Li You waved it off, saying it was only right.
Then he added, "Today's ten jin of chicken feet comes out to about 110 pieces. So, to let more customers get a taste of the braised chicken feet tomorrow, we'll have a limit of two per person. The limit is just for tomorrow. What does everyone think?"
After hearing this, the customers' eyes all lit up.
This was a great idea!
This way, as long as they didn't come too late tomorrow, they should be able to get two braised chicken feet.
The customers all chimed in that this was an excellent idea.
Li You nodded. "Then it's settled."
After that, everyone went into the shop together.
The customers placed their orders.
Li You went into the kitchen and started cooking.
More customers arrived in succession.
Shortly after entering, all the new customers learned that the shop would be doing a trial run of ten jin of braised chicken feet tomorrow.
Without exception, the customers were all pleasantly surprised.
'What will Boss Li's braised chicken feet taste like?'
'I'm dying to find out.'
'Looks like I'll have to come early tomorrow. Even with a limit of two per person, there are only a little over 100 in total. If I come late, they'll definitely be gone.'
All the customers were thinking the same thing.
Chu Yiwei and Lin Xin were also in the shop at this time.
They were also planning their trip to the shop tomorrow for the braised chicken feet.
They already loved eating braised chicken feet.
The news that Li You was doing a trial run tomorrow made them both extremely surprised and incredibly eager to try them.
Both of them had classes in the first and second periods tomorrow morning.
Their second class ended at 9:40 AM.
If they came over right after class, they could get here around 10:00 AM and should be able to get some.
The two of them made a plan, their hearts filled with anticipation!
...
Waves of customers came and went. By the time the last group finished eating and left, it was already 8:00 PM.
Li You stir-fried a serving of twice-cooked pork with garlic shoots for himself.
It was time for him to eat as well.
After slowly finishing his meal, Li You went back into the kitchen. He planned to prepare the brine tonight.
That way, he could start braising the chicken feet first thing in the morning.
Making the brine wasn't complicated; you could even say it was simple.
It was nothing more than putting various spices into a cheesecloth bag, tying it shut, and then simmering it.
But making a *good* brine was another matter entirely.
Because when it came to selecting and combining the spices, adding or removing a single ingredient, or even just slightly increasing or decreasing the amount of one, could have a huge impact on the final taste of the braised food.
A mature brine recipe was invariably the result of countless experiments, summarized and refined little by little.
Many masters of braised dishes have their own secret recipes.
And these recipes were often their secrets, not to be shared lightly.
You could say that if you mastered an exceptionally good brine recipe...
...then starting a business selling braised foods and getting rich wouldn't just be a dream.
Of course, it had to be an *exceptionally* good recipe. Merely 'good' wouldn't cut it.
And Li You now possessed the most perfect brine recipe.
At least, it was the most perfect one in this area.
He began the process.
First, he took out all the necessary spices from the Storage Pavilion, measured according to the proper ratios.
This included star anise, cassia bark, bay leaves, dried tangerine peel, black cardamom, cloves, fennel seeds, Sichuan peppercorns, dried chilies, and more.
He rinsed them clean with water and then put them all into a cheesecloth bag.
Li You had already prepared the cheesecloth bag.
Then, he prepared some chunks of ginger and sections of scallion.
Next, he heated oil in a wok, added the ginger and scallions, and stir-fried them until fragrant.
After they were fragrant, he put them into the cheesecloth bag as well.
He tied the mouth of the bag shut.
He added a suitable amount of water to the pot and placed the cheesecloth bag inside.
He brought it to a boil.
Once it was boiling, he added light soy sauce, yellow wine, rock sugar, and salt to season it.
After that, he turned the heat down to low.
Then, he just needed to let it simmer slowly over low heat for about two hours.
While the brine was simmering, Li You went up to the second floor and turned on the TV.
He would watch TV for two hours before going down to turn off the heat.
One of the channels was showing *Amazing Detective Di Renjie, Part One*.
