Food Stall: Customers Chase Me across the Country

Chapter 593 - 566: Cultural Development—This Is Cultural Development!

If everyone could maintain this kind of relationship, then this city would be full of vitality, a city capable of constantly creating miracles!

Huh? This sounds just like our Wudu!

Thinking of this, Jing Chuan was overjoyed and immediately instructed the secretary sitting in the front passenger seat, "Take a picture, take a picture. I want to see this news and this scene in our city newspaper by noon today!"

After giving the order, he looked at Wang Fan with great satisfaction, feeling that finding him to endorse the underground market was a wise decision. This person was tailored to be a spokesperson for our Wudu!

Well, according to the menu, the cafeteria’s food today was a bit greasy. Why not continue to inspect here and chat with Brother Wang about tomorrow’s details and get a free meal along the way.

"You go back first, and don’t forget about the report."

The secretary quickly responded, then, with an embarrassed smile, said to Jing Chuan, "Boss, um... if possible, could you bring me a meal from Boss Wang? I’m a big fan but have never eaten it. I’ll watch over the script and won’t have lunch until the article is out!"

Jing Chuan laughed heartily: "Alright, I’ll bring you one."

The secretary was overjoyed and quickly said, "Thank you, Boss!"

Just as Jing Chuan was about to get off the car, the driver, Master Liu, spoke up shyly, "Boss, could you bring me one too?"

...

The Buddha Jumps Over the Wall certainly has a rich aroma, but the freshness of this ingredient tends to be overshadowed by the strong fragrance of the massive amount of spices.

After all, each skill has its specialty. Apart from chives, it’s hard for the taste of other ingredients to outshine Sichuan pepper and chili.

Stir-fried mushrooms with meat, spicy beef tripe, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, sautéed pork strips, and the ultimate dish that brings diners back to life—Yubei Boiled Fish!

The grass carp was provided by Brother Gang, this muscle-bound man has been renting fish ponds everywhere to catch fish lately, losing even his underpants but still enjoying it.

However, the fish caught from the ponds he found were quite good, and Wang Fan was very satisfied with the texture of the fish meat.

When the texture of the grass carp is good, you can reduce the use of marinade during curing to retain more of the fish’s inherent freshness.

The fish meat was deboned, sliced into large chunks, and then cut diagonally into thin slices about half a palm’s size. This way, the flavor isn’t compromised and the tender texture is maintained, ensuring it’s appetizing.

Since the fish meat’s texture was excellent, Wang Fan didn’t even use scallions or ginger during marinating, only adding a bit of salt and MSG, even diluting the cooking wine with mineral water to maximize the fish’s freshness.

Wang Fan rolled up his sleeves, extended his fair arm, and started quickly stirring and kneading the fish meat in the basin.

This step looked quite interesting to others.

If the person doing this step is handsome and seems clean, doing this appears perfectly fine to others, even exuding a hormonal scent.

However, if the person doesn’t look energetic, then no matter how clean their hands are, or even if they wear gloves, others would find it very dirty and hard to accept.

Wang Fan was undoubtedly the former.

With his tall stature, long arms and legs, with pronounced muscle markings on both arms, this operation made many diners feel pleasing to the eye, not even thinking about hygiene.

After kneading the fish slices, they quickly became sticky with a layer of gel, a large bag of mung bean starch was poured into the basin, stirred evenly again, picking up a handful of fish slices and letting go, they fell freely into the basin, not clumping or sticking together, visibly showcasing the substance’s thoroughness.

The boiling water in the pot was already boiling; blanching vegetables at this step must use wide water; too little water will steam them, affecting the crispiness. Wang Fan naturally wouldn’t make such a basic mistake.

Tossing the cleaned bean sprouts into the pot, just after they darken slightly, quickly fishing them out, sprinkling salt over them in the draining basket, stirring them with long chopsticks, no water replacement, directly pouring the fish slices evenly into the boiling pot.

