1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 197 Great! I can sleep with it every day! (6k-page compilation)

【Snowflake Chicken Noodles】!
Zhou Yan was astonished when he saw the pop-up mission reward.

Isn't this the lost Snowflake Chicken Noodle Soup from the Luo family that appeared in Kong Qingfeng's memory fragments last time?
This is a classic Sichuan dish, usually only served at high-end banquets.

This dish wasn't unique to the Luo family; it's just that among the chefs at the Leming Hotel, the Luo family's skill in making Snowflake Chicken Soup ensured that he always had a place at the Leming Hotel, and it was one of the hotel's signature dishes.

Since Lao Luo's accidental death while drunk, Xiao Luo failed to pass on the skill of making Snowflake Chicken Soup, and since then, Leming Restaurant's menu has been missing a signature dish, which has not been added back to this day.

Unexpectedly!

Unexpectedly, he actually got it.

Zhou Yan pondered for a moment and concluded that it might still be related to Kong Qingfeng's memory fragments, but he hadn't entered a part of them, so he selected a reward from the memory fragments for him.

Zhou Yan had never tasted the authentic Snowflake Chicken Noodle Soup.

When he became a food blogger, this dish was already on the verge of being lost.

Non-spicy Sichuan dishes are usually considered unaffordable.

Boiled cabbage in clear broth, snowflake chicken soup, chicken tofu, braised pork in a jar, and divine duck...

It's all about the kind of Sichuan restaurant you won't find anywhere else, and the kind of restaurants you can find but can't afford.

This is precisely why most Sichuan cuisine chefs don't know how to make it, don't have the opportunity to make it, or die unexpectedly like Lao Luo, so the tradition is gradually lost and it becomes a famous dish recorded in literature.

This dish would definitely not have a chance of being on the menu at Zhou Erwa Restaurant.

It's even more outrageous than the eel shreds from Linjiang.

The workers need to eat juicy, flavorful dishes that go well with rice. The price can be a bit higher than in the canteen, but it can't be outrageously expensive.

Snowflake Chicken Soup is known for its unique presentation of "eating chicken without seeing chicken" and "eating meat without seeing meat," using meat to represent vegetables, making it a kind of molecular gastronomy in Sichuan cuisine.

Zhou Yan once ate a private kitchen that served snowflake chicken soup. A large white plate was piled high with chicken soup that looked like snowflakes, and a little bit of chopped ham was sprinkled on top. It was quite an eye-catching dish.

At the time, I thought the taste was okay, but the price was a bit high, and the texture was a bit grainy and not delicate and smooth enough.

Later, after checking the ancient texts, I found that it wasn't true at all.

The snowflake chicken soup made in this homemade restaurant isn't authentic; it doesn't taste the same as described in the book. It's probably because the chef's skills aren't up to par.
Even if you do it perfectly.

This dish is only suitable for banquets. If you go to a small restaurant, you probably won't order it more than twice a year. So, should we prepare this dish for other occasions?
It's elegant enough for formal occasions, but it lacks the warmth and vibrancy of everyday life.

However, Zhou Yan could barely suppress the smile on his face.

It doesn't matter if it's not on the restaurant menu. They've only served two dishes that go well with rice, and the guests' interest hasn't worn off yet, so there's no rush.

Learning how to make snowflake chicken soup is like having a special skill.

Whether it's for chef certification exams or other occasions where you need to show off your skills, this will be something to be proud of.

It emphasizes a high-end, sophisticated, and classy image.

That's a great task!

We still have to accept it.

If I ever crave chicken, I can show off my skills to my family.

I just don't know if they can appreciate it.

Qian Siyuan and Kong Qingfeng began discussing the family reunion the next day. Zhou Yan got up to refill their tea before taking his leave.

The rest are all family matters; he, as an outsider, doesn't need to meddle.

“Uncle-Master, I’ll go back with Zhou Yan then. The driver can take us all back in one car so he doesn’t have to make the trip back and forth,” Xiao Lei said, standing up.

"Okay." Kong Qingfeng nodded, stood up and patted Xiao Lei on the shoulder, saying with satisfaction, "You two have worked hard. If your master knew that you had found their nephew, he would be overjoyed."

“My master’s own nephew, it’s only right.” Xiao Lei nodded with a smile, he was also in a very good mood today.

