I've been possessed by a culinary genius, and I've turned Shaxian snacks into a rip-off!

Li Zhibai really didn't expect that Grandpa Huo would call him to the countryside to be a free laborer, doing the same work as everyone else.

"Principal Chen, tell me the truth, what exactly did Uncle Huo say about me?"

Chen Long truthfully replied, "Old Huo said that he knows a young chef who cooks exceptionally well, is very kind-hearted, and loves children. As soon as he heard that our school was facing difficulties, he offered to help, and we couldn't stop him."

"...Anything else?"

"Also, Mr. Huo said that you are free and can teach our aunt to cook for free. He said that you are willing to pay out of your own pocket as long as you can help the children."

Li Zhibai: "..."

He was now absolutely certain that Grandpa Huo had sold him out and was even asking him to help count the money.

Principal Chen then explained to him why guidance was needed.

"Mr. Li, most of the students at our school are left-behind children. Their parents work away from home, and the children are basically taken care of by their grandparents. Before the school had a canteen, the children had to walk several miles home for lunch. Some families with poor conditions would bring some steamed buns to eat in the morning. When Mr. Huo heard about our situation, he donated money to build this new canteen for us last month. However, the cook we found in our village doesn't cook very well. Although the children don't say anything, they don't eat very well. So Mr. Huo said that you would like to come and give us some guidance and cook a good lunch for the children."

After listening, Li Zhibai nodded, "So that's how it is."

"Alright, then I'll show you what I've got."

"I'll make it today. Please watch over me, ladies, and remember the seasoning ratios. If you follow my ratios to cook in the future, even if you don't cook as well as I do, it will definitely taste better than before."

Upon hearing this, Principal Chen immediately waved his hand, "Aunt Zhang, Aunt Li, Aunt Wang, come here quickly! Come and learn from Mr. Li."

She then took out her phone and started recording.

Li Zhibai inspected the ingredients prepared in the kitchen for today, which included pork belly, rock sugar, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, and other seasonings, as well as a box of rose-flavored fermented bean curd that he was very familiar with.

Well, even the ingredients were prepared in advance according to his recipe. Old Master Huo has been planning this for a long time!

After putting on his apron, Li Zhibai emphasized to the women watching, "Ladies, I'm mainly here to teach today. You'll still have to cook for your children yourselves in the future, so please watch carefully and remember every dish I make. If you don't understand anything, feel free to ask."

The plump woman and the other two women nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, we will definitely study hard."

Li Zhibai glanced again at the group of curious children peering out the window and teased them, "Also, when I'm cooking, the children can watch, but they can't come into the kitchen. Anyone who dares to sneak in and steal food will have to wash the dishes!"

The children outside the window immediately started chattering excitedly.

"Wow! That uncle is fierce!"

He said he wanted us to wash the dishes.

"I'm not afraid of washing dishes. I wash dishes at home every day, and I wash them very clean."

"Idiot, he said you can wash the dishes after you finish eating. You're not allowed to sneak any food now."

"..."

Li Zhibai ignored the group of children, picked up a kitchen knife from the knife rack, twirled it in his hand, and then slammed it onto the cutting board: "Let's get started!"

He took a piece of pork belly weighing about five pounds, placed it on the cutting board, pressed it down with his hand, and began to cut. The three women standing next to him had never seen anyone cut meat so easily before. It was like magic. Piece after piece of pork belly on the cutting board was transformed into uniform rectangular pieces, and each piece was about the same size.

The children were pressed against the window, their mouths agape in wide-open "O" shapes.

"Look, look! Uncle cuts it so fast!"

"My grandma always cuts meat slowly, why is he cutting it so fast?"

"My mom said that a chef with good knife skills can cut a hundred slices of meat in one go."

"One hundred pieces? You're kidding!"

"I'm not bragging, it's true!"

"..."

Li Zhibai: "..."

No, even if he had god-level skills, he couldn't cut a hundred pieces of meat in one stroke, could he?

A dozen minutes later, the dozens of kilograms of pork belly were all turned into uniformly sized rectangular blocks with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, and piled up on the tray.

