Cooking System: Street Food Rules

"Boss, the whole network is learning from you now. It seems like whatever you do, everyone follows. Many people are complaining that stuffing meat into eggs is too difficult." Sun Zhuangfei reported to Jiang Feng when afternoon rolled around and work ended.

"Is that so?" Jiang Feng was somewhat surprised.

After all, the Internet is unpredictable. As a viral food blogger, whatever he did, many would naturally want to try it themselves. Figuratively speaking, it was almost like tasting food made by Jiang Feng himself.

"Yes, many food bloggers have also posted videos of stuffing meat into eggs. Surprisingly, their videos are strikingly similar: they all fail multiple times before succeeding. That method is indeed very difficult," Sun Zhuangfei said with a touch of schadenfreude. After all, it was quite amusing to see a whole bunch of food bloggers falter.

Jiang Feng's interest was piqued. They learn whatever I do? Maybe it's time to pull off something a bit more intricate.

However, there were too many people with great culinary skills in China, so coming up with a dish that no one else could replicate was impossible. But differences could still be seen in the details and craftsmanship.

"Prepare the ingredients for tomorrow's dish later. Since everyone wants to learn, I'll ramp up the difficulty," Jiang Feng said with a chuckle. "Tomorrow, I'll make Pagoda Meat."

Pagoda Meat was a dish that only top-notch knife skills could achieve. It was also one of the dishes in all of Chinese cuisine that most tested knife skills, similar to Wensi Tofu but with a different focus. Wensi Tofu tests the chef's stability in cutting one block of soft tofu into fifteen thousand strands. As for Pagoda Meat, it involves slicing a perfectly square piece of pork belly from the edges, cutting slowly inward, ensuring the slices are of uniform thickness and remain connected. It's like peeling an apple, ensuring the peel doesn't break at all. Once the pork belly is sliced, the slices are restored to a square shape, then placed in a mold and pressed into a pagoda shape. It tests the chef's meticulousness and patience.

Without superb culinary skills, achieving this is impossible. After all, merely slicing a square block of pork belly into one long, connected strip of meat has already stumped many. Controlling the force is crucial to ensure that with each cut, the meat slices are the same thickness. If the thickness of the meat slices were uneven, the resulting pagoda would be irregular, and its shape would turn out strange.

Moreover, after special cooking techniques, each slice of Pagoda Meat would be semi-translucent, with a rich sauce poured on top. The interior was to be stuffed with specially seasoned dried bamboo shoots to enhance the fragrance. So, Pagoda Meat is, essentially, the pinnacle of braised pork dishes. Not only did each slice of meat need to be square, but the thickness of each slice also had to be the same. Only then would it stack up into a beautifully shaped pagoda.

A smile appeared on the corner of Jiang Feng's lips. Without considering its shape, Pagoda Meat isn't hard to make; even someone who can cook could do it. But to make the pagoda delicate, grand, and high-class—that truly required skill. Jiang Feng's skills, naturally, needed no introduction, and he always pursued perfection. The pagoda he would make was bound to be perfect. The same couldn't be said for everyone else, though.

Let them try. They'll all fall silent once they do.

Having been with Jiang Feng for so long, Sun Zhuangfei was only now realizing that his boss seems to possess a somewhat crafty nature. But it's also quite interesting. Since the whole network wants to challenge the Culinary God, then let them come!

「The following day.」

The food street was packed with people. The live broadcast began. Many food bloggers and internet celebrities were focused on Jiang Feng's live stream. Until now, no one knew what Jiang Feng was going to make. But no matter what he made, everyone would be keen to recreate it immediately. Not just food bloggers, but many ordinary folks who could cook were also planning to learn the dishes made by the Contemporary Culinary God.

The live broadcast camera focused on Jiang Feng. Looking at the live stream, Jiang Feng smiled and asked, "He quoted, 'The Sky King's power covers the land like a tiger, and the Pagoda suppresses the River Demon.' The dish I'm making today is related to that saying. Do you all know what it is?"

Upon hearing his words, the netizens were slightly stunned. The Sky King's power covers the land like a tiger, and the Pagoda suppresses the River Demon. What is he planning to make?

[Could it be tiger meat?]

[I think it might be River Demon Meat.]

[It can't be Bandit Meat, right!?]

[I know! Boss Jiang is preparing to slaughter some bandits for our entertainment!]

Everyone was commenting. Jiang Feng glanced at the barrage of messages and replied, unsure whether to laugh or cry, "The dish I'm making today is very famous in Chinese cuisine and is the epitome of braised pork dishes. It's called: Pagoda Meat. Now, I'll show you all how to make Pagoda Meat. First, take a top-quality piece of pork belly and briefly sear the surface with a blowtorch."

...

Jiang Feng commenced his cooking. Several food bloggers, upon witnessing this scene, were immediately astonished. Food bloggers are generally knowledgeable about cooking, and they knew of Pagoda Meat. In Chinese cuisine, it was a dish renowned for daunting even experienced chefs. Many top chefs were unwilling to make it.

