The Game of Life-Chapter 627 - 625 The First Dish of Spring

Chapter 627 -625 The First Dish of Spring

Yanduxian is undoubtedly the first dish to herald the arrival of spring.

In the local, Hangzhou-style, and Suzhou-style cuisines, Yanduxian is a highly representative dish commonly found in the South. It’s a soup made from spring bamboo shoots, fresh Wuhua pork, and slices of salted pork, truly a spring seasonal special.

The dish’s name alone reveals its main ingredients and cooking method: “Yan” refers to the salted pork, “du” means to simmer over low heat, and “xian” naturally means fresh meat. As a common household dish in the southern region, Yanduxian has the characteristic all such dishes share—a big pot.

A dish for the whole family to enjoy together must be cooked in a large clay pot to truly honor the phrase “for the whole family.”

Ordinary households always use a big clay pot when making Yanduxian, and the Jiang Family Members are no exception. Sir would make this dish once or twice every spring, and whenever Yanduxian was prepared, the Jiang Family’s special large clay pot made an appearance. That special pot, which had held countless servings of Yanduxian, was left behind in the countryside near Z city and wasn’t brought along, but that’s alright. There were plenty of large clay pots in Taifeng Building, ones even bigger than the one at home, used for serving extra-large portions of porridge.

If you’re going to make it, you might as well make the largest serving possible.

...

Jiang Jiankang’s first reaction when he saw the clay pot for the Yanduxian was to grab a bowl and chopsticks.

Ji Xia, who was beside Jiang Jiankang: ?p

Not knowing why, Ji Xia still followed Jiang Jiankang and got a pair of bowl and chopsticks.

Yanduxian, being a household dish with many variations across different regions, naturally comes in many versions. Sir’s habit was to use salted spare ribs and Jinhua Ham, putting them in whole during cooking, then taking them out to slice thinly or cut into small pieces after boiling.

The salted meat should be thin, the fresh meat plentiful, the soup white, and the bamboo shoots fresh.

First, you savor a big chunk of fragrant and tender bamboo shoot, then a larger piece of rich salted pork, followed by a sip of dense, salty, and fresh-tasting white soup. Finish off with a thin slice of Jinhua Ham to lock in the taste of spring on the tip of your tongue, refreshing and lively.

If you want to plate it up, add a few oil-infused, braised delectable baby bok chores on top. Leveraging the inherent aesthetic of the spring bamboo shoots and substituting with a more attractive bowl, you can present a dish that doesn’t resemble Yanduxian at all, yet takes only minutes to set up.

Wang Hao filled his bowl to the brim with Yanduxian, half with fresh meat and half with soup, the bamboo shoots buried under the meat, and two slices of ham floating on top.

As a carnivore, Wang Hao first reached for a big chunk of fresh meat.

He had planned to eat a piece of meat and then start praising the dish. He had eaten it before, but only once or twice. Although he had not expected Sir to make Yanduxian and hadn’t prepared any related articles, as an excellent wordsmith, he believed in adapting to all situations with cultural integration—one key opens all doors, deriving broader insights from one case, and an eloquent tongue was his forte.

Wang Hao stuffed the meat into his mouth.

And then he had no extra time to praise the dish.

Just as Wang Hao was left speechless by the flavor, Jiang Jiankang had already walked over to the clay pot with a bowl in hand, smiling cheerfully at his dear father, “Dad, I happen to be a bit hungry too, I’ll have some as well.”

Sir wanted to scold his son, but he refrained; after all, they weren’t at home and there were outsiders present.

Sir reluctantly nodded at Jiang Jiankang.

Jiang Jiankang joyfully began scooping up meat into his bowl, not forgetting to get a spoonful of bamboo shoots at the end.

Ji Xue, holding a bowl behind Jiang Jiankang, looked as if she was in a canteen queue waiting for her turn to get food: “Master, I’m hungry too.”

Weiguo: …

Jiang Feng: ?

So that’s a strategy.

Same here!

Without hesitation, Jiang Feng declared, “Grandpa, I think I’m a little hungry too.”

The rest of the kitchen staff: …

“Huh, weird, I also feel a bit hungry.”

“What a coincidence, me too.”

Fortunately, the pot Sir made was sufficiently large that even after everyone in the kitchen had a bowl, there were leftovers.

In just a few minutes, everyone had a bowl of Yanduxian in hand.

By then, Wang Hao had wolfed down his bowl and didn’t want to think about anything else except for getting another serving.

But he knew it wasn’t the right time.

The food was gone.

It was time to talk.

“Wang, what do you think?” Sir spoke up.

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Wang Hao had already drafted his thoughts in his heart.

“Absolutely delicious!” Wang Hao blurted out without a second thought, using the simplest words to praise the stewed pork with preserved vegetables dish.

“Each ingredient is just perfect. The fresh meat here is simply the tastiest fresh meat I’ve ever had, slightly salty and meltingly tender as you eat. The fatty parts are even more remarkable. They look like big chunks, but when you eat them, they’re not greasy at all!”

“Not to mention the soup, eating the meat and then taking a sip of the soup is sheer pleasure. The ham slices are so thin, eating them with the bamboo shoot and soup is just incredibly delicious.”

