Chapter 33 033 Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Mustard Greens [First Update]
With a new member joining the family, Wen Fan added a new entry to his schedule.
I walk the dog every day.
Actually, you don't really need Wen Fan when walking your dog.
These past few days, Mr. Wen has been putting the dog in his tricycle when he goes grocery shopping. He's even planning to let the dog run around on less crowded streets when it's a bit bigger. After Mr. Wen finishes shopping, the dog stays at home temporarily. There are too many people during the lunch rush, and besides, some customers are afraid of dogs, so tying it up at the door isn't appropriate.
After lunch, Wen Fan would take the dog out for a walk in the afternoon. As the start of the school year approached, Wen Fan would not be in the shop for dinner. After obtaining his parents' permission, Wen Fan would take the dog to the park for a stroll before going home.
Egg Yolk is only a month old now, and the amount of exercise he gets each day is already enough to keep him well-behaved. When he gets home, he basically just sleeps. He only gets up and eats a lot when he smells the dog food that Wen Fan makes.
This little dog, only a few days after arriving home, has already shown its foodie nature, getting heavier every day.
With the puppy's company, Wen Fan was in a great mood and even had the energy to cook.
Wen's mother smiled and showed Wen Fan the comments section of the takeout order.
The once harmonious comment section has recently turned into a venting session because of the upcoming start of the school year.
The thought of getting on the bus to school tomorrow brought tears to my eyes.
[Waaaaah, why did I apply to a school in another city back then!]
The thought of not being able to eat at this restaurant again until Chinese New Year suddenly makes my living expenses seem less appealing.
Our school cafeteria is awful, and they don't even allow food delivery onto campus!
[No entry to campus +1]
[It can't be that bad. Although I really like the food at this restaurant, the food in our school cafeteria is actually pretty good. There are seven or eight cafeterias; if you don't like it, just switch!]
[Huh? If it's still not good, change it. I suspect the cooks in our school cafeteria have never actually learned how to cook.]
[Exactly! You guys haven't eaten in a cafeteria that's truly awful. It's far worse than you can imagine.]
[Seeing is believing, so I'll show you some pictures of our school cafeteria.]
Wow, is this cherry tomatoes and boiled eggs?
Wow, that's amazing! They even have dragon fruit stir-fried with cucumber.
...
Wen Fan looked at the pictures in the comments section, puzzled, and asked his mother, "Why are they making dishes like this?"
While culinary skills require innovation, we must not ignore the basic principles of ingredients and cooking.
Wen's mother was also speechless: "Is it... a school requirement?"
"Are you asking the cafeteria to waste food?"
Mother Wen:......
Wen Fan muttered under his breath, "No wonder Yang Tao took so many dishes with him when he left."
Before leaving the shop, these employees all tried to buy things from it. The food was one thing—it wouldn't keep for long, and taking it to school wouldn't make sense. But the braised dishes—it seemed they'd planned this beforehand, asking Wen Fan if they could cook a separate pot, and they'd pay for it.
Wen Fan was curious about how they brought it to school: "Although braised food can be kept for a while, it's only two or three days at most."
This was with ice packs added. Without ice packs, given the current temperature of over 30 degrees Celsius, it would spoil in less than a day.
Yang Tao waved his hand and said, "No problem, we've already prepared."
Wen Fan watched as the group magically produced a simple plastic sealer. They packed various types of braised dishes into sturdy plastic bags, including a considerable amount of the most common potato and lotus root slices. After packing, they sealed the bags and removed the air. Each person also brought a foam box.
Wen Fan was finally convinced: "...at most a week."
Yang Tao chuckled: "There's still a week left. It won't take half a day to get to school."
The record for the group of animals in his dorm was that they ate more than 30 steamed buns brought by one roommate along with three bottles of beef sauce brought by another roommate, all in one day.
You should know that those were homemade steamed buns made with old dough, huge buns that you couldn't even hold in one hand, each weighing a solid six ounces.
On average, each of them killed five.
As soon as Yang Tao said this, the people next to him nodded silently.
Wen Fan thought for a moment, gave each person a cost price, and then gave each person a bottle of braising broth as a gift.
