Chapter 31.031 Braised Beef Brisket [First Update]
Inside the shop, Zhang Shan scooped up a plate of braised beef brisket, skillfully packaged it, and placed a small table in front of the counter where all the takeout orders were placed. Although it wasn't yet noon, dozens of takeout orders were already piled up on the table.
Zhang Shan and Yang Fei divided the work: Zhang Shan focused on packing the food, while Yang Fei took care of serving dishes and clearing tables.
Although I had a feeling that business would be very good today since we were closed yesterday.
However, the sheer volume of food delivery orders that kept coming in for a full minute after the platform was opened still drew gasps of surprise from everyone.
Wen's mother hurriedly went to the kitchen to take inventory of the restaurant's ingredients, asked Wen's father to prepare more cold dishes, and then quickly called the butcher shop to ask them to send some beef brisket over urgently in the afternoon.
Wen Fan has high standards for meat. The beef brisket is selected for its elasticity, even color, and the presence of a layer of connective tissue and white fat in the middle. The beef brisket with alternating layers of fat and lean meat is first stir-fried until the outer layer is slightly browned, then spices and white wine are added and stir-fried evenly. When the aroma of spices is released, a spoonful of braising liquid is added, and then it is transferred to a large earthenware pot to simmer over low heat.
This pot of beef has been stewing since this morning, and it's been over three hours now before Wen Fan feels it's almost done.
The beef brisket was incredibly fragrant; few could resist its aroma alone. Even at thirty-six yuan a serving, it sold out in no time.
Mother Wen wiped the sweat from her brow and kept explaining to the people who came later that there was no beef brisket rice for lunch.
Some sharp-eyed people pointed to a few orders on the takeout counter in front: "Aren't there still some left?"
Wen's mother: "These are the takeout orders, the last few left."
Just then, Zhang Shan brought out a takeout order. The transparent takeout box allowed you to see the beef brisket inside glistening with an irresistible sheen of oil.
"Gulp," the sound of swallowing saliva was heard by Wen's mother.
Wen's mother said helplessly, "The restaurant has other dishes, would you like to take a look?"
This young man hesitated for half a minute because he had a hard time making a decision, and in that very half minute, the last serving of beef brisket rice in the store was sold through a delivery service.
Seeing the young man pounding his chest and hesitating about what to eat, Wen's mother thought that if he delayed any longer, the store would probably sell out of everything else.
Wearing a helmet and without even taking the key out of his electric scooter, Yang Tao rushed into the store, grabbed three or four takeout orders according to the list, and then dashed out like lightning.
The young man watched helplessly as that tempting beef brisket rice bowl slipped away, feeling as heartbroken as if he had missed his first love.
"...Give me a spicy and sour chicken gizzard rice bowl."
Mother Wen: "..."
"Is that all?"
Wen's mother: "Sorry, we just sold out."
The young man felt as if a nightmare was repeating itself. He saw the shop assistant walking briskly, holding a takeout order in his hand. The takeout looked very appetizing, with bright red chilies that looked appetizing. The aroma of sour and spicy food wafted over, and the assistant quickly put the lid on and tore off the takeout order with a ripping sound.
The click of the staple seemed to pierce the young man's heart.
Ugh, my food!
...
Yang Tao had no idea that he had unintentionally offended someone. He quickly delivered the takeout orders one by one. Although he was wearing arm sleeves, a helmet, and a sun-protective mask, his back was still soaked with sweat.
He rushed into the office building, and the cool air in the lobby brought him a long-lost sense of coolness.
"Hello, is Liu Na from Shuguang Travel Agency here?"
In an office on the third floor, there were seven or eight people in the small workspace, each sitting at their own workstation eating takeout.
As soon as Yang Tao shouted, a woman in her thirties with short hair stood up.
"here!"
She took the takeout and said thank you.
Back at her workstation with her takeout, a colleague curiously peeked over and asked, "Sister Liu, what did you order?"
Liu Na tore off the takeout order and opened the bag: "Here, a rice bowl. My son has been eating here every day lately, saying it's really delicious. I haven't tried it yet, so I ordered it today."
The takeout bag from the Wen family was quite simple, especially the white plastic bag, which looked like something a street vendor would use. My colleague only glanced at it briefly before looking away.
He politely replied, "It looks alright," and then went back to eat his spicy hot pot.
Liu Na didn't rush to eat. Instead, she got up to wash her hands and poured herself a glass of warm water before bringing it back.
Drinking water before meals is one of Liu Na's long-standing habits for losing weight.
Sitting in her office chair, Liu Na regretted making such a hasty decision today.
Beef brisket, you can imagine how fatty that is.
The young colleagues were laughing and joking, eating spicy hot pot while watching TV dramas. Liu Na glanced at them enviously and sighed, "It's so good to be young."
Back then, she could eat whatever she wanted and never gained weight, but after having children, everything changed...
Feeling the bulge in her lower abdomen as she sat down, Liu Na made up her mind to eat only half a portion later.
Otherwise, with both fatty meat and rice, it's practically a weight-gain miracle.
With that thought in mind, Liu Na opened the takeout menu.
To be fair, the Wen family's takeout boxes were far too plain, so plain that they seemed shabby.
But now, the simple packaging actually complements the large chunks of beef perfectly.
