Chapter 85: Master Brine

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Master Brine

Fu Chao was so shocked that he let out a gasp.

In truth, even if he hadn’t made a sound, everyone was already paying attention to his seemingly "inconspicuous" little movements.

Behind him, Qi Pei’er quietly instigated,

"Weigh the others."

Hearing this, Nan Zhi smiled faintly.

She simply switched tacks, grabbing some spices and placing them on the electronic scale.

"Cinnamon, two liang... which is 100 grams."

"Licorice, 100 grams."

"Black cardamom, 25 grams."

"..."

Every time she put something on the scale, the number after the decimal point was always a perfectly precise 0.

One time, when the electronic scale was slow to respond, everyone—including Nan Yi, all the viewers in the livestream, and even the show’s crew, like the director...

...all widened their eyes! They leaned forward! They held their breath!

It was just like the moment before a goal was scored!

And then...

"WHOA! It’s exact! It’s exact!"

"It’s still a zero!"

"Oh my god, oh my god!"

"..."

Who would have thought?

Nan Zhi could turn something as simple as weighing ingredients into a spectacle, putting on a full performance!

But Nan Zhi herself was calm from beginning to end, without a hint of self-doubt.

’A master chef is just this confident.’

However, this performance also casually exposed her recipe to everyone.

Xie Yu, ever the most meticulous, asked,

"Don’t you need to hold anything back?"

Nan Zhi smiled as she stuffed the spices into a cloth pouch.

"No need."

"Right! Even with the recipe, it’s impossible to replicate the exact same flavor! A great chef’s feel and experience are what’s most important!"

Fu Chao, practically desperate to become Nan Zhi’s official spokesman, eagerly jumped in to explain.

A beat too slow, Nan Yi shot a glare at Fu Chao before nodding vigorously.

"My mommy is the best!"

[Yibao is a little too cute.]

[Our little sprout, Yiyi, trying so hard to peek out from among the adults! Aww!]

[Isn’t Director Xie overreacting? It’s just a braising liquid recipe. Is there any need to be so tense?]

[Easy for you to say. They’re trying to run a restaurant! You think this is just playing house?]

[Exactly! Wasn’t the grocery shopping incident enough to prove how hard it is to open a restaurant and how many pitfalls there are?]

[You guys are making me nervous! Should I be worried?]

[Not really. Fu Chao has a point. Not everyone who uses the same set of textbooks gets into Yan University, right?]

...

That’s right.

By now, the mysterious dish Nan Zhi had been keeping under wraps was finally revealed—

Braised food!

It was a dish known by all, a true national staple!

Its popularity was evident from the countless braised food delis on every street and alley, and the current trendiness of braised duck necks and chicken feet.

Even professional chefs and food bloggers online would occasionally teach their followers how to make a pot of braising liquid to braise anything and everything at home.

Because of this, everyone seemed to feel they were qualified to comment on Nan Zhi’s skills, and they immediately grew excited:

[I know all about this! I just braised a duck carcass last week! It was delicious!]

[I’m a little worried. The more common the dish, the more it tests a chef’s skill.]

[Nan Zhi: Are you questioning the skills of the Night Market Egg Fried Rice God?]

[Being good at fried rice doesn’t mean everything, right? Watch out, she might screw this up!]

[Stop arguing! Haven’t you noticed Nan Zhi’s method is different from everyone else’s?]

...

It wasn’t just the audience; the others had noticed too.

The good thing about their situation, though, was that they could just ask her directly—

Fu Chao: "Huh? No light or dark soy sauce? What kind of soy sauce is that?"

Qi Pei’er huffed, "You’re supposed to add chili peppers to braised meat!"

Xie Yu chimed in with a low voice, "The shop I used to work at added onions, red dates, and goji berries."

Everyone was familiar with a different recipe for braising liquid.

Nan Zhi slowly explained,

"There are three main types of braising: red, white, and fermented rice wine. Red braising is the most common, which is what I’m doing. But there’s never been a fixed recipe for this kind of liquid. It’s all about the interplay and fusion of complex spices. The slightest change can lead to a world of difference in the final flavor."

Her hands never stopped moving as she spoke.

She heated up a wok, lit the fire, and added oil.

She added ginger and scallion segments, stir-frying them until fragrant.

Then she added brewed soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and rock sugar.

Finally, she tossed in the cloth pouch stuffed with spices.

Nan Zhi: "Now, we just wait."

The others were dumbfounded. "That’s... that’s it? Nothing else?"

Nan Zhi shook her head. "That’s it. This is a refined master brine. All the ingredients are purely natural, fermented products, so it’s very durable. As long as we change the spice pouch weekly and add other seasonings proportionally, we can use this one pot until the show ends."

"...And then it goes bad?"

"Of course not. It can be kept going indefinitely, but isn’t our show only filming for half a month?"

So, two weeks wasn’t the limit of the braising liquid; it was the limit of their show.

[A cen-century-old master brine?]

[Will it really not spoil? If you never change the brine, how is it any different from gutter oil?]

[Heh, well, I definitely wouldn’t eat it. What kind of crappy brine doesn’t get changed? It’s disgusting!]

[There’s a shop downstairs from my place, and their sign advertises ’Freshly Braised Daily.’ Is what Nan Zhi’s doing really okay?]

[Can some of you please learn about refined master brines? This is the symbol of high quality in the world of braising! All the ingredients are completely natural, which is why many shops don’t use it anymore—the cost of ingredients is too high!]

[And it requires a high level of skill, right? Refined master brines are very demanding on the chef’s abilities. One small mistake and it’s a disaster. The only places that dare to sell food made with it are old, established shops!]

[Some people have such a double standard. If this were some century-old oden from R Country, with a broth passed down for three generations, you’d probably be falling all over yourselves to eat it!]

...

Although some people in the comments kept explaining how rare a refined master brine was and what an achievement it represented for a chef,

Nan Zhi made it look completely effortless.

She only lifted the lid twice during the whole process.

Once to remove the ginger and scallions and skim off the scum.

And a second time to check its condition and declare it ready.

So in everyone’s eyes, making this pot of braising liquid didn’t seem all that difficult.

In the blink of an eye, Nan Zhi had already tossed fresh beef and pork belly into the pot to cook.

A rich, mellow fragrance rolled out like a wave.

Inside and outside the kitchen, a crowd of people stared expectantly.

But only Nan Yi, by virtue of being her own son, could stand right by Nan Zhi’s leg and ask repeatedly,

"Mommy, is it ready yet?"

After what felt like a long time,

Nan Zhi finally said, "We can eat."

She then lifted a piece of beef from the pot, deftly sliced off a small piece, blew on it to cool it down, and popped it into Nan Yi’s mouth.

Nan Yi’s eyes instantly went wide!

Fu Chao rushed over in a second.

"Nan Zhi, I want some too!"

Nan Yi was her son.

As for Fu Chao...

He was just purely shameless.

Fortunately, Nan Zhi was used to it and just gave a light laugh.

"Don’t worry, there’s enough for everyone."

In an instant, everyone had gotten a taste of the freshly braised meat.

Whether it was the beef or the pork belly, they all had the same shocked and stunned expression after taking a bite!

’How can it be this delicious!’

Right before their very eyes, a truly divine delicacy had been born from such simple seasonings!