1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 233 [An Extremely Delicious Salted Braised Pork Belly]

"Your stir-fried pork with pickled mustard greens is really good! It smells so good it makes my mouth water," Aunt Zhao exclaimed after watching the whole thing.

"It smells so good! What are you cooking, bro? Let me see!" Zhou Momo brought over a small stool, took off her shoes, stood on it, and her eyes lit up when she saw the stir-fried pork with pickled mustard greens on the plate: "Wow! It's meat! I love meat the most!"

Zhou Yan looked at her with a doting smile: "Go sit down first, I'll stir-fry some pork liver and vegetables and then we'll eat!"

"Mmm." The little guy nodded, put on his shoes, and with his short legs, followed Aunt Zhao, who was carrying the dishes out the door, out the door.

All they could see was the plate of steaming hot meat.

Everything else is unimportant.

The stir-fried pork liver and stir-fried cabbage with pork cracklings were cooked very quickly, and in no time, Zhou Yan brought out the two dishes.

Aunt Zhao and the others had already set out the bowls and chopsticks, and even the rice was already served in the bowls.

"Brother, come quick!" Zhou Momo patted the empty seat next to her, turned around and smiled at him, saying in her childish voice, "We're going to eat now~~"

"You're here." Zhou Yan put down the dishes and sat down next to her with a smile.

"Dinner's ready." Aunt Zhao gave the order, picked up her chopsticks and first took a piece of twice-cooked pork. The pork was coated with finely chopped pickled mustard greens, and the curled-up bowl was filled with a pool of pickled mustard greens, glistening with oil. She placed it in Zhou Momo's small bowl.

"Thank you, Mom," Zhou Momo said, eagerly taking a bite, her eyes immediately lighting up.

The meat is soft and tender, and the vegetables are crisp and crunchy. It smells so good!
"Honey, the meat you cooked is so delicious!"

The little guy swallowed the meat, looked up at Zhou Yan, his eyes clear and full of admiration.

"Eat more if you like it," Zhou Yan said with a smile, picking up another piece of meat for her.

The little guy took a bite of meat, then shoveled a big mouthful of rice into his mouth, chewing until his cheeks were bulging, like a greedy little squirrel.

Her short legs dangled and swung back and forth, showing that she was enjoying her meal immensely.

Comrade Lao Zhou also picked up a piece of twice-cooked pork and put it in his mouth. After chewing it, his eyes quickly lit up.

The crisp and tender bean sprouts are coated with soft and glutinous twice-cooked pork. In addition to the oily aroma of the twice-cooked pork, the bean sprouts add a unique salty and savory flavor. The more you chew, the more fragrant it becomes, rich but not greasy.

Comrade Zhou swallowed the meat and couldn't help but exclaim, "This pickled mustard greens are so authentic! Genuine Yibin pickled mustard greens, the flavor is amazing! Twice-cooked pork with pickled mustard greens, it's absolutely delicious!"

He looked at Zhou Yan and suddenly felt a great sense of relief.

Sending him to learn cooking instead of forcing him to learn how to butcher cattle was definitely the right choice.

Otherwise, where would I ever get to eat so many delicious dishes in my life?

"It's so delicious! This pickled mustard greens isn't too salty, but it still goes very well with rice." Aunt Zhao nodded in agreement, enjoying her meal immensely.

Zhou Yan picked up a piece of twice-cooked pork, along with a slice of garlic sprout and a generous amount of bean sprouts, and fed it to his mouth in one bite.

The tender bean sprouts have a crisp texture that ordinary pickled vegetables do not have. After fermentation with brown sugar, they also have the aroma of spices, creating a wonderfully layered flavor.

The dried bean sprouts, having absorbed the oil from the twice-cooked pork, become even more tender and moist in texture.

The twice-cooked pork was a consistent success, with its soft and chewy skin paired with springy lean meat, and bean sprouts nestled in the center, complemented by the unique fragrance of garlic chives. It truly deserves to be called an endlessly delicious dish.

If twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts is the basic version, then twice-cooked pork with pickled mustard greens should be considered the upgraded version.

They each have their own flavor, but he prefers twice-cooked pork with pickled mustard greens.

It's absolutely delicious with rice!

