Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Successfully Making the S Level Braised Pork Knuckle Big Meat Bun

It was still early, so no one would be at the company yet. Su Chen had no choice but to go to the cold storage to get the ingredients himself.

This time, he took a full five large pork knuckles from the cold storage!

He also grabbed a bag of dried shiitake mushrooms and a few onions from the storeroom next to the cold storage.

The day before, Bai Xiaobo and Liu Shengnan had taken plenty of scallions, ginger, and garlic from the warehouse, so the cafeteria had enough aromatics for the time being.

After returning to the cafeteria, Su Chen didn’t enter the Gourmet Practice Room right away.

First, he soaked the dried shiitake mushrooms in water, then found a large stainless steel pot specifically for braising meat and placed it on the stove.

Braising pork knuckle wasn’t too difficult. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Besides, the synthesized recipe explained the process in great detail; he just needed to follow the steps.

After washing and blanching the pork knuckles, he added star anise, bay leaves, and a series of other braising spices to the pot. The five large knuckles fit into the pot perfectly!

Finally, he poured flour into a basin, added sugar and yeast, and began to knead, and knead, and knead!

「Fifteen minutes later.」

Su Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead.

’I’ve gotta marry a woman who loves kneading dough in the future!’

He placed the kneaded dough in a large basin and covered it with a layer of plastic wrap. By now, the water for the braising pork knuckles was boiling.

Setting an alarm for twenty minutes later, Su Chen entered the Gourmet Practice Room, satisfied.

’Oh?’

As soon as he entered the Gourmet Practice Room, Su Chen noticed it was very different.

The first time he came, the practice room looked almost identical to his old kitchen at home.

This time, the practice room had transformed into the Meiweilai Company’s cafeteria.

He couldn’t be bothered to think about it; it was a place he was very familiar with anyway.

’Proofed dough, braised pork knuckle, shiitake mushrooms, onions, hot peppers...’

In the Gourmet Practice Room, Su Chen only needed to think it, and the required ingredients would automatically appear in the kitchen’s refrigerator.

With it now looking like the company kitchen, Su Chen actually felt even more in his element as he worked.

He placed a large pork knuckle on the cutting board.

With the freshly braised knuckle, he only needed to give a gentle tug, and the bone separated cleanly from the whole piece of meat!

The soft, tender skin of the pork knuckle jiggled slightly, its surface a glossy, soy-sauce brown. A piece of lean meat, pulled out with the bone, steamed gently, tearing at the outer layer of skin rich with collagen.

It looked as if it would melt in your mouth without any need for chewing!

Just looking at it was enough to make one’s mouth water uncontrollably.

Su Chen fought back his cravings and carefully separated the meat from the skin. Because it had been braised until it was incredibly tender, this step wasn’t difficult at all.

He then diced both the meat and the skin into one-centimeter cubes.

The shiitake mushrooms, onions, and hot peppers were all finely diced.

Once that was done, Su Chen "saved" the current state of the ingredients, took a deep breath, and only then began to try making the dish according to the recipe in his mind.

’Normal pork knuckle buns are just made by wrapping braised pork knuckle and steaming it, but this recipe...’

Su Chen remembered when he was restaurant-hopping in Chang’an City, there was a shop there that sold exceptionally good pork knuckle buns.

At the time, Su Chen had even made a point to observe the owner’s technique.

It was basically just braised pork knuckle meat, paired with minced hot peppers, wrapped up, and steamed.

Despite the simple process, the meat buns were the size of a man’s fist, and Su Chen had polished off six of them in one sitting!

But the recipe he was learning now was somewhat different from what he was used to.

’First, stir-fry the minced scallions and ginger in oil until fragrant, then soften the onions?’

He had to admit, scallions, ginger, and onions were magical things. Just stir-frying them in hot oil created an amazing aroma.

When the diced shiitake mushrooms were added, the flavor became even more complex and layered.

’Fully cooked pork knuckle, back in the pot for a slow stir-fry over low heat?’

Because the pork knuckles were quite large, the skin had a beautiful color after being braised, but the lean meat inside still retained its original color.

While stir-frying, he added dark soy sauce and soybean paste, turning all the cubes of meat a dark, saucy brown.

Satisfied, he scooped the colored pork knuckle cubes into a basin, poured in the minced hot peppers, and began to stir with a pair of chopsticks.

’Huh?’

The chopsticks had barely made a full circle.

The pork knuckle cubes, which had been perfectly diced, were immediately stirred into a complete mush!

’This...’

Frustrated, Su Chen reloaded his "save." This time, he didn’t scoop the meat cubes into the basin. Instead, he poured the minced hot peppers directly into the pot and gently tossed them with a spatula.

The final step!

Su Chen rolled a portion of dough into a wrapper that was thick in the center and thin at the edges, then scooped a heaping spoonful of meat filling onto it.

「One minute later.」

Looking at the single bun in the steamer, Su Chen sighed. ’My technique is still a little clumsy, I guess...’

The wrapped bun rested in the steamer basket for three minutes before he turned on the heat.

Inside the practice room, Su Chen didn’t feel tired.

Eight hours flew by in a flash.

’Why is it still A Level? Is there some special secret to getting an S Level?’

With half an hour left before the Gourmet Practice Room closed, Su Chen frowned at the bun that had just come out of the steamer.

It was probably thanks to the recipe’s help that he had managed to make an A Level-rated bun on only his third try. But for the remaining seven hours, no matter what he changed, he couldn’t improve any further!

To save time, he had even started making a new batch of filling the moment a bun went into the steamer.

As a result, the proficiency for both his "Steaming" and "Stir-frying" Skills on the system panel had maxed out!

’This makes no sense. I followed the recipe step-by-step, without the slightest deviation. Why can’t I reach S Level?’

In the final half hour, Su Chen stopped and began to think.

The first time he went from B Level to A Level, it was because he had figured something out.

This bun’s method combined the techniques for a normal pork knuckle bun and a braised pork bun. Therefore, the savory, sauce-based flavor was a crucial step. For the braised knuckle, the skin already had a very rich, sauce-like flavor.

After that, during the stir-frying process, Su Chen first cooked the inner meat and only added the skin to the pot at the very end. The rating immediately jumped up a level!

But after that, no matter how he tried, the rating remained stuck at A Level.

’Just what part of the process went wrong...’

Su Chen muttered to himself, chin in hand, as he stared at the pot of freshly stir-fried meat filling.

’Pork knuckle buns... braised pork buns... The braised pork uses pork belly, and it’s stir-fried from raw meat. Could it be...’

There were ten minutes left before the practice room closed.

An idea struck Su Chen.

’One last try!!!’

After eight hours of practice, Su Chen’s bun-wrapping technique had matured a lot. He might still be a far cry from a master chef in a restaurant, but he could now finish a bun in just over ten seconds.

One minute left!

Su Chen watched the time intently. Whether he could see the rating or not, the bun absolutely could not be taken out early, or the rating would drop to D Level!

Thirty seconds!

Braving the hot steam rising from the lid, Su Chen quickly took out the single bun.

The practice room’s rating announcement sounded at just the right moment.

[Braised Pork Knuckle Bun, Rating: S]