Chapter 475 - 374: Making Candied Potatoes

Chapter 475: Chapter 374: Making Candied Potatoes

Yang Zhengwu: "???"

Jun Xinghe: "Something wrong? Relax. This is technically a company secret, but you’re my little brother and I’m your big brother. We’re family, you think I’d keep secrets from you?"

Yang Zhengwu: "Yeah."

Yang Zhengwu silently put his phone away and stared blankly out the car window.

SLAM!

Jun Xinghe forcefully slammed his phone onto the desk.

So satisfying!

He’d finally vented some of his frustration.

*

*

The sun was setting, its gentle light illuminating Yang Yixue’s grim face.

Directly-Operated Store No. 2.

Inside the store, everyone was cleaning together, preparing for the evening service.

Sitting in the Ruixin Coffee Shop, both Yang Yixue and Li Xiaoyan had extremely sour expressions.

Just a moment ago, the two of them had tallied the lunch-hour customer traffic.

It was down eighty-one percent from yesterday.

In other words, for every ten customers, they had lost eight!

Yesterday they had made a small profit; today was a bloodbath!

Yang Yixue watched with a grim face as the employees in Jiang Liu’s restaurant worked with joyous energy.

A sense of unease grew within her.

’Will we have even fewer customers tonight...?’

*

「Five in the afternoon.」

The warm afterglow of the sun fell upon the pine trees, dyeing the dark green needles a shade of gold.

A line as long as a dragon had formed at the restaurant’s entrance.

The security guard, with nothing better to do, continued to shoot the breeze with a CEO in the line.

Lei Mingyue was glued to his phone, chuckling as he watched a girl shake her ass in a video.

In his excitement, he sent 666 "Beers" as a gift.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Shake it!"

"Wow, thank you, Big Bro!"

Inside the restaurant,

Jiang Liu placed the cut potatoes into a bowl, coated them with a layer of starch, rinsed them with water, and then added another layer of starch.

This method would make the fried potatoes and sweet potatoes extra crispy.

He poured the cooking oil he’d purchased from the [Gourmet Album] into the wok.

This particular oil had no off-flavors, only a light, clean fragrance, making it perfect for both deep-frying and stir-frying.

If he used rapeseed oil, the fried food would carry a hint of rapeseed. Likewise, if he used peanut or soybean oil, the food would take on the taste of peanuts or soybeans.

This would seriously interfere with the ingredients’ natural aroma.

The blended oils sold in markets were also unsuitable; they had a somewhat artificial fragrance.

Jiang Liu dipped a bamboo chopstick into the oil. Seeing small bubbles form around it, he immediately tossed in the sweet potatoes and potatoes.

"SIZZLE!"

The aroma of the potatoes and sweet potatoes instantly erupted from the wok.

Jiang Liu slowly stirred with a large slotted spoon. The instructions for Candied Potatoes in the Shandong cuisine cookbook noted that one must stir gently, avoiding sharp or pointed utensils.

The moment the potatoes and sweet potatoes entered the hot oil, the starch on their surface had formed a protective film.

If this skin was broken, oil would seep in and ruin the texture.

Jiang Liu had bought ten jin of sweet potatoes, some with white flesh and some with red.

The white-fleshed ones were starchy, while the red-fleshed ones were tender and sweet.

They were ordinary sweet potatoes sourced from the countryside, but Jiang Liu had specifically chosen freshly harvested ones.

The sweet potatoes and potatoes were fried in two batches.

When they came out of the wok, their surfaces were coated in a crispy, golden-brown shell.

Next, Jiang Liu tilted the wok and poured out two-thirds of the oil, leaving one-third behind to cook the sugar.

The sugar was also purchased from the [Gourmet Album]. It was made from natural sugarcane, with a fresh, sweet taste and no off-flavors.

He simmered it over low heat...

Soon, the white sugar melted into a thick, amber-colored syrup.

Jiang Liu checked the color, then dipped a chopstick in and tasted a little.

Thick and sweet!

The final step was to toss the fried potatoes and sweet potatoes back in to coat them.

At this point, the heat had to be adjusted back and forth; otherwise, the resulting sugar strands wouldn’t be sticky enough...

