Chapter 56 Braised Pork Rice and Fried Chicken Wings
Su Yingxue placed the last golden, crispy chicken wing on a white porcelain plate, the oil droplets glistening enticingly under the light. She used tweezers to adjust the angle of the chicken wings, ensuring that each one perfectly exposed its crispiest part, before handing the plate to a passing waiter with satisfaction.
"Take it to VIP room B3, and remember to handle it with care," she instructed.
The waitress nodded hastily, but then clutched her stomach. "Oh dear, Sister Su, my stomach hurts. Could you go and deliver this for me?" she said, and ran off.
Su Yingxue frowned slightly as she stared at the closed door at the end of the corridor. The private room wasn't far, just around the corner on the second floor, but there were no other orders in the lobby at the moment. After hesitating for a moment, she decided to go there herself.
"Master Wei, I'm going to deliver the meal to B3." She called out towards the kitchen.
Wei Guangsheng didn't even look up, stirring the bubbling broth in the pot with a long ladle: "Go on, go on, those customers are getting impatient and might start making a scene."
Su Yingxue picked up the tray and stepped onto the wooden stairs, the planks creaking slightly. From the crack in the door of VIP room B3 at the end of the second-floor corridor came cheerful laughter and intermittent music. She took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
The private room fell silent for a moment as six or seven young people who looked like college students turned to look at the glass turntable on the central coffee table. The colorful bottle was still slowly spinning when it finally stopped with a "thud" in front of a long-haired boy. He had a cold expression and a cool, aloof air about him.
"Wow!" the boy in the green hoodie exclaimed dramatically. "Bing-ge, it's you again! Last time it was Truth or Dare to drink Coke, what's it this time?"
Ye Bingbin, the long-haired boy known as "Brother Bing," frowned and glanced down at the dare task displayed on his phone screen: "Please confess your feelings to someone of the opposite sex." He pursed his lips, clearly not satisfied with the task.
"Wow, that's exciting!" the boy in the green hoodie exclaimed. "But we're all guys today, where are the girls?"
"Hey Bing, why don't you go confess your feelings to a cleaning lady?" another boy with glasses suggested.
"Haha, call Xuanxuan over! She loves Brother Bing the most!" Everyone burst into laughter.
Ye Bingbin looked embarrassed and was about to make up an excuse when the door to the private room was pushed open.
"Hello, your snack has arrived." A clear voice rang out.
All eyes turned to the doorway. Su Yingxue stood there, a few specks of flour on the hem of her black casual suit, her expression indifferent, radiating an aura that kept strangers at bay.
"Wait a minute." The boy in the green hoodie immediately stopped her, his eyes sparkling.
Ye Bingbin suddenly stood up, the chair scraping against the floor with a harsh sound. He cleared his throat, his gaze lingering unnaturally on Su Yingxue's face for a second before quickly shifting away, his fingers unconsciously tugging at the hem of his clothes.
"I...I like you." His voice was several octaves lower than usual, the last syllable almost inaudible. He immediately lowered his head after speaking, not daring to look at Su Yingxue's reaction.
A burst of cheers and whistles erupted from the private room.
"Oh dear, Bing-ge is shy!"
"This is the first time I've seen Bing confess his feelings!"
"Record it! Record it!"
Su Yingxue's expression remained unchanged. She merely glanced at everyone before calmly looking at Ye Bingbin: "Hmm, is there anything else? If not, I'll be leaving."
"You can go now. I'll call you if I need anything." Ye Bingbin sat back down as if he had been granted a pardon, his face flushed red, his eyes fixed on the table.
Su Yingxue nodded slightly and turned to leave. As she rounded the corner, she heard the boy in the green hoodie call out behind her, "Hey beautiful, when are you coming to deliver food again?"
Back in the kitchen, Xiao Fang, the waitress, was already waiting there, panting.
"Sister, I'm so sorry!" Xiaofang apologized repeatedly. "I suddenly had an upset stomach, thank you so much!"
"It's okay, I just delivered it." Su Yingxue waved her hand, glanced at the clock, and saw that it was almost 11:30.
In the kitchen, Chef Wei was intently turning the braised meat in the pot. The dark brown sauce was bubbling in the iron pot, and the rich aroma filled the entire space, making people unable to help but swallow their saliva.
"This braised pork rice," Master Wei mumbled indistinctly as he stirred with a large ladle, "requires three-layered pork. First, it's blanched to remove the blood and impurities, then slowly simmered in soy sauce, rock sugar, and star anise for at least an hour until the meat is tender but not mushy."
As he spoke, he glanced sideways at Su Yingxue, a half-smile playing on his lips: "Does your honey-glaze for those fried chicken wings have to be this elaborate?"
Su Yingxue couldn't help but laugh out loud, her eyes curving into crescent moons: "Master Wei, this is my trade secret."
"Tch," Chef Wei retorted verbally, but deftly adjusted the oil temperature to the perfect setting. "You stingy bastard."
Just then, a message came from the front desk—B3 had ordered three more servings of fried chicken, with a special note: "Please have it delivered by the same server in the black uniform as before."
Su Yingxue paused slightly, a smile unconsciously creeping onto her lips. She tightened her apron, picked up the tray, and thought to herself: These college students are really... quite persistent.
Pushing open the door to B3 again, a familiar laugh greeted her. Ye Bingbin was sitting on the sofa in the corner. When he saw her come in, his eyes lit up, but he turned his head away casually.
“We think,” the boy in the green hoodie blurted out, “this fried chicken…is pretty good. It’s so fragrant. Delicious, delicious.”
"Yes, yes, yes!" the others chimed in. "And it only smells good when delivered by the older sister in black!"
Su Yingxue put down the plate and said calmly, "Be careful not to choke."
As she turned to leave, she heard Ye Bingbin say in a low voice, "Thank you."
The sound was soft, yet it was like the sauce slowly melting in a pot of braised meat—warm and lingering.
"Please enjoy your meal." Su Yingxue nodded slightly and turned back to the kitchen.
It was nearly midnight. There were few customers in the lobby. Chef Wei sat on a small stool, scrolling through short videos on his phone, occasionally letting out a muffled chuckle. After a while, the video playback continued, but a louder snoring began. Chef Wei couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep while watching the videos.
Su Yingxue looked around and, seeing that there were no other orders for the time being, quietly relaxed. She sat down on the chair next to the stove and her gaze fell on the braised pork rice that Chef Wei was cooking.
She thoughtfully rolled up her sleeves and took out the pork belly prepared in the refrigerator from the freezer. Unlike Chef Wei's traditional method, she first put the cut pieces of meat into a pot of cold water, added ginger slices and cooking wine to blanch and remove the blood foam, but she specially added a few drops of lemon juice - this is her little secret, which can make the meat more tender and bring out a fresh fruity aroma.
After removing the meat pieces from the water, she rinsed them carefully with warm water and gently patted them dry with kitchen paper. She added a little oil to a wok, then placed the rock sugar in the wok and slowly melted it over low heat until it turned a beautiful amber color. She then quickly added the meat pieces and stir-fried them, ensuring each piece was evenly coated with the caramelized sugar.
Su Yingxue is planning to try replicating the braised pork rice recipe. Will it taste even better if she modifies it a bit?
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