Chapter 72 The Best Meal of My Life

Chapter 72 The Best Meal of My Life

In the kitchen, Deng Shirong was preparing to make the last dish of the night—stir-fried pork belly shreds.

While preparing the sauce, Deng Shirong explained to his eldest daughter, "Stir-fried pork belly shreds is a dish that requires precise heat control. It must be stir-fried over high heat and removed from the pan quickly. Otherwise, it will become tough and overcooked, and no matter how good the seasoning is, it will be ruined.

Therefore, we need to prepare the sauce first. The sauce is mainly oyster sauce, dissolved with a little water, and then mixed with an appropriate amount of soy sauce and a bit of sugar. If there isn't much shredded pork belly, there's no need to add salt. If you feel the soy sauce isn't flavorful enough, then add a little salt, stir well, and set it aside.

In addition, prepare half a cup of rice wine, and cut the ginger and green onion into pieces and set them aside.

Once everything is ready, we can start cooking."

Hearing this, Deng Yunzhen couldn't help but ask, "Dad, don't we need to marinate the pork belly shreds?"

Deng Shirong replied, "If the heat isn't strong enough, you'd have to marinate it in advance to avoid overcooking and making it tough. But with the strong heat from the big pot on the earthen stove like ours, there's no need to marinate it. You can just stir-fry it over high heat, and it will turn out crispy."

Deng Yunzhen nodded repeatedly. Seeing that her father had already washed the pot, she asked, "Dad, should I turn up the heat now?"

Deng Shirong said, "Not yet. Fry the ginger shreds on medium heat first. When you're ready to add the pork belly shreds, increase the heat."

Deng Yunzhen said "okay" and adjusted the fire according to her father's instructions.

When Deng Shirong saw that the pot was heated, he added a spoonful of lard to melt it, then added the shredded ginger and slowly stir-fried it. When the ginger softened, he ordered, "You can increase the heat now!"

Upon hearing this, Deng Yunzhen stuffed a handful of highly flammable weeds into the stove. The fire instantly roared to life. After adding two handfuls of weeds, the entire pot began to smoke.

Deng Shirong saw that the heat was just right, so he picked up the shredded pork belly and poured it in. As he did so, he explained, "The heat is strong enough, so we pour in the shredded pork belly, stir-fry it with a spatula, and then pour the small half cup of rice wine along the edge of the pot."

While he was talking, Deng Shirong was also working quickly. The rice wine was poured into the pot along the edge. The high temperature at the edge of the pot released the aroma of the wine, blending perfectly with the pork belly in the pot.

"After pouring in the rice wine, stir-fry twice, then pour in the prepared sauce along the edge of the pot, stir-fry quickly and evenly, and finally add the chopped green onion segments, stir-fry a few more times, and it's ready to serve!" Deng Shirong said as he transferred the stir-fried pork belly shreds into a bowl.

The entire process, from adding the shredded pork belly to serving it, took less than ten to twenty seconds, leaving Deng Yunzhen stunned.

Deng Shirong scooped a spoonful of water from the water tank into the pot and smiled at his shocked eldest daughter, "Okay, all the dishes are ready. Take them out and prepare to eat!"

Deng Yunzhen finally came to her senses and hurriedly picked up the two bowls of stir-fried pork belly shreds, which looked incredibly appetizing just by their color, and walked toward the patio. As she walked, she sighed to herself that her cooking skills were still far behind her father's and that she had to continue learning.

…

Today was Deng Shirong's first birthday after his rebirth. Although he had no intention of making a big fuss, there were usually twenty people at home for dinner on his birthday. Now, with the addition of Deng Yunkun and seven others who had helped clear the orchard, production team leader Deng Yunjun, partner Deng Yungui, apprentice Deng Changbiao, Deng Changfu and his son, Deng Changwang and his son, Deng Yunjin (Deng Changmei's father), and Guan Yongying, who had helped with the work earlier, there were more than forty people in total.

Fortunately, during this period, the carpenter had built a long table and stools.

Knowing that his family was large and that there would often be many people eating at his house, Deng Shirong had asked the carpenter to build a long table that was 6 meters long and 1.5 meters wide. If they squeezed a little, it would be no problem for forty or fifty people to sit at such a long table.

Seeing the long table filled with mouth-watering food, every guest was astonished.

This meal was truly sumptuous!

The main dishes included fried bee pupae, stir-fried pork liver, stir-fried pork belly shreds, stir-fried pork heart, stir-fried kidney, yellow fried pork, braised pork, sweet and sour pork, dry pot frogs, dry pot eel, spicy snails, braised carp, yellow fried pork large intestines, boiled chicken, boiled duck, boiled rice intestines, accompanied by fried peanuts and several vegetarian dishes, and a large pot of pig lung soup. Such a feast would be fitting not just for a birthday but even for a wedding.

Seeing so many delicious dishes, Deng Yunjun exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, "Uncle Jiu, your cooking skills are truly amazing. Even the chef at the Double Prosperity State-Owned Restaurant probably isn't as good as you!"

Deng Yungui also praised it highly, saying, "Yes, Uncle Jiu's cooking skills are truly extraordinary. It seems we're all in for a treat tonight!"

Deng Shirong smiled and said, "Alright, let's stop with the formalities. Sit down and eat quickly, or the food will get cold!"

Deng Yungui picked up his wine bowl and said, "Uncle Jiu, let us wish you a happy birthday first, and may you live as long as the Southern Mountains!"

Seeing Deng Yungui take the lead, others in the village also raised their wine bowls: "Uncle Jiu/Uncle Jiu/Ancestor Jiu, we wish you a happy birthday and a long life!"

Relatives and children also raised their wine bowls to wish Deng Shirong well.

Seeing this scene, Deng Shirong's face was full of smiles. He picked up his wine bowl and said, "Thank you for your blessings. Please eat and drink well. I won't go home until I'm drunk today!"

After drinking, led by Deng Shirong, everyone began to eat, and without exception, they were captivated by the table full of delicious food!

"Oh my god, it turns out fried bee pupae are really this delicious. I finally got to taste them today!"

"This pork belly shreds is so delicious. How can it be so crispy? The flavor is absolutely amazing!"

"This fried pork intestine is a real delicacy. I'll have to drink three bowls of wine today just for this dish."

"This pork liver is so tender..."

"This braised pork is really delicious..."

Everyone swore that this was truly the most delicious meal they had ever had in their lives. Every dish on the table was exquisite. Even the ordinary fried pork was much more flavorful than what they cooked at home.

What impressed everyone the most was how Deng Shirong made the pig offal so delicious. Usually, pig offal was considered inferior to pork, but tonight's feast completely changed their perception of it.

This meal not only included all kinds of meat dishes but also plenty of rice wine.

By the end of the meal, more than half of the people were drunk, including the birthday boy himself, Deng Shirong.

(End of this chapter)