The fish slices were added piece by piece with the right hand, while holding a skimmer with the left hand, lightly flipping the fish slices out after the coating exterior was cooked, the fish slices were just beginning to change color, evidently in a slightly undercooked state.

Brother Gang was a bit surprised: "Isn’t taking them out now a bit too early? Eating raw grass carp doesn’t seem so good?"

Wang Fan explained: "They’re just about 60% cooked at this point. But don’t worry; there will be a secondary heating soon."

Brother Gang suddenly understood, silently noting this crucial step in his mind.

Staying around Wang Fan, he certainly didn’t stand idle, always trying to glean some real knowledge from Wang Fan whenever he had the chance, as he was still a foodie blogger!

After Wang Fan finished blanching all the fish slices, he poured them over the bean sprouts, then restarted the stove, lifting the oil barrel and pouring it into the pot.

The grass carp wasn’t expensive for this dish, but the cost of the oil was definitely not low; thus, the price of this dish wasn’t exactly cheap either. If you find it particularly cheap, maybe you should eat a bit less.

After pouring the oil, Wang Fan lifted a lid and scooped spoonfuls of pure white lard into the oil, mixing them in a 2:1 ratio.

Once the lard was added, the oil’s aroma instantly became rich, the rich meat scent compelling many people to sniffle uncontrollably.

"Whoa, who would’ve thought lard could smell so good?"

"But isn’t it unhealthy to add so much lard?"

Grandpa Jiang overheard this and immediately disagreed: "Which fool spread that rumor? It was a delight for us to eat it back then! When living conditions improved, lard became our staple too; it was very tasty, and look at us now, do we seem unhealthy?"

Grandpa Jiang and the older folks from the village were indeed in excellent shape, carrying tens of kilograms of vegetables over ten kilometers, something perhaps less than 20% of today’s youngsters could do.

"That’s right, this has been passed down for thousands of years. It’s all rumors spread by those selling vegetable oil."

"Years ago, they said MSG was carcinogenic and unhealthy while promoting chicken essence, only to find out that the main ingredient of chicken essence is MSG. Obviously, these are rumors spread by those selling chicken essence."

"Lard’s cost is higher than vegetable oil. If it was truly unhealthy, Boss Wang wouldn’t use it."

"Exactly, Boss Wang always uses only the finest ingredients to cook. I’ll buy some pork fat to render when I get back."

Wang Fan didn’t expect he’d cause a trend but genuinely loved using lard. Properly rendered, it wouldn’t spoil for a year; it’s fragrant when cooking, an indispensable ingredient.

With the oil heated to 65 degrees, a big basin of Sichuan pepper and prickly ash was poured into the pot; the dense aroma of pepper and numbing spice emanated, then bullet chili and lantern pepper were added.

As the rich aroma of chili and pepper emerged, the shock from the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall eased somewhat.

The nearby diners, smelling this familiar aroma, perked up immediately.

When it comes to aroma, we in Wudu aren’t to be underestimated!

Compared with the previous temperature control, the heat control this time was significantly higher, with a slight hint of burnt aroma blending with the fragrance of chili and pepper.

This was definitely not a testament to Wang Fan’s culinary prowess but rather that this dish required this bit of burnt aroma.

However, this step really tests one’s skill, as burning it beyond a point would make it bitter.

"Sizzle... hsss hss..."

An oversized iron spoon scooped a ladle of oil heated to 70% and poured it directly over the dish with the fish slices and bean sprouts, instantly releasing an unbelievably enticing sizzling sound, unleashing an overwhelmingly rich fragrance.

Combining the ultrarich aroma of chili and pepper with the unique aquatic fragrance of grass carp meat and the slight crispness provided by bean sprouts.

This fragrance was comparable to Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, without a single bit less!

Every Wudu resident thought proudly.

Looking into the big bowl, the red chilies and green prickly ash were spread thickly on top, revealing fish meat that was white with a slight pink hue, shimmering under the oil, giving an almost crystalline allure.

Whoa... it’s hard to control the drool!

All the people on site couldn’t help but swallow their saliva again.