Cooking System: Street Food Rules

"Hello, everyone. I'm currently in the back kitchen of Jiangyue Terrace, and today I'll be making a dish called 'Dragon's Nine Offspring.'

"This is a traditional royal dish. While the method isn't complicated, the ingredients are quite tricky to source.

"Since it's called Dragon's Nine Offspring, it surely requires selecting ingredients from all across the country to live up to the dish's name."

In the back kitchen of Jiangyue Terrace, Jiang Feng prepared the ingredients while explaining to the camera. This time, he planned to make a thorough video explaining to everyone how to prepare Dragon's Nine Offspring. The photographer captured every scene.

"First, let's talk about the water used for this dish," Jiang Feng began. "Originally, one would take water from the seven major water regions and distill it into pure water, aiming for a good omen.

"These water regions include the Songhua River basin, Liao River basin, Hai River basin, Yellow River basin, Huai River basin, Yangtze River basin, and the Pearl River basin.

"Water would be taken from these places, mixed, and then distilled.

"The dragon is our totem, and this signifies that the dish brings together elements from all corners of the land."

At this point, Jiang Feng had intended to mention that he was just using ordinary purified water. After all, one couldn't realistically have people fetch river water from seven different places and send it over. River water wasn't drinkable anyway, and purified water made no real difference.

Next, Jiang Feng began to display the ingredients on the chopping board.

"Next, I will show you all the ingredients required for this dish.

"Here we have mushrooms from the Northeastern snow mountains, red dates from the Kunlun range in the Northwest, lilies from the Xiang River Region, fresh abalone from the Southeastern Canton Region, and caterpillar fungus from the Southwestern Bashu.

"And this one, the mature coconut from Hainan."

Jiang Feng displayed each ingredient one by one and added, "All the ingredients were purchased from their places of origin and mailed over. Since I bought in bulk, ordering a large quantity at once made it very convenient. The symbolism of this dish is particularly important."

Jiang Feng continued his explanation steadily. The young cameraman was very nervous, afraid of missing any detail.

Jiang Feng placed two large pots on the integrated stove and said, "Next, I'll put old hens and marrow bones into the casserole, and then all these other ingredients go in to stew a rich stock."

He placed several chickens into the casserole, added some large marrow bones, spread the ingredients from all over the country on top, and poured in the purified water.

"If you're cooking for yourself, one pot of stock is enough. However, I need to prepare more since I'm serving many guests, so the quantity is quite large."

Jiang Feng poured in the water and began to simmer the stock. Simmering it on high heat for about four hours would be sufficient. This would be just in time for the meal.

Once the stock was simmering, it was time to prepare the main course.

Jiang Feng took out some pieces of meat from another pot, introducing, "Here is venison from the Northeast, deep-sea fish from the East China Sea, horse meat from the Grassland, beef from the Plains, and yak meat from the Sichuan-Tibet region.

"Next, we'll pound all this meat into a paste and then form it into meatballs.

"Look over there; my assistants are helping me pound the meat."

Jiang Feng pointed to the side, gesturing for the cameraman to film there. The cameraman quickly turned the camera.

Upon closer inspection, three chefs in their whites were to the side, intently pounding meat with small hammers. The finest beef balls are made by pounding them with a hammer. Through manual pounding, the meat gradually turns into a paste suitable for forming into balls. Meatballs made this way have a finer texture and offer a better eating experience than those made with a meat grinder.

The scene looked somewhat comical: three chefs diligently pounded the meat with small hammers, keeping each type of meat paste separate. After all, Jiang Feng himself would handle the final blending.

At this point, the filming could take a break. After some time, once the meat paste was nearly ready, Jiang Feng had the photographer resume filming.

He laid out the five types of meat paste and said to the camera, "Next, mix the five kinds of meat paste in proportion. Then add scallion and ginger water, salt, pepper powder, egg liquid, starch, soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Mix evenly, and then form them into large meatballs."

As he spoke, Jiang Feng poured the ingredients into a transparent bowl and stirred continuously with chopsticks to fully combine the meat paste and seasonings. Finally, he took a spoonful of meat paste, rolled it between his hands, and a meatball was formed.

The name 'Dragon's Nine Offspring' refers to nine delicious meatballs, simmered in rich stock, arranged beneath a dragon carved from radish.

While Jiang Feng rolled the meatballs, his movements were nimble, his slender fingers quick and dexterous. It was hard to see in the video exactly how he did it—suddenly, a meatball would appear between his hands. Then, rolling it between his palms, he would smooth the meatball until it was perfectly round.

At that moment, Jiang Feng was unaware that after the video's release, this particular sequence would be turned into an animated GIF and widely saved. He earned two new nicknames: 'Meatball Rolling Master' and 'Swirling Jiang Feng.'

Many people also commented:

"He must know some trick; I suspect he has chakra!"

"No, seriously, how did a meatball suddenly appear like that?!"

"Am I seeing things, or did the video lag? I didn't even see his hands move!"

"Incredible, truly incredible!"

All the while, Jiang Feng continued to cook and narrate.

"The final steps are pretty simple.

"Fry these meatballs in oil until they change color.

