Cooking System: Street Food Rules
Chapter 97 The Bustling Barbecue Stand, Delicious Barbecue!

Chapter 97: Chapter 97 The Bustling Barbecue Stand, Delicious Barbecue!

The BBQ stall’s business was neither good nor bad.

Although there wasn’t a crowd of customers, people would occasionally come to buy.

Most people would only buy one or two skewers.

It was like having a small stall selling grilled sausages.

Moreover, every customer who tasted the grilled skewers was full of amazement.

Jiang Feng used wooden skewers, so customers could take their skewers away.

Iron skewers had to be collected, which was inconvenient.

Hao Fei’s wife was helping out in the shop.

Sometimes, groups of three to five customers would sit at the outdoor tables, order some barbecue, a vegetarian platter of cold dishes, and a few bottles of beer.

The shop was already stocked with beer, beverages, and special cold dishes, and Hao Fei’s wife helped prepare them.

Jiang Feng was focused solely on grilling.

Around six in the afternoon, four regulars of the barbecue stall arrived at the shop.

The four sat at an outside table and ordered ten skewers of lamb, ten skewers of beef, ten skewers of beef tendons, plus four grilled leeks, four grilled enoki mushrooms, four grilled buns, a vegetarian cold dish platter, fried peanuts, and twelve bottles of beer.

While they were waiting, they glanced at Jiang Feng, who was busy grilling.

One of them asked Hao Fei’s wife, "How come there’s been a change in who’s grilling?"

Upon hearing this, Hao Fei’s wife immediately replied, "The stall has changed hands. He’s the boss now; I’m just helping out."

"Oh, so it’s been a change of ownership." The man merely commented and continued to wait.

Hao Fei’s wife brought them a plate of the vegetarian platter, a plate of peanuts, and got the beer ready.

Before long, Jiang Feng had the first ten skewers of lamb ready and placed them on an iron plate for them.

All ten lamb skewers were the larger kind with more meat.

The lamb skewers were grilled thoroughly using the most basic method, seasoned with just some salt at the beginning and finally topped with cumin and chili powder.

Each lamb skewer, sizzling with rendered fat, had a golden-brown and tender appearance, covered with red chili, adding to its allure.

The four were already hungry; each picked up a skewer of lamb and started eating.

One of them bit into a large chunk of lamb and slid the meat off the skewer.

The lamb was hot, tender, and had a pleasant springiness.

The moment he bit into it, the flavor flowed into his mouth along with the rendered fat.

In his mouth, there was only the taste of meat, not a hint of gaminess.

The eyes of those eating the barbecued meat instantly widened a bit.

Grilling lamb skewers requires considerable skill.

Some people make lamb skewers that have a strong gamy smell and are undercooked, making them unpleasant to eat.

Jiang Feng grilled the lamb with perfect control over temperature and timing. The meat was cooked through, with a slight char on the outside.

As they chewed, the seasonings mixed with their saliva and spread fully.

The taste and texture of the meat became even more delightful.

"Mmm, delicious!"

Enjoying themselves, they immediately raised their glasses, clinked them together, and then downed a glass of beer in one go.

The best way to enjoy lamb skewers is to eat them while drinking beer.

"Ahh, satisfying!"

"The new boss has good skills!"

"This meat is really well grilled!"

The group laughed and complimented as they continued to chat about everything under the sun.

Eating barbecue, drinking beer, and shooting the breeze—that’s what coming to a barbecue stall was all about.

Jiang Feng continued to stay busy in front of the grill.

Grilling beef skewers is different from lamb skewers.

Jiang Feng still chose original flavor beef skewers.

Since beef is less juicy and can’t rely on its own fat, oil must be brushed on during grilling.

And before skewering, the beef needed to be briefly dipped in a solution of water, baking soda, cooking wine, and cornstarch.

When grilling, it’s important to consider the timing of seasoning and oil brushing.

Beef is harder to cook, and the temperature must be high, so it’s necessary to fan the grill from time to time.

Jiang Feng, as usual, first grilled one side.

Only when the fat started dripping continuously from beneath, producing a dense "sizzling" sound from the charcoal fire, did he flip to the second side.

Once flipped, the beef on top continued to sizzle, oil bubbling rapidly on its surface.

The oil danced on the surface of the beef.

When it was nearly done, he seasoned it, plated it, and served it to the guests.

The guests ate happily, chatting and laughing animatedly.

Meanwhile, Jiang Feng quietly enjoyed the process of making delicious food.

This feeling was quite nice. He would open a small shop eventually.

The beef’s texture was still quite good, thoroughly cooked inside.

The taste of the meat itself didn’t need much embellishment; as long as it was cooked well, it was enjoyable to eat.

What was needed were seasonings to enhance the flavor.

Such as salt, cumin, chili, and sesame seeds.

With these seasonings, the meat could become even more delicious.

Especially for beef and lamb.

