For instance, Geng Lishan was extremely adept at making Noodles With Black Bean Sauce.

Within Beijing's cultural circles, Geng's Fried Sauce Noodles were famously delicious.

In the past, people from the cultural circles took pride in having the chance to eat the Noodles With Black Bean Sauce personally made by Geng Lishan.

However, ever since he became inaccessible to the public, outsiders simply could not taste his craftsmanship anymore.

"Wow, to be able to taste Mr. Lishan's craft is a delightful surprise. Today I'll help you out and take the opportunity to learn how to make Noodles With Black Bean Sauce," Lin Xu said.

Lin Xu followed Geng Lishan to the kitchen.

He truly wanted to see how Noodles With Black Bean Sauce were made and also lend a hand as needed.

After all, the calligrapher was in his seventies, still capable of doing some light tasks, but making Dough was a bit beyond his strength.

"Lin my friend, I won't stand on ceremony with you. Today we divide the work: you take care of the Dough, and I take care of the sauce. Let's give Reporter Zeng an eye-opener," Geng Lishan said.

"Alright!" Lin Xu eagerly agreed.

Lin Xu washed his hands and started to make Dough in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Geng Lishan took out a bag of dry soybean paste and a bag of sweet bean sauce, squeezed them all into a bowl. Then, he grabbed a bottle of aged Floral Carving Wine, poured it into the bowl in small amounts several times, and began to dilute the sauce.

Dry soybean paste, being dry, needs to be diluted before use.

As he was busy, he said, "The most common dish in Beijing is Noodles With Black Bean Sauce. Almost every family knows how to make it, and each family's methods and flavors vary. It's all about that home-style taste. There's really no argument about what's authentic or not."

Lin Xu nodded in agreement. "Home-style cooking really doesn't have a set rule. If it's delicious, it's authentic; if it's not, then it isn't."

This statement made Geng Lishan give a thumbs up. "Lin my friend, you speak the truth. Being authentic or not isn't important. What's important is that it has to be delicious."

After diluting the sauce, he began to chop the meat.

To make the Fried Sauce, pork belly is used, preferably with more fat, as this makes the sauce richer and more fragrant.

The meat didn't need to be cut too large; pieces the size of a fingertip were fine. These meat cubes were called 'sieve-sized pieces' because they were similar in size to mahjong dice.

When chopping the meat, the fat and lean parts should be separated.

By doing this, during the frying process, one can first render the fat until fragrant and the oil is released, and then add the lean meat, making the diced meat taste even more delightful.

If both the fat and lean meat were put into the pan together, by the time the fat was cooked, the lean meat would already be too dry. Conversely, if the lean meat was perfect, the fat wouldn't have released its oil yet, and neither would taste good.

After chopping the meat, Geng Lishan took some Large Shrimp from the fridge, peeled them, and then cut the Shrimp into pieces similar in size to the diced meat.

"I like to add some Shrimp to my Fried Sauce Noodles to enhance the umami flavor and make it more satisfying to eat. The reason people praise my cooking so much is thanks to these Shrimp," he shared.

Lin Xu took mental note, planning to try it out when he got back.

If Shrimp enhanced the flavor, then he would also add Shrimp to the Noodles With Black Bean Sauce at his restaurant.

Indeed, not just adding Shrimp, but also substituting the oil used in the Fried Sauce with shrimp oil. Since the goal was to boost the umami, he would go all the way. He didn't believe that with these changes the Noodles With Black Bean Sauce wouldn't be delicious.

After preparing the Shrimp, Geng Lishan then took several Shandong Green Onions, which the nanny had prepared, and finely chopped them, filling a large bowl.

"When frying the sauce, you need a lot of green onions, and you should add them in three stages. This way, the resulting sauce will have a strong onion fragrance, and its texture will also be tender," he explained.

Add them in three stages?

Lin Xu asked, "Could Scallion Oil be used instead?"

This was just the question Geng Lishan delighted in answering. "That would be perfect! It's best to use the Scallion Oil made for Pot Roast Sea Cucumber; it has a richer fragrance and tastes better. It's just too labor-intensive, so I didn't prepare it."

Lin Xu was speechless. Aren't gourmets supposed to be meticulous about their food? Saying it's 'too much trouble' just shatters that image!

After chopping the onions, Geng Lishan then chopped some Ginger and Garlic Mince, then set up the wok and began to fry the sauce.

