Chapter 98

Chapter 98

That’s not a fox... that’s Chen Ran...

To learn Oil-Fried Double Crisp, naturally it can’t be learned inside this temple.

Wu Chaomei directed Chen Ran to build a simple stove platform in a clearing near a spring in the nearby forest.

Chang Nian blurted out, “Your Granny Wu is craving meat!”

“Brought you all the way here, how could I not crave meat?” Wu Chaomei said.

In Lu cuisine, famous dishes like braised sea cucumber with scallions, Oil-Fried Double Crisp, and Nine-Turn Large Intestine are almost never purely vegetarian. Wu Chaomei had eaten this way for decades and still couldn’t get used to such plain vegetarian food in the temple.

Even though the vegetarian dishes were made by Chang Nian.

“Come on, tell those little nuns to eat their own food. We’ll first make Oil-Fried Double Crisp for lunch.”

At the mention of this dish, Wu Chaomei’s expression immediately turned serious.

“You’ve probably heard of Oil-Fried Double Crisp, it’s considered the number one dish in Lu cuisine.”

“Though Nine-Turn Large Intestine is more flashy and braised sea cucumber is more luxurious, when it comes to true chef skill, it has to be this Oil-Fried Double Crisp.”

With the goal of teaching Chen Ran, Wu Chaomei looked much more energetic than before.

People, especially the elderly, need some hope and pursuit to look more spirited.

Chang Nian, who was constantly busy with the “Famous Chef Records,” was the same age as Wu Chaomei but looked about ten years younger.

She smiled warmly at Wu Chaomei, who was inspecting the ingredients, then pulled a chair to sit beside them, watching the old and young gathered in front of the stove.

Green mountains and clear water, birds singing and insects chirping.

The earth stove burned dry branches picked up nearby, from some unknown tree species, emitting a strange fragrance.

“All the ingredients are here: fresh duck gizzards, the upper part of pig stomach, and some side vegetables.”

Wu Chaomei looked a bit aged, but as soon as her hands touched the ingredients, the confidence and dominance of the former top Lu cuisine chef returned!

She was only old.

But back in this forest, this long-haired lean tiger’s roar could still intimidate all beasts.

“Duck gizzards and pig stomach are nothing special after all. The side vegetables are simple too—carrots, bamboo shoots, and some colorful green and red peppers. All ordinary things you can buy at any market.”

“But it’s exactly these simple ingredients that have to be made into a dish with proper coating and oiling. The plate must show oil but no coating; the taste must be tender, crisp, and fresh, without any gummy feel.”

“Back then, when we went to restaurants and ordered Oil-Fried Double Crisp, chefs usually wouldn’t dare to accept easily. Pig stomach and duck gizzards are both tough and take over half an hour to stew soft. But Oil-Fried Double Crisp—from oil frying to stir frying to plating—takes only about two minutes. An ordinary chef’s attempt would result in a dish that’s neither crisp nor tender, and the bite would be tough.”

Chen Ran listened intently, looking down at the fresh ingredients on the cutting board and pinching them.

“All right, let’s start cutting.”

“Duck gizzards need the outer membrane sliced off, then cut in a chrysanthemum pattern. Pig stomach needs the connective tissue sliced off first, then cut in a fishnet pattern.”

Chen Ran looked up at Wu Chaomei, took a deep breath, and picked up the pig stomach from the cutting board.

During recipe transmissions, some recipes often get lost.

These losses naturally stem from reasons within the chef industry, but there are also some objective causes.For example, the once dominant Northeast cuisine, when you open its recipes, it’s either "Flying Dragon Bird" or "Black Bear Paw." Nowadays, if you don’t finish a dish, you’d already be serving time in prison.

And then there’s the change in ingredients, like the pig stomach that Chen Ran is holding in her hands right now.

In the days before the breeding industry was so developed, a fat pig would typically take two to three years to reach market weight. But now, in fully enclosed environments, pigs are ready in just six months.

