The restaurant lacked dishes that could be prepared in large batches, and dry-fried green beans fit this criterion perfectly.
Xie Baomin said, "No problem. Dry-fried green beans are such a simple dish, perfect for your restaurant. Remember to buy some stringless green beans when you do the shopping tomorrow."
Green beans? Isn’t it supposed to be long beans?
"Green beans have a plumper texture, making the resulting dry-fried green beans taste better, but you need to buy the stringless kind; otherwise, the texture will be much worse."
After saying this, Xie Baomin reminded him again, "The name for green beans varies by region. Just buy the round, thick kind, not the flat ones. Flat beans have a crunchy texture and don’t taste as good as green beans."
Lin Xu nodded. He planned to send Uncle Shen a message later, asking him to keep an eye out for these when stocking up at dawn.
The introduction of Steamed Sea Bass was well received by the customers. By six o’clock, more than twenty sea bass had been sold out. The last one was taken by Li Qiang, who was saving up for a hair transplant. He wasn’t working overtime tonight, so he let loose a bit, ordering not only a Steamed Sea Bass but also Chicken Feet, Pork Ribs, peanuts, and Boiled Pork Slices. After ordering, he and a few colleagues each opened a small bottle of baijiu. The plan was to eat and drink their fill before going home to sleep it off.
Lin Xu felt that with such dietary habits—spicy and greasy Boiled Pork Slices, combined with high-proof alcohol—even without staying up late coding, his hair volume would be in jeopardy.
At eight o’clock in the morning, Xie Baomin elegantly arrived at the shop.
"Is Master not here?"
"Master has been helping out with some community event these past few days, only coming over at mealtimes... It seems he’s also secretly set up a live-broadcasting account; I have no idea what he plans to do with it," Lin Xu said while busily chopping meat.
Xie Baomin smiled. "He’s lived a carefree life, like an old rascal. He probably thinks live-broadcasting is fun."
Lived a carefree life?
Curious, Lin Xu asked, "Master... doesn’t he have family to take care of?"
During his long apprenticeship, he had never seen Master’s family nor heard him talk about them, except for the time when he mentioned his wife liked Ginger Milk Pudding.
"Master is a womanizer. He’s been married four times and divorced just as many, and he still has no children to this day. The wife you mentioned who likes Ginger Milk Pudding? That would be his second wife."
Lin Xu was speechless. ...
At the time, he had thought it was rather romantic of Master to make Ginger Milk Pudding for his wife every day after work. He hadn’t expected the term ’wife’ to have different versions: first wife, second wife, third wife... Are you kidding me? It’s like he’s cycling through Hokages in Naruto!
"So, he’s alone now?"
"He’s by himself, but whether he’s lonely is hard to say. After all, Master has been a Casanova his whole life, and he also owns some houses and shops, so he’s not short on money. I heard from my disciple that he once saw him dancing with a young foreign girl in a Sanlitun bar."
Lin Xu was speechless again. ...
He never would have thought the old man, who quietly came to eat every day when the restaurant first opened, was actually such a playboy beneath the surface. This was the third persona he’d discovered, after ’National Banquet Chef’ and ’Youth with White Hair.’ Who knows how many more masks Master has to shed?
Having finished speaking, Xie Baomin washed his hands and casually scooped up some of the green beans soaking in the sink. "These beans are great—tender and plump. They’re perfect for making dry-fried green beans."
The ends of these green beans had already been snipped off. Xie Baomin rinsed them, drained them, and then cut them into segments about ten centimeters long. After cutting, he placed them inside a basket to drain.
Next, he started preparing the necessary aromatics and spices. The ingredients for this dish were quite simple: chopped green onions, ginger slices, Sichuan peppercorns, dried chili segments, one star anise broken into pieces, and some toasted sesame seeds.
After all the ingredients were prepared, Xie Baomin asked, "Don’t you have any Sichuan peppercorn oil in the shop?"
Sichuan peppercorn oil? Do you use that for dry-fried green beans?
"No, we don’t. If you need it, Senior Brother, I can ask Tiantian to buy some from the nearby supermarket."
