Chapter 345 - 146: Delicious Is Going to Be On Fire

Chapter 345: Chapter 146: Delicious Is Going to Be On Fire

In Su Chen’s opinion, what exactly was home-style cooking?

A dish that anyone could make—that was true home-style cooking.

Take a dish like red-braised pork, for example. Even using the simplest, most common recipe...

You had to start by searing the pork skin in a wok, then scraping it clean after it turned golden-brown. How many people would that one damn step alone turn off?

Next came blanching—skimming off the scum while the meat firmed up in the hot water, cooking it until it was about eighty percent done before taking it out of the pot.

Only after cutting the pork belly into cubes did the real work begin!

Then came caramelizing the sugar, adding various spices, simmering it over low heat, and finally reducing the sauce over high heat. The finished dish had to be rich but not greasy, fall-apart tender without being dry, and the sauce had to be reduced until it was incredibly thick.

’Is this really a home-style dish?’

Any one of these steps was enough to scare off a beginner.

’And he was supposed to just show up at the stall with a slab of pork belly to make this?’

’Wouldn’t a single serving take at least an hour to make?’

’System, I’m starting to understand you less and less.’

Su Chen left the Gourmet Practice Room, washed up thoroughly, and changed into a clean suit.

In the past, whenever he ran into a problem, he would just bury his head in the practice room and grind away.

But not anymore.

Su Chen had gotten smarter. He realized that sometimes a problem wasn’t actually that difficult; he was just too close to it, unable to see the forest for the trees. He was stuck in a rut. If he could just step outside that rut and look at things from a different angle, a solution would present itself.

And so, Su Chen decided!

"Old Er, make me some red-braised pork."

Delicious hadn’t been serving breakfast lately, so Zhang the Second was relatively free in the mornings.

But at his age, he slept less and less. It was only around six o’clock, and Old Er was already in the kitchen chatting with Old Ba.

"Red-braised pork? What made you want red-braised pork today?"

’Who eats that stuff first thing in the morning? It’d be sickeningly rich!’

Su Chen leaned back in his chair. "No big reason. Just craving some meat."

Zhang Heping grunted in acknowledgment. "Should I have Fang Chang send over some freshly butchered lower pork belly, then?"

"Freshly butchered lower pork belly?"

Zhang Heping nodded. "Freshly butchered pork belly isn’t gamey, so it needs minimal prep. Frozen meat requires extra steps; it’s a real pain to work with."

A thought suddenly struck Su Chen. "Old Er, back when you worked at other hotels, how did you guys make red-braised pork?"

He suddenly recalled that whenever you order red-braised pork at a restaurant, it usually arrives in ten or fifteen minutes, tops. That meant the dish had to be pre-made!

’If they can do that, then I don’t have to worry about making it on-site at all. I can prepare it in advance at the restaurant.’

"We’d just cook it the day before and let it soak overnight. When an order came in the next day, all we had to do was reduce the sauce and plate it."

’Su Chen said nothing. He’d been right to come chat with Old Er. Now he had a plan, didn’t he?’

"Soaking it overnight actually makes it even better, more flavorful, right?"

Old Er said, "That’s right. You definitely have to let it soak. It tastes better that way, even when you make it at home."

Su Chen cut to the chase. He had to see exactly how Old Er used to make this dish at the hotels.

’If the System classified red-braised pork as a home-style dish, then there had to be a foolproof, home-style version out there!’

"I’ll call Fang Chang." Su Chen made the call.

Fang Chang was clearly still asleep, but he perked up the moment he heard it was Su Chen.

"Boss Su! You haven’t set up your stall in days. I’ve lost a few pounds!"

"Yeah, right. We’ve got an order. Hurry up and send me five hundred pounds of lower pork belly. I want it freshly butchered, so don’t you dare try to fool me!"

Fang Chang’s voice jumped. "What?! Five hundred pounds of freshly butchered meat, and it has to be the lower pork belly?"

The request genuinely shocked Fang Chang.

Five hundred pounds of meat wasn’t a huge order, and freshly butchered was no problem. But insisting on *lower* pork belly... that was the tricky part.

A single pig only yields so much lower pork belly, and it was the priciest cut of belly meat.

"I don’t care if it’s expensive. Just get it here."

"Alright, I’m on it! I’ll call the shop right away. I’ll have it delivered to you within the hour, guaranteed!"

When he hung up, Zhang Heping’s jaw dropped.

"You’re going to eat five hundred pounds of meat in one sitting?"

"What are you talking about!" Su Chen glared at him. "I’m planning to add red-braised pork to the food stall’s menu, so I need to do some R&D, don’t I?"

Zhang Heping said, "But red-braised pork is easy. With your skills, it should be a piece of cake, shouldn’t it?"

After all, Su Chen could effortlessly prepare so many famous and complex dishes. In Old Er’s eyes, a straightforward dish like red-braised pork was naturally well within Su Chen’s abilities.

"You don’t understand." Su Chen didn’t explain further.

’If it were just about making regular red-braised pork, it would be a cinch.’

’But the task was to create a home-style, S Level red-braised pork. That was the tricky part. An overly complex process would completely defeat the purpose of it being ’home-style’.’

’And to reach S Level, based on past experience, the dish also had to appeal to a universal palate.’

’That made it even more difficult.’

But no matter what, he had to try.

While waiting for Fang Chang to deliver the meat, Su Chen took a stroll around the second floor.

"Shuyu? You pulled an all-nighter again?"

President Ling, sporting a pair of dark circles under her eyes, replied, "Oh, it’s nothing. I was working on a proposal all night. I think that Snack Shop idea you mentioned has some real potential."

Before Su Chen could say anything, Ling Shuyu continued, "But the proposal isn’t complete yet. If all goes well, I can have it done within a week. I’ll show you the final version then."

Su Chen didn’t say another word. He walked up to her and gathered all of her materials. "Go home and get some sleep. Right now. Don’t come back to work until you’re properly rested."