Rebirth: Starting from the Cafeteria

Chapter 57: Stewed Rice and Sandwich

"Master Du, my relative from my mother's side is getting married this Sunday. Could you please be the chef?"

The situation outside is changing rapidly, but Du Shaojie stays on a remote farm, where he has no worries about food and drink. His life cannot be said to be very comfortable, but at least he does not have so many troubles.

He goes to get off work and comes home every day, exercises, and studies cooking, appearing to be very "Buddhist".

However, he is now famous, and whenever someone in the surrounding area holds a banquet, there will always be someone who will find a way to get it to him.

Just this morning, when Du Shaojie was cutting vegetables, Li Guixiang came over and asked him for help.

Du Shaojie originally planned to go home on Thursday, but when his colleague asked for help, he couldn't refuse. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Okay, ask him to make a menu for me, and I'll tell you what needs to be prepared in advance."

"Thank you so much! I have the menu here, take a look."

Li Guixiang thanked him repeatedly, then took out a piece of paper from her body and handed it to Du Shaojie.

Du Shaojie took a look and found that the dishes listed on the paper were all very common dishes, including [Meatballs with Sand], [Crispy Pork], [Sweet and Sour Carp], [Stewed Beef], [Stewed Lamb], [Stir-fried Cabbage with Black Fungus], [Braised Tofu], [Scrambled Eggs with Leeks], and [Chicken Stewed with Vermicelli].

There are nine dishes in total, among which chicken stewed with vermicelli is a soup dish.

"Sister Li, where will the wedding banquet be held?"

When Du Shaojie saw these nine dishes, he was reminded of the local specialties that are usually served at banquets in rural areas.

The nine dishes are served in nine bowls of the same size and arranged in three square rows when served on the table. The variety of dishes will be adjusted according to the season and personal preferences.

But there are also some rigid requirements, for example, meatballs stuffed with sand and stewed meat must be served with vegetables at the bottom, soups must be placed in the middle of the table, etc.

Du Shaojie was not unfamiliar with this, but it was his first time to put it into practice.

"My mother's home is in Yunfeng Commune, not too far away, less than 15 kilometers away. They will send a tractor to pick you up. Do you think it's okay?"

Li Guixiang quickly explained the follow-up arrangements, and at the same time watched Du Shaojie's expression change, worried that the other party would have objections.

"Don't bother. I can just borrow a bicycle and ride over. I'll tell you what you need to prepare in advance, so remember it."

Du Shaojie waved his hand, then gave Li Guixiang some instructions and continued to do his own thing.

He was not very familiar with the dishes for this wedding banquet, but these dishes were not complicated to make and he believed that he could handle it with his cooking skills.

At lunch break, Du Shaojie returned to the dormitory and looked up some "chef training video materials", focusing on the methods of [stewed meat] and [stir-fried meat with sand in it], which were similar to what he understood.

He knows how to make it, the key is the seasoning.

Now, he felt more confident.

After get off work in the evening, Du Shaojie did not eat in the kitchen, but took a kilogram of beef to Chu Xiaowei's house.

Later, Qin Xiaomei came back and Du Shaojie started to prepare food.

Chu Xiaowei and Qin Xiaomei have two children, who have been left in their hometown by their parents for the past two years. They plan to go back to visit their relatives at the end of the year, but it will not be easy to bring the children back.

Du Shaojie chopped a kilogram of beef into minced meat and then divided it into two parts. One part was used to make [beef stew] and the other part was used to make [beef with sand].

Stewed beef needs to be steamed, while beef with sand needs to be fried.

Fortunately, Chu Xiaowei's family has no shortage of cooking oil, and the oil with sand after frying can be used for cooking, so it won't be wasted.

While helping Du Shaojie, Qin Xiaomei watched his production process very carefully.

Du Shaojie was not shy and gave instructions to the other party while he was busy:
"For this [beef stew], the ratio of meat filling to starch is roughly one to one. After adjusting the flavor, add stock or broth. The degree of softness depends on personal preference. If you like it tenderer, add more broth, otherwise add less."

The seasoning is nothing more than salt, MSG, pepper powder, pepper powder, chopped green onion and ginger, and you can add an egg or not.

After steaming, slice it and place it on a plate to make a delicious [Stewed Beef].

[Beef with Sand] is a little more complicated to make. Simply put, first prepare the beef filling, then wrap it with the spread egg skin and cut it into long strips about one finger long and two fingers wide.

Then fry it in a pan until it turns golden yellow.

"After frying the [jiasha], you can make a stew, braise it, or put it in a soup. Let's keep it simple today and just braise it with some vermicelli later." Du Shaojie quickly prepared two meat dishes, thanks to the fact that the family had a lot of eggs stored.

"Uncle Chu, Aunt Qin, let's start?"

The food was placed on the table, and Du Shaojie looked at Chu Xiaowei and his wife with a smile.

Chu Xiaowei ate a piece of sandwich and Qin Xiaomei ate a piece of stewed meat, and then they both gave the thumbs up at the same time.

In their words, it is delicious! The more you eat, the more you enjoy it.

"Master Du, I'll save some of each of these two dishes. You can give them to Section Chief Jiang and Doctor Wang to try later. The old director, Chief Engineer Zhai, and Director Jiang have all returned to the city, leaving these two behind. It's really pitiful."

Chu Xiaowei and Du Shaojie drank a few glasses of wine. It was not a good wine, but just bulk "Laobai Gan", which was cheap.

Qin Xiaomei ate her fill quickly, then took out a large lunch box from the kitchen and reminded Du Shaojie not to forget to take it with him when he left.

Du Shaojie nodded, ate some staple food, and then stood up to say goodbye.

【Bound chef: Du Shaojie】

【Level: Apprentice (third year)】

【Current works: 【Beef stew】, 【Beef with sand】】

[Overall evaluation: poor]

[Bonus: Food Identification Encyclopedia (Part 1)]

[Reward: Pork tenderloin (2 kg), simulation training time (20 hours)]

[Special Reward: None]

The first thing Du Shaojie did when he returned to the dormitory was to open the light curtain.

When he was cooking before, he thought that the two dishes [Beef Stew] and [Beef with Sand] would be popular. Sure enough, the system gave both dishes an overall rating of "poor".

After such a long period of learning and practice, Du Shaojie's cooking skills have made great progress. Generally speaking, as long as the dish is not very complicated, after observing and learning, the practical level will not be bad.

Of course, it would be better if there were more practical opportunities, but unfortunately the conditions are not there now.

Therefore, when he cooks outside, he never asks for compensation, but tries his best to make every dish well.

【Duration: 140 hours\210 hours】

The duration of the simulation training has been increased a bit, and the remaining duration is currently 140 hours.

Du Shaojie thought about it and decided to spend 10 hours conducting simulation training on [Stew] and [Sand Mix], and received a comprehensive evaluation of "low" many times in the simulation training.

【Duration: 130 hours\210 hours】

The remaining time suddenly became 130 hours.

After dark, he divided the food in a lunch box into two portions and sent them to Wang Liwen and Jiang Xian respectively.

After coming back, I took a shower and went to bed.

Saturday came in a blink of an eye.

Near noon, Zhao Dajun hurried to the cafeteria.

"Master Du, do you have any ready-made food? I have to go to the bureau for a meeting soon and won't have time for lunch. I'll take something to eat on the way."

The meeting notice was issued very suddenly, giving Zhao Dajun no time to prepare.

When I notified you, I was told that this meeting was very important and that no one was allowed to be late or take leave.

Du Shaojie was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then he and Zhao Dajun looked at each other. They both had the same guess: there might be earth-shaking changes in the bureau.

(End of this chapter)