"Twice-cooked Pork With Garlic Sprouts, a new dish!" Wang Hongliang was genuinely interested and nodded, "Okay, you cook some for us to try. Opportunities to try new dishes like this don't come often."
"Twice-cooked pork is a delicious dish. The one we had at Rongleyuan last time still makes my mouth water just thinking about it." Lin Zhiqiang said with a smile.
"Okay, wait a moment, I'll go make it right away." Zhou Yan said, turning and going into the kitchen.
These past two days, Zhou Yan had confirmed that the celebrity effect still works in this era. Wang Hongliang and Lin Zhiqiang coming to the restaurant and feeling there weren't enough dishes was a good opportunity for them to help try out the food.
The incident today was such a big deal; Zhou Yan felt it must be thanks to Uncle Lin, since he had only ever asked Lin Zhiqiang.
The old factory director must have also intervened; otherwise, how could a mere hundred yuan in rent have brought down Sun Meili and Wang Defa?
The factory canteen's monthly turnover exceeds 30,000 yuan. These two lovers have been working there for two years, lining their own pockets. What's a hundred yuan?
Just for this favor, it's only right that Zhou Yan gift them a dish.
And the leftover second cut pork; it's a bit too little, not enough for a standard serving.
The braised pork ribs were served first; they can be cooked quickly with a quick stir-fry, speed is their biggest advantage.
Next came the crucian carp with perilla leaves, and only then did he wash the wok and start stir-frying the twice-cooked pork.
A little over four liang of second cut pork, enough for a plate of Twice-cooked Pork with Garlic Sprouts, is actually quite a lot.
Zhou Yan took a ceramic bowl, filled it halfway with rice, poured a spoonful of the remaining beef and bamboo shoot broth over it, then took four pieces of twice-cooked pork and a few slices of garlic sprouts from the plate and placed them on top of the rice, scooped a spoonful of freshly heated pork ribs, and added a few slices of pickled radish.
This was Zhou Momo's dinner: Double Topping Rice Bowl With Twice-cooked Pork With Garlic Sprouts, And Braised Pork Ribs
Zhou Yan had promised her at noon that he would make twice-cooked pork for her again tonight, so her portion had to be set aside separately.
With that, there were definitely more than three liang left.
When Zhou Yan brought out the twice-cooked pork, Zhou Momo stared at it intently. When she saw that it was placed on Lin Zhiqiang's table, her lips trembled, and she looked very aggrieved. Her eyes were red, and tears were already welling up in her eyes, but she managed to hold back her tears.
The Twice-cooked Pork With Garlic Sprouts was served, its aroma wafting through the air, attracting the attention of the guests.
"One serving of Twice-cooked Pork With Garlic Sprouts uses half a jin of second cut pork. This portion only has a little over three liang, so it's not a full serving. Please try it and give me your feedback on this new dish." Zhou Yan said with a smile, emphasizing the portion size.
"Hmm! This 'lamp-shaped' is authentic!" Wang Hongliang's eyes lit up as he looked at the plate of twice-cooked pork. "Top quality second cut pork, precise knife skills, and just the right amount of heat are needed to create such an authentic 'lamp-shaped'."
"The bright red twice-cooked pork, the white garlic shoot stems, and the green garlic shoot leaves—the three colors are so vibrant, it looks delicious!"
"Try it." Wang Hongliang picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of twice-cooked pork. The meat curled up like a lamp-shaped, trembling slightly when picked up, glistening with oil. "Look at this state; it glistens when you pick it up. This is called 'glistening,' which means the heat is just right."
He put the meat in his bowl and then added a piece of garlic shoot stem to the meat to eat together.
The moment it entered his mouth, Wang Hongliang's eyes lit up. He chewed slowly, savoring the flavor, swallowed, then shoveled some rice into his mouth, tried another piece, and nodded repeatedly after finishing:
"The fragrant, sticky skin, the melt-in-your-mouth fatty meat, the slightly chewy, tender lean meat—all these elements combine perfectly between your teeth, with a unique, refreshing aroma of garlic sprouts."
"This bite is rich yet not greasy, fragrant yet not heavy."
"The meat is exceptionally good; stir-fried in a large earthen stove in a large wok, it has an extra special aroma."
"Delicious!"
"The Twice-cooked Pork With Garlic Sprouts tastes almost exactly like the one made by Master Rongleyuan. In my opinion, it's absolutely fantastic, perfect with rice!"
"You flatter me." Zhou Yan listened with a smile. The old factory director was indeed skilled; he knew how to appreciate good food and knew how to praise it.