The pigs that are ready in six months may weigh about the same as those from two or three years ago, but the pig stomach? It’s almost half as thin as it used to be.

Chen Ran picked up her knife and began to slice the pig stomach. She peeled off the membrane, and the remaining thin slice of stomach was almost as thin as the wall of a glass.

And such a thin slice of pig stomach still had to be cut into a fishnet pattern!

She took a deep breath and started to slice the pig stomach evenly. Each cut went halfway through, and every two millimeters, she made another slice.

When the pig stomach was covered with densely packed knife marks, she flipped it over and continued on the other side.

Even with the skills developed through making chicken porridge, Chen Ran still felt a bit tense while cutting the pig stomach.

After finishing both sides, she lifted it up.

Under the force of gravity, the white pig stomach immediately stretched into a beautiful, uniform mesh!

“Hmph, Old Xu still has a bit of knife skills left,” she muttered.

Wu Chaomei gestured to Chen Ran, directing her to cut the fishnet pieces to the same size as the duck gizzards.

After briefly preparing the two types of slices to remove the gamey smell and coat them in flour, the next step was the crucial oil-frying process!

The Oil-Fried Double Crisp is about timing—an extra second, and it’s undercooked; a second too long, and it’s not crispy. This is the essence of the process.

The duck gizzards, densely cut, slowly unfurled in the hot oil. What was once an unclear pattern now naturally bloomed like a perfect chrysanthemum, with each slice of meat beautifully spread out.

The thin part where the duck gizzards connect was very delicate—if it was too thick, it wouldn’t be chewable; too thin, and it couldn’t withstand the force of frying.

When the chrysanthemum-like shape of the duck gizzards had fully opened, the white pig stomach slices were added to the oil.

Unlike the duck gizzards, the oil-frying of pig stomach requires a lower temperature, so when the pig stomach went into the pot, the vegetables were added simultaneously to quickly lower the oil temperature.

It seemed like a few simple steps, but Chen Ran’s forehead was already beading with sweat.

“It’s okay. I’ll practice more later.”

Wu Chaomei held herself to high standards, and she applied the same strictness to others. She prepared a bowl of sauce for Chen Ran and pointed out a few key tips. Just as they were about to proceed to the final step, a bit of noise from people talking interrupted them.

“Alright, there’s a small stream ahead. Let’s go take a break!”

Bai Zhi, pulling her newly-made friend along, ran over only to find that the best spots by the stream had already been claimed by others.

This year, the exams ended early, so her dad came to the area to join a film production, and Bai Zhi had come along.

After playing in the mountains for half a day, the two were looking for a place to grab a drink and eat the dry snacks they’d brought along.

Noticing Wu Chaomei frowning, Chang Nian waved them over and saw the two young girls holding empty water bottles. She frowned disapprovingly.

“You can’t just drink this stream water. Go over there; the kettle by the stove has boiled water, and it should be cool enough by now.”

She added an extra reminder: “Keep your voices down. Grandma is teaching your sister how to cook.”

Bai Zhi nodded and tried to walk more quietly. As she picked up the kettle, she glanced over at the pot on the stove.But once she glanced over, she couldn’t look away!

The dish in the pot had duck gizzards that were a reddish-brown, pig stomach slices that were pure white, mixed with green and yellow bell peppers, the white bamboo shoots, and the bright red carrot slices.

Just the colors alone were enough to make one’s appetite soar!

Not to mention the chrysanthemum-shaped duck gizzards that slightly trembled—just by looking at the shape, one could already imagine how crispy and tender it must be when it touches the tongue.

And the pig stomach slices were even more extraordinary. When the chef lifted the dish, the spatula unintentionally hooked a piece of the pig stomach...

Just moments ago, the pig stomach slices were about the size of two coins, but with a simple pull, they immediately stretched into a palm-sized fishnet pattern!

