with a chuckle.

Shen Yu put the dish of braised gluten with rapeseed in front of him towards Chef Xu, and then turned to Chef Xu and said, "Uncle Xu, do you want to eat meat?"

"If you like it, try my twice-cooked pork. If you don't like it, this braised gluten dish is a vegetarian dish, you can have some."

Chef Xu said nothing, just nodded, picked up a piece of twice-cooked pork with his chopsticks, and tasted it carefully.

Qixi didn't care about that and said to Shen Yu, "Girl, take whatever you want to eat. I won't be polite to you. I'm so hungry."

As he said this, he picked up the vegetarian cake and started eating it with hearty mouthfuls.

They stopped talking and started eating.

The dishes that Chef Jiang cooks are indeed big-pot dishes, just as he said.

Even though this dish was made specially for Shen Yu today, when Shen Yu ate it, he felt like he was eating in the school cafeteria.

A lot of oil was added, the taste was salty, and everything was stewed until very soft.

The taste of several dishes, whether vegetarian or meat, is almost the same.

Shen Yu secretly laughed at himself for being picky. It was not like he had never eaten in the cafeteria before. It was too salty and oily, so he just ate less. He finished preparing the dishes in the afternoon and went home.

The dishes on the table were steaming hot and looked greasy.

The first thing to be eaten was the somewhat cold twice-cooked pork made with the leftover pork belly scraps.

Qi Xi, needless to say, has always praised Shen Yu's cooking, saying that the girl is really amazing and how she made the dish so delicious. She praised it unreservedly.

After Chef Jiang finished the first bite, his eyes lit up. He picked up another bite and tasted it carefully, with a thoughtful and confused look on his face. After thinking for a while, he couldn't help but ask: "Girl, how is this dish made? Can I have it, can I have it?"

Qixi interrupted him: "Can we talk after dinner? Can't you see the girl is eating?"

Chef Jiang then smiled innocently and started eating.

Chef Xu took two sips of the food, nodded in appreciation, and started eating the vegetarian dish in front of him.

After several people finished their meal, Chef Jiang rushed to put all the used bowls and chopsticks into the lunch box, saying that he would take them back and wash them together with the bowls and chopsticks used by the yamen runners.

Qi Xi was so happy that she didn't have to clean up after herself, so she stood up and tended the fire on the stove where the broth was simmering.

Chef Jiang attentively took the small bamboo basket that Seven Up brought back, took out a few large oranges from it, and asked Shen Yu to taste these oranges from the south.

Shen Yu was feeling a little greasy after eating this meal. Seeing that it was an orange, he took it and said with a smile, "I was just thinking of eating something refreshing. Thank you very much."

Chef Jiang also handed it to Chef Xu, who said softly, "Thank you."

He actually sat there and peeled the oranges slowly, in no hurry to leave, as if he had nothing to do at the moment and it was a good opportunity for him to chat with us.

Shen Yu didn't think too much about it. He sat happily at the table peeling oranges and asked Qixi if he wanted to come over to eat.

Chef Jiang sat there scratching his head, turning an orange around in his hand, and finally mustered up the courage to say, "Miss Shen, how do you make that twice-cooked pork? Can you teach me?"

Shen Yu peeled the orange carefully and said with a smile, "Sure, this dish is easy to make."

While eating oranges, he explained how to stir-fry twice-cooked pork.

"How to cook?" Chef Jiang was confused.

Qixi had already added twigs and wheat bran, washed his hands and sat back down.

He boasted that he had worked in the kitchen when he was in a restaurant, so he interrupted and said, "I can't explain it to you. The stoves and pots in our county government office are not good."

"The stove and small wok in Miss Shen's restaurant are convenient for cooking."

"I worked in a restaurant for a few days and helped cook a few dishes. They were really different from the stoves we usually use."

Chef Xu next to him said coldly: "How can you understand cooking just by saying it?"

"If Miss Shen is willing to teach, you can understand it better after watching her do it a few times."

"When I learned to cook from my master, he never told me anything, he just cooked right away."

“Whether you can understand it or not, whether you can learn it or not, it all depends on your own understanding.”

This is not Chef Xu's sarcastic remark.

Shen Yu once heard from his master chef that when he first started cooking, the chef didn't teach him how to cook.

The master would just work there, and after finishing a task, he would throw the ingredients to his apprentice and let him practice and figure it out on his own.

Moreover, every master chef has his own unique skills which he will not easily pass on to his apprentices.

It was not like later masters who would teach step by step, telling the apprentices what to pay attention to and the right temperature, and they would even write it down on paper for them to memorize.

Shen Yu nodded and said with a smile: "Chef Xu is right. This is really not something that can be understood simply by talking about it."

"Even if the same menu is prepared by different chefs, the taste will be very different. Ultimately, it is because each chef has different cooking methods and cooking techniques."

Chef Jiang thought for a moment and said, "Miss Shen, can you do it again for me?"

Shen Yu didn't mean to not want to teach.

She looked at the sky, then at the empty dish tray, and said apologetically, "It's not that I don't want to teach you."

"I only took that piece of pork belly today and used it all up. Even if I want to cook it now, there are no ready-made ingredients."

"And in a little while I'll start making soup for dinner."

Shen Yu thought for a moment and said, "How about another day? I can't come to the county government office normally. If you have a chance, come to my restaurant some other day. I will definitely make it for you and you will understand once you see it."

Chef Jiang thought that he would have to cook in the county government office all day and would have few opportunities to go out.

He and Miss Shen each had their own stalls to look after, so it was hard for them to meet again. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but mutter, "Hey, we're both cooks, it's hard for us to meet again."

Qi Xi chuckled, patted his chest and said, "Chef Jiang, you should go back to your kitchen and wash the dishes. We are about to get busy."

"Don't you just want to learn how to make this twice-cooked pork?"

"That's easy. If you don't have time to go to the restaurant, I can cook."

"When you're free one day, prepare the ingredients and I'll go to your big kitchen and cook it for you."

After hearing this, Chef Jiang was overjoyed. He thanked Qi Xi and Shen Yu repeatedly, then left with the food box in great satisfaction.

When Chef Xu saw Chef Jiang leave and Shen Yu was about to start working, he stood up, turned around and was about to leave.

He walked two steps and then stopped, thinking for a moment and said, "Miss Shen, if you need help, just call me, I'm next door."

"If nothing else, I can help you light some wood and watch the fire. I, an old man, can still do the job."