The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense, even vaguely exuding a hint of a gangster vibe.

Lu the Second laughed heartily and said, "Big brother, you decide what dish we're making this morning!"

Boss Lu thought for a moment, "Let's make a staple from the Upper River Gang, a famous Sichuan dish, twice-cooked pork!"

Twice-cooked pork originated in rural Sichuan. It's a dish that came from the countryside and gained national recognition as a Sichuan cuisine!

Among thousands of famous Sichuan dishes, twice-cooked pork is undoubtedly the king, the embodiment of Sichuan cuisine, and the most dazzling dish among the Upper River Gang's fare.

It is the pride of the Lu Fang menu.

No one, including Lu Yongmin, had any objections to having twice-cooked pork as the first dish.

"Alright, let's get started then. Yingqiu, close the door!" Lu Yongmin waved his hand with a smile and said.

Lu Yingqiu went to the door intending to close it, only to see a shadow dart out swiftly.

Chen Mo was standing outside, grinning foolishly.

"I still have to do business, haha!" Then he turned to look at the assistant who was about to buy ingredients, "Hey brother, remember to buy more, alright?"

Lu Yongmin's assistant watched as Chen Mo pulled money out of his pocket and handed it to him.

Thinking that his boss just gave Chen Mo money, and now Chen Mo was giving it back to him.

Can I even take this?

If you want it for free, just say so, damn it!

The assistant felt frustrated inside but forced a smile on his face, "No need, no need."

Then he dashed away from the street like the wind.

Chen Mo watched the assistant's retreating figure, unable to help but feel a bit emotional.

There are still a lot of good people in this world!

While you're making twice-cooked pork, I'll make it too. It's perfect because the excitement at Lu Fang will draw a crowd, and I can gain some experience value!

Lu the Second's subordinates were efficient, and soon they returned with large bags together with several others.

So, the Lu Brothers, along with Lu the Second's men, moved two long tables from inside Lu Fang out onto the street, set up the chairs, and shut the doors.

This way, no one would know who made the dishes afterward.

Taste alone, unbiased by personal feelings, would judge whether the dishes were good or not!

The assistant stood in front of the food cart, helplessly handing Chen Mo a large portion of ingredients.

"Here you go."

After a quick count, Chen Mo frowned a bit upon seeing the pork belly.

"Why did they give me pork belly? How am I supposed to make this?"

Although Chen Mo hadn't seen the recipe for this dish, as a food lover, he knew what ingredients were needed for twice-cooked pork: secondary cut pork.

Whenever Chen Mo ordered this dish at restaurants, the first thing he'd do was check the meat slices.

It's absolutely not authentic if it's not secondary cut pork!

What's secondary cut pork?

It's located above the hindquarter meat, encompassing the area with the cucumber strip. When the butcher cuts, the first cut is the hindquarter meat, and the second is this piece.

The side view of secondary cut pork is beautiful, with a nearly 80/20 fat-to-lean ratio. The lean part has marbling, making it not dry and still having the aroma of pork fat.

Moreover, for those superstitious about food, the pork in twice-cooked pork must curl up like a lampstand shape when fried; otherwise, the cook's skills are questioned!

Only secondary cut pork can achieve such a shape when cooked.

Chen Mo looked at the three large strips of pork belly and slumped down, "Should I just make a trip myself to buy some meat?"

While Chen Mo was mulling over a solution, the aroma wafted out from Lu Fang's door.

"Never mind." Chen Mo cut off a piece of pork belly and tossed it into the dispenser, "Can I get the recipe for twice-cooked pork?"

[The twice-cooked pork recipe has been analyzed for you]

[Twice-cooked pork belly!]

Chen Mo thought for a bit, then leaned back to avoid the crowd. No one noticed him anyway, as everyone was busy queuing up at Lu Fang's entrance.

"Isn't twice-cooked pork only supposed to be made with secondary cut pork? What's with this twice-cooked pork belly?"

[Who said twice-cooked pork must be made with secondary cut pork?]

Chen Mo: ...

[It's true that twice-cooked pork must be recooked, but it doesn't have to be made with secondary cut pork. The lampstand shape isn't exclusive to secondary cut pork either. Please approach cooking with a scientific perspective.]

"And now you're talking science with me, an alien thing? Discuss this reproducibility scientifically with me..."

[Shutting down, please do not reply.]

Recently, the system has learned to play dead, so Chen Mo stopped his endless questioning and began to mentally replay the process of making twice-cooked pork belly.

Meanwhile, inside Lu Fang's kitchen.

A few stoves alternated between fierce and high flames. A chef poured the boiled meat slices into a hot wok with cold oil, constantly flipping the ladle.

The flames flared up in the wok with his flipping, then disappeared.

Lu Yongjun watched the chef's actions, somewhat bewildered.

It seemed quite different from the twice-cooked pork technique he learned from a young age.

His movements were much more composed, using chopsticks to press the just-cooked secondary cut pork into thin slices while still warm.

Cold wok and hot oil, after pouring out all the oil, he added the meat slices.

He wasn't in a hurry to stir-fry the meat slices once in the pot. After a slight shape retention, he pushed the meat to one side and began adding various seasonings, starting with broad bean paste and chopped black beans.

Boss Lu stirred at a leisurely pace, hardly adjusting the heat, always keeping it at medium.

After mixing the black beans and broad bean paste evenly, he added sweet bean paste, then finally chicken essence, salt, and MSG.

Then, he kicked the flame up high!

Now his actions were almost the same as the previous chef's; his left hand continuously flipping the ladle while his right hand tossed a handful of green garlic shoots into the wok.

Each time the ingredients in the ladle were tossed up, tiny flames appeared, disappearing once the ingredients fell back into the wok. About fifteen seconds of stir-frying later, Boss Lu elegantly flipped the ladle to catch the dish, and, turning smoothly, his right hand ladle placed the dish onto a plate smoothly and steadily.

"If we sell by the plate, it'll exhaust you two to death. We might as well split each dish up, and everyone must buy two portions the first time they buy, okay?"

This was effectively coercive selling.

Lu Yongjun thought his brother made sense, "Alright, but if customers don't want to buy two portions, don't force them."

"Okay."

Lu Yongjun divided the twice-cooked pork made by his brother and the chef into four small portions, using both transparent and red lunch boxes. Besides those working in the kitchen, no one knew whose creation was in which box.

This way, each portion of twice-cooked pork had about seven or eight pieces of meat.

Getting full was unlikely, but tasting it was definitely no problem!

Lu Yingqiu barely stepped outside with the eight small lunch boxes when people rushed up.

"Come on, Yingqiu, let me try it first, let me see how your second uncle's chef's skills are. I don't believe they could be better than your dad's!"

Uncle Tie picked up one of each color, then pulled out 20 yuan and placed it on the table.

This was the everyday price for Lu Fang's twice-cooked pork, known to almost everyone in town.

"Yingqiu, get me a portion too." Chen Mo stood at the food cart, not missing out on the fun.

Trying both chefs' versions first wouldn't hurt before making his own!

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