The meat had barely been swallowed when a large mouthful of rice was shoveled into my mouth.

After careful consideration, if I had to point out a problem, it would be that the seasoning needs some improvement.

It was still a little bit too salty.

The bean sprouts, which already have a salty and savory flavor, are further seasoned with salt.

Of course, if you're considering how it goes well with rice, this slight saltiness can be ignored.

For a dish that goes well with rice, a little more salt means it will be even more appetizing.

Zhou Momo took a spoon, leaned forward, scooped a spoonful of oily bean sprouts from the plate and put it on top of the rice, then mixed the rice with the spoon and ate it with relish.

"He'll definitely be a foodie in the future, he knows so much about food." Zhou Yan couldn't help but laugh. The little guy was a natural at finding new ways to eat.

The braised pork with pickled mustard greens was the first dish to be finished, and even the remaining pickled mustard greens on the plate were used by Zhou Momo to mix with three bowls of rice.

The name "Zhou San Wan" (周周碗) is well-deserved.

"I think this braised pork with pickled mustard greens looks really good. Will it be on the menu tomorrow? What's a reasonable price?" Aunt Zhao asked Zhou Yan, already looking forward to it.

"Don't put out the menu tomorrow. Start with braised pork belly, and then add twice-cooked pork with pickled mustard greens next week. Keep a good pace for introducing new dishes." Zhou Yan thought for a moment and said, "The price will remain the same, still two yuan per serving. Customers can choose whatever they want."

Aunt Zhao said, "If all the customers order twice-cooked pork with pickled mustard greens, doesn't that just increase the cost of the pickled mustard greens for no reason?"

“It’s alright. The amount of pickled mustard greens used in a serving of twice-cooked pork is actually very small. It’s just a side dish. Pickled mustard greens aren’t expensive, so the cost increase is limited.” Zhou Yan shook his head with a smile. “Besides, not all customers will order twice-cooked pork with pickled mustard greens. Everyone has different tastes. Some people prefer twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts.”

Compared to the slight increase in cost from the bean sprouts, the profit margin for twice-cooked pork, priced at two yuan per serving after the price of meat is halved, is quite considerable.

Thanks to the high-quality bean sprouts from Huang Laotou, the bean sprout twice-cooked pork received a very good rating on its first try.

And it received unanimous approval from everyone.

Zhou Yan believes this dish deserves to be on the menu.

Moving towards "extremely good" will be done through practical application.

As for the perfect recipe for braised pork belly, there's no need to think about it any further.

The high-quality Yibin preserved mustard greens have been purchased, and the steamer has been prepared.

I'll try steaming a basket of them tomorrow, no matter how high or low the temperature is.

Once the dishes and chopsticks were cleared away, guests began to arrive one after another, and the restaurant quickly became busy.

"Sister Yao Yao!" Zhou Momo was sitting at the door when she saw Xia Yao come out of the factory, and immediately got up and ran over.

"MoMo." Xia Yao took her hand and walked into the store, saying with a smile, "Come on, let's go and grab a spot first. My aunt will be here with Jingxing and Bingwen soon."

“Okay.” Zhou Momo nodded, went into the store and sat down. The little guy went to get her sketchbook and asked Xia Yao to show her the paintings she had drawn that day.

Xia Yao looked at the dozing tiger in the painting with some surprise, and asked her curiously, "This sleeping tiger is so well drawn today. It's a picture that's not even in the picture book. How did Momo come up with it?"

Zhou Momo tilted her head and smiled, "Guoguo said that tigers are big cats. My Huahua sleeps like this, so I thought tigers sleep like this too, and that's how I drew it."

Meng Anhe and her two children happened to enter the store. Hearing the noise, she walked behind Xia Yao and looked at the picture book. She was also surprised: "Mo Mo's composition and color sensitivity are really good. She also understands light source and hue. She really paints very well."

"Huh? This was drawn by Momo?" Lin Jingxing leaned over to take a look, his face full of shock.

"Brother, what about the five-clawed loach you drew?" Lin Bingwen was equally shocked.

"That's a dragon! A five-clawed golden dragon!" Lin Jingxing said through gritted teeth.

"Mom, do you think it looks like her?" Lin Bingwen turned to Meng Anhe and asked.