The plump auntie watched in disbelief, muttering, "My goodness, this knife skill is even better than Old Wang, the pig butcher in our village."

Another aunt nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, Old Wang needs two people to hold him down when he slaughters a pig, but Master Li cuts meat without making a sound. He's really amazing."

Li Zhibai: "..."

No, ma'am, are slaughtering a pig and cutting meat the same thing?

He then washed his hands and began the formal teaching session.

"Ladies, today I'll start by making braised pork, one of my restaurant's signature dishes. The recipe isn't particularly difficult, but it's not exactly simple either; the key lies in a few details."

He demonstrated and explained at the same time, trying his best to explain each step to them in detail.

"The first step is blanching. Put the pork belly in a pot of cold water, add scallions, ginger, and cooking wine, bring it to a boil over high heat, and skim off the foam. This step is crucial and cannot be skipped. The foam is blood and impurities. If it is not skimmed off properly, the meat will have a fishy smell, and the broth will be cloudy and not look good."

Actually, many people in the countryside don't blanch pork when making braised pork; they prefer to stir-fry it directly in the pan because they think it's easier that way. That's why he emphasized it.

The three women nodded attentively as they listened, while Principal Chen continued to take notes on his phone.

"The second step is to caramelize the sugar. Put a small amount of oil in a pot, add rock sugar, and stir slowly over low heat, stirring constantly. Once the rock sugar melts and turns a deep reddish-brown color, with tiny bubbles appearing, immediately add the meat and stir-fry. Remember, you must be quick; over-caramelizing the sugar will make it bitter, while under-caramelizing will result in a poor color, like this..."

The three women exclaimed in surprise as they watched the rock sugar in the pot gradually change color: "Wow, it's really turned red! I always use dark soy sauce to color braised pork at home, this is the first time I've ever seen rock sugar used to caramelize sugar."

"Actually, you can use dark soy sauce, which is convenient for coloring, but the color will be darker and blacker. Meat cooked with caramelized sugar will be bright red and shiny, which will make it more appetizing for children."

As Li Zhibai explained, he poured the blanched pork belly into the caramelized sugar, then picked up the huge spatula and began to stir-fry the braised pork.

The downside of cooking in a large pot is that it's quite laborious to cook dozens of kilograms at once.

With his vigorous stir-frying, each piece of meat was soon evenly coated with the amber-colored sugar coating. Then he continued to add ginger slices, scallion segments, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves... and continued to stir-fry until fragrant. He then poured in cooking wine and light soy sauce, and added boiling water to cover the meat pieces.

"The third step is seasoning; here's a little trick."

Li Zhibai picked up the bottle of rose-flavored fermented bean curd, unscrewed the cap, and crushed the entire bottle of fermented bean curd, pouring it into the pot.

"What is this?" the plump aunt asked curiously.

"Rose-flavored fermented bean curd is my secret weapon for making braised pork. Fermented bean curd itself is fermented, so it has a natural salty and savory flavor that can enhance the flavor and cut through the greasiness. In addition, it contains red yeast rice and rose petals. The color of red yeast rice is softer than that of dark soy sauce, making the braised pork look more beautiful. Combined with the aroma of rose petals, it leaves a subtle floral aftertaste."

"Wow, I didn't know it was so particular!" the three aunties exclaimed in unison.

Although they often cook at home, this was the first time they had seen so many details involved in making braised pork. The chefs in the city were indeed different from those in their village; even the ingredients they used were so special.

After bringing the braised pork to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer and cover the pot with a lid. Then just wait.

Taking advantage of this break, Li Zhibai began preparing the second dish.

On the table were chicken legs, eggs, potatoes, carrots, and other ingredients, as well as a large bowl of chopped chicken pieces.

"What are these chicken nuggets for?"

Principal Chen immediately explained, "We originally wanted to make braised chicken with potatoes, but the older women aren't very good at it. Every time they make it, the chicken is a bit dry, and the children say it's hard to chew."

Li Zhibai nodded: "Okay, then let's make braised chicken with potatoes. I'll teach you how to make the chicken tender."