"Not at all. I used to think my twice-cooked pork was one of the best in Suji Town, even surpassing Chef Fan from the state-owned restaurant." Wang Hongliang said with some emotion. "But after tasting your Twice-cooked Pork With Garlic Sprouts today, I think I'll only be second in Suji."
The other customers craned their necks to look. This Twice-cooked Pork With Garlic Sprouts, praised so highly by the old factory director, smelled delicious and looked even more tempting. After hearing the old director's evaluation, they couldn't help but swallow hard.
This Twice-cooked Pork With Garlic Sprouts—have to try it!
Lin Zhiqiang also tried a piece and praised it highly, concluding, "The factory director is right. Even if it were cooked by the master chefs at Rongleyuan, it wouldn't be this good."
The Lin brothers, who had been focused on gnawing on the ribs, turned their attention to the twice-cooked pork upon hearing this.
Lin Jingxing picked up a piece to taste, his eyes immediately lighting up.
So fragrant! Soft and chewy, so delicious!
Lin Bingwen hesitated. He didn't like fatty meat, and this looked far too fatty. He looked at Lin Jingxing expectantly and asked, "Brother, is it good?"
"No, it's not good. It's extremely fatty. You definitely can't eat any." Lin Jingxing said seriously, already picking up a second piece of twice-cooked pork with his chopsticks and putting it in his mouth. He chewed it happily, and after swallowing, he didn't forget to shovel a couple of mouthfuls of rice.
"If it's not good, why are you eating it one piece after another?" Lin Bingwen looked at the oily twice-cooked pork and swallowed hard.
"I'm not afraid of fatty meat. See that piece of spare rib left on the plate? I saved it for you. Hurry up and eat it. I'll just eat some of the fatty meat." Lin Jingxing said.
Lin Bingwen's gaze was indeed drawn to the braised pork ribs. He picked up the rib and started gnawing on it, saying, "Brother, thank you."
"You're welcome, my good brother." Lin Jingxing mumbled, shoveling rice into his mouth.
My foolish little brother!
Let me bear the succulent twice-cooked pork!
After hearing the comments, Zhou Yan returned to the kitchen satisfied. With the factory director's words, the Twice-cooked Pork With Garlic Sprouts was a sure thing!
This made the other customers incredibly hungry, itching to get a bite too.
But those were the factory director and deputy factory director!
Who dared?
Probably only Zhao Dong, the director of the silk reeling workshop, would dare. He's thick-skinned and has a gluttonous appetite.
Zhou Yan brought the bowl of rice with toppings from the kitchen to Zhou Momo, who was practically crying from drooling.
"Wow!" Zhou Momo's big eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the rice covered with twice-cooked pork and ribs. She looked up at Zhou Yan, "Guo Guo, is this mine?"
"Of course it's yours. The pork is on top, and there are ribs too. Eat slowly." Zhou Yan smiled and shoved a spoon into her hand. There was no way he could cook a separate pot of four slices of twice-cooked pork for her; she'd have to eat with the guests first tonight.
"Okay!" Zhou Momo replied in her sweet, childlike voice, picking up her spoon and burying her head in her rice.
The bowl was large; she almost buried half her face in it, eating with great relish.
The twice-cooked pork was fragrant and tender, the ribs were soft and juicy, and the rice was drizzled with a spoonful of braised beef broth. The rice grains, soaked in the broth, were bursting with the aroma of beef soup with every bite—it was incredibly delicious!
Zhou Momo thought this was the best meal she had ever eaten!
"Take small bites and chew slowly, don't swallow it whole." Zhou Yan reminded her from the side.
The broth mixed with rice was very fragrant, but it was easy to forget to chew. Swallowing unchewed rice directly would put a strain in the stomach, especially for a little one like Zhou Momo.
Zhou Momo paused in her scooping of rice, obediently chewing the grains in her mouth first, then eating one bite after another, still enjoying it immensely.
"Boss, what is that little girl eating? She looks so happy with it!" The customers at the next table, who had been watching for a while, couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
"It's rice with braised beef broth, topped with twice-cooked pork and braised pork ribs—all from the menu." Zhou Yan replied with a smile. "If we really had to name it, we'd call it a Double Topping Rice Bowl With Twice-cooked Pork With Garlic Sprouts, And Braised Pork Ribs."
"A rice bowl with toppings?" The customer had never heard of it before, but thought the name was quite fitting.
"So, how much is one serving of rice with toppings? Can combine any of the dishes in the restaurant to make a topping? How many kinds of dishes can combine?" a young woman immediately asked.
Many interested customers also looked at Zhou Yan.
So, one person can eat several dishes by themselves? This is a dream come true!
"Genius!"
…