He Zhiyuan walked to the front of the line and looked at the ten enamel basins arranged in two rows. The front row contained five-spiced ones, while the back row, covered with chili oil and sesame seeds, was obviously spicy.
Lotus root, potatoes, dried tofu, dried bean curd sticks, and kelp.
A prominent long sign stands on the small table, listing the prices of various braised vegetarian dishes.
Lotus root and potatoes are the cheapest, costing only forty cents a jin.
Dried tofu was sixty cents, and dried bean curd sticks and kelp were eighty cents.
These prices were quite reasonable!
In He Zhiyuan's memory, the prices of the dishes at Zhou Yan's restaurant were comparable to those of the big restaurants in Rongcheng.
Of course, the taste was just as good.
In Rongcheng, braised lotus root and potatoes are about the same price, while braised dried tofu can sell for 80 cents and braised dried bean curd sticks can cost one yuan.
Of course, not everyone can sell braised vegetarian dishes well.
The price is high and the food is bad, customers won't pay for it. They might as well add twenty cents more and buy some meat to take home and cook themselves.
"Goodbye, Uncle, come again next time!"
"Sister, you look so beautiful today! Your hair clip is so pretty."
"Auntie, is something making you happy? You're smiling so happily!"
He Zhiyuan then noticed a little one sitting on a small stool next to the braised meat stall, chatting enthusiastically with the customers in the front row. Her voice was soft and endearing, and she aimed to be friendly, ensuring everyone got a word or two.
The customers nodded or smiled in response, their faces beaming with joy.
"No way, this is too cute!" Xiao Li followed behind He Zhiyuan, his eyes lighting up.
The little one was not only adorable, but also spoke in a sweet, childlike voice, and even helped call out to customers. She was just too well-behaved.
Now, Xiao Li not only envied Zhou Yan for being handsome and a good cook, but also for having such an adorable little sister!
He can even run a restaurant with his parents and earn money, the whole family together.
This guy's life is too good.
Unlike him, a complete social idiot...
Crying.
"Camera (Xiang Ji)!" Zhou Momo looked up and saw He Zhiyuan, her eyes lighting up. "Uncle! You're here again!"
"Yes, I'm here again." He Zhiyuan nodded, a smile already appearing on his face, and his voice unconsciously became a few decibels higher.
Zhou Momo looked at her expectantly and asked, "What about the drawing you had Xiang Ji draw for me last time? Is it finished?"
He Zhiyuan's smile froze instantly, revealing a hint of embarrassment. He had taken a picture of the little one alone last time, but when he went back to get it printed, he found the image was blurry, essentially a wasted photo.
He hadn't expected the little one to remember this.
"Last time I only drew half of it with the Xiang Ji, how about Uncle finishes it for you later?" He Zhiyuan said.
"Okay, okay." Zhou Momo nodded, her smile exceptionally bright.
Xiao Li glanced at the editor-in-chief with some surprise, he doesn't usually take photos of others casually.
"Precious film, isn't it meant to be used to take pictures of such adorable babies?" He Zhiyuan thought firmly to himself.
Hearing the sound, Zhou Miao looked at He Zhiyuan and nodded to him in greeting.
Zhao Tieying, who was cooking Cross-legged Beef, also noticed He Zhiyuan and his two companions. She served the two bowls of Cross-legged Beef to the guests and greeted them with a smile, saying, "Editor-in-Chief He, Mayor Huang, Comrade Xiao Li, please come in. There are still seats available."
"Okay." He Zhiyuan replied, smiling as he said to Zhao Tieying, "We came here for the braised food today. Give me a mixed platter of five-spiced braised vegetables for 80 cents, a platter of spicy braised vegetables for 60 cents, and four liang of braised beef and four liang of braised pig's head meat."
Zhao Tieying took out her notebook and wrote it down, then asked, "Okay, I'll mix some vegetables together for you, is there anything you don't want to eat?"
"I want them all. Please give me a few extra pieces of dried bean curd sticks, they look delicious." He Zhiyuan said.
"Okay, I'll get them for you right away." Zhao Tieying nodded.
