Food Stall: Customers Chase Me across the Country

Chapter 745: Chapter 640: Wang Fan’s Lunar New Year’s Eve Dinner Menu

The Liu family does not have many members, counting the siblings, only four in total. Adding Wang Fan’s family and Zhou Ruoqing, there were only 8 people in the room.

Director Liu, beaming, said to the Second Uncle, "Coming over to bother you during the New Year, I feel quite embarrassed. But it’s not my fault. Who told you that your nephew here can cook so well? As much as I try to resist coming over, my craving inside doesn’t agree."

The Second Uncle laughed heartily and said, "The more, the merrier, I say. Today we must ensure Brother Liu eats well and is well-fed, and be sure to drink plenty later."

At this moment, Liu’s mother had already clicked with Zhuo Qianqian and the other women, exchanging beauty tips, while Wang Fan naturally became the god governing his own kitchen.

Sautéed Pork in Sweet and Sour Sauce, Salt-Baked Chicken with Five-fingered Peaches, Braised Abalone with Pork, Hot and Spicy Beef, Steamed Bass, Four Joy Meatballs, Roasted Leg of Lamb, Braised Ham Hock, Nanjing Salted Duck, Lamb with Dipping Sauce, Mushrooms with Greens, Northeast-style Dipping Vegetables—these twelve dishes composed Wang Fan’s New Year’s Eve dinner menu today.

Many people have decision-making disorders, but Wang Fan doesn’t. He goes over everyone’s tastes in his mind, combines them with dishes he can cook, and plays a matching game.

Director Liu’s family and the Second Uncle’s are from the Northeast, so a dish of Sautéed Pork in Sweet and Sour Sauce and a bowl of Dipping Vegetables were enough as a base.

Zhuo Qianqian is from Great Border; the Roasted Leg of Lamb and Lamb with Dipping Sauce cater to her taste.

Zhou Ruoqing is from Guangfu; the Salt-Baked Chicken with Five-fingered Peaches, Steamed Bass, and Nanjing Salted Duck, which retain the original flavor of the ingredients, cater to her palate.

This menu not only considers everyone’s tastes but also encompasses the luxurious standards of having chicken, duck, fish, and meat.

The meat comprises chicken, duck, fish, beef, lamb, and pork, while the vegetables include greens and Dipping Vegetables. Wang Fan believes that his spread wouldn’t lose out compared to any Chinese New Year’s Eve dinners nationwide.

The Salted Duck is a cold dish. Wang Fan had marinated it long ago and just needed to slice it before serving.

The Hot and Spicy Beef, Sautéed Pork, Mushrooms with Greens, and Dipping Vegetables belong to quick stir-fries, which could be done last.

Braised Abalone with Pork and Four Joy Meatballs need to be simmered over low heat, while Lamb with Dipping Sauce and Salt-Baked Chicken with Five-fingered Peaches need gentle slow cooking. These four dishes were what Wang Fan was preparing next.

Twelve dishes certainly aren’t few; if not highly skilled at cooking, it might take at least half a day to prepare them.

But Wang Fan was a professional. By categorizing them according to time requirements and preparation features, he easily kept the task within two hours.

Most importantly, he could deliver the perfect taste of these delicacies all at the dining table!

As for dumplings, an indispensable part of Northern New Year’s Eve dinners, to Wang Fan, they were a piece of cake.

The efficiency he had in making steamed buns applied to simpler dumplings was truly like playing around.

"Brother Wang, I’ve finished washing the vegetables. Don’t you really need me to do anything else?"

Liu Zhaofeng, seeing Wang Fan busy all by himself, felt a little guilty: "I have nothing else to do anyway, how about I lend a hand?"

Wang Fan smiled and said, "No need, you go and take a rest. I can handle it myself."

Scratching his head, Liu Zhaofeng said, "Alright then. Let me know if you need me, Brother Wang," and he left the kitchen.

Wang Fan interlocked his fingers, stretched them forward, and started busily but orderly with activities.

He picked up the leg of lamb, made several cuts with his knife, slitting it. The leg of lamb was chosen from Hailar sheep imported from Mongolia, known for its low fat content. When done right, the skin is crispy, the meat inside is firm yet tender, aromatic, and not greasy.

The Lamb with Dipping Sauce was made from locally sourced black-fleeced sheep from the Northeast, whose tender meat was perfect for making this dish.

Home ovens are quite small, and to save time, he quickly deboned the leg of lamb, gently and swiftly massaged it with salt and white pepper, then poured a spoonful of red wine over it.

This technique is his own researched fusion of Chinese and Western cooking, and having tried it a few times with quite satisfying results, he decided to share it with everyone.

The acidity in red wine breaks down the proteins in the meat, making it more tender, while the tannins in the wine make the lamb fibers smoother and more delicate in texture. Additionally, the fermented grape aroma of red wine complements the lamb’s meat fragrance perfectly.

After massaging the lamb with a laundry technique once again with red wine, he took out celery, carrots, onions, and sliced ginger, cut them into strips, and tossed them into the basin. He squashed them while smearing to extract the juices from the four vegetables to marinate the meat.

Wang Fan felt that with his skills, if he weren’t a chef but worked as a bathhouse rub-down masseur, he’d certainly be top-notch.

Typically, this marination takes more than an hour, but with Wang Fan’s massage method, the time significantly shortened, allowing flavor permeation while reducing the salt’s damaging effect on the lamb’s moisture.

As he kept kneading, the original light red lamb meat gradually turned to a wine-red hue, appearing more robust.

He lifted the meat close to his nose, and a rich wine fragrance combined with the fresh scent of vegetables had overwhelmed the lamb’s natural aroma, but this was temporary. As the heat applies, the lamb’s scent will spring back like a compressed spring, and by then, the aroma-laden lamb becomes a tantalizing weapon capable of making mouths water.