Chapter 124 Laba Congee, Braised Pork Belly in a Jar [First Update]...
Early in the morning of Laba Festival, the sky was overcast and the weather was cold. Wen Fan opened his phone to check the weather forecast, which said that there would be light snow today.
Normally, Wen Fan would say that it's fine to not open for business. But when it snows, even if customers come, the store will inevitably be unable to provide adequate service. Besides, the roads are slippery in the snow, and it's not worth falling on your backside.
But not today.
Wen Fan shivered as he stood by the window; the cold wind made his mind much clearer.
After getting dressed, Wen Fan went to the shop to check on the beans he had soaked and the jarred meat that had been covered with a thick layer of lard.
Red beans, black beans, kidney beans, mung beans, black rice, glutinous rice, peanuts...
Although it was supposed to be Laba porridge, Wen Fan managed to put together more than a dozen kinds of nuts and beans.
With a large variety of ingredients, the preparation of each one becomes crucial.
Walnuts need to be peeled, red dates need to be pitted and peeled, only date paste is needed, and all kinds of rice need to be soaked or cooked in advance...
Originally, Wen's mother was a little hesitant about selling a bowl of Laba porridge for fifteen yuan, thinking it might be too expensive.
But seeing how much trouble her daughter went through, she felt that the high price was worth it! Who else would make a bowl of porridge with such complicated preparations?
Even I, in previous years, would just boil a pot of various grains together, calling it Laba porridge, but it was more like eight-treasure porridge. With a little sugar, it didn't even taste as good as the one sold at the breakfast shop in the morning.
My daughter said that when she makes porridge, she starts preparing two days in advance. Not only that, but the order in which each ingredient is placed is also important.
You don't even need to taste this porridge to know it won't be bad.
Wen Fan had cooked a porridge base last night and simmered it on a small stove. By morning, it was emitting a rich aroma of mixed grains.
Wen Fan lifted the lid, smelled it, added some sugar, and then started adding the other ingredients. After adding them all, he continued simmering.
After simmering for five or six hours, just as the lunchtime guests were about to arrive, the sweet aroma of the porridge finally wafted out through the gaps in the pot lid.
The customers who braved the bad weather to queue outside snorted.
"This must be Laba porridge!"
"It smells so good!"
"...No, isn't Laba porridge just the kind of eight-treasure porridge that you just boil and cook? How could it taste like this!"
"Hey, if you think it's eight-treasure porridge, why are you even queuing up?"
"I'm here just to eat braised pork belly with flatbread..."
"I'm so hungry! Please have some understanding for someone who didn't eat breakfast this morning!"
...
Wen Fan took out a large spoon and stirred it: "It's done."
Standing to the side, Yao Qingqin breathed a sigh of relief: "It's finally over."
Just watching Wen Fan spend the whole morning controlling the heat and calculating the timing of adding ingredients was exhausting for her.
The Laba porridge was already prepared, and you could vaguely see the abundance of dried fruits and grains inside. Wen Fan first served some to each of his family members so that everyone could taste it.
In the ochre-colored porridge, the rice grains had already bloomed and opened up, the mixed grains had split open the bean skins, revealing a soft and chewy interior, and the walnuts and other nuts, after being cooked for a long time, had a glossy sheen from being soaked in the oil from the mixed grains and rice. The Laba porridge was so thick it seemed to have been thickened with cornstarch, rich yet not sticky, and the sweet aroma mixed with the fragrance of mixed grains carried a sense of solidity and comfort. When the steam rose, it felt as if one were in a barn in late autumn, with the air filled with the scent of harvest.
Yao Qingqin took a sip and muttered to herself, "All the porridge I drank before was for nothing..."
How could there be such porridge!
When I saw it, I thought it would be a very sweet porridge, but it wasn't like that when I tasted it. The sweetness of the porridge was layered, with the glutinous sweetness of red beans, the refreshing sweetness of mung beans, and the honey sweetness of red dates. Wen Fan also added a little osmanthus honey, which gave it an extra floral sweetness.
After layers of sweetness, like climbing a mountain, there's a hint of sweet and slightly bitter lotus seeds, a touch of nutty aroma from walnuts, and the warm, well-cooked rice porridge, like a giant iron, smoothing all the flavors into a warm, satisfying, and comforting experience.
Yao Qingqin marveled at the magic of Laba porridge, as did the others.