He Zhiyuan and his group entered the restaurant and sat down. He glanced at the menu and chuckled, "He's very cautious about adding new dishes, he only added braised vegetables and braised beef. Only family members help out in the restaurant so the simpler the menu, the easier it is to make money."
"Isn't it true that the more dishes you have, the more customers you get, and the more money you make?" Huang Chen asked, puzzled
"Mayor Huang, your thinking is completely amateurish." He Zhiyuan said with a smile. "The more dishes you have, the more ingredients your kitchen needs to prepare. If you misjudge the amount of ingredients, the waste will be a complete loss. Generally, the dishes added later are combinations based on the existing ingredients.
For example, you can add a Braised Beef With Potatoes to the Braised Beef With Dried Bamboo Shoots. Both dishes use beef brisket. You can first stew the beef brisket until it is 80% cooked, and then stew the potatoes and dried bamboo shoots in two separate pots.
Another common way to cook pork is to stir-fry it with everything, such as dried tofu, celtuce, or Yu Xiang Shredded Pork. Just prepare a certain amount of pork tenderloin each day, vegetable spoilage costs are limited."
Huang Chen nodded repeatedly and said with a smile, "I didn't expect there to be so much to learn about this little menu."
"A small menu can determine the life or death of a restaurant. The combination of dishes and pricing are of utmost importance. Whether or not you can make money depends entirely on how you set the menu." He Zhiyuan looked at the menu and said, "Don't be fooled by the small number of dishes on this menu. They sell a lot of food. Just these dishes are enough to keep his whole family busy."
"Small restaurants are the most tiring. They make noodles in the morning, simmer cross-legged beef, and sell braised dishes. They deserve to earn that money, I'm not envious at all."
Huang Chen nodded repeatedly after hearing this, it certainly sounded exhausting.
"Let's order some Spicy Stir-fried Pork Liver. The Spicy Stir-fried Pork Liver I had in Rongcheng the day before yesterday left me speechless. Zhou Yan's is still the best. And two bowls of Cross-legged Beef. We can't get this anywhere else after leaving Suji." He Zhiyuan called out to Zhao Hong, who was passing by, and ordered two more dishes.
Hearing the commotion, Zhou Yan came out and greeted them.
"You go about your business, don't worry about us. We can talk later when you're done. We won't interfere with your business." He Zhiyuan said with a smile.
"Okay, please forgive me if I haven't been a good host." Zhou Yan smiled and turned back to the kitchen. He liked friends who had a good sense of propriety.
Soon, their braised food platter was served, with the five-spiced and spicy flavors on separate plates.
Braised beef and braised pig's head meat were served together.
Although the braised vegetables were arranged separately according to their type, but the plating was rather haphazard and lacked aesthetic appeal.
He Zhiyuan moved his head left and right a few times, but still gave up the idea of taking pictures. The plate wasn't very impressive, and the lighting was also lacking, with too low a wattage, so he couldn't get a good shot.
Putting aside the photography aspect, the braised vegetables, braised beef, and braised pig's head meat look incredibly appetizing.
The braised lotus root and braised potatoes are cut into thick slices. Unlike those who prefer thin, crispy slices, He Zhiyuan prefers thicker slices, as the braising flavor is generally more intense, and the potatoes have a softer texture.
The dried bean curd sticks is plentiful, golden in color, cut into pieces about eight centimeters long, glistening with oil, and piled up together, looking quite tempting.
The kelp was tied into knots.
The dried tofu was cut into long strips, about the thickness of a coin, with a remarkably fine and firm cross-section.
As for the spicy version, He Zhiyuan ordered twenty cents less than the five-spice version.
It was described as spicy braised food, but more accurately, it should be called cold braised food dish.
The ingredients seemed similar to the cold chicken dish he had last time.
In comparison, He Zhiyuan had higher expectations for the original five-spice flavor.
Braised food is all about the original flavor of the braising liquid.
"Here, have a taste." He Zhiyuan picked up his chopsticks and first took a piece of potato.
The thickly sliced potato was too big to finish in one bite. It had a mealy texture and a rich, savory flavor.