Inside the transparent box, large chunks of marbled beef looked incredibly impressive, with oil spreading over the rice, releasing an irresistible aroma that was almost overwhelming. The restaurant hadn't even dispensed the seasonings, so there were still a few bits of seasoning residue on the outside of the meat chunks—clearly residue that had sunk to the bottom of the pot and been accidentally scooped up while retrieving the meat.
Liu Na was a little confused. This bowl of meat wasn't like the kind sold outside, where the pieces are cut into small pieces. Instead, each piece was the size of a quail egg. The restaurant had put out about ten such large pieces of meat, and this bowl of rice didn't even have a single potato, besides the meat.
At that moment, the spicy aroma of the hot pot that filled the office suddenly became tasteless.
This pure, meaty aroma dominated the entire space.
Liu Na didn't notice that everyone around her had fallen silent; she couldn't wait to stuff a big mouthful into her mouth.
The beef brisket has an even distribution of fat, and some of the fat is rendered out during stir-frying, so you can taste a slightly charred exterior. However, this flavor is quickly overwhelmed by the aroma of the beef itself, and the rich aroma of the braising sauce fills the entire mouth.
Liu Na didn't care about anything else and immediately stuffed the next bite into her mouth.
This time, the rice covers the chunks of meat. If the meat itself has an unadulterated, rich aroma, then the rice has a subtle, intricate fragrance. The rich meat sauce blends evenly with the rice, and it doesn't taste salty at all when eaten alone; instead, it's just the right amount of delicious and satisfying.
The colleague who had just started the conversation asked unconsciously, "Sister Liu, what is this? It smells so good."
Even though I already know the answer, I just can't take my eyes off this rice bowl.
Liu Na swallowed a large mouthful before answering, "It's just a regular rice bowl... Would you like to try some?"
If it weren't for the obvious longing in her colleague's eyes, Liu Na would never have responded to that sentence.
Even so, she still hoped that her colleagues would refuse.
but--
"Thank you, Sister Liu."
"This looks so delicious, I'll have a bite too."
"What did Sister Liu order? Send me the link in a bit!"
"Sister Liu, you should try our spicy hot pot too."
...
Seeing the several servings of spicy hot pot pushed in front of her almost simultaneously, Liu Na said she didn't want to eat them.
"Holy crap, what kind of meat is this? It smells so good!"
"How could beef brisket taste like this!"
"This must be the kind of really expensive beef, right? Sister Liu, is this takeout order very expensive?"
Liu Na was heartbroken. Seeing that four or five pieces of meat were missing from the takeout container, her heart was bleeding.
"...Where can I get it? Thirty-six per serving."
My colleagues all said it was fine: "With so many pieces of meat, thirty-six yuan a serving is really not expensive."
Although there are some beef rice bowls near the company that cost around ten yuan, they don't even bother to check what kind of beef it is. It's either processed beef or made with thinly sliced beef, nothing like this place, where the chunks of meat are big and plentiful.
Even with so much meat, no one dared to eat too much. Each person would just have a piece as a token, and then they would go back to their workstations to eat their own meals.
The spicy stir-fry that tasted great just a moment ago now tastes bland and tasteless.
Compared to the overwhelming aroma of pure meat, the ingredients in a spicy hot pot seem dry and thin.
The meatballs were too dry, the pork slices were too lean, the vegetables weren't flavorful enough, and the instant noodles were too salty...
Peeking at Liu Na again, she was now feasting. A piece of meat was placed on top of a full bowl of rice, and the meat was trembling as if it was about to fall off. Then Liu Na opened her mouth wide and swallowed it all in one gulp.
...Meat is best enjoyed when eaten in large bites like this.
At this point, Liu Na had no idea about leaving half a portion. After she finished eating, she only saw an empty lunchbox, so clean that there wasn't even a single grain of rice left.
Liu Na burped, feeling both admiration for the delicious food and a touch of helplessness.
"She said she wanted to lose weight, but if she keeps eating like this, she'll be ready for slaughter in no time."
Now that she thinks about it, her son seems to have gained a lot of weight recently. She used to think it was because his mother always bought him snacks, but now that she thinks about it, he eats the same thing every day at noon, how could he not gain weight!
No, dieting alone won't help me lose weight. Besides, who can go on a diet when faced with such delicious food?
Liu Na took out her phone and sent a message to her mother first.
I'm picking Zhuangzhuang up tonight, so you don't need to wait for us for dinner.
Liu Na pulled out a flyer from under her desk, which read: "[Summer Swimming Special Offer: Adults and one child for only 2480 yuan]".
There's no other way but to go swimming.
...
Meanwhile, Zhuangzhuang's maternal grandmother was unaware that from now on, her chubby grandson would be living a life of daily hardship from exercise. Today, she ordered a rice bowl for her grandson.
Perhaps knowing she wasn't liked by the shop owner, she even changed her name.
Zhuangzhuang was still very unhappy at noon, but there was nothing he could do; it was Grandma's fault for making a mistake. His mother gave him a long lecture last night, the core message of which was that he shouldn't be unreasonable like Grandma.
Zhuangzhuang would naturally not be unreasonable.
He listlessly pushed his beef brisket to the middle, speaking in a tone of negotiation.
"Zihan, Huahua, shall we change the dishes?"
My mother said that if you want someone to help you, you must ask politely and not take it for granted.
Zihan was a little surprised, but looking at Zhuangzhuang's beef, he also wanted to eat some.
"...Let's all eat together."
The food was placed in the middle, and the children got along better than ever before.
"Mmm, the beef rice is delicious too. I want my mom to order it tonight."
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