Chapter 148 Stir-fried and Steamed Dishes
Before Du Min's shout had even finished, someone rushed up to her with lightning speed.
"Give me two!"
Now everyone knows a key trick to eating at Wen Ji: whenever Wen Ji has a new dish, don't hesitate, just go for it!
Accompanied by the announcement of the payment being received over the loudspeaker, Du Min instructed everyone to line up.
"Your stir-fried and steamed dishes."
The guest took the plate and saw golden eggs and scattered bean sprouts, with a few bits of ham sausage as a garnish. The steamed vegetables first became soft and chewy under the baptism of steam, with the outer layer of powder sticking to the vegetables. Then they were stir-fried, and under the action of hot oil and seasonings, the originally moist powder turned golden.
In this stir-frying process, the vegetables inside the rice noodles are removed from the heat before they even touch the hot oil. The stir-fried steamed vegetables remain loose, but they have gained an extra layer of wok hei (the smoky aroma imparted by a strong stir-fry). The oily, salty, and slightly spicy flavor is particularly appealing. A few scattered rice noodles, after being stir-fried, give the feeling of eating fried dough balls. The vegetables inside are first steamed and then stir-fried, resulting in a loose, soft, and chewy texture. The freshness and intensity are surprisingly well-matched.
Some people even took a couple of bites and then ran to the front to get a few spoonfuls of the sauce they had just used to drizzle over the steamed vegetables. The addition of the sauce made the stir-fried and steamed vegetables even more delicious, and the spicy and fragrant flavor enveloped the fresh and tender wild vegetables. This truly brought the spring breeze into their stomachs.
In just a short while, all ten servings of stir-fried and steamed dishes were sold out.
Du Min and Mi Xiao put the tray into the kitchen. Du Min said to Wen Fan with a smile, "I've never seen such good business before. The young boss is really amazing. He even thought of this dish."
Du Min couldn't argue with Wen Fan. She recalled that she had eaten steamed dishes when she was a child, but who would have thought of stir-frying them?
She couldn't help but swallow her saliva as she served that plate of stir-fried and steamed dishes to others.
Mi Xiao nodded slightly. She remembered when she went back to her hometown as a child and ate steamed dishes, but she always kept her mouth tightly shut and refused to eat them. Her grandmother would always scold her, "You've really gotten used to a good life. Back in our day, we had to fight for tree bark to get some!"
Mi Xiao was incredibly annoyed back then, but now, smelling the aroma of steamed vegetables, she was reminded of her grandmother who had passed away a few years ago. The old woman had a sharp tongue, but after scolding her, she would often buy her a sausage and cook her a pack of instant noodles, then angrily slam the bowl down with a deafening thud.
"Eat up, eat up! If you eat this, you'll grow up to be a four-eyed kid. Haven't you heard people say that eating instant noodles will make you nearsighted!"
Mi Xiao ate a lot of instant noodles later on, and of course, she eventually got to wear glasses. However, it wasn't from eating instant noodles, but from genetics.
After Du Min and Mi Xiao finished cleaning up the steamed dishes, they went out to clear the tables and clean up.
Before the first wave of customers had even left, they were all taking photos and posting videos while they were eating, all marveling at how wonderful Wenji's first day of opening was.
The customer who had just finished two bowls of steamed vegetables and a serving of stir-fried steamed vegetables patted his stomach and sighed, "If I told my mom that I could eat my fill of wild vegetables one day, she definitely wouldn't believe me."
Licking my lips, the delicious taste of the stir-fried and steamed dishes still lingered on my tongue. My stomach, which was still full after eating, felt like a bottomless pit, and now it was clamoring that I hadn't eaten enough.
Especially the shredded potatoes and carrots in the stir-fried and steamed dishes, with their slightly chewy and slightly grainy texture, are definitely the No. 1 choice today.
Envious and jealous, some customers who hadn't gotten any food asked Wen's mother if there would be any more tomorrow.
Mother Wen: Yes.
After a pause, seemingly noticing the lingering enjoyment on the faces of many people in the store, Wen's mother adopted a more hesitant tone.
"There should be."
Today is the first day of Wenji's reopening after renovations, and there are already so many people queuing outside. We'll have to wait until tomorrow...
Wen's mother: "It's actually not complicated. Our shop will post how to make it online so that everyone can make it at home."
These words were sincere, and they reflected Wen Fan's long-planned strategy for building his reputation.
Looking back, it was a mashed potato recipe that made Wenji famous last year. This year, when reopening, Wen Fan didn't hesitate to share the recipe for steamed dishes as well.
Actually, steaming dishes isn't difficult; the only troublesome part is the sauce. Wen Fan has chosen a basic sauce recipe from his own company and shared it, which is enough to create a buzz.
The guests, with the exception of a few, were not particularly pleased upon hearing this.
"Boss lady, our shop is already so big, can't we make more?"
How can you just sit there and not do business like that!
Wen's mother regretfully said that all the wild vegetables in her home were sent from the mountains.
"The raw materials are really scarce."
