Chapter 86: Sichuan Cuisine: Double Cooked Pork

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Lu Yuxi brought Auntie Liu, who was here to apply for the job, around the shop and introduced her to her daily job of cleaning the place. In fact, apart from the huge customer flow and the need to clean the tables in time, there was nothing else that needed special attention.

Xu Le was in charge of cleaning the kitchen. Lu Yuxi was in charge of the cashier at the front, serving the dishes and purchasing the ingredients.

There were not too many things to do for the amount of money she was paid for and three meals were also provided.

Auntie Liu agreed readily. She planned to stay in the store for two days to try it out and signed the temporary contract.

Old Bull, the host at the table, couldn’t sit still anymore. Every dish he ordered didn’t fail and the worst thing was that he couldn’t find any flaws, so he didn’t know how to edit the next video.

Old Bull didn’t expect that his career as a professional commentator would end at a store opened by an eight-year-old kid. The only dish left on the table was braised pork trotter.

He took a deep breath and smiled at the camera. “The braised pig’s trotter is very fat and soft. When you eat it, you must match it with rice for fullest satisfaction.”

He picked up the pork trotter that had turned a little cold with his chopsticks. The bright red and soft pork scattered as soon as he picked it up with the chopsticks. He spread it over the rice and placed it into his mouth. The fat was soft and chewy. There was no stench at all. The aftertaste was also sweet because of the spices.

Old Bull chewed with big mouthfuls, and his expression looked like he was doubting life. He didn’t want to go against his conscience and nitpick. Furthermore, every dish was extremely perfect and suited the taste of the masses. There was absolutely no fault to be found.

After he finished tasting all of them, he shook his head with a smile and said, “I’ve failed my mission today, I really can’t complain anything about the dishes. The taste is really great. If everyone wants to visit, I suggest that they try to avoid the meal time as much as possible. Otherwise, they’ll have to queue for a long time. Also, what I recommend the most are the boiled beef slices and braised pork trotters. It’s even better than the taste cooked by many five-star hotels!”

After having his meal, Li Qing, who was sitting at the side playing with his phone, looked up at him and interrupted, “Did you receive advertising fee? Even Old Bull has a day of complimenting others.”

He had always been sharp and unkind with his words. Old Bull turned the camera and said, “We even met a blogger from the same platform today. Come, let’s give everyone a greeting.”

Li Qing quickly lowered the brim of his hat and dodged to the side. Even though his movements were fast, it still caused the live-stream room to be in an uproar.

“It’s that Li Qing! Number one player in the country!”

“That’s right, I’ve even watched his live-stream before!”

“He’s here for a meal too. I’ll definitely come over to visit tomorrow!”

Li Qing waved at Old Bull unhappily and chased him away. “Don’t film me.”

Old Bull did not give in to the rotten personality of the young person, and he said, “Isn’t it office hours now? Why, are you on leave today? Or did you specially come here to eat?”

“It has nothing to do with you!”

Li Qing’s attitude was very bad, as if he could not hold in anymore and would fight with him in the next second. Old Bull was not surprised by this. After the visit to the store ended, he went to the kitchen to say hi to Xu Le.

Coincidentally, Xu Le was done with his work in the store. He was rubbing his shoulders as he sat on a chair to rest. When he saw Old Bull’s camera, he greeted him.

“Hello?”

“Hello, hello, Little Master Chef, I’m Old Bull. You’ve seen my videos, right?” Old Bull chuckled, “I’m quite popular.”

Xu Le smiled and replied without missing a beat, “Yes, my employee was just talking about your video.”

Lu Yuxi couldn’t stand Old Bull’s bragging anymore. She muttered, “Your fan count is only 1/4 of our boss’s. I guess you’re quite popular.”

It was a wave of sarcasm, and the bullet screen was filled with “hahaha”. Someone had recognised Lu Yuxi’s voice.

“It’s a dream-like meet up.”

“Is it that Sister Zhenxiang?”

“Hahaha, so forthright! Well said.”

“It’s like this.” Old Bull didn’t take it to heart. He didn’t hate anything that could bring him show effect and popularity. He said to Xu Le, “I wasn’t full just now. Can I order something that you can make immediately?”

Xu Le said gently, “Coincidentally, I’m going to prepare the employee’s meal. I can count you in. What do you want to eat?”

“How about Double Cooked Pork?”

“Sure.”

Xu Le wanted to say something but hesitated. In the end, he couldn’t help but turn to Old Bull and said, “Uncle Bull, I think you should control your weight a little so that it’s better for your body. It’s not good for your health to continue consuming food high in fat and carbohydrates.”

“I know what I’m doing. Don’t worry and do what you know.”

Old Bull followed a cameraman to the kitchen. Everything he saw was clean and orderly.

Normally, the kitchen of a restaurant would only be cleaned once a day or after half a day. However, the kitchen of the “8-year-old canteen” only had Xu Le, yet he was able to keep all the ingredients orderly and clean, that’s really not easy.

“Did you guess that I was going to come in for the shoot and had cleaned up in advance?”

“No.”

Lu Yuxi took out the freshly delivered pork belly from the fridge and said, “We usually wipe it clean after using something and put it back in its original place. After forming this habit, it’ll be easy to keep everything clean.”

“Oh.”

Old Bull felt like he had been taught a lesson by a child. He looked at Xu Le’s swift movements and asked from time to time.

“Don’t you want to blanch the pork belly before cutting it? It’s hard to cut raw meat.”

Xu Le slashed down. The pig skin, fat and lean meat were cut into thin slices of five or six millimeters. Each slice was equally thick.

He said lightly, “Yes, Double Cooked Pork is a very famous dish in Sichuan Cuisine. It’s similar to the Mapo Tofu and Kung Pao Chicken in the restaurant. Most families know how to make it. If you want to make it at home, don’t cut it like me. Blanch it in water first, then put it in cold water, or take it out from the freezer so that it’s easier to cut it. I’m doing this in a more detailed way.”

He poured cold water into the pot and scooped a spoonful of soup from the pressure cooker at the side. He explained, “Everyone likes to blanch the meat with clear water, but if you add a stew that has been stewed for a long time, the meat quality will be raised to a whole new level.”

As he spoke, he placed some ginger slices and scallions in the pot. After cutting the meat, he poured cold water into the pot and started to boil it.

Xu Le took the opportunity to pick up some green peppers and scallions and asked Old Bull, “Uncle Bull, do you eat onions?”

“I’m fine with anything. I’m not picky.”

“Okay.”

Xu Le prepared the ingredients. “Green peppers, sliced garlic, stir-fried sliced onions, and also the essentials for Sichuan Cuisine – black bean paste.”

Steam rose from the pot, and the meat floated to the surface. Xu Le noted the time down accurately. When he saw that the bright streaky pork was slightly curled, he immediately scooped it up with a strainer.

“Don’t cook the meat until it’s soft. After blanching it, there’s still a step to stir-fry it. You can immediately scoop it up when it has reached this state.”

He poured a small amount of oil into the pot.. When it was 40 to 50% hot, he poured the meat slices and stir-fried it, while saying, “This step is to melt the fat in the meat so that it won’t be too greasy later.”