He first put the chicken pieces into a prepared large bowl, added cooking wine, ginger slices, a little salt and some starch, and mixed them well by hand to marinate.

"When marinating the chicken, add a little starch. You don't need too much; just make sure the amount I used is enough. The starch helps to form a thin protective film on the surface of the chicken, which locks in the moisture inside the chicken after cooking, so it won't become dry."

The three women immediately nodded to indicate that they had remembered it. They had never done this step before when cooking, so this was quite an eye-opener.

While the chicken was marinating, Li Zhibai started processing the chicken legs.

The chicken drumsticks are for making fried chicken drumsticks, which should be the kids' favorite dish.

He made a few cuts on the chicken legs to help them absorb the marinade, then mixed a simple marinade with salt, pepper, cooking wine, and light soy sauce, and put the chicken legs in to marinate.

"There are two key points to making delicious fried chicken legs."

"First, the marinade must be plentiful and marinated for a sufficient amount of time. Today, I'm short on time, so I'll make a few more cuts to help it absorb the flavor quickly. Second, the frying temperature must be well controlled. The oil temperature cannot be too high or too low. If it's too high, the outside will burn while the inside remains raw. If it's too low, the food will be soft and not crispy, and it will be full of oil."

"How do you judge the oil temperature?" the plump woman asked. "We used to fry things by feel, sometimes we fried them well, sometimes we didn't."

"Use chopsticks. Insert the chopsticks into the oil. When you see tiny bubbles rising around the chopsticks, it means the oil temperature is about right, around 170 degrees Celsius. This temperature is perfect for frying food, as it allows the outer skin to quickly set and become crispy while the meat inside cooks slowly."

After the chicken legs were marinated, Li Zhibai began preparing the batter.

He poured flour and starch into a large bowl, in a ratio of about three to one, added a little salt and pepper for seasoning, then cracked in a dozen eggs, and slowly added water while stirring to make a batter of moderate thickness.

"The batter shouldn't be too thin or too thick. It should be able to coat the chicken leg without dripping. If it's too thin, it won't stick and the fried skin won't be crispy. If it's too thick, the batter will be too thick, and when you bite into it, you'll only taste the flour flavor and won't be able to taste the chicken flavor."

Then he dipped each marinated chicken leg into the batter, making sure that each leg was evenly coated.

The oil in the pan on the stove was already hot. Li Zhibai inserted chopsticks into the oil to test the temperature. Actually, he didn't need to do this to test the oil temperature. It was just to make it easier for the older women to observe. He only said it was ready when he saw tiny bubbles rising around the chopsticks.

"Alright, the oil temperature is just right now."

Then, holding the bowl in one hand and the chicken leg in the other, he slowly slid the batter-coated chicken leg into the oil along the edge of the pot.

Sizzle~~~ Sizzle~~~~

Golden bubbles immediately rose from the oil pan, the chicken legs rolled in the hot oil, and the surface quickly turned a beautiful golden brown. A rich aroma of fried chicken wafted out, and even the children peeking outside could smell it.

"Fried chicken drumsticks! Fried chicken drumsticks! I can smell fried chicken!"

"It smells so good!"

"I really want to eat it."

"I want to eat! I want to eat! I want to eat!"

"Keep your voice down, Uncle said you have to wash the dishes if you sneak food."

"Then I'll eat it and then wash it..."

"..."

After the chicken legs were almost fried, Li Zhibai used a slotted spoon to scoop them out and place them on a large plate that had been prepared beforehand. Soon, the plate was full, sizzling with oil, and looked very tempting.

The children outside the window stared wide-eyed at the huge plate of fried chicken legs.

"Uncle, when can we eat?" A little girl with pigtails swallowed hard and mustered up her courage to ask.

Li Zhibai glanced at her, and thought, "Oh! She's quite a cute girl," and then asked:

"Excuse me, what's your name?"

"My name is Li Xiaonuan."

"Surname Li? Same as mine. Okay, we're family."

Li Zhibai picked up a fried chicken leg from the plate and handed it to her.

Li Xiaonuan's eyes lit up instantly, and she reached out her little hands to take it.

