Chapter 108 This braised pork smells so good!
Su Yingxue walked into the vegetable market in the morning light at seven o'clock, her cloth bag swaying in her hand.
She squatted down in front of the pork stall, tapping the pork skin with her fingertips—she wanted the kind with a clean white skin and a heavy feel, because that would make the stew with potatoes more fragrant. The pork stall owner smiled and cut it into cubes for her, "Girl, this pork is the best for stewing with potatoes!" Su Yingxue smiled and agreed, then went to the tofu stall, picked out a few pieces of soft tofu, grabbed a handful of fresh shiitake mushrooms, and finally strolled slowly towards the company.
Upon arriving at the company's break room, she first arranged the ingredients by category.
When washing the pork belly, she made sure to rinse off the blood foam with warm water, then put it in a pot of cold water with two slices of ginger and a spoonful of cooking wine, and brought it to a boil over high heat. As soon as the foam appeared, she gently skimmed it off with a spoon, saying, "The worst thing you can do when stewing meat is not to skim off the foam properly, otherwise it will taste fishy."
As she spoke, she took the blanched pork belly out of the water and patted it dry with kitchen paper.
She heated the pan without adding oil, then placed the pork belly pieces into it and slowly fried them over medium-low heat. The oil sizzled and the skin gradually turned golden brown. As the excess oil seeped out, she scooped some into a small bowl—"It'll be perfect for frying eggplant; it'll be fragrant and won't go to waste."
Next, add a few rock sugar pieces and watch them slowly melt into a light caramel color. Immediately add the pork belly and stir-fry until the pieces are coated with the caramelized sugar, making them look glossy and tempting. Add two tablespoons of light soy sauce, one tablespoon of dark soy sauce, two star anise, and a piece of cinnamon. Stir-fry until fragrant, then pour in hot water to cover the pork pieces. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat, cover, and simmer.
Only then did she have time to prepare the potatoes, peeling and cutting them into chunks. When the meat had been stewing for forty minutes, she gently put them into the pot. "Don't put the potatoes in too early, or they'll turn into mush."
While the meat was stewing, she started preparing eggplant and tofu rolls. She cut the eggplant into long slices half a centimeter thick and put them into the oil left over from frying the meat, then slowly fried them over low heat.
"Eggplant absorbs oil, so you have to use low heat, otherwise the outside will burn before the inside is soft." She flipped the eggplant slices as she fried them until they became soft and slightly translucent before taking them out to drain the oil.
Next, process the tofu by mashing it into a paste with a spoon. Soak the shiitake mushrooms until soft, then chop them and mix them with the tofu paste. Add a spoonful of light soy sauce, a little salt, and half a spoonful of sesame oil. After mixing well, pinch a small piece and taste it. "The saltiness is just right, and the umami of the shiitake mushrooms enhances the flavor."
She laid the eggplant slices flat on the cutting board, placed a spoonful of tofu filling at one end of the eggplant slice, and slowly rolled it up, securing both ends with toothpicks to prevent it from unraveling. She arranged them one by one on a plate, and after the braised pork was cooked and the heat was turned off, she put the plate into a steamer and steamed it over high heat for five minutes.
"Don't steam it for too long, or the eggplant will fall apart. Five minutes is just right, and the tofu filling will be cooked through too." While the eggplant was steaming, she prepared a bowl of sauce—one spoonful of light soy sauce, half a spoonful of cornstarch, and a little water, and stirred it well.
Finally, she made a cabbage and egg soup. She shredded the cabbage leaves into thin strips, heated a pot with a little oil, sautéed chopped green onions, added an appropriate amount of water and brought it to a boil, then added the shredded cabbage and cooked for one minute, until the cabbage softened.
Next, beat the eggs and slowly pour them into the pot along the edge, stirring gently with chopsticks as you pour, until the egg flowers form even, fluffy strands. Season with salt, add a few drops of sesame oil, and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. The soup is now ready.
By this time, the eggplant and tofu rolls were steamed. She poured the sauce into a small pot, simmered it over low heat until thickened, and then poured it evenly over the eggplant rolls.
