Cooking System: Street Food Rules
Chapter 61 This Person is Really a Master!

Chapter 61: Chapter 61 This Person is Really a Master!

The additional reward for the second day was: [Knife-Shaved Noodle Skills, Minced Meat Recipe].

This time the reward was for knife skills, which was not bad. Although it was limited to knife-shaved noodles, it was still a valuable skill.

Jiang Feng conveniently bought a hooked knife specialized for shaving noodles.

The skill of shaving noodles purely depended on one’s mastery. One hand held the dough, and the other held the knife. When experts shaved noodles, their knives flashed like swords, and strands of long, thin noodles were shaved off into the pot, the movements smooth and fast. Newbies had no idea where to start; a single cut might land right in the middle of the dough, embedding the knife.

With this skill, he could add a new dish to the menu tomorrow.

In the afternoon, Jiang Feng rested at home and did not set up his stall. Home was always the most comfortable haven, where he could do anything at ease.

The next day, Jiang Feng arrived at Juxing Shopping Mall around ten o’clock, busy with prepping ingredients. The main dishes for today were Zhajiang noodles and knife-shaved noodles. He had to prepare the Zhajiang sauce and minced pork in advance. Both used pork as a key ingredient for the topping, but the preparation methods differed.

The minced pork for the knife-shaved noodles required stir-frying it in a pot of oil. Halfway through, he would add a spice pack, chicken fat for extra richness, scallions, ginger, and garlic for aromatics, cooking wine to remove any gamey taste, vinegar to enhance the fragrance, and both light and dark soy sauce for color and flavor.

A large pot of minced pork was being stirred in the wok. Jiang Feng knew exactly when to add each seasoning and how much. The minced pork he stir-fried had well-defined granules and a rich, deep flavor.

At serving time, he would lift out the knife-shaved noodles, pour the broth on top, scoop a ladleful of minced pork, and add a marinated egg. The taste would be indescribably delicious.

Jiang Feng, as usual, waited for customers at his small stall. The number of customers was better than during the previous weeks he had set up his stall. Although there were many people, it wasn’t crowded enough to form long queues yet.

Some husband-and-wife stall owners looked at Jiang Feng and chatted among themselves:

"All the customers are heading to his stall, what should we do?"

"His food is delicious. What can we do?"

"We can’t just let it be!"

"Don’t worry, I heard from the manager that he’s only here for a week, and he’ll be gone in a few days."

Jiang Feng’s business was always good enough to make people jealous.

Soon, the customer traffic in the mall increased, and the crowd grew. In front of Jiang Feng’s stall, many food enthusiasts came to place their orders. Everything proceeded as usual.

At this time, a young couple entered the food stall area. They had originally planned to just grab some snacks. The man noticed Jiang Feng’s stall at first glance.

"Look at that, there are so many people! Let’s go have some noodles."

"Sure, I haven’t had noodles in a long time. I want Zhajiang noodles."

The two approached the stall.

"One small bowl of Zhajiang noodles, and then one large bowl of knife-shaved noodles."

"Okay," Jiang Feng responded.

At that moment, the man seemed to find Jiang Feng somewhat familiar. He stared at Jiang Feng for a moment, then suddenly seemed to recall something.

Holy shit, is it him?

A look of surprise flashed across the man’s face.

His girlfriend curiously asked, "What’s up? Who is it?"

"It’s that small stall owner who became quite famous a while ago! He was a hit selling braised meat at a holiday resort and also became popular selling buns at Fengqi Mountain."

"I heard he changes his stall location every few days; lots of people are looking for him!" the man explained.

Hearing this, his girlfriend was somewhat astonished.

"I thought those were just stories I saw online! I can’t believe I’ve actually run into him!"

"Amazing!" The man grew even more excited.

A big discovery naturally brought the desire to share. The man recalled a video from an outdoor live streamer he had watched before, where they were collecting information about where Jiang Feng was setting up his stall. Many people were commenting in the comments section, asking about Jiang Feng’s whereabouts. He thought this was a good opportunity.

So, he immediately left a comment in the outdoor live streamer Liu Bao’s comments section: "I’ve seen that stall owner! He’s at the food stall area in Juxing Shopping Mall, selling Zhajiang noodles."

