He had secretly practiced this technique many times. While he could now control the force, he had to concentrate intensely, and his speed was extremely slow.
For someone like Su Chen to do it almost without thinking, cracking them one after another, must have taken many years of practice!
Four hundred eggs were cracked in just a few short minutes.
Su Chen and Liu Ahbao worked together to place the eggs into the Coca-Cola. After inserting a thermometer, Su Chen left them in Liu Ahbao’s care.
’Coca-Cola?’
Jiang Wensheng was once again stunned by Su Chen’s creative ideas. Using Coca-Cola to cook tea eggs—what kind of method was this?
’Could it be that Boss Su created those Huaiyang dishes using such strange ideas?’
Afterward, Su Chen began to instruct Ah Bao on how to make the Over-Oil Meat.
With the experience he gained from helping in the kitchen the day before, Ah Bao quickly prepped the necessary ingredients. Su Chen only needed to stand by and provide guidance.
"Velvety. You have to understand what ’velvety’ feels like. The purpose of putting the meat in the wok of oil is to use the oil’s temperature to cook it to sixty percent done, but without letting the surface dry out."
Ah Bao was sweating profusely from Su Chen’s explanation, concentrating intensely on the level of heat required to achieve that state.
Fortunately, Su Chen didn’t interrupt him during the process, which meant Ah Bao wasn’t making any major mistakes.
"There’s not much to say about the stir-frying step. The meat is already sixty percent cooked. You just need to stir-fry the aromatics in the base oil until fragrant, then add the meat and cook it to eighty percent done."
This was the secret to the Over-Oil Meat’s tender and smooth texture. If stir-fried until fully cooked, it would lose that specific mouthfeel.
"But considering we’re making this as an employee meal for Xinghui, don’t you think adding potato slices would be better?"
This would lower the cost, which in turn would allow them to lower the price of the dish, making it more accessible for the average office worker.
"Makes sense. I’ll pass some potato slices through the oil then."
Using the same method, the potato slices in this Over-Oil Meat with Potatoes dish also needed to be passed through oil first, giving them a texture somewhat similar to the meat.
They were best when soft, tender, and smooth to the bite, without any hint of crispiness.
Once the potatoes were also prepped, there wasn’t much left for Su Chen to teach. He just needed to point out which seasonings to add from time to time. When it came to stir-frying, Ah Bao’s skills were definitely up to par.
As a splash of vinegar sizzled and evaporated around the rim of the wok, Ah Bao’s eyes lit up. "It’s done!"
Su Chen picked up a slice of potato with a clean pair of chopsticks.
Savory, fragrant, and tender. The potato slices, having been passed through oil before being stir-fried, were exceptionally aromatic. Because they were cooked in lard, they also had a rich, meaty flavor.
You could say this dish had definitely reached an A Level standard.
Right now, the only S Level delicacy Ah Bao could replicate was the Big Meat Bun, because its steps were almost completely fixed. As long as he followed the procedure, he couldn’t go wrong.
But it wasn’t the same for stir-fried dishes like this one; there were too many details to consider.
After finishing the dish, Ah Bao stood there for a good while, mentally reviewing every step of the process several times. Only then did he say, "Alright, Boss. Let’s start the next one!"
Su Chen nodded and began teaching Ah Bao how to make the Black Meat Stew.
Both of these dishes were A Level. In fact, Su Chen had only accidentally discovered the secret to the stew after using his White Jade Hand.
So there was nothing too difficult about making it this time, and Ah Bao learned quickly.
After everything was done, Jiang Wensheng felt like he had come for nothing.
He had been watching for a long time but couldn’t figure anything out. The two dishes had one thing in common: the ingredients were first cooked by velveting or deep-frying, and then flavored through stir-frying or stewing.
They looked ordinary, but they tasted unbelievably delicious.
This wasn’t what Jiang Wensheng wanted to see.
Since that was the case, Jiang Wensheng said, "What a shame. I didn’t get to see Boss Su personally cook those Huaiyang Cuisine dishes today. I’ll go have breakfast with my family for now."
Su Chen smiled. "Generally, if there aren’t any special orders, I don’t make such formal dishes. They aren’t very suitable for the company’s current situation."
Those kinds of dishes were a bit troublesome to prepare. Even with both Su Chen and Liu Ahbao working, it was a huge hassle, and crucially, they couldn’t be sold for a high price.
For custom orders, he could charge a premium, but if they were served as regular restaurant fare, he couldn’t set the price so high. Su Chen understood this point clearly.
After Jiang Wensheng and his family left the kitchen, Su Chen said to Ah Bao, "Both the Over-Oil Meat and the Black Meat Stew can be made in large batches. The flavor might be slightly inferior, but since it’s for employee meals, it’s not a big problem as long as it’s affordable."
The taste would be a little off, but not by much.
"Let’s sell the Over-Oil Meat with Potatoes for 20 yuan per serving. The portion size will be about two-thirds of what a restaurant would serve. For the stew, we can give a bit more and set the price at 18 yuan."
This price included the service fee.
Even for the cafeteria on the second floor, Su Chen would still take ten percent of the dish’s price as a service fee. This was going to be a distinctive feature of the future Meiweilai Company.
You can’t always motivate employees with sentiment and empty promises. That kind of thing only works once in a while.
You had to let the employees feel their wallets actually getting fatter. That was the most direct way to retain good staff.
With everything settled, Su Chen went back to the 19th floor to catch a few more winks—an old habit of his.
After his nap, it would generally be just about time to start the workday.
Inside the cafeteria.
Brother Fang Chang generously ordered 20 buns, 20 eggs, and 4 bowls of millet porridge.