The aroma of braised pork, the tenderness of eggplant, and the refreshing taste of egg drop soup mingled in the break room. She brought out the three dishes, just as the staff were having lunch. Ada, drawn by the fragrance, came over and exclaimed, "Boss, these dishes smell amazing today!"
Su Yingxue smiled and wiped her hands: "Hurry up and wash your hands and eat. The potatoes are stewed until they're very soft, be careful not to burn your mouth."
As He Yue walked into Tengyue Advertising carrying an empty lunchbox, she was immediately drawn in by the rich aroma of meat as she reached the entrance to the tea room.
She peeked inside and saw Su Yingxue bending over to neatly arrange a stack of packed lunch boxes. Each box was bulging, and through the transparent lid, she could see large chunks of braised pork lying on top of rice, with golden eggplant and tofu rolls next to it, and even the cabbage served as a side dish was glistening with oil.
"President Su, the portions today are incredibly generous!" He Yue walked over with a smile, picked up a box and weighed it in her hand. "I was telling my colleagues this morning that if the food was to our liking, we'd finalize the catering contract. Now that I see it, I know I made the right choice!"
Su Yingxue straightened up and wiped the water droplets from her hands: "Knowing that you young people have big appetites, I specially made extra braised pork and steamed two large pots of rice. They're all packed up. Come and get more if you're still hungry."
As she spoke, she lifted the lid of the thermos next to her, revealing steaming rice inside. "Yesterday, Xiao Li told me that some of the young men in your company love to eat meat, so I specially stewed it for an extra half hour to make the meat softer and less likely to get stuck in your teeth."
He Yue opened the lunchbox and first picked up a piece of braised pork with her chopsticks—the skin was chewy and juicy, and the fat had been stewed into the soup, so it wasn't greasy at all. She then tasted the eggplant and tofu rolls. The eggplant slices were soft and tender, and the tofu filling was mixed with the freshness of shiitake mushrooms. The sauce coated the surface, and the saltiness was just right.
"This is so delicious!" she couldn't help but exclaim. "Those picky eaters in our company will definitely eat two bowls of rice today."
As they were talking, several employees of Qihang Technology came over to pick up their meals. As soon as they saw the braised pork in the lunchbox, they immediately surrounded them.
"Manager He, this meat looks so delicious!" A bespectacled young man opened his lunchbox and eagerly shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth. "It tastes even better than my mom's cooking. I'll never have to order takeout again!"
Seeing the employees' satisfied expressions, He Yue turned to Su Yingxue and said, "President Su, I'll take the food first. I've already had the administration prepare the contract, and I'll bring it over for signing this afternoon! From now on, we'll not only be dining buddies, but also business partners. Who knows, we might even be able to work on 'company cooperation' in future advertising plans!"
Su Yingxue smiled and nodded: "No problem. If you need any advertising planning, we can talk anytime. By the way, what dishes would you like to eat tomorrow? Have your employees name a number and I'll prepare them in advance."
He Yue carried a heavy lunchbox, followed by a group of excited employees. As she walked out the door, she turned back and said, "Tomorrow I'll have them order more meat dishes. Thank you for your hard work, General Manager Su!"
Su Yingxue stood at the door watching their backs. When she turned back to her office, she found Ada, Mengmeng and the others gathered at the door laughing.
"Boss, our boxed lunch business has actually 'eaten' out advertising orders!" Mengmeng said with a smile. Su Yingxue picked up a piece of braised pork that wasn't packed and handed it to her: "Eat first, we'll discuss the next steps after we sign the contract this afternoon."
Sunlight streamed through the glass, falling on the boxed lunches on the table and into everyone's eyes—the once empty office gradually gained a lively atmosphere and a sense of confidence to move towards the future because of these bowls of hot food.
Su Yingxue smiled too. She did a quick calculation. This boxed lunch business alone could bring the company over 20,000 yuan in revenue. Although it wasn't much, it was a good start. Thinking about it gave her a lot of motivation.
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