It couldn't be helped; the difficulty level was simply too high! Take slicing the meat so it's still connected, then rolling it up and placing it in a mold to form a pagoda—this isn't something the average person can do!

Why not just make some neatly squared braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens? Why insist on Pagoda Meat! Yet this dish definitely exists. Because once it's presented, the Pagoda Meat glistens, enveloped in a thick sauce, making its appearance incredibly appealing. And since the slices of meat are cut apart, they can fully mix with the sauce, making the meat incredibly flavorful and delicious.

"No way, he's going to make Pagoda Meat? My God, how do you even recreate that?"

"This is crazy! It's another huge undertaking. We might not even be able to make it today."

"Does he mean to open a stall selling Pagoda Meat? One serving per person? Just hearing about it makes me want to get in line. This dish isn't easy to come by."

"It's outrageous! It's outrageous! A top-tier Chinese dish that few can make, and yet he's setting up a stall to sell it—that's just preposterous!"

"He sells snacks, doesn't he? How come he's also selling Pagoda Meat now?"

Food bloggers voiced their complaints one after another. This truly left them speechless.

Currently, with Jiang Feng's popularity soaring, many were looking to cash in on his traffic by replicating the recipes of the dishes he made. And since Jiang Feng was selling his dishes at a street stall, they had assumed his food wouldn't be too difficult to make. Who knew he'd pull out Pagoda Meat! How could one learn to make that?

With no other option, those wanting to ride the wave of his popularity just had to follow along and try to learn. In the live broadcast, Jiang Feng explained the preparation process step by step in detail.

The pork belly was blanched, then simmered to remove any gaminess. Then it needed to be marinated and refrigerated. Since Jiang Feng had prepared a lot of pork belly the day before, the marination time could be skipped. Next came slicing the meat.

He grasped his kitchen knife and began slicing a square piece of pork belly, starting from the edge and cutting inward. Soon, the entire piece of pork belly was transformed into one long, connected sheet of meat. On closer inspection, the slices were nearly identical in thickness.

When Jiang Feng lifted the sheet of meat with both hands, holding it up for everyone to see, the online viewers were dumbstruck.

[WHOA! That's incredible!]

[After watching Boss Jiang's video, I've accepted that I can't learn this dish!]

[I wanted to learn cooking from Boss Jiang, but now I can only feast my eyes!]

[Come on, I'm just a beginner in cooking, and you start me off with one of the top three most difficult Chinese dishes?]

[I should have just gotten in line!]

[For the first time in my life, I've learned that you can eat a top-tier Chinese dish like Pagoda Meat at a street stall!]

The bullet comments flew thick and fast across the screen. Clearly, Jiang Feng's preparation of Pagoda Meat had taken everyone by surprise.

Then, Jiang Feng rolled the sliced meat back into shape. By placing it in a pagoda-shaped mold, the slices could slide and be secured within. The base of the pagoda was hollow, to be filled with specially prepared dried bamboo shoots. Jiang Feng also shared the marinade ingredients with his viewers, so everyone knew how to prepare it. The inside of the pagoda was filled to the brim and pressed down firmly.

After that, the mold could be placed in the steamer. Jiang Feng stopped explaining and swiftly made ten Pagoda Meats, placing all ten molds into the steamer at once. Once steamed, the dish would be complete.

Sun Zhuangfei was assisting on the side, responsible for handling the pork belly and preparing the side dishes. The two worked methodically.

The preparation for today's dish was slower, so he couldn't satisfy as many customers. However, those at the very front of the line, who had been queuing since early morning to taste this dish, felt it was more than worth it. The wait had been truly justified.

Online, after seeing Jiang Feng's cooking process, many still decided to give it a try. After all, having seen it demonstrated, they felt compelled to try and learn it. Who knows, they might succeed.

The live stream chat was incredibly active. Many people were following Jiang Feng's updates. At the same time, the number of tourists visiting the area had skyrocketed.

In eager anticipation, the Pagoda Meats in the steamer were finally ready. Sun Zhuangfei took out a pagoda, inverted it onto a plate, and as he lifted the mold, the true appearance of the Pagoda Meat was finally revealed to everyone.

When everyone saw the Pagoda Meat through the live broadcast, their expressions were filled with amazement. The dish was beautiful.

A pagoda stood erect on the plate, composed entirely of pork belly slices. Each slice of meat was translucent, displaying a glossy, rich brown and orange hue. It shone brilliantly under the light, indescribably beautiful. Rendered fat and rich sauce coated the pagoda, giving it a steamy, mouthwatering appearance. Just looking at it could whet one's appetite.

A perfect fusion of art and cuisine. One of the essences of Chinese culinary art. This Pagoda Meat has won gold awards at many international culinary exchange events. Foreigners find it hard to imagine that meat could be turned into such an artistic masterpiece.

[So beautiful!]

[Everything Boss Jiang makes is always so stunning!]

[No wonder he's known as the Culinary God; it's not a joke at all!]

[I never thought a dish could be made like this!]

[This live stream really is educational!]

Netizens in the live stream chat were exclaiming in amazement. Jiang Feng's live stream today had, yet again, astounded everyone.