After commenting, he kept glancing to see if Liu Bao had replied. But Liu Bao received many private messages daily and sometimes couldn’t check them immediately, often reviewing them later.

The broth in the pot on the stove was already boiling. Jiang Feng picked up a piece of dough with his left hand, holding it firmly, while his right hand wielded the specialized hook knife for knife-shaved noodles. With a swift motion of his right hand, accompanied by a flash of the blade, a slender noodle was shaved from the dough.

Then, Jiang Feng’s speed began to increase as he shaved one noodle after another. The hook knife in his hand actually created afterimages! His expression was very calm, and apart from his right hand, almost no other part of his body moved—steady as a mountain.

This scene was witnessed by the customers in line. All who saw this magical technique of noodle shaving were visibly shocked.

"WOW, look at that stall owner! He’s amazing!"

"What a master! He must have learned from New Oriental!"

"That’s at least top three in New Oriental for noodle shaving!"

"Such quick knife skills!"

Someone took out a phone and recorded a video of Jiang Feng shaving noodles.

The sight of Jiang Feng shaving noodles was truly incredible. He hadn’t even noticed that so many people were watching him. Others shaved noodles one at a time, not nearly as fast. He, on the other hand, seemed to have a motor in his arm.

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH! Only the hook knife’s rapid back-and-forth motion was visible, a blur of afterimages.

Soon, Jiang Feng had finished shaving enough noodles for one serving. After cooking in the pot for a few minutes, the noodles could be scooped out. If they were left in too long, they would actually taste worse.

Jiang Feng stopped the hook knife, turned his head, and only then noticed how many people were watching him. He wasn’t particularly bothered and just skillfully scooped up the shaved noodles with a strainer, placing them in a bowl. He then ladled a spoonful of the traditional minced pork on top. A sprinkle of chopped green onions was added.

With that, a steaming bowl of knife-shaved noodles was ready.

The Zhajiang noodles were quickly finished as well. Jiang Feng called out the couple’s order number, telling them to come get their noodles. He then moved on to other orders.

"Boss, give me a large bowl of knife-shaved noodles!"

"I want two bowls of knife-shaved noodles!"

"I’ll have a bowl of knife-shaved noodles!"

The customers in line all stopped ordering Zhajiang noodles and started ordering knife-shaved noodles instead. This worked out well, as it allowed him to handle several orders at once. After all, the minced pork was already prepared; he just needed to cook the noodles.

Jiang Feng once again picked up the dough and the hook knife.

SWISH!

The knife glinted. One slender noodle separated from the dough, leaping into the boiling broth like a diver plunging into water.

Then, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH!

A flurry of knife flashes. Over a hundred slender noodles separated from the dough, jumping into the boiling broth like a line of divers.

The sight was highly entertaining. The customers hadn’t expected knife-shaved noodles to be so artistic. This man truly was a master!

Jiang Feng’s speed was incredibly fast. One hand held the dough, and the other the knife. From a certain angle, he almost looked like a violinist immersed in their art. Cooking and music are both art forms; some are performed in kitchens, others in concert halls.

Jiang Feng was so fast because he was shaving noodles for four servings at once and needed to ensure that the first noodles shaved wouldn’t overcook. Once enough noodles were shaved, he waited a few minutes, then quickly scooped them out, dividing them among four bowls. In each bowl, he sprinkled the traditional minced pork, added some chopped green onions, and included a marinated egg. Fragrant bowls of knife-shaved noodles were thus ready.

Upon close examination, each noodle was almost the same thickness, remarkably uniform. And the noodles were thin on the sides, thicker in the middle. Jiang Feng’s mastery over the hook knife could be described as reaching the pinnacle!

"Holy cow, this young man is incredible!"

The customers watching Jiang Feng’s movements were full of admiration.

Then, more and more people started ordering knife-shaved noodles, partly to eat and partly to enjoy the performance up close. People crowded around Jiang Feng’s stall. It resembled a scene from the Song Dynasty, with a crowd of onlookers gathered before a lively performance in an entertainment district. The whole scene was filled with the warmth of everyday life.