Cooking System: Street Food Rules

In the private dining room, the table was filled to the brim.

Wang Shulin, aside from the sweet and sour pork, had also ordered dishes like steamed star garoupa, coconut milk with rock sugar and bird's nest, fish-fragrant eggplant casserole, and Grandpa Chicken.

"Jiang Feng's place is indeed impressive; the chefs he hires are all highly skilled."

"The menu is comprehensive; clearly, a lot of effort has been put into it," Wang Shulin remarked.

Wang Shuran was sipping on her coconut milk with rock sugar and bird's nest. After two mouthfuls, her eyes lit up.

It tastes so good!

The food in Guangzhou really is exceptional.

At this moment, Jiang Feng walked into the private room, wearing a white chef's uniform.

Isn't it delightful to have friends visit from afar? Since they were acquaintances, Jiang Feng would usually make an appearance to greet them.

"Master Wang, welcome. How do you find the dishes?" Jiang Feng was beaming, still confident and elegant.

Seeing him come by made Wang Shulin very happy.

"Extremely satisfied, the flavors are excellent!"

"I heard Jiangyue Terrace has opened another branch, so I made a special trip over."

"After all, aside from times like this, it's too hard to get a taste of your cooking."

"There's nowhere to even queue up for it."

Jiang Feng made no comment. Indeed, with his current popularity, setting up a stall would definitely be overflowing with people, making it tough even to queue. He was now arguably the most popular chef in the country. And this popularity wasn't just because of fame, but because of his genuine culinary skills. In simple terms, not only did ordinary people like him, but many of those with wealth and status also highly recognized him. There were actually people who offered extravagant fees, like 100,000 yuan for him to cook a single meal, or even 200,000 yuan. That was quite normal.

Wang Shuran watched Jiang Feng with a smile, liking him more and more. She really liked Jiang Feng a lot. Seeing Jiang Feng, she couldn't help but gravitate towards him. The young girl was quite charming; having been raised in affluence, she possessed an excellent appearance and demeanor.

Jiang Feng continued, "As long as the dishes suit your taste, that's good."

"I just came to say hello; I must go back, there are too many orders."

"I'll take my leave first."

As Jiang Feng turned to leave, with elders present, Wang Shuran didn't say anything, but she was still messaging Jiang Feng on WeChat, sorting out plans to hang out.

The restaurant's business was still booming.

「For the following days, Jiang Feng focused on cooking Cantonese cuisine, and his name was always on the trending searches.」

Meanwhile, netizens were also very eager for Jiang Feng to create more top-level imperial dishes. Every day, Jiangyue Terrace's official account received comments.

"Let Boss Jiang make some imperial dishes; I want to broaden my horizons!"

"We can always eat Cantonese dishes; give us some that we can't normally taste!"

"Bring on some top-tier dishes!"

"I want to see Boss Jiang prepare imperial cuisine!"

It was apparent that people preferred Jiang Feng's top-tier culinary creations. Because when Jiang Feng made top-level food, it truly showcased his status as a Culinary God. Everyone loved that feeling. The patrons of Jiangyue Terrace Cantonese Cuisine Restaurant naturally had even higher expectations for top-level imperial dishes.

Every day, Jiang Feng made typical Cantonese dishes, but because they tasted unusually good, the customers were all satisfied.

Jiang Feng was well aware of the online chatter. In fact, he had made preparations several days in advance. After all, a restaurant opening always needed some fanfare. Apart from the Jiangsu Cuisine Restaurant, where he hadn't yet had a chance to visit due to a brand signboard change, every restaurant opening involved Jiang Feng creating some buzz. This time was no exception.

In the kitchen, Jiang Feng said,

"Since everyone wants me to make imperial cuisine, I'll make imperial cuisine."

"Tomorrow, I'll prepare Gold-Wrapped Jade Crab Balls. Let's put the signboard up in advance."

"Then, according to my instructions, get the ingredients ready."

Hearing that the boss was going to cook, the kitchen staff naturally started preparing in advance. However, when Jiang Feng mentioned the name Gold-Wrapped Jade Crab Balls, everyone looked at each other, not knowing what the dish was for a long moment.

Balls?

"Boss, what are Gold-Wrapped Jade Crab Balls?" a chef immediately asked.

"They're meatballs made from crab, but with gold and pearl as ingredients, they'll look more appealing," Jiang Feng explained. "The technique isn't difficult. I'll get the video team over, and we'll film it."

"This kind of dish is all about the experience, and it's quite troublesome to make."

The staff remained curious. Even seasoned chefs, with their years of experience, could typically only come up with dishes that were modified from existing ones or had a changed presentation. But China's culinary art is so intricate, and many top-tier recipes carry particularly auspicious symbolism. Such dishes not only satisfy dietary needs but emotional ones as well, maximizing the experience. Dishes like these couldn't just be thought up. So, everyone was very curious about the knowledge Jiang Feng possessed.

Jiang Feng didn't have many imperial recipes on hand, but there were still a few he hadn't tried out. Showcasing his skills was quite straightforward.

Then, the restaurant announced the dish Jiang Feng would make the next day: Gold-Wrapped Jade Crab Balls.

Without a doubt, Jiang Feng's dish quickly became the talk of the town. Netizens were all guessing what the dish actually was. Of course, they had no clue. Forget the netizens; at that moment, many top chefs from various regions were puzzled by the dish as well.

