Cooking System: Street Food Rules

Jiang Feng's barbecue stand became increasingly popular.

At seven o'clock in the evening, a few young people ready to hit the gym arrived. As they reached the bottom of the office building and saw the scene below, they were dumbfounded. The line of customers snaked around several bends, resembling a long dragon.

"Holy shit!"

"So many people?"

The youngsters were flabbergasted. The scene was unbelievable. It was just a barbecue stand, yet the line of people snaked back and forth several times. They knew Jiang Feng was a popular vendor with exquisite culinary skills, but they never imagined it to be this packed.

At this time, a regular customer came over to greet Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng offered a friendly reminder, "Barbecue takes a while to cook; the line will take at least an hour. I'm doing my best already."

The regular customer looked at the crowd and confidently responded, "Only an hour? I can pass the time playing on my phone. It'd be nice to have a number ticket. Then I could even grab a coffee in the meantime."

Hearing this, Jiang Feng could only reply with a laugh, "This is just a regular barbecue stand; we don't have a number calling service. And everything is cooked on the spot, so it really can't be arranged."

The regular replied, "Boss Jiang, we're all used to it. Every time I come to eat here, there's always a crowd. But everyone is willing to wait because it's truly delicious. Take this grilled meat, for instance; several food bloggers have reviewed it, and there are quite a few videos about you online."

Jiang Feng hadn't paid much attention to the online buzz. In fact, during this period, he was starting to make a name for himself on the internet. Because of the popularity, many food bloggers came to review his stand. The reviews were almost unanimously positive, which brought even more traffic to Jiang Feng.

This was probably what they meant by, "I may not roam the world, but tales of me abound in the rivers and lakes."

Jiang Feng said with a smile, "I haven't paid much attention to these things; as long as the customers at the stand are happy with their food, that's what matters."

Jiang Feng was a street vendor; online traffic wasn't of great significance to him. He didn't advertise, nor did he engage in promotional tie-ins. On the contrary, high traffic isn't always beneficial. For example, some popular vendors, like Zhou Binglun or the old man who sold noodles for three yuan a bowl, became internet sensations. However, because of their fame, many unscrupulous internet celebrities started to disturb their businesses, making it difficult for them to continue. The old man who sold noodles for three yuan a bowl for decades had to leave because of the harassment from influencers.

So Jiang Feng tried to minimize his exposure online, focusing more on the quality of the food he made. For him, having just the right number of customers was most comfortable.

Today's special was grilled eggplant. Whatever he listed as today's special on his signboard, customers would almost surely order it for their table. Once the eggplants were grilled to perfection and spread out on the grill, they were brushed with oil and soy sauce. Then, they were topped with garlic paste, cumin, chili, and sprinkled with green onions. When tiny bubbles started to simmer and pop around the garlic paste, it signified the eggplants were thoroughly cooked. After plating, they were ready to be served to the customers.

Barbecue is the most primitive way of cooking ingredients. With the high heat of flames and a little seasoning, one can taste the freshest flavors of the food. The warm and soft flesh of the grilled eggplant, laden with various seasonings, was fragrant and delightful with every chew. The customers were satisfied, praising the tenderness of the eggplant.

The former stand owner, Hao Fei, who had been working as a general helper for Jiang Feng in the past few days, was truly enlightened. Although they both grilled food, there was a gap between one barbecue and another. Take this grilled eggplant, for example. Jiang Feng had mastered the cooking time for the eggplant, brushing the whole thing with oil before placing it directly on the grill. Once the eggplant was soft all over, one just had to cut the front and back with scissors, run two skewers down the middle, and pull it apart, unfurling the eggplant. Only then would he add the seasonings.

Whereas Hao Fei's approach to grilling eggplant had been different; he used to cut it, skewer it, and grill it like a kebab. The difference in taste was immense. When it comes to grilled vegetables, it's all about the freshness.

Hao Fei realized his barbecuing skills were far from proficient. In the following days, he got hold of a grill, lit some charcoal, and took several eggplants, practicing Jiang Feng's technique diligently. Mastering it to even fifty or sixty percent would be enough to make it a signature dish at his own barbecue stand.

Learning culinary skills from a master is something every chef in the industry dreams of. Although Jiang Feng was just a street vendor, the dishes he made involved real craftsmanship. The sauce recipe for stewed meat, the technique for making buns, the knife skills for shaving noodles, the control of the heat for barbecuing... All of these were genuine, tangible skills.