Meng Anhe's lips curled up slightly: "It does look somewhat like a loach."

“Mom…” Lin Jingxing pouted, glanced at Zhou Momo’s drawing again, and sighed helplessly, “Fine, loach it is then, anyway it’s not as good as Momo’s drawing.”

Hearing the praise, Zhou Momo smiled happily, turned to the next page, and proudly showed it off: "Look, here's my drawing of Sun Wukong."

"Wow! That's so cool!" Lin Jingxing and Lin Bingwen's eyes lit up.

"It's quite cute," Meng Anhe said, looking at the little monkey holding a stick in the drawing.

"I gave her two copies of Liu Jiyou's 'Havoc in Heaven' and 'Wu Song Fights the Tiger.' She didn't choose to copy them; after reading them, she drew what she wanted to draw. And her creative speed is so fast. These two paintings must have been done today." Xia Yao looked at Meng Anhe and said, "Auntie, what do you think of her talent? Does she need guidance?"

"This child likes to draw and is willing to draw. He can also find his own subjects. He has a lot of ideas and doesn't need to do much extra preparation. He can start drawing right away and can draw two pictures a day. That's top-notch talent."

"At three and a half years old, there's no need for any intervention. Just give her plenty of drawing paper and crayons, and let her fully express her ideas. As long as she keeps drawing, her skills will naturally improve," Meng Anhe said with a smile.

“That’s what I think too,” Xia Yao nodded.

Meng Anhe looked at her and said softly, "Her talent for color is similar to yours when you were a child. I've met many geniuses over the years, but if they met you, they would all call you a genius. Yao Yao, you're no problem being a designer, but you must never put down your paintbrush."

Xia Yao smiled and said, "Auntie, I want to be a designer who makes a living by drawing."

“That’s right. I’ve been looking at a lot of foreign advertisements lately, and I’ve found that their ideas and colors are so bold…” Meng Anhe sat down and started chatting with Xia Yao about the advertising design industry.

Lin Jingxing and Lin Bingwen surrounded Zhou Momo, flipping through her paintings one by one.

Wow! Momo, you're so amazing! This cat drawing is so cute!

Wow! This fish is huge...

A chorus of exclamations erupted. Putting everything else aside, the two brothers certainly delivered top-notch emotional value.

Their parents, one an architect and the other a mechanical engineer, often draw at home.

Despite being exposed to it from a young age, the two brothers failed to inherit any of their talents.

Fortunately, Meng Anhe and Lin Zhiqiang are both open-minded enough to let people choose whether or not to paint, and they never force anyone to.

But seeing how well Momo draws at such a young age, I really admire the two brothers who have experienced the hardships of drawing.

“If your mother saw Momo, she would definitely like her very much.” Meng Anhe said with a smile as she looked at Zhou Momo, who was introducing her paintings to the two brothers.

"She's so cute, who wouldn't like her?" Xia Yao said matter-of-factly.

Meng Anhe shook her head slightly: "It's different. You don't want to learn landscape painting, which has been a regret for her and your grandfather for many years. If they find a good student again, she might take on the idea of ​​taking him as her apprentice."

“Then they have many regrets, such as you, Auntie, who insisted on studying architecture instead of landscape painting.” Xia Yao looked at her and smiled. “Isn’t taking on apprentices a bit too far? My mother is a person who loves leisure and comfort the most. She likes to stay in beautiful and quiet places. All she needs is paper and pen. Suji is more than 4,000 miles away from Hangzhou.”

“Yes, it’s over four thousand miles. Ten years ago, we certainly couldn’t have imagined that we would be sitting in a restaurant in this small town, eating meal after meal.” Meng Anhe looked at her and smiled.

Xia Yao glanced in the direction of the kitchen and smiled, "Life's encounters are always unexpected."

"The meeting started a few minutes late." Lin Zhiqiang sat down and asked with a smile, "Have you ordered the food?"

"I ordered. Your arrival is just in time." Meng Anhe nodded.

……

"Yes, this piece of pork belly from the ribs near the belly, no need to cut it, I'll do it myself when we get back." In front of Zhang Laosan's meat stall, Zhou Yan directed Zhang Laosan to cut a piece of pork belly for him.

A piece of pork belly of excellent quality.

Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow, very satisfied. This piece weighed about eight jin, just enough to make ten servings of salted braised pork belly.

Old Zhang sold another eight catties of meat and asked with a beaming smile, "Zhou Yan, what dishes did you add today? Are you starting to use pork belly? Salted braised pork belly? Red braised pork?"

"I'm making braised pork belly today, let's buy some meat first and see how it goes." Zhou Yan packed the meat.

"Salted braised pork belly is a must! Of all the steamed dishes, salted braised pork belly is my favorite. I'm sure yours will be delicious," said Zhang Laosan. He had eaten at Zhou Yan's restaurant the day before yesterday, and the braised pork intestines were incredibly delicious, which gave him a deeper understanding of Zhou Yan's culinary skills.

"Then you can bring your auntie back to eat here again later," Zhou Yan said with a smile, as he and Old Zhou pulled the meat back to the restaurant.

Salted braised pork belly is a representative dish of non-spicy Sichuan cuisine. It is neither spicy nor expensive, unlike dishes like snowflake chicken soup or boiled cabbage in clear broth, which are served at high-end banquets.

Salted braised pork belly is more down-to-earth and is loved by the general public.

After closing for the morning, with the braised meat simmering in the pot, Zhou Yan began processing the pork belly.

Heat the wok, then put the pork belly in to scald the skin. The pork skin sizzles as it touches the hot wok, the surface turns darker, and the fine pig hairs on the surface are burned off.

This step, besides removing hair, can also remove the pork's fishy smell to some extent.

Scrape off the black film on the surface with a knife; the pigskin will turn golden yellow. Wash it clean again.

Boil water in a pot with scallions and ginger. Once boiling, add large pieces of pork belly and cook for ten minutes. Immediately remove the pork and rub the skin side with salty red soy sauce. The skin will immediately become bright and glossy, turning a deep red.

So-called salty red soy sauce is a unique seasoning soy sauce used in Sichuan cuisine, with the best quality coming from Tangchang Town, Pixian County.

It's quite similar to dark soy sauce and is used for coloring.

When Zhou Yan was a food blogger, she made a video in this direction.

Salty red soy sauce is made by re-drying and concentrating light soy sauce to enhance its color and thickness, and then adding brown sugar and spices to simmer it, thus forming a concentrated soy sauce with a unique sweet and salty flavor.

Using salty red soy sauce for coloring not only gives the meat a bright color but also provides ample saltiness.

Heat rapeseed oil in a wok until it reaches 60% of its maximum temperature. Then, place the pork skin-side down into the wok and fry until the skin turns a deep red color and wrinkles. Remove the pork skin and place it in a pot of hot water.

This state, also known as tiger-skin pattern, looks particularly comfortable.

The pork pretreatment is now complete; let's start stir-frying the bean sprouts.

Comrade Lao Zhou has already squeezed out the water from the soaked bean sprouts and chopped them finely. He heated the pan without adding oil, first stir-fried the bean sprouts to remove the moisture, and then took them out when the pan was slightly smoking.

Add a mixture of lard and rapeseed oil to the pot, then add Sichuan peppercorns, ginger slices, and fermented black beans and stir-fry until fragrant. Finally, add the pickled mustard greens and stir-fry until fragrant.

Stir-frying the bean sprouts in oil helps to bring out their aroma better.

The bean sprouts are stir-fried; now it's time to slice the meat.

There are specific requirements for meat slices: two inches long, one and two-tenths inches wide, and one-tenth of an inch thick—this is a very standard large meat slice.

When slicing the meat, Zhou Yan had already asked Zhang Laosan to leave him enough width so that nothing would be wasted.

The irregularly shaped pieces are placed in a separate bowl. The pieces are still standard cuts of pork belly, but the shape isn't quite right, so they're not suitable for selling to customers. However, they're perfect for serving as a work lunch.

The sliced ​​meat is neatly arranged in an earthenware bowl; this step is also known as "setting the bowl."

It has eight pieces in the middle and one piece on each side, for a total of ten pieces, making it look like an open book, hence the saying "a book".

At this point, mix salt into the sweet red soy sauce and drizzle it evenly over the meat slices to coat them with color. Add two pickled pepper segments, then cover the meat slices with the previously cooked bean sprouts, making sure they are generously covered.