In the team of state banquet chefs, several were discussing this new dish.

"Gold-Wrapped Jade Crab Balls? How is it another dish I've never heard of!"

"To be honest, I've been here for so long and made so many high-end dishes, I thought there wasn't a famous dish I didn't know. I never expected to encounter dishes he makes that I've never even heard of."

"Jiang Feng is still amazing. I just don't know who he learned his cooking skills from."

"I haven't heard anything about his family either; it seems there's no news about them at all."

Everyone was discussing animatedly. Clearly, they were all curious about what exactly Gold-Wrapped Jade Crab Balls were.

「The next day, when Jiang Feng arrived for work at the restaurant, many people surrounded him, asking about the method for making this dish.」

Jiang Feng, facing the camera, responded with ease,

"Everyone, please don't let the rumors get too exaggerated. The method for this dish is very simple. It's just mixing crab roe powder with pearl powder, and then wrapping it in an edible gold leaf."

"It's basically concentrating the essence of a crab into a single ball, offering a different way to eat it. Roughly one crab can be concentrated into one ball."

"Those who enjoy eating crab will probably like it."

Hearing him say that, everyone had a rough idea of what the dish was. Though they now knew the method, many were hearing about it for the first time. That alone was enough to make it significant.

「Back in the restaurant's kitchen, Jiang Feng began to get busy.」

He took out five plump male crabs and five plump female crabs. He picked out the meat from the male crabs and the roe from the female crabs, dried them, and ground them into powder. After Jiang Feng demonstrated, the apprentices took over the task of grinding the powder.

Then, Jiang Feng took out a few pearl oysters. After opening the shells, he extracted many pearls from the oyster meat. These pearls weren't very valuable, but they were edible. Before use, they all needed to be pressed into a block of tofu and cooked for two hours. Then, the cooked pearls were taken out and ground into powder. Pearl has been used medicinally for 2,000 years and is known for its beautifying and nourishing properties; if processed correctly, it offers great benefits to the body. After grinding, the pearl powder was filtered, leaving only a very fine layer.

What came next was simple. The white powder ground from crab meat was mixed with flour and water to make a dough, which was then rolled into small balls. Each small ball was rolled in the pearl powder, coating it completely. The powder ground from crab roe was also made into dough and used to add another layer. Finally, they were steamed in a pot until cooked through.

After steaming, while still hot, each ball was wrapped in an edible gold leaf—one ball per leaf. The finished balls glittered, looking as if they were made of pure gold. They exuded a fresh crab aroma, and the smell alone was astonishing.

The last step was plating, which was also simple: a steamed crab was placed in the middle of the plate, and the ten golden balls were arranged on its back, surrounded by some decorative green vegetables.

And thus, a dish of Gold-Wrapped Jade Crab Balls was ready.

「Soon enough, the dish was served.」

Due to the buzz from the previous day, many people had queued up early to secure their spots. Naturally, people were excited when the long-awaited delicacy was presented at their table. The anticipated dish finally revealed its true form. Even though they knew it involved balls, people were still thrilled to see the dish. Many took out their phones to take pictures.

"Is this that imperial dish?"

"I really had never heard of it before."

"My gosh, it looks like gold! Can you really eat it?"

"I heard it's made from crab."

"I can't bear to eat it!"

The customers at the first table looked at the dish and admired it carefully. The sight of ten round, golden balls carried on the back of a crab gave an indescribable sense of luxury.

Crab can be eaten this way too; it's quite novel.

Onlookers crowded around, eager to catch a glimpse. Everyone couldn't wait and wanted to see what the dish truly looked like. After all, many ordinary people might go their entire lives without seeing such top-tier imperial cuisine.

"I can smell it! It's the scent of crab!"

"It really is the smell of crab!"

"It's coming from the golden balls, and it's quite fragrant!"

"Quick, taste it and see what it's like!"

Seeing everyone's excitement, a customer from the first table picked up a Gold-Wrapped Jade Crab Ball, gently took a bite, eating half of it.

In an instant, the cross-section of the ball was revealed to everyone. Beneath the gold leaf was orange crab roe, and at the very center was white crab meat, with an intervening white layer of ground pearl powder.

The customer who tasted the Gold-Wrapped Jade Crab Ball had a face full of enjoyment and surprise.

"It's the taste of crab, so rich!"

"There's not only the flavor of the roe but also the texture of the meat!"

"The crab meat is warm and incredibly fragrant!"

"And it's especially delicious! That savory flavor was sealed by the gold leaf and is only now being released!"

"So delicious!" he exclaimed, continuing to savor and describe it.

Seeing his reaction, the onlookers all showed expressions of envy.

"I want to eat it too!"

"Just wait a bit longer!"

"This is the first time I've eaten crab like this!"

"This master chef's creations are truly different!"

"It feels amazing! I haven't even eaten it yet, but it already feels fantastic. I can't quite explain why!"

People returned to their seats, quietly waiting for their own orders of Gold-Wrapped Jade Crab Balls to arrive.

No matter what, dining at Jiangyue Terrace is such a great experience.

Especially when Jiang Feng is here.

The feeling is like attending the highest-level banquet.

It satisfies everyone's vanity to the utmost.