Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 328 - 305: Braised Lion’s Head Meatballs with Savory Sauce!

Chapter 328: Chapter 305: Braised Lion’s Head Meatballs with Savory Sauce!

Chen Mo had just mixed the chopped meat filling and formed it into plump, round meatballs, carefully placing them onto a plate, sneakily transforming the black pot into a clay pot—an enormous clay pot!

A clay pot big enough to hold over a hundred Lion’s Head meatballs!

Moreover, Chen Mo discovered that cooking with a black pot made it much easier to reach a simmering state compared to an ordinary clay pot.

After all, a black pot has a unique property of heating evenly. When the bottom of the pot is subjected to a small flame, every part of the black pot heats equally.

The standout feature of Chen Mo’s Lion’s Head meatballs is the lack of tightness, leaving sufficient gaps between the little meat grains fused into the Lion’s Head.

Ordinary Lion’s Head meatballs transfer heat gradually from the outside to the inside as they cook.

However, with Chen Mo’s Lion’s Head meatballs, each grain of meat simultaneously absorbs heat and cooks. Because of this technique, the aroma emitted during cooking is literally thousands of times more intense than that of ordinary Lion’s Head meatballs!

No wonder Zhou Yu and the others were so surprised back at Wanglong Mountain.

There are so many nuances to a simple Lion’s Head meatball. Chen Mo only briefly mentioned some skills at that time, and how much Zhou Yu can comprehend is up to him.

This extremely rich meat aroma instantly caught Zhang Huixiang’s attention.

"What’s that little stall selling? Chen Mo’s food truck? Quite artistic, huh."

Liu Xu looked over, "I don’t know. I haven’t seen this stall before. Do you guys know?"

The street vendors holding snacks all shook their heads.

"This guy just came today. We were chatting earlier, saying that investing so much in a stall, just this truck must cost at least a hundred thousand, and he even has an RV."

"Yeah, and he doesn’t look like a street vendor. Who comes out to street vend in a suit and tie? Maybe he’s a rich second generation experiencing life."

"He could be filming some show, the kind with hidden cameras."

The vendors chattered, and seeing they didn’t know what was going on, Zhang Huixiang decided to stride over by himself.

No choice, this scent is quite intoxicating.

Even though dinner was still two hours away, the aroma made Zhang Huixiang drool uncontrollably.

Impossible, what meat could smell this good?

"Hey brother, what are you selling here? Stewed meat?"

Chen Mo smacked his forehead, "Oh no, I forgot to put up the menu."

*Scratches head*

Before coming, Chen Mo had already researched the approximate price of local Lion’s Head meatballs online.

Generally, renowned Lion’s Head meatballs sell for seventy or eighty yuan each, and even in regular restaurants, they’re forty or fifty yuan. Chen Mo believed his Lion’s Head meatballs were absolutely delicious, and this time, they were even improved.

Setting it at 88 yuan isn’t too much, right?

[Braised Lion’s Head: 88 yuan/piece]

Indeed, Chen Mo’s improvement was to create braised-flavor Lion’s Head meatballs. After all, having too much clear-braised Lion’s Head can get greasy, only braising flavor can counteract this!

But that’s not all.

Chen Mo even brought out the ultimate weapon from Jingzhou: vinegar, to help customers deal with the grease.

This is handmade vinegar that’s only available at the granary in Ning County. By adding it to the car’s refillable seasoning box, it can be used indefinitely.

Therefore, besides the regular making methods, Chen Mo also had some extra steps.

After sautéing onions and ginger at the bottom of the black pot, add soybean paste and oyster sauce, and finally some rock sugar, which is the basic braising flavor. Since the soybean paste has a high soy content, there’s no need to add soy sauce.

When the water in the pot reaches a simmering state, add some star anise and bay leaves to enhance the aroma.

Chen Mo even casually threw a few hawthorns into the pot, which not only cuts through the grease but adds a slightly sweet and sour flavor, catering to the local tastes.

Seeing the sign on Chen Mo’s food truck, Zhang Huixiang and Liu Xu stood there motionless, looking at Chen Mo with a complicated expression.

"88 yuan?"

"Uh..."

The two just smiled, didn’t say much, and continued wandering ahead together.

Their mouths were full of discussions on how to solve the current pressing issues the Ecological Garden faced.

"Previously, several cities became popular on the internet thanks to their food, attracting tourists nationwide. Now, during the summer holidays, there’s interest from above in this area." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Don’t kid around. There are only a few successful cities. When it comes to tourism, everyone knows the ancient poem about visiting Yangzhou in March during the flower season. We’re a tourist city to begin with!"

Indeed, Zhang Huixiang smiled wryly and shook his head.

Some things cannot be forced.

They continued walking and chatting.

Chen Mo took a sip of juice on his side, without exaggeration, making Lion’s Head meatballs is relatively easy. As long as the preliminary work is done well, you just wait patiently for them to stew.

The vendors who were around earlier curiously gathered around; faced with the 88-yuan Lion’s Head meatballs, they just smiled without saying a word, went back to their stalls, waiting for the modest crowds during the evening, praying they would at least earn the booth rent today.

Lion’s Head meatballs need to stew slowly for an hour; Chen Mo pulled out a stool to sit down, leisurely leaning against the chef’s machine, savoring the moment.

He wondered how Xiao Juzi was doing in Chengdu.

Chen Mo thought, once the food truck is upgraded after this, he might as well take a trip to Chengdu. After all, Xiao Juzi is his buddy. Letting him wander off without looking for him feels somewhat inappropriate, right?

Time ticked by, second by second.

The aroma of various snacks at the entrance of the Ecological Garden grew richer, and by six, some people would come out for a stroll before peak hours hit around eight.

Though the park entrance fee had deterred many people.

There were still locals who chose to stroll around the Ecological Garden’s perimeter without paying to go inside.

"Oh come on, Master Qian, can you take down that durian-flavored grilled squid? It’s messing up the smell of my stinky tofu."

"Why should I take it down? You never say anything when your stinky tofu reeks daily. Customers even walk around it. I’m speechless around you."

"Stop bickering, someone’s coming, someone’s coming!"

Right after six, indeed, figures started appearing one by one from the street outside, heading toward the Ecological Garden.

Some came by car, parking and then walking from the back; others walked directly from the street.

Among the people, Yu Hongtao walked leisurely with his wife’s arm looped through his, "A few days off coming up, where do you think we should take the kid for some fun?"

The woman thought for a moment, "Lately, the spicy hotpot in the Northwest is quite popular. How about we go there?"

"Oh, the child is just like you, always thinking about food, just wants to eat all the time. It’s fine, we’ve pretty much had all the good food domestically over the years, trying out the trendy spicy hotpot sounds good."

The couple continued walking with smiles.

Suddenly, Yu Hongtao paused, sniffing the air.

For a born foodie, the ability to detect deliciousness is beyond exaggerated.

Something’s off.

He sniffed the air again.

This scent, something’s off!