Qian Siyuan stood up and looked at Xiao Lei, saying, "Master Xiao, if we go back to our hometown to hold a wedding banquet, we'll have to trouble you two to help with the arrangements."

"I really can't agree to this for you. I have a wedding banquet and a birthday banquet to hold this month. If the times conflict, I can't cancel the reservations of the guests. These are all important life events." Xiao Lei said with a smile, "However, our Kong School has many talented people. With my uncle and fellow disciples here, there is no need to worry about holding a banquet. It's a small problem."

“You’re wrong about that. I need you to organize the banquet. If you drag me to the countryside to organize a field banquet, I’ll be completely clueless. I don’t even know where to find a steamer for you.” Kong Qingfeng shook his head and said with a smile, “You have experience. We’ll arrange it according to your availability. Anyway, the wedding banquet doesn’t need to be on a big day, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”

"Okay." Xiao Lei nodded.

"Thank you so much for your help, Master Zhou. I will come to thank you in person after this matter is resolved." Qian Siyuan said gratefully, shaking Zhou Yan's hand again.

If it weren't for Zhou Yan's persistent questioning, his identification of Linjiang eel, his bringing Xiao Lei to cook for him, and his taking him to Linjiang to search for his relatives, this journey to find his family would probably have ended in vain.

He was extremely grateful to Xiao Lei and his apprentice Zhou Yan.

"Mr. Qian, you're too kind. You're the nephew of my advisor, which makes you my elder. It's only right that we do this," Zhou Yan quickly replied.

He now realizes how wise his master was.

If I had taken that stack of unpaid bills yesterday, it would have been so embarrassing today.

If you take a hundred yuan, you'll never be able to hold your head up high in the Confucian school again.

It's all good now. Boss Qian successfully found his relatives, and he received a system reward and a favor from Boss Qian.

Calling him an elder feels a bit like an overstatement, since he's never even met the advisor's own son and daughter.

“That’s right, we’re all family.” Qian Siyuan nodded in deep agreement and said to Xiao Wang, who was standing to the side, “Xiao Wang, see Master Xiao and Master Zhou out and have the driver take them back to Suji.”

"Okay, Mr. Qian." Xiao Wang replied and helped Xiao Lei and Zhou Yan into the car.

"call--"

Once in the car, both master and apprentice breathed a sigh of relief.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

“Master, you’re so wise! If we had taken the money yesterday, we’d all be squatting at the door eating at the Kong Clan’s next meal,” Zhou Yan said with a smile.

Xiao Lei also laughed and said, "Master Zhou is no ordinary person either. He managed to find out about Linjiang eel after going through so much trouble. If he misses this opportunity, he may never find it again in his lifetime."

“This shows that there is some kind of destiny that led him to find it.” Zhou Yan said with a touch of emotion, “Ms. Kong Simin must have wanted to return to her hometown, and perhaps she gave him some guidance.”

Xiao Lei sighed, "I felt a sense of familiarity when I said this name. Now that I think about it, my master mentioned it when he was drunk. He said that this sister of his was the kindest person he had ever been to. She used to help him in the kitchen, and sometimes she would secretly help him chop vegetables, which saved him from being raped by his father. Every time he mentioned it, he would shed tears, feeling sad and regretful."

I didn't dare ask too many questions, thinking that his sister had died young. I didn't expect that she had been kidnapped. Fortunately, he met a kind person and went to the United States to enjoy decades of happiness, thus avoiding the most difficult period.

If my master knew about this, he would definitely be happy, and he'd drink an extra two ounces of wine today.

"Master, do you know about Snowflake Chicken Noodles?" Zhou Yan asked, changing the subject.

“I know. I saw Grandpa Zhang make it once when he was training at Rongleyuan to entertain leaders. He arranged it in piles on a plate, and it really looked like a pile of white ‘snowflakes.’ It was very beautiful, but I’ve never tasted it,” Xiao Lei said.
"It is said that the signature dish of Leming Restaurant back then was Snowflake Chicken Soup, a family recipe passed down in the Luo family. When Luo was still young, his father died from drinking too much. Young Luo was not good enough to learn the recipe and failed to pass it on. The Luo family recipe was lost, and Leming Restaurant never had Snowflake Chicken Soup again."

For the past two years, Luo Han has been wanting to go to Rongleyuan for training, specifically to learn how to make snowflake chicken soup. Little did he know that even if he attended the training, he might not be able to fully grasp the true essence of the art. Even when people offered classes, they would treat students differently based on their personal relationships, and they certainly didn't have the energy to ensure that every student could learn it completely.