"This thing can't be kept for long, but I heard from my mom that your dorm has a small refrigerator. If you put it in the refrigerator, it can be stored for a month."
Wen Fan knew, of course, that some braised food shops claimed that their old braising liquid was worth a fortune, and that a pot of braising liquid could be used for ten years, just like a family heirloom.
But what she has now is far from being considered a seasoned braising liquid. Besides, those claims that buying a seasoned braising liquid will make you better or worse are mostly just hype.
If the old braising liquid doesn't come with a recipe and doesn't teach you how to preserve it or add ingredients, you can tell it's nothing special.
Wen Fan: "You can eat this broth however you like, just don't pour it back in once you've poured it out."
Yang Tao was stunned for a moment, then was deeply moved: "Young boss, if you need anything in the future, just tell me, and I will do my utmost to help you."
He held the bottle of braising sauce like a precious jewel, feeling that there was finally something to look forward to after the start of the school year.
Yang Tao is not an isolated case. In the past few days, after a brief decline in business, the store suddenly experienced unprecedented prosperity the day before the start of the school year.
Wen Fan made braised pork with preserved mustard greens for lunch that day.
First, boil the whole piece of pork belly in hot water for a while, then take it out and rub a layer of white vinegar on the skin. Then, heat oil in a pan and fry the pork belly skin-side down until golden brown. After searing the skin in the hot pan, put it into ice water. The outer layer of pork skin gradually bubbles and eventually turns into a beautiful tiger skin. Then, cut the tiger-skinned pork belly into thick slices and marinate it with a special sauce to create a base flavor.
After processing the meat, Wen Fan took out the dried mustard greens he had bought. He gently pinched them with his fingers to make sure that the greens had no hard stems and were tender enough. Only then did Wen Fan soak the greens. After soaking, the greens only needed to be stir-fried with simple spices and a little sugar to bring out their aroma.
Wen Fan took out a dozen large bowls and arranged the meat slices neatly with the skin side down. Then he placed the preserved mustard greens on top of the meat slices. After the large pot was steaming, he put the meat and bowls into the pot and steamed them for an hour and a half.
Mr. Wen took a deep breath and couldn't help but reminisce: "This steamed bowl is so delicious."
This dish is indispensable for local weddings and funerals, especially in Wen's father's hometown, where the custom of serving covered bowls at banquets still exists.
It's not just braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens, but also braised spare ribs and braised crispy pork.
The master chef who used to train Wen's father was best at making braised dishes, but Wen's father didn't have much of a chance to eat them. There were very few leftovers at the village banquets, and the master chef was also very stingy. Even if he made extra, he would take it all with him.
As Mr. Wen smelled the aroma of the steamed bowl, he suddenly felt that all the grievances he had suffered in the past were nothing. Today, he could eat a steamed bowl that was even more delicious than he remembered.
Wen Fan stared at the fire and casually asked, "Dad, why don't we go back to our hometown?"
Looking through the original owner's memories, Wen Fan realized something was wrong. Although the original owner was adopted, he had been making a living with his parents since he could remember. Over the years, his mother had taken him to meet her relatives, who were her sisters.
But Wen's father never seemed to mention taking his wife and children back to his hometown.
Mr. Wen remained silent. In the past, he wouldn't say anything unless his daughter asked, but now that she had, he didn't know how to answer.
After a long while, Wen's father slowly spoke, observing his daughter's expression.
It's a simple matter, to sum it up in one sentence.
He and his mother had no children, his parents had passed away early, and his relationships with his brothers and sisters-in-law were difficult.
Wen's father lowered his voice: "Your mother and I were unhappy in the village all those years, so we decided not to come out at all."
After being away for a long time, when Wen's father looked back on the past, he would sometimes feel as if it were something from another era.
The villagers gossiped about the childless couples, and the sisters-in-law bullied each other over trivial matters like needles, thread, and a few feet of vegetable garden. The brothers also became much more estranged after their parents passed away.
Wen's father later realized that he could support his family even with his mediocre skills by taking his wife to the city.
Looking at his daughter, Wen's father felt incredibly content. He and his wife had found Wen Fan in their second year in the city.
