Chương 63: My Foolish Brothe

"Garlic sprouts and twice-cooked pork, a new dish!" Wang Hongliang was genuinely interested and nodded, "Okay, you cook one for us to try. Opportunities to try new dishes like this are rare."

"Twice-cooked pork is a delicious dish. The one we had at Rongleyuan last time still makes my mouth water just thinking about it," Lin Zhiqiang said with a smile.

"Okay, wait a moment, I'll make it right away." Zhou Yan turned and went into the kitchen. These past two days, Zhou Yan had verified that the celebrity effect still worked in this era. Wang Hongliang and Lin Zhiqiang coming to the restaurant and feeling there weren't enough dishes gave them a chance to help try out the food. With today's incident causing such a stir, Zhou Yan felt it was definitely Uncle Lin's doing, since he had only approached Lin Zhiqiang.

The old factory director must have also intervened; otherwise, how could a hundred yuan rent have brought down Sun Meili and Wang Defa? The factory canteen's monthly turnover exceeded thirty thousand yuan. Those two lovers had been stirring things up in the canteen for two years, who knows how much they'd skimmed off the top. What was a hundred yuan? Just for this favor, it was only right for Zhou Yan to bring them a dish.

It was just that the leftover pork belly was a bit too little, not enough for a proper serving. The braised pork ribs were served first; they could be cooked quickly with a quick stir-fry, which was their biggest advantage. Next came the crucian carp with mint, and only then did they wash the wok and start stir-frying the pork belly. A little over four ounces of pork belly made a decent plate of stir-fried pork belly with garlic sprouts.

Zhou Yan filled a ceramic bowl halfway with rice, poured a ladle of the remaining beef and bamboo shoot broth over it, then took four pieces of pork belly and a few slices of garlic sprouts from the plate and placed them on top of the rice. He then scooped a ladle of freshly heated pork ribs and added a few slices of pickled radish. This was Zhou Momo's dinner: a double-serving rice bowl with stir-fried pork belly with garlic sprouts and braised pork ribs.

Zhou Yan had promised her at noon that he would make her more pork belly for dinner, so her portion had to be set aside separately. With that, there were definitely more than three ounces left. When Zhou Yan brought out the twice-cooked pork, Zhou Momo stared intently. When she saw it being served to Lin Zhiqiang's table, her lips trembled, looking utterly wronged. Her eyes were red, tears welling up, but she managed to hold them back.

The aroma of the twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts filled the air, drawing the attention of the guests.

"One serving of twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts uses half a pound of pork belly. This portion only has a little over three ounces, so it's not a full serving. Please try it and give me your feedback on this new dish," Zhou Yan said with a smile, emphasizing the portion size.

"Hmm! This 'lamp-shaped nest' is authentic!" Wang Hongliang's eyes lit up as he looked at the plate of twice-cooked pork.

"Only the best cuts of pork, precise knife skills, and just the right amount of heat can produce such an authentic 'lamp-shaped nest'."

"The bright red twice-cooked pork, the white garlic stems, and the green garlic leaves—the three colors are so vibrant, it looks delicious!"

"Try it." Wang Hongliang picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of twice-cooked pork, and the meat curled up into a lamp-shaped nest, trembling slightly when picked up, glistening with oil.

"Look at this state; it glistens when you pick it up. This is called 'glistening,' which means the heat is just right." He put the meat in his bowl and then picked up a piece of garlic stem to eat with it. The moment it entered his mouth, Wang Hongliang's eyes lit up. He chewed slowly, savoring the flavor, swallowed, then shoveled some rice into his mouth, tried another piece, and nodded repeatedly after finishing.

"The fragrant, sticky skin, the melt-in-your-mouth fatty meat, and the slightly chewy, tender lean meat all colliding between your teeth, with the unique aroma of garlic sprouts mixed in."

"One bite, and it's fatty but not oily, fragrant but not greasy."

"The meat quality is exceptional; stir-fried in a large earthen stove and wok, the flavor is particularly delicious."

"Delicious!"

" The garlic sprout twice-cooked pork tastes almost identical to what Master Rong Leyuan makes. In my opinion, it's absolutely fantastic, perfect with rice."

"You flatter me." Zhou Yan listened with a smile. The old factory director was indeed knowledgeable; he knew how to appreciate good food and how to praise it.

"Not at all. I used to think my twice-cooked pork was one of the best in Suji Town, even surpassing Chef Fan from the state-run restaurant," Wang Hongliang said with some emotion.