"A craft isn't something you can learn in just a few months of training. His father taught him for several years, and even then, he didn't necessarily master it."

Xiao Lei glanced at Zhou Yan: "Why are you asking this? Do you want to learn how to make this dish? Let me tell you, I don't know how, and neither does your grandmaster."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "No, I just saw this dish in that textbook a while ago and thought it was very interesting. I was thinking of trying to recreate it later, so I asked you about it."

Xiao Lei sat up straight and looked at him, saying, "You made it?"

"It didn't work out." Zhou Yan laughed. "I tried twice, but it still feels a bit off. The texture and flavor need to be adjusted."

"You little rascal, you really dare to try recipes once you have them!" Xiao Lei rubbed his hands together. "I have several ancient recipe books and textbooks. Why don't you make a replica of braised pork belly, braised beef head, and divine duck... and then teach me?"

"Master, are you making a wish here?" Zhou Yan rolled her eyes at him.

He was just giving his master a heads-up in advance, so that he wouldn't have to come up with another excuse next time he made snowflake chicken soup.

"You really think you can make Snowflake Chicken Soup? The Luo family has a recipe, and he's been trying to make it for years, but his Snowflake Chicken Soup is all show and no substance; the taste is completely different." Xiao Lei looked at him seriously and said:

"Although Lao Luo did not formally become your master's disciple, he should actually be considered your master's first disciple. It was the passing of Lao Luo's father that spurred your master to abandon his family's traditions, open a class, and take on many disciples, which led to the four of us fellow disciples."

Old Luo respected your master very much, visiting him every year during festivals, and he also got along very well with us fellow apprentices. Last month, he even came to Suji to drink with me, hugged me and cried, saying he was useless, that he had caused the Luo family's craft to be lost, and that he was too ashamed to face his father after he died.

If you really learn how to make Snowflake Chicken Noodles later, you don't need to teach me. Just give Lao Luo some pointers.

That's how people are; if they don't seize the opportunity to learn, they'll be trapped there for life once they miss it.

Zhou Yan saw deep heartache and concern for his brother in his eyes, which immediately reminded him of the boy who rushed into the office, crying and trembling, saying, "Uncle Kong, I... I'm dead!"

The young Luo has grown up and become the old Luo, just like his father, who also worked in the kitchen of Leming Restaurant from the young Luo to the old Luo.

“Okay, if I learn it, I’ll definitely teach him.” Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.

This Snowflake Chicken Noodles came from the Luo family, so what's wrong with teaching him?
Back then, the advisor was able to bring out all the recipes from the Confucian school and start a class. If he couldn't even spare a single dish like Snowflake Chicken Soup, he wouldn't deserve to be a disciple of the Confucian school.

However, just as my master said, mastering a dish is not something that can be achieved with a few comments.

Even if his own father had given him pointers, there would likely still be setbacks in making Snowflake Chicken Noodles, which even his own father couldn't teach him back then. It would be even more difficult to do it well.

Xiao Lei nodded: "It's good that you have the intention. The recipe for this dish isn't unusual, but not many chefs can make it well."

He didn't quite believe Zhou Yan could succeed. His master had tried many times before, but he could never recreate the taste and texture, and eventually had to give up.

The two chatted along the way and soon returned to town, where they went their separate ways home.

"Did the kinship verification go smoothly?" As soon as Zhou Yan entered the shop, Aunt Zhao, Old Zhou, and Zhao Hong surrounded him, cracking melon seeds and looking on with curiosity. "It's done!" Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. "Mr. Qian came back with his mother's jade pendant. My grandmaster uncle recognized that the jade pendant belonged to my grandmaster's sister. The name and the token match, so the kinship search was successful."

"That's great! His long journey wasn't in vain." Zhao Hong clapped her hands and cheered.

Aunt Zhao laughed and said, "Your master's own sister? In that case, it's a good thing I didn't take the money yesterday, otherwise it would have been too embarrassing."

“Exactly,” Zhou Yanshen agreed.

During dinner, Lin Zhiqiang brought his two children to eat and specifically asked Zhou Yan about the progress of Qian Siyuan's search for his relatives.