But just with that one tug, the pig stomach piece immediately shrank back to the size of two coins. Looking at the knife marks on the surface, it was hard to imagine that it could unfold to such a large size!

Bai Zhi almost drooled…

Such amazing elasticity should be chewed and pulled between her lips and tongue!

Normally a bit socially awkward, Bai Zhi immediately praised, “Sister, your cooking is amazing! Do you need someone to taste the food? My dad says I’ll become a food critic in the future!”

Wu Chaomei snorted, and Chen Ran, seeing Bai Zhi looking like she was about to drool, didn’t feel right refusing her.

She grabbed a pair of chopsticks and handed them to Bai Zhi. “Then you try it.”

Bai Zhi immediately picked up the chopsticks and swiftly and decisively used one pair to grab a piece of duck gizzard, pig stomach, and bamboo shoot all at once.

—Since she was asked to try the dish, she didn’t feel right taking a second bite, so she tried to finish it all in one go!

Wu Chaomei opened her mouth, but in the end, couldn’t resist. “Be careful! Don’t choke!”

There was a bit of wind in the mountain air. Bai Zhi had just come from the upwind side and hadn’t been able to smell the fragrance of the dish.

But now, as the dish reached her nose...

The aroma of the innards was distinctly different from ordinary meat.

Although poorly handled innards can sometimes have a slight fishy smell, when prepared well, the unique fragrance of innards greatly stimulates the appetite.

And this dish had been oil-fried, the fragrance brought out by the oil making Bai Zhi forget about Wu Chaomei’s words.

She lightly blew twice on the food and immediately stuffed it all into her mouth!

It was a little hot, but so fragrant!

The incredibly elastic pig stomach slice lightly rubbed between her lips and tongue, and that astonishing elasticity, along with the meat juice that burst out, made Bai Zhi forget the heat.

She immediately bit down hard!

Generally speaking, dishes with such amazing elasticity tend to require a bit of effort to chew. But this pig stomach slice? It was actually crispy!

How could one describe that crispiness?

Bai Zhi’s father was a food critic and had once taught her how to evaluate food based on its color, aroma, and flavor.

But at this moment, she felt that, in addition to color, aroma, and taste, food should also be evaluated by sound!

The crisp chewing sound of the duck gizzards and pig stomach, and the meat juice that burst out as she chewed, made her feel like she had reached heaven in that instant!

In this remote wilderness, with such an incredibly delicious experience, Bai Zhi even had the fleeting thought that perhaps she had encountered a fox spirit!Were these two old people and the young one all foxes in disguise? And was the unparalleled taste she had just experienced some illusion created by a fox’s magic?

Reluctantly swallowing, she took another bottle of water. As her best friend pulled her away, Bai Zhi couldn’t help but glance back three times.

“Stop looking back!”

By the time they got home, Bai Zhi was still a little absent-minded.

When Bai Qing returned from the film set and saw his daughter looking distracted, he became a bit concerned.

“What’s wrong? Are you tired from playing outside? I came back early today. What do you want to eat? I’ll make it for you.”

“I want chicken gizzards stir-fried with pig stomach slices...”

Bai Zhi couldn’t tell the difference between chicken gizzards and duck gizzards, and didn’t even know that the dish she was talking about was the legendary oil-fried double crisp.

She excitedly gestured with both hands to describe it to her father: “The pig stomach slices were so small at first, but when you pull them, they get so big! Just like a fishnet! Dad, can you stir-fry a plate for me? Didn’t you say food critics are like half-chefs?”

She took a big gulp of water and, with a dreamy expression, reminisced about the dish’s taste. “It was so delicious... I even suspect I met a fox...”

After describing it for a while, Bai Zhi looked at her father, only to find him still standing there in a daze.

“Dad! Didn’t you say you’d make it for me?”

Bai Qing sighed, took out his phone, and quickly opened a group chat, typing rapidly: “This dish, if you order it at a big restaurant in the capital, very few can make it... What you met wasn’t a fox.”

It was Chen Ran!