Twice-cooked pork!
Zhou Yan's eyes lit up.
Twice-cooked pork is undoubtedly a representative of Sichuan cuisine, and also a representative of Sichuan home-style cooking, often called the "number one Sichuan dish."
This dish has an incredibly strong presence in Sichuan restaurants, ranking alongside Mapo Tofu and Kung Pao Chicken as one of the three pillars of Sichuan cuisine.
He had previously made a series of videos on Sichuan cuisine cooking techniques, a national intangible cultural heritage, and twice-cooked pork was included in them, its status unquestionable.
In Sichuan, almost every family knows how to make it, and everyone loves to eat it.
Steamed Chinese Cabbage In Supreme Soup is famous, but Zhou Yan had never seen this dish in roadside Sichuan restaurants, nor had he seen anyone make it; it was a high-end banquet dish.
In his family, Aunt Zhao always firmly controlled the priority in cooking twice-cooked pork.
There was no way around it; it was determined by strength.
However, starting today, this throne will soon welcome its new king—Zhou Yan!
More than one customer had asked why he didn't serve twice-cooked pork, and his answer was always evasive.
After all, running a Sichuan restaurant, how embarrassing would it be to admit he couldn't cook twice-cooked pork?
Starting tomorrow, he could stand tall and tell everyone that he could cook twice-cooked pork too!
Zhou Yan absolutely adored twice-cooked pork!
Twice-cooked Pork With Garlic Sprouts is the traditional way, but the derived Twice-cooked Pork With Salted Vegetables has a unique flavor, and Twice-cooked Pork With Green Pepper is a perfect dish to eat with rice.
He wonder which dish this recipe is, or if it's part of a gift set?
"You guys take a break, I'll go buy a piece of second cut pork. Let's change things up for lunch today and celebrate with twice-cooked pork!" Zhou Yan put his enamel mug on the counter, took off his apron, pushed his bicycle, and went out.
"Twice-cooked pork is so good! It's been so long since I've had it." Zhou Jie smacked his lips, his mouth watering just talking about it. He craved that savory, meaty flavor; it was so different from the offal he ate everyday.
He was the one in charge of making twice-cooked pork in their family, but he was always too busy running his stall to cook it properly.
"Looks like I'll have to cook this afternoon." Aunt Zhao said with a smile.
Zhou Yan pushed his bicycle to the riverbank, not rushing to get on, but first mentally opening the recipe.
A flood of information rushed into his mind, and a minute later, his vision cleared.
[Twice-Cooked Pork With Garlic Sprouts: The Ancestor of Twice-Cooked Pork!]
From ingredient selection to detailed knife skills for creating the perfect "lamp-shaped" stir fry, to precise heat control and perfect seasoning, everything entered his mind.
This time, Zhou Yan saw something different.
A white-haired master chef seemed to be tirelessly teaching him how to cook, while the "him" in his mind was like someone locked in a small, dark room, endlessly looping starting—failing—starting.
Zhou Yan shook his head, trying to shake the thought, "Master Chef, I've succeeded!" out of his mind.
As expected, it was the most basic version of Twice-cooked Pork With Garlic Sprouts. Just thinking about how to make this dish made his mouth water.
It smells delicious!
Zhou Yan rode his bicycle to every pig butcher stall in Suji Town, asking around until he was almost about to give up, when he finally found a piece of "second cut pork."
Second cut pork is essential for twice-cooked pork.
"Second cut pork" refers to the cut of meat near the hind leg after the tail has been removed, named for the second cut.
"You're lucky, kid. This piece of second cut pork was originally reserved for my in-laws, but they went to Jiazhou today, so it's back on the market. Two yuan per jin" the butcher, an old man, said with a smile.
[A piece of high quality local pork second cut pork]
"Okay, I'll take it." Zhou Yan didn't haggle and bought it immediately.
The quality of this second cut pork was truly excellent.
It was four parts fat and six parts lean, and it was genuine local pork, raised for at least a year before slaughter.
Why did pork taste so good in the memories of those born in the 80s and 90s?
It's not just childhood nostalgia.