“And this spring bamboo shoot, it’s just amazing, so crisp and tender. It’s fully absorbed the soup, and eating it is like… eating it is like walking in a lush bamboo forest in spring. When your teeth break through it, it’s as if you can feel the bamboo’s growing power.” Wang Hao said, his eyes narrowing with emotion.

“I have also had stewed pork with preserved vegetables before, but none of those dishes had the feeling of spring this one has, every bite is a treat. Whether it’s the juicy bamboo shoots, the savory meat, or the slightly sweet ham slices amidst the salty flavor, they are all the tastiest I’ve ever had. It’s simply the best combination, just like the two elements of Tai Chi complementing each other, a match made in heaven!”

Jiang Feng, who was drinking soup: ?

All of us are spouting flattering nonsense, why does yours sound so different from ours?

Although Sir did not show it on his face, both his son and grandson, Jiang Feng and Jiang Jiankang, could tell that he was in a very good mood.

The Jiang family’s flattery was miles apart from Wang Hao’s.

The Jiangs’, led by the eldest aunt from the Capital, got straight to the point with their praise. Unlike Wang Hao, who used a hodgepodge of bizarre, nonsensical, and fabricated adjectives to flatter.

“What do you think?” Sir asked the others who were still eating, and Wang Hao quickly took this opportunity to serve himself a second bowl.

“Delicious, it’s really so good. Dad, the stewed pork with preserved vegetables you made today is better than any you’ve made before!” Jiang Jiankang spoke up decisively.

Ji Xia crazily nodded in agreement at the side.

“Sumptuous, truly marvelous, it feels like spring as soon as it enters the mouth!” Jiang Feng chose to copy some of Wang Hao’s earlier words of praise.

“Yes, the chef’s stewed pork with preserved vegetables is really extremely delicious.”

“I agree, this flavor is just different from the one we have at home.”

Seeing that everyone found it delicious, Jiang Weiguo nodded in satisfaction, “Since that’s the case, let’s choose the stewed pork with preserved vegetables as the feature dish of our spring menu.”

The chefs who had been arguing over the spring menu’s feature dish for several days: …

“If anyone has any objections, you can raise them,” Jiang Weiguo said.

“Grandpa Jiang, this dish is naturally the most suitable to be the spring season’s special feature dish. With Grandpa Jiang as the head chef personally cooking the feature dish, customers will no doubt trust the quality of the spring menu. It will make the advertising work for Manager Fan and Mrs. Wang much easier too,” Wu Minqi said with a smile.

Jiang Weiguo nodded even more contentedly.

“I also think the stewed pork with preserved vegetables is very fitting,” declared Zhang Guanghang with approval, “Since it’s a soup, the spring menu naturally needs a fish dish. I still believe that lemon aroma cod would be a fine choice, delicate, tangy, and sweet, it complements the stewed pork perfectly.”

“After all, Taifeng Building is a Chinese restaurant. Introducing a limited-time Western-style dish for the first time doesn’t seem quite right. I still think the spicy bean paste fish is more appropriate. A set menu always needs a dish with a strong and distinctive taste for decoration,” Wu Minqi stood her ground.

“I can modify it to a Chinese-style recipe, just change the name. The flavor of the spicy bean paste fish is too overpowering and doesn’t fit with the overall theme of stewed pork with preserved vegetables and the spring limited set menu. Lemon aroma cod is certainly more appropriate,” Zhang Guanghang said with a slight smile.

Unfortunately, it was to no avail since Wu Minqi already had a boyfriend, and it was her own choice.

“Neither cod nor spicy bean paste fish is suitable. For a spring seasonal special, it has to be Mandarin fish!” Dong Shi put down his bowl and re-entered the battle.

“Actually, fish doesn’t have to be used in a dish, I think fish ball noodles would be nice. A set menu always needs a staple, right?” Ji Xue attempted to stir the pot, “Wang Hao, what do you think?”

“Oh dear, I forgot about the shepherd’s purse tofu meatball soup. Wait for me, I’ll drizzle some sesame oil on it for you. The flavor of the fish balls won’t change,” Ji Xue had completely forgotten about his dish until now.

“It’s over, my stir-fried squid with chives has gone cold. Wang Hao, wait for me, I’ll stir-fry it again for you real quick,” Dong Li said as he was about to start cooking.

“Wang Hao, do you think Mandarin fish is the most suitable fish for the spring seasonal special?” Dong Shi looked at Wang Hao.

“Wang Hao, do you think a set menu needs to have a dish with a strong and distinctive flavor?” Wu Minqi also looked toward Wang Hao.

“Wang Hao, let me cook the lemon aroma cod for you now, so you can taste it and see if its flavor is a perfect match with the stewed pork, suitable for the same set menu,” Zhang Guanghang walked toward the cooking station.

“Wang, don’t worry about those, come and try my crystal sugar softshell turtle quickly, it will get cold, this dish can’t be eaten cold!” Jiang Jiankang reluctantly put down his bowl to serve Wang Hao the softshell turtle.

Wang Hao: …

Suddenly, he felt that today’s meal was not going to be so easy to enjoy.