After Ji Baiyi finished his bowl, he glanced at the porridge pot, while Ren Haijin eagerly asked Wen Fan if he could have another bowl.
Wen Fan: "Isn't this supposed to be a meal? Let's wait a bit. This porridge will taste best if it's cooked for another half hour."
Besides, she had already divided up all the portions for her own family to eat.
The large bucket of porridge in front of us is enough for the customers in the shop to consume.
Mother Wen had already gone to the door to hand out numbers. Ren Haijin was reluctant to leave. If it weren't for the fact that licking the porridge bowl would look too unsightly, he would have definitely licked it a little.
Wen Fan suddenly turned around: "By the way, I've also set aside some for you to take home tonight."
After all, it's a holiday. Although we wouldn't give employees any holiday benefits, we could at least send them some porridge.
Laba Festival is a day for family to share.
These words energized everyone.
Yao Qingqin, who had just been thinking about whether she could save a bite of food to take back to her daughter and parents, suddenly brightened up.
"Thank you, young boss."
Ren Haijin also chimed in, and Ji Boyi said thank you after a while.
Wen Fan smiled, thinking that she should give Ji Boyi a little more tonight, since the herbal tea that Ji Boyi brought was indeed very effective; the pimples on her face had disappeared after a night's sleep.
Customers flocked into the shop. The dish listed first on the blackboard was braised pork with flatbread, but everyone said they wanted a bowl of porridge first!
"It's so cold! Boss lady, two bowls of porridge!"
"I've been smelling this for ages outside... I want three bowls!"
"Fifteen yuan... that's a bit expensive, but whatever... just a bowl of porridge!"
...
The Wen family's porridge bowls were not large, about the size of a palm. Although they were quite deep, they still looked a bit small when served.
But no one complained that fifteen yuan wasn't worth it.
Having been outside in the cold for quite a while, I couldn't wait to have a bowl of porridge as soon as I came in. The sweet and warm porridge went down my throat, and in the cozy warmth, the sweet and sticky rice, the rich variety of grains and beans, and the oily nuts made me feel grateful for the rich layers of sweetness, even if I couldn't taste all the ingredients in one bite.
Is this really Laba porridge?
It's so delicious that it makes you wonder if what you've been drinking before was actually Laba porridge, but just boiled beans.
Some people carefully tasted the porridge, trying to identify the ingredients. Others drank it in large gulps, saying that the porridge was incredibly flavorful.
"It's not one of those overly sweet porridges, that's great!"
This bowl of Laba porridge has overturned everyone's expectations. I thought it was just a festive gimmick from Wenji, but I didn't expect the porridge to be so perfectly made!
After drinking the porridge, everyone felt warm and asked Wen's mother if they could have an extra meal today.
Mother Wen: "Okay, only porridge, three bowls per person."
Upon receiving this message, many people rushed to scan the QR code.
"I'll go first!"
"I've finished my drink, please refill it!"
"Three bowls of porridge...can we still eat the vegetables?"
No one was destined to answer this question. Some people silently loosened their belts, while others quietly considered revisiting the dishes they had ordered and requesting a refund.
But deciding what to return became a problem, so in the end, I could only grit my teeth and comfort myself by telling myself that at least I should drink the porridge first, as for the vegetables...
Pack up any leftovers!
Chen Jiahe also sat among a group of young people, drinking his porridge without even looking up.
Assistant Zeng drank one bowl and got up early to get another.
Coarse grains are filling enough, and after two bowls of porridge, Assistant Zeng felt glad that he had dressed simply today.
It's true that he underestimated the cold inland. The clothes he brought were either formal wear or thin sweaters. In the end, he had to buy a few casual clothes and a huge black down jacket.
At this moment, Assistant Zeng was no longer the elite he had been before; he was almost indistinguishable from the college students around him. Upon closer inspection, there were even two oil spots on his down jacket…
Chen Jiahe was not to be outdone; he was dressed just like any other resident in the neighborhood, and while drinking his porridge, he loudly proclaimed that he was number nine.
"Number Nine is here!"
Ji Baiyi placed two plates of braised pork and flatbread in front of them.
There were no elaborate dishes on the menu today; apart from braised pork in a clay pot with flatbread, most of the other dishes were stir-fries.
Chen Jiahe skipped the usual stir-fries and ordered a dish of stir-fried shredded pork with pickled cucumber.