"Uncle Lin, we've found him. His mother is my master's sister. She met with his cousin yesterday, and now it's just a family matter for them," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"That's wonderful!" Lin Zhiqiang clapped his hands.

"Now that you've successfully found your relatives, is your cooperation possible?" Zhou Yan asked curiously.

"It's hard to say. Business is a matter between the two companies, and finding relatives is just a matter of personal friendship. Whether it can be transformed into cooperation depends on whether our products are competitive enough." Lin Zhiqiang shook his head with a smile.

Whether the collaboration succeeds or not, he is quite happy, feeling a sense of satisfaction from doing a good deed.

Lin Zhiqiang left satisfied, and Zhou Yan couldn't help but smile.

Sure enough, people who do good deeds do feel better.

As the restaurant neared its closing time, a bicycle slowly came to a stop in front of the restaurant.

Zhou Momo came running in excitedly, calling out, "Guoguo! Mom! Dad! Did you miss me?"

Zhou Yan just took off his apron and came out of the kitchen, smiling as he picked up the little guy. "Was it fun going back to the countryside?"

"Mmm, it's fun!" Zhou Momo nodded, rummaged in her pocket, pulled out a hard candy and offered it to Zhou Yan like a treasure, saying in her childish voice, "Brother, here you go! It's orange flavored, sweet and sour, delicious!"

Zhou Yan unwrapped the candy and put it in his mouth. It was indeed an orange-flavored hard candy, sweet with a hint of sourness. He smiled and nodded, "Mmm, delicious."

"Hehe." Zhou Momo laughed even more happily, took out a handful of candy from her pocket, and gave one to everyone, already understanding the joy of sharing.

"Brother, did that uncle find his mother's house yesterday?" Zhou Momo ran back and asked him with concern.

"You still remember this?" Zhou Yan was a little surprised. Not only did Qian Siyuan remember the little guy, but it turned out that the little guy was also thinking about this.

Zhou Momo nodded: "He's so pitiful. He doesn't even know where his mother's house is, and he even cried. So I drew a picture for him and gave it to him, hoping it would cheer him up."

"You're so sweet! Don't worry, he's already found his mother's house, and he's also found his uncle and cousins." Zhou Yan smiled and patted her head. The little one is truly an angel.

"That's great!" Zhou Momo clapped her hands, then looked at Zhou Yan expectantly: "Brother, Ah Zhen's cat had kittens! Four kittens! They're so cute! Can we keep one of them?"

"No!" Before Zhou Yan could speak, Aunt Zhao's voice rang out. Looking at Zhou Momo helplessly, she said, "It's not good for our restaurant to keep cats. If there's cat hair everywhere, the customers will shake their heads."

Zhou Momo pouted and stared at Zhou Yan: "Brother..."

“Our restaurant is indeed not very suitable for keeping cats. The kitchen needs to be kept clean and hygienic, and cat hair is not easy to deal with,” Zhou Yan said gently.

"But...but cats are our good friends, and they catch mice too," Zhou Momo tried to argue.

“If you want to play with the cat, go to your grandma’s house. Play with it until you’re done, then come home. If you raise a kitten, it will sleep next to you every night, what will happen?” Aunt Zhao said with a smile.

Zhou Momo was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then her eyes lit up immediately: "Really? Great! Great! I can sleep with it every day!"

Aunt Zhao: ...

Zhou Yan couldn't help but laugh.

The little guy gets along very well with his grandma's tabby cat and big white goose; he has absolutely no resistance to these fluffy little creatures.

Getting a cat isn't that difficult.

Cats are raised differently in rural towns than in cities. They are usually allowed to roam freely, and are only fed a little food every day.

During the day, let it roam freely and come back whenever it wants. You don't need to prepare cat litter or anything; it will find a place to relieve itself on its own.

Cats are wary of strangers and usually won't stay in the store when there are many customers.

However, in this day and age, I don't know if the veterinary station has deworming and vaccination services. If the little guy is going to be playing with her every day, I still need to find out about these things.

While they may not be that delicate, it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Judging from Aunt Zhao's lack of approval for keeping cats, this matter will probably need to be discussed further.

She's always the one in charge of everything in this family.

Zhou Yan changed his clothes, went out for a run, took a shower, had a three-round battle with Old Zhou, made a score, and then went upstairs to lie down on the bed.

The bedroom door was locked from the inside. Lying on the bed, Zhou Yan opened the [Snowflake Chicken Noodles] app with some anticipation.