Xie Baomin laughed and waved his hand. "Then forget it. The Sichuan peppercorn oil from the supermarket isn’t very good. If we have time later, after the rush, I’ll teach you how to make some. It’s quite handy for cold dishes or mixing into fillings."
Lin Xu had originally thought that this ’Sichuan peppercorn oil’ was simply oil infused with Sichuan peppercorns. He assumed its preparation would be similar to Chili Oil, perhaps even simpler. But from what his Senior Brother implied, it required setting aside specific time to make. Was it really that complicated?
While he was puzzled, Xie Baomin brought over the pot often used for deep-frying meat, poured in the oil used for Fried Crispy Pork, and turned up the heat.
The dish ’dry-fried green beans,’ despite its name, isn’t cooked solely by stir-frying. Instead, the green beans are first deep-fried in hot oil until thoroughly cooked and fragrant. Only then are they stir-fried in the wok with aromatics like dried chili and Sichuan peppercorns. In fact, nearly all ’dry-fried’ dishes involve a deep-frying step.
"When deep-frying, it’s best to use oil that has previously fried meat; this way, the green beans will be more flavorful."
When the oil was at medium heat, Xie Baomin poured the basket of green beans into the wok and began to fry them.
"The oil temperature shouldn’t be too high. This way, the fried green beans will achieve that plump, tender, and substantial texture. If the oil temperature is too high, the beans will dry out, and the texture will suffer."
Uncooked green beans contain a toxin, so it’s essential to fry them for an adequate amount of time to ensure they are thoroughly cooked.
While the green beans were frying, Xie Baomin didn’t stand idle. He soaked the required dried Sichuan peppercorns and dried chili segments in warm water. Lin Xu understood this step. It was simply to prevent them from burning during stir-frying. Soaking them beforehand also helped to release their numbing and spicy flavors more easily during the stir-fry.
When the surface of the green beans in the wok began to wrinkle, resembling tiger stripes, Xie Baomin turned up the heat, raising the oil temperature to medium-high. Soon, the wrinkled tiger stripes on the surface of the green beans turned an appetizing golden brown. Using a skimmer, Xie Baomin fished the green beans out of the oil.
"Dry-fried green beans can be served hot or cold. Which do you prefer, Junior Brother?"
Hot or cold? This touched upon a gap in Lin Xu’s knowledge. The dry-fried green beans he’d seen at restaurants and night market stalls were always in the cold dish section. That must be the cold version, right? So, what’s the hot version?
"The hot version involves stir-frying a small piece of pork belly with the beans, similar to dishes like ’Cauliflower in a Big Bowl’ or ’Hand-Torn Cabbage.’ The pork belly enhances the flavor of the green beans, and it must be served hot to be truly delicious. If it gets cold, a layer of pork fat congeals on the surface of the beans, making them greasy and unpalatable."
Was there even a need to choose?
Lin Xu immediately said, "Let’s go with the cold version. I’m planning to serve this as a cold dish."
Since it was to be served cold, there was no need to add sliced meat. Xie Baomin removed the soaked Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilies from the warm water, drained them, and began to cook.
He heated the wok and added half a ladleful of the oil used for frying the green beans. Then he added the chopped Scallion and Ginger, along with the soaked dried Sichuan peppercorns and dried chili segments, and stir-fried them until fragrant. Next, he added the fried green beans and continued to stir-fry.
As he watched the process, Lin Xu silently chanted in his mind, Use the Cooking Learning Card.
Suddenly, a flash of golden light swept through his mind. Learning Target: Xie Baomin. Current skill: General Technique for Dry-Frying. Learn?
Lin Xu: ????? Oh my god! Can such good things really happen?
First update of the day! Brothers, please send your Monthly Tickets and recommendation votes! In all the restaurants I’ve been to, dry-fried green beans are in the cold dish section, served on large trays, and can even be combined with other cold dishes. I’ve never seen them prepared fresh as a hot dish, so in the novel, they are categorized as a cold dish. Of course, I’ve also described how to make the hot version, so feel free to give it a try.