Republic of China, 1928: Starting from a Wonton Shop

Li Chunsheng flipped the wok in his hands.

He moved extremely fast, the process of boiling the pork slices was as smooth as flowing water, and the pork tenderloin slices were scooped out after being turned over three or five times in the spicy soup.

Next up is stir-fried liver tips. The key to good pork liver is its crispness. The pan is heated with cold oil, and the liver changes color as soon as it hits the pan. The thickening sauce is poured in, and then the heat is brought up, instantly locking in the flavorful juices.

Next, Li Chunsheng washed the wok, as he was about to make a challenging dish that would severely test his basic Sichuan culinary skills: twice-cooked pork.

This dish holds a very high status in Sichuan cuisine. Li Chunsheng selected the second cut of pork that Butcher Zheng had specially reserved this morning. It is the part of the pig's hind leg near the butt, with a 4:6 ratio of fat to lean meat, thin skin, and tender meat.

The meat chunks had already been boiled in water until they were about 80% cooked, and now they had cooled down. They were sliced ​​into paper-thin, heart-shaped pieces. "Sister-in-law, use a little more force."

Yunniang immediately intensified her offensive!

"Sizzle!"

He didn't add oil when he put the sliced ​​meat into the pot. Instead, he used high temperature to stir-fry out the excess oil from the meat slices. Under high temperature, the meat slices began to shrink and curl rapidly, turning into delicate lamp-shaped pieces. This is the ultimate form of twice-cooked pork.

Next, the fermented soybean paste was added to the pot, and the red oil instantly burst open at the bottom of the pot, filling the air with its aroma. He quickly added ginger slices, garlic slices, and garlic leaves.

"boom!"

Flames over a meter high rose from the pot. Li Chunsheng flicked his wrist, stir-frying the garlic leaves in the flames until they were just cooked through, then took them out of the pot.

Stuart was sweating profusely from the spiciness of the boiled pork slices, but he kept wiping his forehead with a handkerchief and putting the pork into his mouth.

Zhang Boju was particularly fond of the stir-fried pork. Pointing to the curled slices of meat in the bowl, he laughed and said, "Look, these are called 'lamp nests.' Only with perfect control of heat, knife skills, and selection of ingredients can you make them look like this. One bite, and you can taste the distinct layers of soy sauce, meat, and garlic flavors!"

Qi Baishi stared at the half-empty plate, his nostrils twitching incessantly: "I can smell that chopped chili pepper! What dish is Manager Li making?!"

back kitchen.

The chopped chili fish head is about to be served, and he has to finish the simplest yet most difficult dish, Mapo Tofu, in the last few minutes.

He first put the chopped gypsum tofu into boiling water with salt and simmered it briefly. This step was to remove the beany taste from the tofu and to make it less likely to break when stir-frying.

On the other side, minced beef was already in the pot. Li Chunsheng slowly sautéed it over low heat until all the moisture in the minced beef had evaporated and it turned golden and crispy.

Add fermented soybean paste, minced ginger, and minced garlic, stir-fry until a layer of enticing red oil is released, then pour in the broth and gently slide the tofu in.

Instead of using a spatula to stir it, Li Chunsheng picked up the pot and shook it continuously. Then he picked up the pre-mixed cornstarch slurry.

First, thicken the sauce, and the broth seeps in; second, thicken it again, and it coats the tofu; third, thicken it a third time, and the red oil shines through!

As the last handful of Sichuan peppercorns was evenly sprinkled on the surface of the tofu, the numbing, spicy, and scalding aroma instantly rose up.

Remove the fish head! Add the tofu!

He quickly lifted the steamer lid of the fish head steamer, and a plume of white steam shot up to the roof. The fish head was cooked through, and its eyes were bulging, indicating that it was cooked perfectly.

He added a handful of fresh minced garlic and chopped green onions to the surface of the fish head.

Heat a spoonful of pure sesame oil over a high flame!

"Big Tiger! Let's go!"

Da Hu held the porcelain plate of chopped chili fish head in both hands, while Li Chunsheng held Mapo Tofu in his left hand and a spoonful of hot sesame oil in his right!

The two walked quickly toward Liuxiang Pavilion.

The door to the private room was pushed open.