The amount of knowledge entering my brain is a bit too much, making my head feel a little swollen and painful.

Zhou Yan closed his eyes and relaxed on the bed, his mind flashing back to the past and present of this snowflake chicken soup, as well as its preparation and techniques.

From making the chicken paste, to preparing the batter, and finally stir-frying it until cooked and sprinkled with "mianzi" (a type of topping), a dish of Snowflake Chicken Paste is complete.

The ingredients are very simple, using free-range chicken breast, and the method is not complicated either. If you follow the steps, it's actually quite easy.

How come so many chefs can't cook it well?
The answer lies in the details.

Choose a young chicken; if the meat is too old, the taste will be much worse.

You need to have good knife skills to properly pound the chicken paste; otherwise, every bite will be full of chicken fibers and be a complete mess.

Another crucial aspect is mastering the final mixing of the paste.

The ratio of water to soybean flour is very important. Too much water will make it into a muddy paste, while too little water will make it hard and inedible.

To make snowflake chicken soup smooth, tender, and bouncy, with a mellow and lingering aftertaste, truly tests a chef's skill.

Otherwise, it will only look good on the surface and cannot be called Snowflake Chicken Noodles at all.

Zhou Yan opened his eyes, his gaze now clear.

Snowflake chicken soup, just right!
However, this dish is currently of no use to him.

If you select tender chicken breast meat to make this snowflake chicken soup, what do you do with the remaining chicken carcass, chicken legs, and chicken wings?

The key is that if this dish were to be on the menu, you would need to always have one or two tender chickens on hand, and you would need freshly killed ingredients to make delicious snowflake chicken soup.

After all that work, how much should we sell it for?

We can eat the leftover chicken ourselves, but the cost should be factored into this dish, right? And the labor cost should also be included.

Three yuan a serving?
Zhao Minghui's sweet-skinned duck is only three yuan a piece.

In rural towns, no matter how much you praise him, it won't make a difference.

Highbrow art is no match for popular art.

People only care about the practical aspects.

A single sweet-skinned duck can provide a delicious meal for the whole family. The children can even gnaw on a big duck leg, their mouths dripping with oil, while the men can enjoy the duck head with a glass of wine, getting happier and happier with each sip.

The previous dish was snowflake chicken soup.

One person takes a spoonful and it's gone.

It melts in your mouth instantly, leaving only a slight fragrance before you can even taste the flavor.

Guests are not allowed to jump up and swear!
This dish is perfect for a grand restaurant in Chengdu. Guests can sit in an elegantly decorated restaurant, open the fancy menu, order a serving, and then gracefully put it in their mouths to savor the wonderful moment when the delicious flavor melts in their mouths.

When the food gets really good, you can even compose a poem...

This is not mandatory.

That's good. Zhou Yan resisted the urge to go down and steal a chicken to cook a meal and try it that very night.

Although dishes are not distinguished by high or low status, they are distinguished by occasion and people.

In the future, when entertaining guests, serving a plate of snowflake chicken soup as a transition and garnish between a bunch of small fried dishes would be excellent.

This makes him seem even more capable.

Zhou Yan was thinking that once he had saved enough money at the beginning of next month, he would buy the Qiu family's old house. Then he would invite Old Madam Qiu and Duan Yuyan to dinner and make them a dish of snowflake chicken soup as a token of his gratitude. He thought they would like it.

"Bang!"

Just then, a sound of an enamel basin falling to the ground came from downstairs.

"What is that?" Zhou Yan sprang out of bed in a flash, grabbed the flashlight from the bedside, and went out the door.

Almost simultaneously, the door to the room at the other end of the living room opened, and Old Zhou came out with a flashlight, closing the door behind him as he whispered, "Did you hear that too? Something was knocked down downstairs."

"I'll go check. As long as it's not oil residue that's spilled, it's fine," Zhou Yan replied and strode downstairs.

Comrade Zhou is still very perceptive; he can hear even the slightest noise and will immediately get up to check.

Last time, when the house in my hometown collapsed, it was thanks to this meticulousness that I was able to successfully evacuate Aunt Zhao and Zhou Momo in time.

When Zhou Yan arrived at the kitchen, he shone his flashlight on the pork cracklings scattered all over the floor and gritted his teeth: "Damn it! Those damned rats!"

(End of this chapter)