Gourmet: Twins' Father and Chef of the Kindergarten

Shortly after the afternoon break...

Huang Jun took a brief rest, then started getting busy with preparing the evening feast.

Originally,

this dinner was specially prepared for the fifteen families who received the "Family Meal Voucher."

However, unexpectedly, the teachers and the management in the park also had a craving for this meal. They all went to Liang Yinqiu, hoping she would talk to Huang Jun about making more, so they too could stay and dine with the fifteen families, to taste Huang Jun’s culinary skills.

This extra request...

Liang Yinqiu should have declined it, but she couldn’t resist the temptation either.

In the end!

Unable to withstand the temptation, she had to put down her pride and personally came to the kitchen to ask for Huang Jun’s help.

Huang Jun thought, since the head of the park personally came to ask, he should give her some face and agree to it.

Moreover, since he was already preparing for so many people, making a few more dishes was just a small effort. Besides, this way, his family of three could also stay for dinner, saving him the trouble of preparing another meal at home later.

With this in mind, he gladly accepted Liang Yinqiu’s suggestion.

To reduce Huang Jun’s burden and to make this dinner more complete, Liang Yinqiu arranged for the teachers and school leaders available in the afternoon to come to the back kitchen to assist him, giving him a hand.

Now, Huang Jun was preparing to cook Dongpo Pork, a dish that, just by its name, is enough to evoke infinite appetite and make one’s mouth water.

Liu Suyu, observing the meat and ingredients on the table, curiously asked Huang Jun, "Chef Huang, why haven’t you prepared spices like Sichuan pepper, star anise, bay leaves, and cinnamon?"

Huang Jun smiled and replied, "The authentic way to make Dongpo Pork is to not use those spices. In fact, not only Dongpo Pork, but braised pork also follows this rule. We aim to use the simplest seasonings to bring out the meat’s original deliciousness to the greatest extent..."

"Yes, that is the art of cooking!" Qian Guoxiang nodded in agreement while scraping the skin of the soaked pork belly.

Hearing this, Liu Suyu had a thoughtful expression and said, "No wonder I don’t see chefs using spices when making braised pork on cooking shows. There’s indeed wisdom behind this."

"Oh, right, Chef Huang, what are the specific differences between Dongpo Pork and braised pork? I always get them confused, feeling that they are quite similar." Chu Qiweng voiced her confusion to Huang Jun.

Huang Jun explained, "Actually, it’s quite easy to distinguish between them."

"First, in terms of size, the meat chunks for Dongpo Pork are larger, at least the size of a mahjong tile, usually a square with sides of four or five centimeters; whereas the chunks for braised pork are smaller, at most the size of a mahjong tile."

"Additionally, the traditional way of making Dongpo Pork involves not adding water or salt, relying mainly on light soy sauce, yellow cooking wine, and dark soy sauce."

"Light soy sauce is for flavor enhancement, dark soy for coloring, and yellow wine helps to remove the smell and add fragrance, while also making the meat tender and smooth."

"In comparison, braised pork generally uses caramelized sugar for coloring, involves adding water to stew, and a suitable amount of salt."

"The most notable difference is in the cooking steps: Dongpo Pork does not require stir-frying; it’s directly boiled, and some regions add a steaming step; whereas braised pork is stir-fried before proceeding with subsequent cooking."

Chu Qiweng nodded with an enlightened expression.

Listening to Chef Huang for a bit really beats reading books for ten years...

Huang Jun took over the carefully depilated and meticulously washed pork belly from Qian Guoxiang, placing it skin-side down on the cutting board.

He picked up his divine chef’s knife, meticulously carving the lean part to ensure each slice of meat reached an even thickness so that the final plated work appeared refined and beautiful.

"Swish, swish, swish..."

With a crisp, rhythmic sound, the silver glimmered between the blade and meat chunks, and in no time, neatly arranged blocks precisely 4 cm on a side were lined up like pieces of art, pleasing to the eye.

After slicing the meat chunks...

Huang Jun turned around to fetch a massive iron pot, placing it steadily over the heat.

He filled the pot halfway with clear cool water, then added scallion segments, ginger slices, and poured in an appropriate amount of cooking wine, putting the cut meat chunks into the pot one by one.

"Boom!"

The flame roared fiercely, the big fire quickly licking the pot’s bottom.

Once the water was brought to a full boil, Huang Jun used a long-handled ladle to skim off impurities and foam from the surface until the soup was clear and the meat was clean, then he used a slotted spoon to pick out the meat pieces one by one.

In the meantime.

The fire must stay on, keeping the pot’s broth bubbling, to effectively prevent the impurities already removed from reattaching to the meat chunks, thereby retaining its pure flavor and excellent quality.

Once all the chunks were removed, he took down the big iron pot from the stove and switched to a large, simple, and elegant clay pot, formally stepping into the Dongpo Pork preparation phase.

He laid the scallion segments prepared by Qian Guoxiang in neat layers on the bottom of the clay pot—two layers of scallion greens, aligned neatly, like jade paving, and laid ginger slices above them, scattered aesthetically.

When placing the meat chunks into the clay pot, he paid special attention to placing them skin-side down to allow the skin to be directly heated, thus maintaining the meat’s firmness and preventing it from becoming loose due to overheating.

"Chef Huang, why don’t you tie the Dongpo Pork with string? I saw the Dongpo Pork in restaurants all tied up."