Cooking System: Street Food Rules
Chapter 80 - s of Delicious Dongpo Pork! The cuisine that lines up!

Chapter 80: 80 Chapters of Delicious Dongpo Pork! The cuisine that lines up!

Liu Bao anxiously waited outside the school.

After all these years, this was his first time ordering delivery from the school cafeteria, and having a student deliver it as well. It sounded preposterous when said out loud.

Liu Bao’s livestream was on. He definitely wouldn’t allow the livestream camera to capture the student cooperating with him; after all, he had to protect the other party.

He said to his viewers in the livestream, "This week, Executive Chef Jiang is at the University of Science and Technology cafeteria, and the line there is especially long. It will probably take a while longer for the food to be brought over. I must taste the food he made this time."

Hearing his words, the viewers in the livestream laughed.

[Host, you’re truly talented to have thought of this method.]

[Can’t you just climb over the fence?]

[If it were me, I’d sneak in quietly. It’s just the school cafeteria after all.]

The viewers were unaware of the seriousness of the situation. These past few days, security guards had been working overtime, patrolling around the school with their sticks, specifically to prevent outsiders from sneaking in. Outsiders simply couldn’t get in.

Luckily, the person queuing for Liu Bao was relatively close to the front. Around 12:40 p.m., the food was delivered to Liu Bao. The security guards noticed the situation but since it was a student delivering something out, they couldn’t really interfere, so they didn’t. The student placed the food on top of the wall, and once Liu Bao confirmed the location, he immediately reached out and received the delivery.

"That was tough!"

"Finally got it!"

Liu Bao, carrying the plastic bag, and his cousin went back to the car and started the livestream to eat the delicious food. The portion was quite small, but there were at least four dishes. Liu Bao took out the rice and immediately began tasting the first dish, the Sweet and Sour Spareribs.

"This Sweet and Sour Spareribs tastes really good. The meat has totally fallen off the bone. With a gentle touch, the bones come right off."

"Look everyone, the bones are clean, not a bit of meat clinging to them."

"The taste is also really good. It’s marinated perfectly, and the meat still has the flavor of the marinade."

"Executive Chef Jiang’s skills are truly beyond any doubt."

"Everything he makes is delicious."

While eating the spareribs, Liu Bao couldn’t help but reflect. He then tasted the fish-flavored shredded pork, the Sweet and Sour Pork Fillet, and the ham and scrambled eggs. Each dish was exceptionally fragrant and went down well with the rice. The only downside was that the portions were too small. Just a few bites and the two of them had finished.

"Delicious it is, but truly difficult to buy," Liu Bao looked at the empty meal containers and commented again. "That’s it for this week. We can only wait for Executive Chef Jiang to set up shop somewhere else before buying again."

The viewers in the livestream responded,

[I’m waiting too. Chef Jiang, please come out of the school quickly!]

[No question about the taste of what he makes!]

[Tasty it really is, hard to buy it really is too!]

[No choice, too many people, good stuff has to be snatched!]

Many of Jiang Feng’s regular customers were in the livestream.

Zhang Xinya showed the livestream to Zhang Dashan and said, "Dad, look, this week inside the University of Science and Technology, we truly can’t get in. Plus, everything they are buying is hot food; you can’t really order delivery. We can’t do anything this week."

After watching the livestream, Zhang Dashan nodded. "He’s still so set in his ways. It would be nice if he just set up a stall in the resort all the time."

The two could only hope that Jiang Feng would change locations soon.

The second cafeteria at the University of Science and Technology remained immensely popular. Many teachers, having heard the news, also came, not going to the faculty cafeteria, but instead joining the queue in the second cafeteria. After eating, they found that the dishes Jiang Feng made were truly spot-on.

The commotion in the school quickly spread to the ears of the freshmen who were undergoing military training. During the breaks in the morning training, dressed in military attire, everyone sat down on the soccer field to rest. The freshmen started to chat idly.

"Have you heard? Recently, there’s a really popular stall that opened in the second cafeteria, and all the upperclassmen are heading over there!"

"I was wondering why the first cafeteria has been less crowded these days. I actually found it quite nice, not as packed."

"Let’s go to the second cafeteria today then."

"The second cafeteria is a bit far, but let’s go and take a look today."

The freshmen’s dormitories and training fields were closer to the first cafeteria, whereas the second cafeteria was closer to the academic buildings. The first cafeteria provided good meals. With two external brands ensuring competition and variety, the freshmen usually went there to eat. But the buzz in the school made them want to try the food in the second cafeteria. So, several of the freshmen decided to go to the second cafeteria the next day.

Their arrival would be a nightmare for the upperclassmen at the University of Science and Technology. After all, the appetites of the freshmen were truly enormous. Simply insatiable!

Around noon, the second cafeteria slowly returned to calm after the hustle and bustle. The students had more or less finished queuing, with just the last few remaining. Jiang Feng finished the last two dishes and left as soon as his shift ended. The owner of the neighboring stall breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him go. Luckily, Jiang Feng didn’t come at night; otherwise, he would have taken all the business. The number of customers in the school cafeteria was fixed. Going to one stall meant not going to another, so they were in competition.