As a result, Li Zhibai withdrew his hand again.

"I let you smell it, I didn't let you eat it."

Li Xiaonuan: "..."

Her lips trembled, and she almost burst into tears.

A group of children nearby joined in the commotion, chattering away.

"Uncle, you're so mean!"

"Uncle is a bad guy!"

"You mean uncle! You're bullying a child!"

"..."

Li Zhibai looked at the group of angry little brats and was secretly delighted, but he deliberately kept a straight face and said, "It's not mealtime yet, how can you eat alone? Go back and sit down and wait, it will be ready soon."

Upon hearing that development would soon be possible, the children scattered like birds and beasts, eagerly returning to their classrooms.

Li Zhibai continued preparing the braised chicken with potatoes.

Cut the potatoes into chunks, slice the carrots, and marinate the chicken. Heat oil in a pot, fry the potatoes until lightly browned, then add the chicken and stir-fry. Add water to cover the ingredients and simmer over low heat.

Time passed slowly, and all the dishes were served one after another.

Braised chicken with potatoes, fried chicken legs, stir-fried carrots, and a big pot of steaming seaweed and egg soup.

And then there's the most important dish – braised pork belly.

After simmering over low heat for more than an hour, the meat was cooked until it was very tender. Its bright red color and enticing aroma were almost irresistible.

Principal Chen Long smelled the meaty aroma that kept assaulting her nostrils, and her stomach began to rumble uncontrollably.

And she has swallowed her saliva many times today, which is very rare for someone with such strong self-control as her.

"Master Li, this braised pork smells so good! It looks even better than the ones I've had at restaurants before."

"Of course, there are few people in the whole country who can make my braised pork better than me," Li Zhibai said without any modesty. Seeing that she really wanted to try it, he handed her a pair of clean chopsticks: "Principal Chen, you can try it first and give your opinion."

Chen Long didn't stand on ceremony. She took the chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat, blew on it to cool it down a little, and then put it in her mouth.

With just one bite, her eyes widened instantly, filled with a blissful expression.

"Mmm~~~ This is so delicious! Chef Li, you really are amazing!"

When she first saw Li Zhibai at the door, she was skeptical. Was the chef that Old Master Huo had found too young? Could his cooking really be that delicious?

Now she truly understood what it meant to judge a book by its cover. This piece of braised pork was, she dared to say, the best food she had ever eaten in her life, bar none.

Seeing how much the principal was enjoying his food, the three older women, who had long been hungry and thirsty, all expressed their desire to try a piece.

"Master Li, would you like to try a piece too?"

"Just one piece, we'll just try it."

"..."

Li Zhibai gestured for them to take their own chopsticks.

After each of the three older sisters ate a piece of braised pork, their faces showed pure delight. If it weren't for the fact that these dishes were mainly for the children, they would have wanted to finish the whole plate of braised pork.

The plump aunt put down her chopsticks and couldn't help but ask, "Master Li, what kind of shop did you mention you owned in Jiangcheng when we were chatting earlier?"

"Shaxian Snacks"

"Shaxian?"

"With your skills, you'd want to open a Shaxian snack shop?"

"Yes, that's right." Li Zhibai nodded.

"No, Master Li, with your skills, you could be a head chef at any luxury hotel. It feels a bit of a waste for you to open a Shaxian restaurant."

They all felt that someone who could make such delicious braised pork must be a head chef at a big hotel, or even the head chef in a TV drama.

Li Zhibai laughed: "Big sister, you haven't seen my shop's menu. If you had seen it, you wouldn't feel wronged."

What happened to your menu?

"It's nothing much, it's just a little more expensive than other Shaxian snacks."

"How much more expensive?"

"A serving of fried rice costs 1288, and the braised pork you're eating costs 99 per piece."

The chubby auntie: "???"

The other two aunties: "???"

Principal Chen Long: "???"

The group fell silent, seemingly digesting the 99 yuan they had just swallowed.

Honestly, they had never heard of selling braised pork in such small pieces before.

After a while.

Principal Chen Longcai sighed, "No wonder everyone online calls him 'Master Jiang,' he really is very rich."