You can't make braised snacks without a good master stock.
Especially for Tiger Skin Chicken Feet.
After deep-frying, and thanks to the ice water soak, the chicken skin is covered with gelatinous pores and wrinkles, making the texture loose, but there's basically no flavor.
All the flavor of Tiger Skin Chicken Feet comes from the master stock.
Lin Xu grabbed a big soup pot for braising, filtered the boiled pork bone broth, and poured it in.
Then, depending on how much master stock was in the pot, he successively added salt, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and crystal sugar.
Since it's the first time making this master stock, he uses double portions of seasoning.
Only that way can he be sure the stock will be rich and flavorful.
He turned on the stove.
Brought the master stock in the pot to a boil.
Then tossed in half a pound of whole dried chili peppers, a handful of Sichuan peppercorns, a handful of Sichuan peppercorns (麻椒), plus star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon, tsao-ko, cardamom, and scallion and ginger.
Kept simmering for another hour.
Letting the aromatics and seasonings blend perfectly into the broth.
And to make sure any medicinal flavors from the spices volatilize out entirely.
By now, the chicken feet had also fully expanded.
They're almost twice as big as before.
Lin Xu scooped out the chicken feet and put them into the soup pot, then added a big spoonful of pork lard and a spoonful of chicken fat.
Pork lard makes the chicken feet glossier and richer.
While chicken fat adds a deep, savory aroma to them.
Very soon,
The soup pot came to a boil again.
He turned the heat down, keeping the pot at a near-simmer—not quite boiling.
This way, he could prevent the chicken skin from bursting or falling off, so they'd look good for serving.
After half an hour,
He killed the heat.
Let the chicken feet soak further in the master stock.
If you want perfectly delicious Tiger Skin Chicken Feet, you have to follow the "three parts simmering, seven parts soaking" rule.
Soaking lets the chicken skin get puffed up again.
And also allows the flavor of the stock to fully penetrate inside.
After soaking for about an hour,
Lin Xu found a self-heating tray.
Carefully arranged the chicken feet on top.
Added a little more master stock.
Now this classic Tiger Skin Chicken Feet snack was finally done.
"Whoa, smells amazing!"
Carzai, standing to the side, eyed the plump and juicy chicken feet in the tray, totally in awe of his boss.
These chicken feet look gorgeous.
Bright red color.
Huge in size.
Their surface covered in irresistible tiger skin pattern.
"If you're hungry, go ahead and try some."
Seeing the look on Carzai's face, Lin Xu handed him a clean plate, telling him he could grab a couple to taste.
They'd prepped even more noodles today than yesterday.
But with Carzai's help,
Lin Xu was finished with all the prep by 10:40 a.m.
Carzai had been doing kitchen work for two years.
His basics were rock solid.
Chopping, cleaning, no problem at all.
So Lin Xu could focus on the trickier steps like stir-frying toppings, making cold sauces, and frying chili oil.
"For real? Boss, I can actually try some?"
Carzai looked excitedly at Lin Xu.
At his last restaurant, eating food on the job got you fined.
He didn't expect the boss at Lin Ji to be this generous.
The staff gets to taste the new snack first.
"If I don't let you taste it, how are you going to describe the chicken feet to customers? You can't just keep saying 'it's delicious,' right?"
With that, Lin Xu grabbed himself two chicken feet.
And dug in first.
The chicken feet were juicy and oily in the mouth.
With that deep, savory aroma.
And then a hint of numbing spiciness.
Not too overpowering.
But definitely tempting and addictive.
The thick skin was full of the master stock's juices.
One bite,
Juices bursting out.
The spicy-savoury flavor floods your whole mouth again.
Your taste buds open wide in an instant.
You're ravenous all of a sudden.
"Holy shit! These chicken feet are way too tasty, boss, you're a legend!"
After Carzai finished one, he smacked his lips, clearly hooked.
Unreal!
In all his years, he'd never eaten chicken feet this good.
"We're absolutely gonna sell out today!"