I originally went there to cut through the greasiness, but after eating the braised pancake, I found it to be very oily and fragrant without being greasy at all.
"...How did you do that?!"
After Wen Fan's processing, and with the slow simmering over low heat for the past few days, the sealed jar tightly compressed the aroma of the meat into the broth. The finished braised pork was tender, soft, and glossy, as if painted on. Wen Fan added some of the broth from the braised pork to his stewed flatbread.
The flatbread strips in braised flatbread are wide, unlike the thin strips used in stir-fried flatbread. These uniformly wide strips are moist, unlike the dry stir-fried ones, and don't stick together even after being stir-fried. The flatbread strips, having absorbed the meat broth, are plump and juicy. Various side dishes contribute to the rich texture of the soft yet chewy flatbread, with different colors of mung bean sprouts, cabbage strips, and carrot strips, all complementing the flavorful, dark-colored flatbread.
The braised pork nestled around the stewed flatbread. After a few bites of the flatbread, you take another bite of the braised pork. The tender and succulent pork and the soft, chewy, and oily flatbread complement each other perfectly, without making your throat feel dry or sore.
Eat a few bites of braised pancake, then have a sip of porridge.
In a flash, Chen Jiahe suddenly understood Wen Fan's intention.
Braised flatbread is oily and fragrant, and many people might use sour flavors to cut through the greasiness, but Wen Fan has come up with a unique idea: to use porridge to smooth out the oiliness.
Surprisingly, it worked.
The aroma of the braised flatbread and the sweetness of the porridge, when eaten together, make one feel full and satisfied.
After finishing a whole plate of braised pancakes and eating most of the stir-fried shredded pork with pickled cucumbers, Chen Jiahe realized that his stomach was already incredibly full.
Assistant Zeng stubbornly served himself a third bowl of porridge, but in the end he could only take a sip and rest for a while.
Chen Jiahe: "...I'll buy some digestive tablets later."
As they were talking, they suddenly heard a guest also complaining that they couldn't eat anymore.
"The quantity is too large!"
The braised pancakes were served in a huge plate, and I started feeling dizzy from eating so much. Plus, I had porridge first thing in the morning, and after three bowls of mixed grain porridge... I probably won't be hungry until evening.
Somewhat helplessly, Mrs. Wen decided to make the "Order Appropriate Amounts" sign in the store even bigger that afternoon.
At noon, many people were so full from the plentiful Laba porridge that they could barely walk.
Many people even posted videos. One netizen named "Braised Fat Seaweed" posted a picture of Wenji's signboard.
The accompanying text reads: "If you can still maintain a 70% full stomach after walking out of here, you will succeed in whatever you do in your life."
A group of replies appeared below.
[Xiao Wang Loves to Eat: I ate too much for lunch today and felt dizzy when I got home, like I drank two ounces of alcohol. Anyone else feel the same way?]
[Eucalyptus: ...I was so full I slept on the sofa all afternoon, almost scaring my dad half to death. He thought I had alcohol poisoning.]
Xiaoxiao: Um, I'm different. I was so full I couldn't sit down, so I went shopping all afternoon... I just checked and I walked over 20,000 steps...
[An Orange: ...Hey sister in front, let's add each other as friends, I want to steal your energy.]
[DouDouBao: I suspect Wenji is sprinkling appetite stimulants in the air. I really do have a small appetite, I usually only eat one small bowl, but every time I go to Wenji, I can eat several bowls... I told my best friend that I drank three bowls of porridge and ate a big plate of braised pancakes for lunch, and my best friend thought I was joking.]
[Shannai: You're not alone, I'm the same way. Every time before I go, I tell myself not to eat too much, because I've had pancreatitis from overeating before, but I still end up feeling stuffed every time. Today I drank two bowls of Laba porridge, and while I was drinking it, I made excuses for myself, since Wenji might only make Laba porridge once a year.]
[Nanako: No, you guys are really brave, considering the weather today.]
[Little Sun: ...Um, is Laba porridge really that good? If it is, I'll go queue up right away.]
[Yamana: Let me put it this way, this porridge is so delicious that you'll feel like all the porridge you've ever had was swill.]
[DouDouBao: Hurry up, there should be fewer people tonight, since that group from lunchtime definitely won't be going (I've been out all afternoon, and I still don't feel like I've digested anything).]
...
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