Chapter 288

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

"Xiao Yun, why wait ten minutes before eating? Won't the pork knuckle's texture get worse once it cools? Is there some particular reason for this?" Zhu Chang, who had already eaten several bites of the Dongpo Pork Knuckle, asked Hu Xiaoyun with a curious look.

"I'm not too sure either, that's just what Boss told me a moment ago."

Hu Xiaoyun also looked a bit puzzled.

The portion of Dongpo Pork Knuckle she had eaten before was hot; she had never tried the texture of a cooled knuckle.

Zhu Chang tilted his head and thought for a moment, but soon stopped dwelling on it.

He has always studied eating deeply, and knows that the same food under different conditions will have different flavors.

Especially the dishes Lu Feng makes, which always hide surprising details.

But since this Dongpo Pork Knuckle is already on the menu at Lu Feng's shop, it means it can be eaten anytime in the future, so there's no need to rush this one time.

Besides, he had just been smelling the fragrance outside the door, and his stomach was already growling like a drum.

Making him wait another ten minutes now, he simply couldn't wait.

"Never mind, this hot knuckle already tastes absolutely amazing; I'll try the cold one next time."

Zhu Chang muttered to himself, then continued burying his head and eating the knuckle in the plate.

Zhao Zhenhui looked up at Qian Laoban sitting opposite, only to see the other man wearing a pensive expression.

Obviously he had grown curious about what Hu Xiaoyun had just said.

"Qian Zong, since this Dongpo Pork Knuckle has two ways to eat, why don't the two of us just eat together?"

Zhao Zhenhui looked at Qian Laoban and proposed: "We'll eat one portion now, wait ten minutes for the other to cool completely, then eat it together — that way we can taste both textures."

Zhao Zhenhui looked at Qian Laoban and put forward his suggestion: "Let's eat one portion first, wait ten minutes for it to cool completely, then eat the other portion together, so we can taste both textures."

Qian Laoban's eyes lit up and he immediately nodded in agreement.

Finishing his words, he impatiently picked up his chopsticks and reached toward the steaming Dongpo Pork Knuckle before him.

Watching Qian Laoban's eager appearance, Zhao Zhenhui, as a man of culture, picked up his chopsticks while smiling and said: "Qian Zong, the essence of Dongpo Pork Knuckle lies in thick meat and fragrant bone, skin and meat together with flavor penetrating to the bone; in ancient times it was also called Immortal Meat, said to make one forget all worries with a single bite."

Zhao Zhenhui loves all kinds of delicacies; many years ago he even attended a Chef School for a period.

He still knows a fair amount about food-related knowledge.

"Hearing you put it that way, I really must taste this Immortal Meat's flavor properly."

Qian Laoban's chopsticks had already touched the knuckle in the plate; even through the chopsticks he could feel that the skin was stewed soft and tender.

He carefully picked up a piece with skin and meat together, only to discover that although the meat fibers were stewed very soft, the skin and meat clung firmly together, showing not the slightest sign of separating or falling apart when lifted with chopsticks.

He brought it close to his eyes and examined it carefully; the layer of fat near the skin glistened with an enticing sheen, its grain distinct.

Leaning in for a sniff, meat fragrance wrapped in braised aroma, with a faint hint of charred fragrance, the smell extremely tempting.

Qian Laoban could no longer hold back; he opened his mouth and put the meat in.

Once the meat entered his mouth, a gentle suck and the soft glutinous fat beneath the skin melted instantly on the tongue.

That flavor instantly dispersed through his oral cavity, carrying the salty umami of the braised sauce, incomparably rich and fatty.

Yet it didn't make one feel the slightest greasiness at all.

The flavor is simply incomparably rich and fatty, yet lets one feel not a trace of greasiness.

Eating it feels only refreshing and pleasant, still carrying pork's own unique fresh fragrance.

When the teeth bite down, they first contact the outermost skin layer.

That skin is rich in collagen when chewed, texture soft glutinous and springy, with just the right amount of chew.

Immediately following is the lean meat in the middle; the fibers are stewed loose and soft, yet still retain a degree of elasticity.

The lean meat also doesn't feel dry at all when eaten; one bite with the teeth and juices burst forth.

The lean meat's flavor mixes with the fragrance of the melt-in-the-mouth fat from just now, spreading layer by layer in the mouth.

Giving an incomparably satisfying sense of happiness.

"Mm! Delicious! Too delicious! Lu Boss's culinary skill is truly peerless!"

After several days, tasting again the longed-for delicacy.

Qian Laoban couldn't help slapping the table, his voice carrying a hint of excitement.

This movement of his drew those still queuing in the Hall waiting for food to involuntarily swallow their saliva.

Zhao Zhenhui also picked up a piece and chewed it slowly in his mouth, feeling the delicate sensation of the skin and meat's collagen slowly dissolving, and couldn't help nodding repeatedly in praise.

"Qian Zong, this knuckle tastes good, right? You've eaten no lack of good food in Yangcheng; is there any that can compare with this knuckle?"

Zhao Zhenhui asked Qian Laoban with a smile while eating.

"You're asking a question you already know the answer to; Lu Boss's culinary skill, never mind in Yangcheng, looking at the whole country there aren't many people who can match it!"

Qian Laoban replied indistinctly while stuffing meat into his mouth.

Although both of them had ordered rice, and the rice sat right at hand.

But once the delicious Dongpo Pork Knuckle entered their mouths, they instantly couldn't be bothered with anything else.

The two men faced the knuckles in their plates and ate heartily; not a single mouthful of rice was touched.

A Dongpo Pork Knuckle weighs over two catties; for a girl, wanting to finish it would probably be a bit difficult.

But for men like Zhao Zhenhui and Qian Laoban.

But for men like Zhao Zhenhui and Qian Laoban.

Can't finish it?

It doesn't exist.

Forget one portion, even if two more portions came, I'm afraid it still wouldn't be enough for the two of them to eat.

The chopsticks in the two people's hands never stopped moving; the Dongpo Pork Knuckle in the plate rapidly decreased at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Qian Laoban ate with increasing relish, even feeling that picking it up one chopstick at a time was a bit slow.

If not for the agreement with Zhao Zhenhui that the two of them would eat this one portion of knuckle together.

He really wanted to throw down the chopsticks and directly pick it up to gnaw on it.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Qian Laoban's chopsticks bumped into a soft thing.

He was stunned for a moment, and looked at it carefully with One Glance.

By this time, the knuckle in the plate had already been eaten to the middle position where the bone should originally be.

Originally he planned to go around the bone in the middle of the knuckle, wait until the knuckle meat was eaten clean, then Turn Head and gnaw on the bone.

However at this time he discovered that the place in the middle of the knuckle that was originally bone was actually soft.

Zhao Zhenhui beside him also discovered this, and couldn't help but poke it with his chopsticks.

This Thing has a color like amber; the chopsticks poke into it and it's soft, seemingly like jelly.

Qian Laoban held the chopsticks and picked up a section, brought it to Yan Qian and carefully observed it for a while.

"Lu Boss's Dongpo Pork Knuckle, the middle doesn't seem to be bone, can this thing be eaten?"

He muttered a sentence in his Mouth, then carefully and tentatively bit a small mouthful.

In an instant, a brand new Texture burst open in his Mouth.

This Flavor is completely different from the mellow richness of pork, carrying a refreshing tender smooth Texture.

In the Flavor there is a strong seafood taste; chewing it makes a crunching sound, with a kind of crisp feeling.

This sudden Fresh Texture made Qian Laoban's eyes light up.

"Good fellow! This Thing really can be eaten! Too delicious!"