For instance, herders are very fond of hand-grabbed meat: lamb ribs boiled plain, taken out white, and eaten with just a sprinkle of salt.

For barbecue, the challenge lay in cooking the meat thoroughly.

The beef chunks Jiang Feng cut were not small, making the skewers look thick and generally difficult to cook through.

But, skilled and bold, he dared to do so, confident he could grill them thoroughly.

"The beef isn’t bad either!"

"The new boss’s cooking skills are really good!"

"This skewered meat is so satisfying to eat!"

After tasting the beef skewers, the three were equally astonished.

Having eaten barbecue for so long, they rarely encountered such delicious fare.

The meat was neither burnt nor undercooked, done just right.

The freshly grilled meat was exceptionally savory, and its searing heat was irresistible.

The seasonings were also perfectly balanced.

The beef, when eaten, even gave a sensation of bursting with juice.

One bite of the hot and spicy beef followed by a sip of beer.

Just one word: exhilarating!

The four of them had come to the barbecue stall primarily to relieve stress.

Tasting such delicious barbecue, they instantly felt wonderfully relaxed!

Temporarily forgetting life’s worries, in this moment, there was only delicious food, beer, and unbridled boasting about their own "earth-shattering" achievements.

Jiang Feng then finished preparing the grilled leeks, grilled enoki mushrooms, and grilled buns.

Especially noteworthy were the grilled buns.

Two skewers each held two long steamed buns, grilled until their surfaces turned golden brown without any charring.

Finally, seasonings and sesame seeds were sprinkled on top.

When eaten, the warmth from the bun’s interior mingled with its inherent flavor, creating a taste beyond words.

The more they ate, the happier they became, and they ordered some more.

Enjoying their meal, naturally they spent a longer time eating.

Shortly after, another two groups of people arrived.

Everyone sat at the outdoor tables and ordered barbecue.

What they had expected to be just an ordinary barbecue meal changed the moment they tasted the grilled meat.

The customers were astonished by the deliciousness of the meat.

No fancy embellishments, no heavy seasonings, no secret sauces.

Just simple grilling with a touch of basic seasoning.

Yet it resulted in an indescribably delicious barbecue.

Some people initially ordered a little, but after tasting the grilled meat, they all added more to their orders.

This barbecue was truly exhilarating to eat.

Before long, Hao Fei finished his tasks and came back to help at the shop.

It was the perfect opportunity to check out the situation at the shop.

At that moment, there were a total of four tables of customers.

Not exactly bustling, but business was clearly thriving, and the enthusiasm of the customers was evident.

At least, it was livelier than the period when Hao Fei managed the place.

He looked at the scene in the shop and was quite surprised.

There were so many people, and this was just the beginning.

Around eight o’clock, people started craving barbecue. Wave after wave of customers arrived, and soon all the outside tables were filled!

On one hand, it was because the seated customers were enjoying their food so much that they lingered, not leaving quickly.

On the other hand, many people preferred dining at busy restaurants, as it usually meant avoiding a bad experience. Seeing the crowd at this barbecue shop, many passersby also decided to try it.

So the little shop gradually livened up.

Jiang Feng’s skills were too good.

The customers who came for the barbecue were happy, their faces full of smiles.

Hao Fei joined in to help.

He felt a growing admiration for Jiang Feng.

Hao Fei had seen videos online. They said Jiang Feng’s cooking was phenomenal and his food exceptionally tasty; wherever he went, people queued up.

But what he saw online hadn’t given him a direct impression.

Only by witnessing it in person did he realize just how formidable Jiang Feng’s cooking skills were.

Hao Fei took the opportunity to go over to the grill and tried a skewer of lamb and one of beef from Jiang Feng.

With just one bite, he knew he was not on the same level as Jiang Feng.

How was this lamb skewer grilled? How could it be grilled like this? Why did it taste so good without marinating or heavy seasoning, and without any trace of a gamy mutton smell?

Hao Fei had not been cooking barbecue for very long, but he considered his skills quite good.

Now, after tasting Jiang Feng’s barbecue, he even briefly considered quitting the barbecue business to do something else.

This is real barbecue!

Around this time, many people were coming to the nearby gym to work out, while others were just finishing.

Five or six broad-shouldered, strapping men walked out of the building, their shirts looking as though they could burst at any moment, their backs bulging.

Their calves were not particularly thick, but their thighs were frighteningly stout.

These men were clearly professional bodybuilders.

"That barbecue stall looks lively. I haven’t eaten barbecue in a while," one of them remarked upon seeing Jiang Feng’s stall.

"There’s a competition in a month. You absolutely cannot touch barbecue. Just hold on a little longer; after the competition, you’re allowed to indulge for a week," said the man in the middle.

"I’m just saying. Don’t worry, even if that barbecue is incredibly tempting, I won’t touch it," the man assured solemnly, his eyes filled with determination.