Actually, it's not that Wen Fan hasn't bought wild vegetables from outside, but compared to Feng Huijuan's suppliers, she always finds them unsatisfactory. Since she doesn't really rely on this to make money, she simply decided to remove it from the shelves for this season.
After seeing the guests off, Wen's mother urged Yao Qingqin to send out the video as soon as possible.
"I'm afraid people will come and ask me."
It's fine if one or two people ask, but if a group of people ask, I have to answer many times, which is really tiring.
Yao Qingqin had originally planned to post it that evening to tempt people, but after Wen's mother mentioned it, she posted it that afternoon.
This launch, coupled with word-of-mouth from customers who came at noon, created a city-wide buzz surrounding Wen Kee's new product.
This time, Wen Fan's hands are featured again, showing a simple method for making steamed dishes, along with a method for making some complicated sauces, and finally, a plate of steamed dishes that Wen Fan stir-fried on the spot as the video cover.
Many people got hungrier the more they watched, and started wailing and howling in the comments section.
[Super Sweet Candy: Steamed Vegetables! Stir-fried Steamed Vegetables! Oh my god, I even think the owner of Wen Ji really has no limits. This looks delicious!]
[Fox: Raise your hand if you've already eaten lunch! It was really delicious, a flavor I've never tasted before.]
[Husky: And it's only ten yuan a serving, really not expensive.]
[My favorite meatballs: I've already made plans with my bestie, let's go tonight!]
[The beautiful but wicked woman: Don't go. There's none left tonight. The boss said it's pure wild vegetables from the mountains, and the supply can't keep up.]
[All the way north: No, production was always insufficient before the renovation, and it's still insufficient after the renovation. So wasn't the renovation a waste of time? (Captain Jia's tone)]
[Buying a phone: ...pure wild vegetables, selling for ten yuan...Wenji is really honest. Elm seeds are selling for five yuan here.]
[Xiaobai: It's true, you know, many of the wild vegetables people eat now are actually grown in the ground. I was really shocked when my mom told me that.]
[Jingjing: Ahhh, I'm going to throw a tantrum! I really want to eat this steamed dish!]
[Sunset: Everyone, didn't Wenji already tell you the solution?]
[Jingjing: What?]
Sunset: (Rolls eyes) Do it yourself! Isn't this a tutorial?
...
The tutorial posted by Wen's mother was quickly followed by many people. If wild vegetables were unavailable, they could be substituted with what they had at home. In any case, all kinds of vegetables could be used to make steamed dishes.
At least a few days later, when Wen Fan was scrolling through his phone, he saw pictures of potatoes, pumpkins, eggplants, enoki mushrooms, okra, baby bok choy, green beans, broccoli, and winter melon...
Of course, some people succeed in copying, while others fail.
Successful people give it high praise: "Wenji's recipe is excellent. There are no hidden steps, and the details are very well done. Just follow it; you don't need to come up with a sudden idea, and you can make it successfully."
Those who failed posted their work in the comments section of Wenji's blog, asking for the reasons why.
Suddenly, many fans found a new source of fun: commenting on these people.
[Nini: To put it bluntly, if Tang Sanzang had begged for alms from your house back then, would Monkey King have needed to go on the pilgrimage?]
[Amazing: ...I already told you not to improvise when cooking! Otherwise, would people send you recipes just so you could use them as paper towels?]
[Orange: What we're saying is, this isn't cooking, it's alchemy!]
[Scallion and Egg Pancake: Oh no, I've found the real witch!]
...
The craze for steamed dishes lasted for half a month.
During this period, Wen Ji's popularity gradually increased, after all, even if you follow the recipe, some people say that it is far inferior to Wen Ji's.
So, queues started forming outside Wenji again. The difference this time was that even if people couldn't get their steamed dishes, they could at least go inside and order something else.
Xiao Ge has good cooking skills and a solid foundation. With Wen Fan directing, the taste is consistently delicious.
However, some customers with sensitive tongues still make a point of coming on weekends.
"I always feel that Wen Ji is better on weekends."
However, it's like opening a blind box; it's purely a matter of chance.
Sometimes you can't even get a table on the weekend.
When I told this to others, they just laughed and laughed at me.
"You really think this is just an online joke? The kids are at school, so I can only come home to cook on weekends. And when customers ask me why our food is better on weekends, hahaha."
"Maybe? Maybe this is just how this store is."
Hahahaha.
...
Just one week after the store opened, Wenfan welcomed the first weekend of the new store.
Because when Wen's mother was renovating, she separated the storefront near the pharmacy, and customers were only moved to that side when there was no more room.
On weekends, this place becomes Wen Fan's domain. No guests come here anymore; the three large tables are reserved for his private weekend meals.
This week, two tables of guests were business travelers, and the other table was occupied by familiar faces, Mr. Duan from next door.
Wen Fan had prepared the menu early on, and Mi Xiao came to help out that evening.
When everyone arrived in the evening, she started serving the dishes.
"The first dish is stir-fried river shrimp with toon leaves."
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Author's Note: Only one update today. I apologize for the poor time management. I'll try to update earlier tomorrow.
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