Although the couple wanted to raise the child themselves, they had nowhere to live, so they eventually sent the child to an orphanage. In the years that followed, they still didn't have any children, so they saved up some money, rented a two-bedroom apartment, and applied to the orphanage to adopt Wen Fan...
Wen Fan was in poor health at that time, with some heart problems. Most of the children in the orphanage were like that; very few were healthy.
For Wen's parents, raising a child for the first time meant not only having to work hard to earn money, but also having to go to the hospital frequently.
After all these years, things have only gotten a little better in the last few years.
However, there's no need to tell your daughter these things.
Mr. Wen said calmly, “We don’t need to go back unless there’s something going on. When we have the means, I’ll buy a house, and we can say that we’ve settled down here.”
Here was his wife and children; Wen's father did not yearn for that distant hometown.
Wen Fan lifted the pot lid, and those fleeting, unhappy memories drifted away with the aroma of braised pork with preserved mustard greens, disappearing without a trace.
Wen Fan deftly covered the large bowl with a plate, easily flipped the lid over, and the fragrant braised pork belly looked like a work of art.
"Dad, you eat."
Wen Fan handed him a pair of chopsticks: "Try it first."
After steaming for over an hour, the pork belly was so tender that it could be easily swallowed with a gentle bite. The plump slices of meat carried a hint of preserved mustard greens, and the salty, slightly sweet flavor combined with the oily texture slowly filled a part of Mr. Wen's heart.
"tasty."
Wen Fan carried the rest of the food outside and called to his mother, "Mom, come and have a taste!"
Wen's mother ate two pieces with restraint.
Place a clump of preserved mustard greens on a slice of meat, hold it up with chopsticks to make it look like it's wrapped in preserved mustard greens. Take a bite, and the preserved mustard greens perfectly balance the greasiness of the meat. The lean meat is tender and the fatty meat is soft and melts in your mouth. It's so delicious it'll make your eyebrows fall off.
Wen's mother was very satisfied: "There are too many people today, but we can make two more pots this afternoon."
This is great because it's steamed, so there's no worry about it losing its flavor. Customers can order it anytime they come.
As she ate, Wen's mother wondered if she could make this steamed dish a dish in the restaurant.
Just then, Wen Fan suddenly spoke up: "Mom, do you think it's okay if I teach Dad how to make this steamed dish, and we keep it on hand in the shop from now on?"
Wen Fan counted on his fingers: "Let's not even think about cooking. Even if my dad cooks well, I'm afraid other people won't appreciate it."
Wen Fan was very confident in herself. Even if she personally taught her for three to five years, let alone her father, customers would still be able to taste the obvious difference.
Now Mr. Wen can make claypot rice, but it takes a while to make it. The shop only has cold dishes and braised dishes, which is too monotonous, not to mention that the cold dishes will also be ruined when the weather gets cold.
Steamed dishes are different. Wen Fan can prepare the seasonings in advance, and Wen's father only needs to master the basic steps to replicate them.
Wen's mother smiled: "I'm fine, it's mainly your dad..."
Wen's father's voice came out in a muffled tone: "I can learn."
Wen Fan: "That's fine. Today and tomorrow are enough time. Besides braised pork with preserved mustard greens, we can also make meatballs, crispy pork, and spare ribs."
"From now on, our store will only sell these few steamed dishes, plus braised dishes, cold dishes, and claypot rice."
Mother Wen was already planning how to price it. A bowl of rice or steamed buns would be fine, and the restaurant would also serve a free pot of soup. The weather would be getting cooler soon, making it perfect for this meal.
Besides, this was quite novel. At least Wen's mother had thought about it for a long time but couldn't recall seeing anyone selling this in the city.
Pricing? A higher price would be better. This is something you can eat in the restaurant or take home as a dish; it should be popular.
Wen's mother had thought it through carefully. She lifted the curtain in the kitchen, intending to have a proper discussion with her husband about the details.
But when she entered the room, she saw that her husband had his back turned.
"……What’s wrong with you?"
Wen's mother insisted on turning the person around.
Father Wen: "It's nothing."
Mother Wen's gaze fell on the covered bowl, and her voice softened: "Isn't it good now? You don't need anyone else to teach you, our daughter can teach you."
After a moment of silence, Mr. Wen smiled, his eyes red and swollen.
"yes."
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