But Jiang Feng didn’t care about these things. He’d just finish his work and leave.

Customers served: 804/200

Today’s extra reward: [Dongpo Pork Recipe].

Jiang Feng obtained another new recipe. He didn’t need to learn the related cooking experience; it was grasped instantly.

The University of Science and Technology had about 8,000 staff and students combined. This meant that one in every ten people ate lunch at Jiang Feng’s stall. This sufficiently indicated how popular the stall was.

Dongpo Pork was a well-known delicacy: a big, square piece of meat, soft and fragrant in texture, extremely delicious. Many university cafeteria stalls sold Dongpo Pork at five yuan per piece, with a constant stream of students buying it. That day, Jiang Feng also had a task for Dongpo Pork, giving him a chance to show off his skills.

Some people have asked what the difference is between Dongpo Pork and braised pork. The difference is: Dongpo Pork is Dongpo Pork, and braised pork is braised pork. The taste of Dongpo Pork is like Dongpo Pork, and the taste of braised pork tends more towards braised pork.

...

Simply put, the Dongpo Pork recipe is relatively fixed. There can’t be a spicy Dongpo Pork. However, braised pork recipes vary across different regions of the country, resulting in a wide variety of styles. So, the difference between the two is significant.

Jiang Feng immediately phoned the meat shop owner to add a few large pieces of five-layered, top-quality pork belly to tomorrow’s order. This amount was enough to make around a hundred pieces of Dongpo Pork. The special dish for tomorrow would be Dongpo Pork. It was time to give the students a change of taste.

「The next day was also Jiang Feng’s fifth day setting up a stall at the University of Science and Technology.」

He arrived even earlier that day. The kitchen auntie also came over to help him wash and prepare the vegetables. Jiang Feng knew the ingredient preparation like the back of his hand. He fried the same few dishes every day, and all processes were arranged properly. Making the new special dish, Dongpo Pork, was like taking a different kind of rest.

He picked up a large piece of pork belly. After heating the wok, he rubbed the pork skin against the hot surface until it became slightly charred. Roasting the pork skin this way made it hard and flat. He then removed the pork and used a knife to scrape off the charred layer. Next, he added green onions and ginger to the pot and blanched the pork until it was about sixty to seventy percent cooked. Once cooked, he pressed down the whole piece of pork belly with something heavy and steamed it in a steamer for forty minutes. Jiang Feng processed five large pieces of pork belly consecutively in this manner, placing them all in the steamer simultaneously. Then Jiang Feng got busy with other tasks.

After 40 minutes, he took out the steamed pork belly, which had been pressed flat and even. He trimmed the uneven edges with his Dark Metal Kitchen Knife. This way, the top-quality pork belly became neat and square, with well-defined edges. Then, he sliced the pork belly, dividing each large piece into about twenty substantial chunks.

Afterward, he layered seasonings in the pot, placed a bamboo mat over them, arranged the pork belly on the mat, and added various other condiments. After bringing it to a boil on high heat, he simmered it on low heat for an hour and a half. After simmering, he flipped each piece of Dongpo Pork over, skin down, meat up, and stewed for another half an hour. Only then was the Dongpo Pork considered ready.

Jiang Feng, keeping an eye on the time, spent a little over three hours to complete the Dongpo Pork. Pieces of Dongpo Pork bubbled in the pot. The thick sauce continuously permeated the interior of the pork belly, spreading to every part of the meat’s texture under the high heat, leaving its mark. Pork belly stewed in this way would be very tender and flavorful.

Jiang Feng was busy in the kitchen. Outside, many students had already started lining up in advance. They saw the sign that read,

Today’s special dish: Dongpo Pork.

Seeing a new dish on the menu, many were tempted. There was only so much Dongpo Pork; even making a second batch would be too late. So, whether you got to eat it or not was a matter of luck. The other stalls had started their business, but Jiang Feng’s stall was still waiting for 12 o’clock. Nevertheless, the line grew longer and longer.

Cafeteria manager Shen Qiu saw this and felt that the 12 o’clock opening time wasn’t ideal. Those who didn’t have classes could come over earlier. And others who arrived later would still have to queue, further lengthening the line. It would be better to start selling earlier and move the line forward sooner. So, Shen Qiu spoke with Jiang Feng again, and they changed the opening time to 11:45, which seemed just right. Jiang Feng was always easy-going and naturally agreed. So, he updated the opening hours and officially opened his stall for the day.

Students and teachers moved forward with the line. At the very front of the line were five or six freshmen in military training uniforms. Military training usually ended quite early, so the freshmen often came to the cafeteria ahead of time. These freshmen had come to the second cafeteria specifically to try the food from this new stall. They looked back and saw a sea of people behind them, feeling somewhat shocked.

"Why are there so many people? It’s terrifying!"

"Let’s just wait. We’ll leave as soon as we’ve eaten!"

Dressed in their military training uniforms, they drew occasional glances from others. They felt a bit of pressure. If they had known there would be so many people, they wouldn’t have come.

However, after they tasted the food from the stall:

No way, we have to come again tomorrow!