"But after tasting your garlic sprout twice-cooked pork today, I think I can only be considered second to last in Suji." If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. The other guests craned their necks to look. This garlic sprout twice-cooked pork, praised so highly by the old factory director, smelled delicious and looked even more tempting. After hearing the old factory director's comments, they couldn't help but swallow their saliva.

This garlic sprout twice-cooked pork had to be eaten! Lin Zhiqiang also tried a piece and praised it highly, finally concluding, "The factory director is right. Even the master chef from Rongleyuan wouldn't be this good." The Lin brothers, who were originally focused on gnawing on ribs, turned their attention to the twice-cooked pork upon hearing this. Lin Jingxing picked up a piece to taste first, and his eyes immediately lit up. So fragrant! Soft and tender, so delicious. Lin Bingwen hesitated.

He didn't like fatty meat, and this looked far too fatty. He looked at Lin Jingxing expectantly and asked, "Brother, is it good?"

"No, it's very fatty. You definitely can't eat any of it," Lin Jingxing said seriously, already picking up a second piece of twice-cooked pork with his chopsticks and putting it in his mouth. He chewed it happily, and after swallowing, he didn't forget to shovel a couple of mouthfuls of rice on his plate.

"If it's not good, why are you eating it one piece after another?" Lin Bingwen looked at the oily twice-cooked pork and swallowed hard.

"I'm not afraid of fatty meat. See that piece of rib left on the plate? I saved it for you. Hurry up and eat it. I'll just eat some of the fatty meat," Lin Jingxing said. Lin Bingwen's eyes were indeed drawn to the braised rib. He picked up the rib and gnawed on it, saying, "Brother, thank you."

"You're welcome, my good little brother," Lin Jingxing mumbled, shoveling rice into his mouth. My foolish little brother. Let me bear the succulent twice-cooked pork! After hearing the comments, Zhou Yan returned to the kitchen satisfied. With the factory manager's words, the twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts was a sure thing! This made the other guests incredibly hungry, itching to get a bite too. But those were the factory manager and deputy factory manager! Who dared?

Probably only Zhao Dong, the director of the silk reeling workshop, would dare; he was thick-skinned and had a big appetite. Zhou Yan brought the bowl of rice with toppings from the kitchen to Zhou Momo, who was practically drooling.

"Wow!" Zhou Momo's big eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at the rice covered with twice-cooked pork and ribs. Then she looked up at Zhou Yan: "Brother, is this mine?"

"Of course it's yours. The pork is on top, and there are ribs too. Eat slowly." Zhou Yan smiled and stuffed a ladle into her hand. There was no way he could cook a separate pot of four slices of twice-cooked pork for her, so she had to eat with the guests for dinner tonight.

"Okay!" Zhou Momo replied in her sweet little voice, took the ladle, and started eating. The bowl was big, and she almost buried half her face in it, eating with great relish. The twice -cooked pork was fragrant and tender, the ribs were soft and juicy, and the rice was drizzled with a ladle of braised beef broth. The rice grains were soaked in the broth, and every bite was filled with the aroma of beef broth. It was so delicious! Zhou Momo thought this was the best meal she had ever eaten!

"Take small bites and chew slowly, don't swallow it whole," Zhou Yan reminded her from the side. The broth mixed with rice smelled delicious, but it was easy to forget to chew it properly. Swallowing rice without chewing it thoroughly would put a lot of strain on the stomach, especially for a little one like Zhou Momo. Zhou Momo paused in her rice-scooping motion, then obediently chewed the rice grains in her mouth first, one bite after another, still enjoying it immensely.

"Boss, what is that little girl eating? Why is she eating so deliciously?" A customer at the next table, who had been watching for a while, couldn't help but ask curiously.

"It's rice mixed with braised beef broth, topped with some twice-cooked pork and braised spare ribs, all from the menu," Zhou Yan replied with a smile.

"If we really wanted to give it a name, we'd call it a double-topped rice bowl with garlic sprouts, twice-cooked pork, and braised spare ribs."

"A rice bowl with toppings?" The customer had never heard of it before, but thought the name was quite fitting.

"So, how much is a rice bowl with toppings? Can you combine any of the dishes in the restaurant? How many kinds of dishes can you combine?" A girl immediately asked her question. Many interested customers also looked at Zhou Yan. Being able to eat several dishes while dining alone—wasn't that a dream come true! Genius!... Please keep reading! My incredibly intelligent readers! (End of Chapter)