After finishing the potato in two bites, he picked up a slice of lotus root.
The lotus root was crisp and refreshing, also soaked in the braising liquid. It was crisp, flavorful, and became more fragrant with each chew.
He Zhiyuan exclaimed in amazement, "The potatoes and lotus root are cooked to perfection! Using old brine to braise vegetables! He's really going all out! Selling them for forty cents? The taste is absolutely amazing!"
There are several good braised food shops in Rongcheng, which he frequents and also orders braised vegetarian dishes.
But he had never seen anyone use old braising liquid to braise vegetables. At most, they would drizzle a spoonful of old braising liquid and a spoonful of braising oil on top when the dish was done.
But in Zhou Yan's pot of braised vegetables, he could clearly taste that it was made with old braising liquid.
It has an incredibly rich, meaty aroma, it's the pure fragrance of pig's head meat, accumulated from the flavors of individual pig heads.
This method of preparation is something no other restaurant can replicate. It creates a competitive advantage in taste.
That's ruthless!
He picked up a piece of braised dried tofu. The dried tofu was dried using a highly skilled technique, the skin and flesh were tightly connected, with not a single air bubble inside. The bright red color permeated the tofu from the outside in, creating a gradient effect.
He took a bite and found it crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The combination of the aroma of soybeans and the savory flavor of the braising liquid, along with the delicate texture of the dried tofu, brought him a double surprise.
"This tastes like dried tofu made from Xiba tofu! Within Jiazhou, the only dried tofu with such a rich bean flavor that I can think of is Xiba tofu, and it's a fairly authentic version!" He Zhiyuan sat up straighter, his face filled with disbelief as he picked up another piece of dried tofu and put it in his mouth, savoring it carefully, his face full of praise:
"It's so tender! It's called dried tofu, but it tastes similar to dried egg. The aroma of braised meat, beans, and savory vegetables blend together. It smells absolutely amazing!
Xiao Li had already unfolded his notebook, his pen scribbling down He Zhiyuan's words and actions.
"Let me try this dried bean curd stick. I feel like I'll be pleasantly surprised." He Zhiyuan couldn't wait to pick up a piece of dried bean curd stick and put it in his mouth. He chewed it carefully, and his eyes became brighter and brighter: "It's Xiba tofu! The taste of this dried bean curd stick is so authentic! It has a rich bean flavor, the braising time is just right, the texture is soft but not mushy, and it can still maintain the beautiful shape of the dried bean curd stick."
"Zhou Yan is truly skilled! Even the vegetarian dishes are so perfectly prepared."
"The ingredients are excellent! This is the standard an excellent chef should have for ingredients!"
He Zhiyuan's face lit up with excitement.
Huang Chen watched with great amusement, as it was truly rare to see He Zhiyuan lose his composure like this.
He's eaten all sorts of good food, bear paws and shark fins are nothing new to him. But today, he was amazed by a plate of braised vegetables.
"You can eat braised vegetables that cost sixty or eighty cents a jin with such joy?" Huang Chen asked with a smile.
"It has nothing to do with money. The simpler and cheaper the ingredients, the more the chef's skill can be shown." He Zhiyuan waved his hand. "Abalone, deep-sea shark fin, bear paw and deer tendon are indeed high-end delicacies, but I don't agree at all that they can taste better than this braised vegetable dish."
"Look, a basin of small soybeans from Xiba is ground into soy milk using a stone mill. Half of it is made into tofu, which is then dried into dried tofu. The other half is boiled into soy milk, then rolled up sheet by sheet to form dried bean curd sticks, which are hung on bamboo poles to dry in the sun. Finally, it's put into this pot of old brine, and once it's braised, it becomes this plate of braised vegetables. Do you still think it's simple?"
"I say this is the tastes of the earth!"
"It's a delicacy created by the wisdom and hands of the working people."
"It's also a symphony played by three masters."
"The tofu master of Xiba provided the ingredients, the braised food master cultivated the pot of old braising liquid, and finally, Zhou Yan perfectly controlled the cooking time."
"Absolutely delicious!"