Food Stall: Customers Chase Me across the Country

Chapter 455 - 453: Li Zhuang White Meat, This Slice Holds 20 Years of Mastery

"Hello, Mr. Allen."

"My dear Wang, calling me, does it mean you’re ready to amaze those people?"

"Yes."

"That’s fantastic, how about scheduling it for three days later?"

"Sure, you arrange it."

"OK, OK, just let me know what ingredients you need to prepare, you can also come by anytime to get familiar with the environment here. Need me to find someone to assist you?"

"No need, I’ll bring my own team."

After ending the call, Wang Fan said to Chen Menglong and others, "The time is set, three days from now."

Chen Menglong looked excited, "Great, this time we’re going to make those guys eat their tongues!"

Xue Feng suddenly raised his hand weakly, "Um... I have a question."

Everyone turned to look at him.

Xue Feng smiled awkwardly and whispered, "Although the menu is set, everyone’s dishes come from all over, plus this knife skill-based dish like Li Zhuang White Meat, can Brother Wang handle it alone?"

Ssss...

After hearing his words, everyone took a sharp breath.

Did we actually forget about this?

We’d only thought about bringing dishes from all over but forgot that only Wang Fan and Zhuo Qianqian would be going, with maybe Xue Feng, while everyone else had their own commitments.

Chen Menglong uncertainly said, "Three days... should be enough to learn?"

If it were someone else, it’d surely be impossible, but interacting with Wang Fan these past days had completely changed his understanding of the young man’s learning ability.

Wang Fan eagerly said, "How about giving it a try?"

"Try?"

"Let’s do it!"

The few people were already in the restaurant and were all action-oriented, so they immediately headed to the kitchen to give it a try.

Master Jia was a genuine Sichuan Cuisine chef, and Li Zhuang White Meat was his signature skill.

He took a piece of pork belly and said, "For this dish, it’s best to choose second cut pork, known in Sichuan Province as ’sitting block meat,’ located between the hind leg and the buttocks, with only four or five pounds per entire pig. Since we don’t have it now, I’ll demonstrate with pork belly."

He turned on the gas stove to boil water, then cut slices of ginger and threw them into the pot. He tied green onions into a knot and tossed them in as well.

"The meat must go into hot water, and after adding the meat, pour in Shaoxing wine. The cooking wine evaporates too easily, and the taste of white liquor is too strong, but Shaoxing wine is the best."

"Immerse the meat over a low flame; don’t boil it over high heat. Add a few Sichuan peppercorns to cook with it."

"Next, prepare the dipping sauce: remove the seeds from the amomum fruit, cinnamon, bay leaves, star anise, fennel, and mix soy sauce with yellow sugar at a 3:1 ratio."

"Use solo purple-skinned garlic for better flavor than other kinds."

Master Jia fished out the meat and said, "I’m not worried about these processes; Brother Wang definitely has the skills for this. What I’m most concerned about is..."

Master Jia looked at Wang Fan, "Do you have the knife skills?"

"Beef is cut horizontally and pork vertically, but Li Zhuang White Meat is exceptional as it requires horizontal slicing. The key is to match the slice size to the size of the meat, so the most demanding part of this dish is actually the knife skills."

He placed the slightly cooled meat on the cutting board, picked up a heavy cleaver, and, after trimming the meat a bit, started slicing it with full concentration.

Master Jia’s movements were extremely gentle, and even though the cleaver was heavy, it gave an impression of ease, as thin slices of meat began appearing on the knife’s back.

Chen Menglong praised, "Master Jia’s knife skills have over 20 years of mastery; watching him is always a pleasure."

Master Fang nodded, "In the whole country, there aren’t more than five people with such skill. Could choosing this dish be too challenging for Brother Wang?"

"It is indeed very challenging, but let’s first let him try. It’s best not to discourage young people’s enthusiasm; there aren’t many young people like him who enjoy cooking so much."

Master Jia continued, "When slicing the meat, your hand must be steady, absolutely no vertical movement, or even if the meat doesn’t break, there will be noticeable unevenness."

With that, he lifted the cleaver, and a thin slice of meat, slightly bigger than a palm, was lifted.

He picked up chopsticks and hung the slice on them like hanging laundry.

"Making this dish is like being a person; it requires patience, carefulness, and affection. Only in this way can the most delicious white meat be made."

From the moment Master Jia picked up the knife, Wang Fan’s eyes were glued to his every movement and detail.

His enhanced vision allowed him to see through each detail.

His hand moved slightly, as if trying to follow Master Jia’s knife rhythm.

It wasn’t until the white meat was hung on the chopsticks that he snapped out of his reverie.

"Impressive!"

Wang Fan sincerely praised.

Master Jia’s lips curled in satisfaction, "Cooking meat is definitely no problem for you. Why don’t you first try the knife skills? Knife skills require persistent practice, if you don’t get it right now, it’s unlikely to work in three days, and we should consider switching to another dish."

Wang Fan nodded, stepping forward to take the cleaver handed by Master Jia.

Standing beside the cutting board, he didn’t rush to slice the meat but gently placed his right hand on the pork belly.

Cooked meat becomes firm, so pressing down allows you to feel the meat’s hardness.

Wang Fan closed his eyes, his fingers sliding slowly as if scanning, capturing the pork’s structure in his mind.

The support of absolute control made his fingers extremely sensitive, no variation in the pork’s texture escaped his sensory perception.

Opening his eyes, Wang Fan took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and adjusted himself to the most relaxed state.

Master Jia was startled by his posture, widening his eyes.

He couldn’t help but mutter to himself, "Damn!"

Could this kid really be a genius?

Holding your breath helps you focus, but only in the most relaxed state can you achieve the perfect performance.

This insight came to him only in his fifth year of slicing.

Did this kid grasp it on his first try with the knife?!

Is he a true genius or merely lucky?

Master Jia held his breath.

The cleaver in Wang Fan’s hand began to move, surprisingly a few beats faster compared to Master Jia.

Chen Menglong frowned slightly, thinking to himself, "Is he rushing it? Old Jia slices so slowly, yet you can go so fast? Can it really be sliced well?"

Xue Feng and Master Fang, as well as others, also held their breath, waiting quietly for Wang Fan’s first slice of meat to be completed.

"Swish..."

The blade sliced through the meat’s edge, making a light sound, which made everyone’s breath catch.

Now it’s time to witness the result. Did he succeed or fail?

It’s most likely a failure, right?

There’s never been anyone who could slice white meat well on their first try, no matter how talented they are, they need practice, right?