This completes half of the preparation of a bowl of salted braised pork belly. Place it in a steamer and arrange it neatly.

Today's eight catties of meat made exactly ten bowls, one of which was leftovers. Zhou Yan marked it with a piece of red pickled pepper on the pickled mustard greens, and they ate that bowl for lunch.

Ten bowls of salted braised pork belly filled a steamer basket perfectly. As it was steaming, Zhou Yan glanced at his watch; it would take an hour and a half to steam properly.

After putting the braised pork belly in the pot, Zhou Yan immediately started braising vegetables.

The already busy morning became even busier with the addition of salted braised pork belly.

All the braised dishes are taken out of the pot and plated, and the braised pork belly is almost done cooking.

There's a saying that the best salty braised pork belly is made by steaming it again the next day.

In fact, the "baba banquet" is made according to this standard. The food is only steamed until it is 70% cooked on the first day, and then steamed again for a second time on the second day when the banquet is held.

By modern standards, this should be considered a type of pre-cooked food.
But it's true that steamed pork belly prepared this way is more flavorful and softer.

However, Zhou Yanzheng's salted braised pork belly is not to be underestimated.

Zhou Yan stir-fried two dishes, then lifted the bamboo steamer lid and took out the bowl of salted braised pork belly with pickled red pepper pieces on the side. The aroma was already wafting out.

The moment a new dish is served is often the most anticipated moment for the entire restaurant.

Everyone held their breath, watching Zhou Yan place a round plate on top of the earthen bowl, then with a swift flip, the earthen bowl was now upside down on the plate.

A stream of oil flowed down the rim of the bowl. Zhou Yan slowly lifted the earthenware bowl, revealing a brightly colored plate of salted braised pork belly.

The flesh is a translucent, brownish-red color, glossy and oily like amber covering the bean sprouts.

Although it was made from scraps, Zhou Yan still made some minor repairs, and it still looks quite presentable.

A very good salted braised pork belly

Zhou Yan saw the appraisal results, and if he wasn't mistaken, the meat slices were just short of being perfect.

The remaining nine portions in the pot should all be perfect.

"It looks great! The color is beautiful, a bright red," Aunt Zhao exclaimed.

“That’s right, it looks almost identical to what Master Zhou Yan made last time,” Zhao Hong nodded.

"Dinner's ready!" Zhou Yan brought out a bowl of braised pork belly from the kitchen and placed it on the table.

"I'm so happy! I get to eat meat every day!" Zhou Momo clapped her hands and followed Zhou Yan happily. She quickly climbed onto the stool, sat up straight, and her eyes were only on the salted braised pork belly on the table.

Salty and sweet braised pork belly are the little guy's favorites at outdoor banquets.

Zhou Yan placed a piece of meat into her bowl, then used a spoon to scoop a spoonful of bean sprouts onto the rice. The brown sauce seeped into the rice, giving it a glossy sheen.

"I love braised pork belly!" Zhou Momo leaned forward to smell it, then blew on it before taking a bite. Her eyes lit up, and she shoveled a mouthful of rice with pickled mustard greens, her expression becoming even more excited.

"Try this salted braised pork belly today, everyone." Zhou Yan picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of salted braised pork belly. The fatty meat trembled, and the chopsticks sank into it with the slightest force, as if they would break apart with the slightest pressure.

Feed it directly to your mouth, and the aroma of bean sprouts and meat explodes on your tongue. The fried tiger skin is soaked in the soup, soft and chewy, and sticky to your lips. The fatty meat melts in your mouth, while the lean meat is salty and savory, tender but not mushy, with a moist texture and rich but not greasy taste!
This flavor perfectly matches all his expectations for salted braised pork belly!
It was even more exquisite than what his master had done.

"The tiger-skin juicing is amazing! It's so satisfying to have your lips sticky with this gelatinous substance!" Aunt Zhao exclaimed, her eyes shining.

"The bean sprouts are even more delicious than the meat! I bet I can eat three bowls of rice without stopping at lunchtime!" Old Zhou shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth, then scooped a spoonful of bean sprouts for himself, stirring the oil and broth with the bean sprouts in the rice.

Salted braised bok choy with rice!
Absolutely utterly wicked!
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(End of this chapter)