By this time, Lin Xu had already finished making the Dough, setting it aside to rest.

Having nothing better to do, he stood by Geng Lishan's side to watch the culinary expert make the sauce.

He heated the wok, then swirled oil to coat it. After pouring out this hot oil, he added fresh cold oil.

Once the oil was hot, he added the diced fatty pork and began to stir-fry it over low heat.

Using low heat could extract the maximum amount of fat from the diced fatty pork, giving the sauce a pork lard aroma without it being greasy.

When the diced fatty pork turned golden brown on the surface, he added the diced lean pork and continued to stir-fry.

How could lean meat fried in rendered pork fat be anything but delicious?

For lean meat, you could switch to high heat, which would quickly evaporate the water content.

"You can't rush to add the sauce," Geng Lishan instructed. "You must fry the meat until the oil in the pot turns clear. This shows the moisture from the meat has cooked out. Only then will the sauce keep for many days without spoiling."

When the oil in the pot turned clear, Geng Lishan poured the prepared Ginger and Garlic Mince into the pot, along with a third of the chopped green onions.

He continued to stir-fry.

Once the fragrance was released, he poured in the sauce diluted with Rice Wine.

At this point, the sauce and the oil in the pot were clearly separated, so he needed to keep stirring with a spoon, ensuring the oil and sauce quickly merged together.

Only then would the full aroma of the sauce develop.

Making Noodles With Black Bean Sauce seemed simple, but it was actually quite a physical task.

Even with Geng Lishan's experience, after stirring for some time, sweat began to appear on his forehead.

Lin Xu took over the spoon and said, "Let me do this heavy lifting. You just oversee me."

Before long, the oil in the pot disappeared, and the originally somewhat thick sauce had thinned considerably.

This was because the oil had blended with the sauce.

"Just keep frying," Geng Lishan guided. "In a while, when the water content reduces, the sauce will thicken again. Even extra fat will be fried out. That's when you should add the Shrimp, and then the second batch of green onions."

Umami substances evaporate when heated, so they shouldn't be added too early, or they would fry away.

"You should wait until the water in the sauce has mostly evaporated before adding them. This way, the umami from the Shrimp becomes sealed within the sauce by the oil and won't evaporate."

Wow, talk about meticulousness!

Lin Xu continued to stir-fry, and after about fifteen minutes, the sauce in the pot indeed thickened and became glossy.

He added in the chopped Shrimp and another third of the green onions.

The fragrance of the onions grew richer.

But the sauce for the Noodles With Black Bean Sauce was not done yet. It still had to be fried continuously until the full aroma of the dry soybean paste emerged, making the noodles truly delectable.

He fried on low heat for another ten-plus minutes.

As the aroma of the sauce in the pot began to intensify, Geng Lishan said, "Turn off the heat. After turning it off, add the remaining green onions, stir well, and it's ready to be served."

Lin Xu nodded, turned off the burner, added the green onions, and stirred well. He then scooped the sauce into a small basin, filling it up.

The sauce for the Noodles With Black Bean Sauce was ready. The housekeeper had also prepared the toppings for the noodles.

There were soybean sprouts just over a centimeter long, julienned cucumbers, carrot strips, radish greens, chive segments, shredded purple cabbage, minced celery, diced green beans, and shredded Egg—a lavish spread of twelve different ingredients.

There were even a few more varieties than the customary 'seven platters and eight bowls' for Noodles With Black Bean Sauce.

"Wow, no wonder everyone praises your family's Noodles With Black Bean Sauce as delicious; just the toppings alone are so abundant, how could it not be tasty?" Lin Xu exclaimed.

Geng Lishan said with a smile, "These are just accompaniments, all meant to balance the saltiness of the sauce. If the sauce is delicious, everything is good. If the sauce isn't good, even the most complete array of toppings is useless!"

By this time, the Dough was ready. Lin Xu rolled it into noodles using a rolling pin, boiled them in a large pot, and then served them into bowls one by one.

He arranged the toppings on the noodles and ladled a generous spoonful of the fragrant sauce over them.

Time to eat!

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Today, maybe because I was in the air conditioning for too long, my shoulders are a bit sore, affecting my writing speed. This chapter is 5,400 words, a bit short, but please bear with me. I will apply some medicated plaster later to keep writing, striving to update more tomorrow. Also, I want to shout out for Monthly Tickets, folks!

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