Furthermore, the ratio of sugar to potatoes and sweet potatoes had to be carefully controlled.

Too much, and it would be overly sweet; too little, and it wouldn’t pull into strands.

Soon, the Candied Sweet Potatoes and Potatoes were ready.

Jiang Liu took a sniff. The fresh, sweet aroma, combined with that of the sweet potatoes and potatoes, wafted up to him.

He took a pair of chopsticks and picked up an amber-gold piece of white-fleshed sweet potato. A strand of sugar easily stretched out for more than ten centimeters.

Jiang Liu twirled the sugar strand around his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.

It was honey-sweet on the tongue.

With a gentle bite, the crisp, sweet outer shell cracked, releasing a rich burst of sweet potato fragrance.

He finished it in two or three bites and nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad. I’d give it an eight out of ten. People with a sweet tooth will probably love this."

He considered adding this dish to the menu at Tongtong Restaurant.

A noise came from outside.

Jiang Liu poked his head out and saw that Wang Dongxu had arrived to deliver disposable cups.

"You’re here? How many sets did you bring this time?"

"Just finished up, Brother Jiang! I brought you ten thousand sets. Use ’em up!"

Wang Dongxu’s face was flushed, and he worked with particular gusto.

Jiang Liu was his biggest client. From this one restaurant alone, he could earn ten thousand a month.

If he hadn’t given Jiang Liu his lowest price, he’d be making tens of thousands, easily.

But he didn’t regret it. He genuinely liked and admired Jiang Liu.

He loved the man’s food and admired his character.

Jiang Liu smiled. "As it happens, I just made a new dish. Come over when you’re done, and I’ll give you some."

"A new dish?! Yes, yes, yes!"

Wang Dongxu was instantly thrilled and started working even harder.

Before long, he had unloaded the entire truckload into a small corner of the restaurant.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, the foodie’s mind was completely fixated on Jiang Liu’s cooking.

"Brother Jiang, all done! What’s good to eat?"

"Candied Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes."

"Candied Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes?!" Wang Dongxu’s voice rose, and his eyes widened involuntarily.

Oh my god.

It was a brand-new dish he’d never seen before!

He stared excitedly at the kitchen door.

He wished he could fly in there and claim the entire kitchen for himself.

Jiang Liu emerged from the kitchen holding two round, fist-sized containers.

Inside were three colors: golden-yellow, red, and yellowish-white.

The potatoes and sweet potatoes were coated in a thick, amber-colored syrup that steamed with a fresh sweetness.

"Here, take it. It’s not as good when it’s cold."

"Haha, thanks, Brother Jiang! I’m in for a real treat today," Wang Dongxu said, taking the containers excitedly.

They were a little hot to the touch.

"Brother Jiang, if you gave me something to eat every time I made a delivery, I’d deliver to you three times a day."

"Don’t you go clogging up my restaurant," Jiang Liu replied with a laugh.

"Haha, you have a point there," Wang Dongxu said. He sniffed the aroma, already dying to take a bite, but he restrained himself and pulled out his phone. "How much is it, Brother Jiang? I’ll pay you."

"Come on, don’t worry about it. Just take it home and eat."

Jiang Liu waved his hand dismissively. "It’s just a few dozen kuai. You think I’m gonna charge you for that?"

"Alright then, I’ll take it as a treat from you, Brother Jiang!"

"I’m heading out, Brother Jiang. Back to work!"

Wang Dongxu swaggered out, holding the Candied Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes aloft.

His posture and gait were like those of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing himself!

"Xiao Wang, what’s that you’ve got in your hands?"

Aunt Xu, with her sharp eyes, was the first to rush over.

Normally, a minor figure like Wang Dongxu wouldn’t attract any attention.

But at this moment, ninety-nine percent of the eyes in the line were glued to him—or more precisely, to the "Candied Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes" in his hands.

The various tycoons in the line swallowed hard.

Their eyes widened, trying to get a clear look at just what kind of "treasure" it was!

Wang Dongxu glanced at Aunt Xu, instinctively pulling the delicious food a little closer to protect it.