Li Chunsheng placed the Mapo Tofu on the left; Da Hu placed the Steamed Fish Head with Chopped Chili in the middle.

Li Chunsheng picked up the spoonful of scalding hot sesame oil and, under everyone's watchful eyes, poured it over the fish head! (Pouring it over...)

"Sizzle!!!"

A loud and sustained sizzling sound echoed in the small wooden house, and thick white smoke rose up. Instantly, the entire Liuxianglu was completely dominated by a rich, spicy aroma.

"Gentlemen, chopped chili fish head! Please enjoy." Li Chunsheng wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Qi Baishi was the first to resist. He stood up, picked up a piece of plump fish lip, and slurped it into his stomach.

The fresh sweetness of the fish is instantly aroused by the sour and spicy flavor of the chopped chili peppers, like a spring thunderclap that explodes on the tip of the tongue.

"Delicious! So delicious!" Qi Baishi put down his chopsticks. "I never expected to find such delicious food in Beijing!"

Zhang Boju was also completely won over by Mapo Tofu. He looked at the plate of tofu, each piece intact, yet floating in the red oil.

Zhang Boju exclaimed as he breathed a sigh of relief, "Cong Bi has traveled half his life, tasting imperial cuisine and the delicacies of famous Sichuan chefs. Only today did he realize that even tofu could hold a glimpse of the world! This flavor! Wonderful, wonderful!"

Looking at the expressions of his friends, Mei Lanfang felt reassured. He turned to look at Feng Gengguang, who was ladling the soup from the chopped chili fish head into a bowl. The rice soaked in the fish soup was something he wouldn't trade for meat!

Even though Mei Lanfang himself didn't eat spicy food to protect his voice, he was extremely happy to see his friends enjoying the meal. In addition to these dishes, Li Chunsheng specially prepared several light dishes for him.

[System Notification: Mission "First Sound in the Private Room" has been completed]

[Reward Received: Top-Tier Knife Skills Awarded]

[Reputation Points Gained: +2000]

Current Reputation Points: 6000

[Reputation System Officially Activated]

[Host's current reputation level: Somewhat famous (6000/10000)]

Li Chunsheng was overjoyed. Despite the large number of people, he quickly brought up the system panel. The interface, which originally only displayed attributes and proficiency, now had a treasure chest icon radiating golden light in the upper right corner. He gently clicked on it.

A virtual shelf appeared before him, filled with a wide variety of goods, all clearly priced!

The online store is divided into four main sections.

[Off-season ingredients section]

Chili peppers (10 points/kg): In this cold winter in Beiping, where even Chinese cabbage has to be stored in cellars, wouldn't you like some fresh chili peppers?

Wild Mushroom Buns from the Deep Mountains (50 RMB/serving): From southern Yunnan, they'll drive you crazy! Remember to cook them thoroughly!

[Secret Seasoning Area]

Simple MSG (20 points/bag): Unlike the crude MSG of this era, this is a simple bag of MSG from later generations. You deserve to have it!

Oyster sauce (100 points/bag): Who wouldn't want to add some oyster sauce to their dishes!

[Technical Area]

Vacuum bags/vacuum pumps: Vacuum preservation, you deserve it.

[Enhanced Zone]

Basic Physical Enhancement (3000 points/time): In this era where the average lifespan is only 35 years, who doesn't want to live longer?

Li Chunsheng stood by the table, still reeling from the huge surprise of the system shop opening. He was calculating how long the 3000 reputation points for physical enhancement would allow him to live in an era where the average lifespan was less than 35 years when he suddenly heard Mei Lanfang's voice.

"Chunsheng, you've been busy all night. How can a boss just stand by and watch customers eat?" Mei Lanfang put down his chopsticks, turned around, and looked at Li Chunsheng with a smile. "Come on, while it's hot, sit down and have a couple of drinks with us brothers."

Li Chunsheng was taken aback, then waved his hand: "Mr. Mei, this won't do, this was made for you."

"What? Manager Li is looking down on us?" Feng Gengguang laughed as he pressed a piece of braised pork into the white rice soaked in fish soup. "Sit down! There aren't many people in Beijing that Wan Hua would invite you to. If you refuse again, you'll really be disrespecting us."