*Amazing Detective Di Renjie* was one of Li You's favorite historical detective dramas.
He decided to watch it.
Even though he had seen it many times, Li You still watched with great relish.
The line, "Yuan Fang, what do you think?" was very famous.
But in reality, that line never actually appeared in the show.
Not even once.
And yet, it always felt like the line was said frequently in the show.
It was a bit strange.
Time slowly passed amidst Di Pangpang's deductions.
Two hours later, Li You went downstairs.
As soon as he reached the top of the stairs, he smelled the fragrance of the brine.
When he entered the kitchen, the aroma was extremely rich.
He looked at the brine in the pot; both its aroma and its color were perfect.
Li You was very satisfied.
He turned off the heat.
After waking up tomorrow morning, he could put the chicken feet in to braise.
It was something to look forward to!
"Oh, right. Da Bai, Xiaohai, around seven tomorrow morning, soak all the chicken feet in clean water," Li You said to Da Bai and Xiaohai.
As he spoke, he took the ten jin of chicken feet out of the Storage Pavilion.
Before being put in the pot to braise, it was best to soak the chicken feet in clean water for about an hour.
This would draw out the blood from the chicken feet.
"Okay, Boss, we understand," Da Bai and Xiaohai said in unison.
Li You nodded.
...
「The next day.」
At 8:00 AM, Li You got out of bed and washed up.
He went downstairs.
Entering the kitchen, he saw that the ten jin of chicken feet had already been soaking in a basin of clean water for an hour.
Li You picked one up and examined it. There was no trace of blood left in the chicken foot.
'Excellent.'
"Da Bai, Xiaohai, now clip the nails off all the chicken feet."
Clipping the nails was not only more hygienic, but it also allowed them to absorb more flavor.
"Okay, Boss."
Da Bai and Xiaohai replied in unison, then each picked up a pair of scissors and began clipping the chicken feet nails.
Meanwhile, Li You turned on the stove to cook himself a bowl of Yangchun Noodles.
By the time the noodles were ready, Da Bai and Xiaohai had already finished clipping the nails on all the chicken feet.
They had also washed them spotlessly clean.
Li You added clean water to the pot and put all the cleaned chicken feet in.
This step was blanching.
The chicken feet had to be blanched before going into the brine.
This would remove any gamey smell.
Putting them in cold water to start was best.
Therefore, Li You only turned on the heat after putting the chicken feet in the pot.
After the water boiled, timing was crucial.
The blanching time had to be long enough, but not too long.
What was the perfect amount of time?
This all came down to experience. If you didn't have any, you could just wait for the water to boil and then cook them for another minute.
After blanching, he removed the chicken feet and rinsed them once more with clean water.
Once they were clean, he put them directly into the brine.
Li You put all the chicken feet into the brine.
He turned on the heat.
After it came to a boil, he switched to low heat to simmer.
After simmering for about forty minutes, they would be ready.
All that was left to do was wait.
After finishing his Yangchun Noodles, Li You went outside the shop, leaned back in his rocking chair, and played on his phone.
He had only been playing for a little while when, just before 9:00 AM, a group of about ten customers arrived together.
"Boss, are the braised chicken feet ready yet?" the customers all asked.
They had all come so early, naturally, to get a taste of the braised chicken feet.
Li You smiled. "They're braising in the pot right now. They'll be ready in about half an hour."
The customers all nodded. In that case, they would just wait for half an hour.
Waiting for half an hour was better than arriving late and getting nothing.
The customers stood or sat in front of the shop, chatting while they waited.
"By the way, Boss. Do you have any steamed pork with preserved mustard greens today?" one customer asked Li You.
Li You shook his head. "I'm not planning on steaming any today. Maybe tomorrow. I'll steam a few dozen bowls tomorrow."
The customer nodded.
'Tomorrow is good too.'
...
A huge thank you to Mo Xiaoran for the 300-coin donation!
Thank you, big shot!
...