After Lin Xu polished off two,
He grabbed the electronic blackboard by the entrance again.
Under the three noodle dishes, he added the freshly launched braised snack:
[Signature Tiger Skin Phoenix Claws: 6 yuan each]
Once he'd written that,
He'd just put it out front
When Old Mr. Gao, dressed in a floral T-shirt and white casual pants, showed up.
Don't let his white hair fool you—Old Mr. Gao loves snazzy floral shirts or T-shirts, with Buddhist jade beads and pendants hanging from his neck.
He's dressed like a tropical overseas Chinese come home.
"Boss Lin, maybe it's better to wait until after your noon rush before going to look at the apartment?"
Seeing Lin Xu at the door, Old Mr. Gao took the initiative to suggest.
Lin Xu nodded:
"Actually, I was just about to discuss that with you. I've been busy all morning making chicken feet, haven't had time to call you."
"Chicken feet? So the new snack today is the Tiger Skin Chicken Feet written there?"
Old Mr. Gao forgot all about the apartment and started urgently asking Lin Xu:
"Are the chicken feet ready now? Can you start selling?"
"Of course, everything's ready."
Old Mr. Gao pointed at the store entrance:
"Then I'll eat first. We'll talk rental stuff after lunch."
With that, he strode into the shop.
Seeing the chicken feet laid out behind the kitchen divider, he said to Lin Xu:
"Give me four chicken feet, and a small bowl of Tomato Egg Noodles. My teeth aren't great, so I can't eat most braised stuff, only these Tiger Skin Chicken Feet that are easy on the jaw."
Lin Xu agreed.
Went into the kitchen to start rolling noodles.
Carzai grabbed a plate and swiftly plated up four chicken feet for Old Mr. Gao.
"Take your time, sir. Your noodles will be out soon."
Old Mr. Gao took the plate, sniffed it,
And then exclaimed in admiration:
"Wow! Just from the smell, you can tell this master stock's been made with pork bone broth—fragrant as hell."
Carzai gave him a thumbs up:
"You really are a True God, it's definitely pork bone broth in there."
Old Mr. Gao chuckled,
Picked up a chicken foot and started tasting.
The chicken feet were delicious.
And perfectly soft.
Just a gentle suck and the bones slip right out.
A gentle chew,
And the fresh savory taste of the master stock blooms in the mouth.
"So good! These chicken feet are insane!"
Old Mr. Gao finished a whole chicken foot in one gulp, singing high praise for Lin Xu's skills.
He was just eating when
Panda and a bunch of his friends walked in.
Just as they came in,
Old Mr. Gao waved them over:
"You have to try today's new chicken feet, they're the real deal!"
Panda burst out laughing:
"Anything Boss Lin makes is tasty."
Then he glanced at the chicken feet laid out behind the divider, and then at the noodles Lin Xu was rolling:
"Get us twenty chicken feet, four North Poles, and four big bowls of Noodles with Braised Eggplant and Pork Sauce. We came a bit early today so we're not super hungry, just one bowl for each."
With that, he used his phone to scan the QR code at the counter to pay.
Twenty chicken feet is 120, four North Poles 20, four bowls of Noodles with Braised Eggplant and Pork Sauce 120.
Total is 260 yuan.
"Just for noodles, it's 65 per person? That's pretty fancy…"
One of Panda's friends who hadn't been here before mumbled softly.
"Relax, totally worth it!"
Panda said, and went straight for the North Poles.
On social media,
A user named Shen Family's Little Yueyue posted in the Lin Ji's Food thread:
"Fresh-faced new girl here! What should I do to look like a regular when I eat at Lin Ji's Food for the first time?"
Soon enough,
A helpful user called "Genius Girl Loves Food" replied:
"Regulars walk in and kiss the boss—a guy kisses his hand, a girl kisses his face, then you say 'I'm here!' That's the way!"
Under the shade near Lin Ji's Food,
A tall ponytail girl with delicate features looked at the comment on her phone, lips curving in a faint smile:
"If only you could really do that, wouldn't that be awesome!"