Hao Fei, who had switched careers and spent thousands to enroll in a barbecue training institute, learned some barbecue methods before setting up his own stand for two years. He was an experienced barbecue vendor in his own right. But it wasn't until he saw Jiang Feng's barbecuing that he realized the gap between them. The handling of meat, the preparation of ingredients, were all completely different. Moreover, Jiang Feng's methods were very straightforward; grilling beef and lamb didn't require complex marinating or seasoning. The eggplant was also roasted whole. He even effortlessly whipped up the rarer beef pineapple barbecue.

Hao Fei realized this mild-mannered, always calm, and handsome young man was a true master. Two words summed it up: Damn good!

Although there was a long queue of customers, since all the tables were full, most people were taking their orders to go, or they bought a couple of skewers to eat on the spot. The line moved quickly. The people at the front often stared intently at the barbecue. The meat sizzled and started to drip oil soon enough. Chaptersource:MyVirtualLibraryEmpire(M|V|L4EMPYR).

It looked very appetizing. Some would also watch Jiang Feng up close and say with a smile, "Executive Chef Jiang, how come everything you make is so delicious? That's so impressive."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Feng politely replied, "These are just small stall foods; if you put your heart into it, you can make them well."

The person then asked, "You keep changing the dishes, are you trying to learn all of them?"

Jiang Feng laughed and responded easily, "The culinary culture in our country is vast and profound, and I indeed enjoy learning new dishes and making them. But to master them all is not something that happens overnight. One can only keep trying. And I must thank everyone for their support."

Jiang Feng always seemed to take things easy, with quite the master's composure. The only thing was, he was much too young. Typically, a master should be around forty or fifty years old. In the cooking industry, masters are expected to be burly. But Jiang Feng was an exception. His skills were remarkably good. Everything he made was delicious.

"Executive Chef Jiang, your food is not only delicious but also generous with ingredients. Like I always say, in our city, you won't find beef skewers bigger than yours," another customer said.

It was indeed as he said. Some barbecue stalls were downright rip-offs. Some had just a lone piece of meat on a stick; some had squid tentacle skewers barely larger than the stick itself, and to the unaware, it might seem like leftovers. But Jiang Feng was generous with his portions; his beef and lamb were always chunky. That really gave the customers something to marvel at. It was a feast for the eyes and the taste buds.

At this moment, another batch of meat was ready. Jiang Feng distributed the freshly grilled meat according to the orders he had just taken. Hao Fei's wife delivered the meat to the customers' tables. Jiang Feng then handed skewers to the people at the front of the line who had ordered just a few.

People gazed at the skewers of perfectly grilled meat with longing. They were almost frantic with impatience. Why isn't it my turn yet?

Jiang Feng then started taking new orders.

"Five lamb skewers, five beef skewers, five beef pineapple skewers, two grilled buns, and one grilled corn," the person at the very front of the line placed their order.

Hearing someone order so much, the people behind grew even more impatient. Damn, ordering so much! they thought.

Human nature is always like this. People complain about those boarding before them being too slow, but once they're on board, they just want the boat to depart quickly.

Jiang Feng then asked the next two people in line for their orders. After all, with two grills, he could grill about 40 skewers at a time, meeting the customers' demands more quickly.

Jiang Feng's barbecue stall had become a beautiful highlight under the office building. Up in the office building, next to the windows of the gym, people would sometimes glance down. This area was a tech district, filled with young people. Nowadays young people tend to stay indoors, so places like this often lack a lively vibe. However, Jiang Feng's presence had changed the atmosphere of the surroundings. Many people bought barbecue here.

Next door, the owner and server of the small shop selling diet meals came out to watch the lively scene at the barbecue stall, feeling quite astounded.

"Why isn't everyone dieting anymore? Suddenly they all love barbecue?" questioned the astonished owner.

"It could be because his barbecue is too delicious," the server replied almost instinctively.

Upon hearing this, the owner frowned slightly. "Have you eaten it?"

"I tried some a few days ago when he first arrived," the server admitted candidly.

The owner, knowing her character, didn't say much but was also curious. "Tomorrow, when he starts his stall, we'll buy some to try too; I want to see how delicious it is."

"Sure, no problem," the server immediately replied with a smile. After all, who wouldn't be happy to get a taste of delicious barbecue for free?