Pigs in those days ate pig feed and bran, and were raised for a full year before slaughter. They were completely different from fast growing pigs fed commercial feed.
The texture and taste of the meat were distinctly different.
It weighed one jin and two liang which is 0.6 kg, costing two yuan and forty cents.
"Sir, did you raise this pig yourself?" Zhou Yan asked casually, handing over the money.
"The butcher slaughters pigs everyday. We don't have that many pigs to slaughter at home. They're all raised by farmers in the surrounding villages." the old man said with a smile as he counted the money. "They all eat pig feed, so the meat is very fragrant."
"I run a restaurant near the textile factory. If I buy five jin of second cut pork from you everyday, how much discount can you give me per jin?" Zhou Yan asked.
"Five jin daily?" The old man paused, looking at him and saying, "Then your business won't be doing so well."
Zhou Yan: "..."
The old man was quite the old yin-yang master.
"One yuan and ninety cents, such good second cut pork, I don't have to worry about selling it everyday, but if you consistently order it everyday, I'll give you a discount of ten cents." the old man said.
"One yuan and eighty cents per jin, and I might need to buy pork knuckles, ribs, and kidneys from you again in a while." Zhou Yan said with a smile, "Go ask around, Zhou Erwa Restaurant, it's the best-reputed and busiest restaurant around the textile factory now."
"One yuan and eighty cents..." The old man pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, so what's your name?"
"Zhou Yan."
"My name is Xu Laoer, I'll save the meat for you tomorrow, still here, come and pick it up."
"I only buy good pork, like this piece today is about right." Zhou Yan instructed, taking the meat back.
Zhang Laosan is a reliable pork supplier, but nowadays butchers usually only sell one side of pork, and the second cut only yields about five or six jin (2.5-3 kg).
One serving of twice-cooked pork requires half a jin of second cut pork. Even if Zhang Laosan saved some for him everyday, it would only be enough for eleven or twelve servings.
Zhou Yan plans to price the twice-cooked pork at 1.6 yuan, the same price as braised pork ribs, because their costs are similar. If it exceeds 1 yuan, he'll only earn 0.5 yuan per serving—very conscientious.
But twice-cooked pork is different from braised pork ribs; it's a best-selling dish. In this day and age, who doesn't enjoy that juicy, flavorful bite?
Even at 1.6 yuan per serving, Zhou Yan expects it to sell well.
Therefore, he ordered five jin of second cut pork from Xu Laoer, and previously ordered five jin from Zhang Laosan. He'll prepare twenty servings of twice-cooked pork tomorrow, going all out.
If the cooperation with Xu Laoer goes well, it's like adding a key pork supplier. If Zhang Laosan isn't slaughtering pigs, there won't be a rush to find a replacement.
On the way, Zhou Yan bought a bunch of green garlic sprouts. Garlic sprouts are cheap now, only 12 cents a jin. A bunch costs 10 cents, enough for several servings of twice-cooked pork.
Passing by the supply and marketing cooperative, he went in and bought a jar of sweet bean sauce.
"You went half an hour to Jiazhou to buy this meat?" Zhou Yan pushed his bicycle into the restaurant, and Zhou Jie laughed.
"This piece of second cut pork, I asked all the butchers in Suji before I could find it, it's really good." Zhou Yan parked his bicycle, took the piece of meat off the handlebars, and showed it off with some pride.
"If you can't find second cut pork, just use pork belly, it's the same thing." Zhou Jie was a little puzzled.
"Exactly, pork belly is just as fragrant when stir-fried." Aunt Zhao chimed in, reaching for the meat from Zhou Yan's hand, "I'll cook it, it's one of my specialties."
"My skills are quite good too, how about I let you all try my twice-cooked pork today?" Zhou Jie said eagerly.
"Using pork belly is not authentic at all. You all made a mistake from the very beginning of choosing the meat." Zhou Yan put the meat back and walked towards the kitchen with a smile: "Today, I will make this twice-cooked pork for you all so that you can taste what authentic Twice-cooked Pork With Garlic Sprouts is like."