Lin Xu sat down, picked up a piece of chicken, dipped it gently in the dipping sauce, and then brought the meat to his mouth. The chicken was completely tender and had fallen off the bone, chewy and fragrant, and exceptionally moist in texture. When he put it in the pot earlier, he had included the yellow fat from the chicken’s abdominal cavity into the steam pot, along with the fat from the Ham, ensuring the soup wasn’t bland, but instead rich and aromatic. Delicious! Not only was the chicken delicious, but the spicy and sour dipping sauce also felt like it gave the dish its soul.
Before preparing the dipping sauce, Lin Xu was worried that the strong flavors of spicy and sour would overpower the fresh taste of the chicken. However, upon tasting it, he found that it didn’t overpower it at all; in fact, it enhanced the chicken’s flavor.
It was truly a dipping sauce that could get one hooked!
Zeng Xiaoqi had been hosting a travel show for the past two years and had traveled extensively.
Tasting the sour and spicy delicious dipping sauce, she asked curiously, "I remember when I had dipping sauce in Southern Yunnan, they added fish mint. Why didn’t you add any here?"
Mrs. Huang said with a smile, "We don’t add fish mint to our local dipping sauce... We locals dislike the name ’fish mint’ because it carries a strong sense of aversion. We prefer ’Houttuynia cordata’; it’s ear-foldingly delicious."
Everyone: "!!!!!!!!"
They learned another tip for interacting with people from the Southwest.
While enjoying the steam pot chicken, everyone started discussing how to make this delicacy.
Aside from the ingredients, the method for making steam pot chicken was actually quite simple. The chicken didn’t even need to be washed. Just rubbing the skin with salt to remove impurities was enough before chopping it up and placing it in the steam pot, along with other ingredients and Ham. Then, it was just a matter of placing the steam pot on the pressure cooker and waiting for it to cook. How simple is that.
But there was one thing: this dish required high-quality ingredients.
Common Three-yellow Chickens and White Feather Chickens just wouldn’t do; this method wasn’t suitable for them.
At the very least, it had to be grain-fed free-range chicken or small black claw chickens.
While enjoying the delicious steam pot chicken, Chen’s innate passion for cooking surged once more: "Brother-in-law, what’s the best chicken to use for steam pot chicken? Is today’s considered top-notch?"
Lin Xu shook his head: "This chicken meat is not bad, but it’s not the best. The top-grade would be hens from Southern Yunnan, free-range and not fed commercial feed, spayed before they start laying. They’re allowed to mature for a full year, transforming from pullets into old hens, their bellies full of Butter, without ever having laid a single Egg. That’s the best kind of chicken."
Imagine a hen that has accumulated a year’s worth of nutrition being stewed in a steam pot—the taste is indescribable.
Mrs. Huang exclaimed in admiration, "Brother Lin really knows his stuff about Southern Yunnan. Sadly, those chickens are now hard to come by. If you’re not careful, you might be duped because many people fatten up spent laying hens for a couple of months and then sell them. If you aren’t an expert, you won’t be able to get your hands on a real spayed hen."
Xie Baomin, who was drinking with Shen Guofu and Old Huang, said, "For women, black-boned chicken would be a better choice. Making steam pot chicken with black-boned chicken is even more beneficial for health."
Black-boned chicken?
Everyone’s eyes lit up instantly.
Right, if you can’t buy the best hens, you can get the nutritionally superior black-boned chicken.
It was quite easy to purchase free-range black-boned chickens from the farms in the capital’s suburbs.
Buying them and processing them at the restaurant would surely result in another beauty-enhancing, nourishing black-boned chicken soup.
Mrs. Huang then said to Old Huang, "Old Huang, buy a few black-boned chickens and send them over later. And let’s trouble Brother Lin to make another steam pot chicken for us. We have so many good medicinal herbs at home; send some of those too."
Giving money directly would be too impersonal, and only a fool would turn such personal connections into business transactions. Offering some of the valuable herbs from home not only strengthens the partnership but also smoothly integrates them into Lin Xu’s network. This could greatly benefit future business expansions.
Old Huang understood this as well. So, when his wife gave the instruction, he immediately agreed. "Of course, no problem. I’ll ask which farm has the best quality black-boned chickens. If it’s for us, we definitely have to get the best."
「While everyone was enjoying their meal, at the service desk on the first floor.」
Shu Yun held a bowl, slowly savoring the chicken soup, which was dotted with beads of golden fat, with a spoon.
"It’s truly scrumptious. No wonder it takes several hours to prepare. Labor-intensive dishes are indeed all extraordinary," she said, marveling at the delicious taste of the chicken soup.
Song Tiantian, who was beside her, tasted a spoonful and then asked, "Director Shu, does this really replenish energy and blood?"
"Of course, it contains plenty of Panax notoginseng and Astragalus—one for blood and the other for energy. It’s really good for the body. Drink up quickly before it cools down and might become greasy."
Song Tiantian clenched her fist and flexed her bicep. The slightly loose white shirt suddenly strained against her muscles, looking as if the seams might burst: "I don’t think I need to replenish my energy and blood. Wei Qian, on the other hand, often gets those debilitating sweats and needs to supplement more. Otherwise, I’ll keep having to slow down for him when we’re cycling at night."
Shu Yun was dumbfounded.
You’re treating Wei Qian like your wife, aren’t you?
And that massive bicep is really enviable! If only I had muscles like that, when the boss doesn’t pay... Wait, why am I having thoughts about beating up the boss?
This thought is a bit dangerous. Definitely shouldn’t go there.
She then looked at Song Tiantian’s build and couldn’t help but wonder, How much liquor did Tiantian’s former boss have to drink before daring to harass such a formidable woman?
「Just as she was drinking, Geng Lele arrived at the restaurant.」
Seeing Shu Yun, the girl hurried over excitedly.