"Then, place the fried meatballs in a bowl, pour some of the prepared stock over them, and steam for a while longer.

"These are the 'nine offspring' for the Dragon's Nine Offspring dish.

"Arrange a carved dragon on the serving plate, place the nine meatballs below it, and then ladle the rich stock over them.

"And with that, the dish is complete.

"The water is sourced from seven major water regions, the ingredients hail from all across China, and the meats are chosen to represent various locales.

"Since the meatballs are called the 'nine offspring of the dragon,' they must naturally align with the dragon's characteristics.

"This dish is also a representation of China's culinary culture, a top-tier Chinese delicacy."

With that, the video shoot came to an end. Of course, they still needed to film the finished dish, but that would have to wait until the stock was ready.

Inside Jiangyue Terrace, it was a hive of activity, while outside, the excitement was palpable. Many people had arrived early, with some starting to queue at five in the morning. The people queuing weren't necessarily so devoted as to arrive extremely early; many were paid to queue for others. In truth, as the saying goes, 'No one rises early without profit in mind'—making money was the primary motivator.

For instance, when new Apple products launched, people would queue overnight. Some claimed it was due to fanatical devotion. In reality, it was mainly resellers and scalpers. Buying and then flipping the products could net them hundreds or even thousands, making the early wait worthwhile.

By five in the morning, over twenty such place-holders were already waiting outside Jiangyue Terrace. Some patrons paid them several hundred yuan directly for their spot. After all, in Hangzhou, many people weren't short on cash.

Those hoping to capitalize on the hype had also arrived early. They planned to shoot their videos first and figure out the rest later.

And so, as the sun climbed higher in the sky, more and more people gathered by West Lake. Jiangyue Terrace was, as always, surrounded by a crowd, the queue stretching far into the distance. To manage the situation, Jiangyue Terrace had set up stanchions outside, similar to those used for queues at amusement parks, to maintain order.

People craned their necks, full of eager anticipation.

Many chefs were keenly interested in what exactly this 'Dragon's Nine Offspring' entailed. Top-tier imperial court dishes were often valued not just for their excellent taste and beautiful presentation, but most importantly, for their profound symbolism. Most ordinary people couldn't even begin to conceive of such symbolism. In the Capital City, for example, many influential elders highly appreciated dishes with such symbolic depth. To learn such a dish would be to master an exquisite culinary creation.

Back in the Jiangyue Terrace kitchen, Jiang Feng had already begun preparing to steam the meatballs. Elsewhere, another head chef was tirelessly carving radishes. This head chef possessed formidable culinary skills and an impressive resume, including a championship in a food innovation competition. He hadn't anticipated that during his few days at Jiangyue Terrace, he would spend more time carving radishes than near a stove. But there was no helping it; Jiang Feng needed the carvings, so that task took precedence. After all, other chefs could prepare the other dishes. He, however, was the only one proficient in radish carving.

Soon, Jiang Feng began plating. First, he arranged a carved dragon on the plate, then added the nine meatballs, and finally poured the stock over them. This was 'Dragon's Nine Offspring.' The presentation was stunning. The dragon carving was particularly striking, lending an impressive air to the entire presentation.

The meatballs were made from a mixture of venison, fish, horse meat, yellow beef, and yak meat. Although the variety of meats was extensive, Jiang Feng's seasonings were excellent and the recipe was perfect, ensuring the meatballs would be exceptionally flavorful and aromatic. You see, such a renowned dish was not created overnight; it was the result of countless chefs experimenting meticulously over time. The flavor had to be perfected. The recipe Jiang Feng possessed was the most authentic one, so its deliciousness was guaranteed.

The plating process was filmed, followed by several shots of the completed dish. Then, finally, the video shoot was complete.

The videographer acted quickly. As soon as filming concluded, he rushed with his camera to the office area, intending to edit the video immediately. This generation of employees was truly outstanding. Their efficiency was remarkably high!

The videographer reported to Liew Yan, and his promptness likely reflected her management style; she had probably given him specific instructions. Jiang Feng didn't pay it much mind. His next task was to fry and steam the meatballs for the customers.

The number of 'Dragon's Nine Offspring' dishes they could prepare that day wasn't his primary concern. Firstly, it depended on how much meat paste the three hammer-wielding chefs could produce. Secondly, it depended on how many dragons the radish-carving head chef could create. That head chef was truly putting his lifelong skills to use; he even had nightmares about carving radishes.

Jiang Feng wasn't idle either; he couldn't let the chef carve alone. So, whenever he had a spare moment, Jiang Feng would sit beside him, helping carve parts of the dragons, which were then assembled. This was typical in the kitchens of large restaurants: many dishes required the head chef to lead, with numerous assistants collaborating to complete the tasks. After all, it would be far too cumbersome if the head chef had to do everything alone.

Moreover, the videographer was also a skilled editor. He quickly edited the video, confirmed there were no issues, and sent it to Jiangyue Terrace's operations team.

Soon after, the complete video showcasing 'Dragon's Nine Offspring' was posted on Jiangyue Terrace's official account. Netizens discovered it almost immediately, and the video instantly went viral.