Food Stall: Customers Chase Me across the Country-Chapter 375 - 376: Wang Fan’s Chili-Stuffed Shrimp Paste Lesson (Part 1)
Using beef meatballs to greet a new day seems to have become a habit for these tourists.
With a bit of cilantro and salt added to the hot, steaming meatball broth, it turns into a very refreshing beef consomme. Eating a few bursting beef meatballs keeps one’s energy full all day long. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
Wang Fan didn’t specifically mention that these meatballs were made by those underprivileged students. There was no need for that as he didn’t want to resort to pretentiousness. Delicious food only needs color, aroma, and taste, nothing else.
Today’s main ingredient was still shrimp, after all, the future father-in-law had produced forty acres of it. If they didn’t consume those shrimp seedlings quickly, it would be a waste.
After finishing with the beef, the students quickly got the hang of handling shrimp, mastering another new skill made them quite happy.
The principal, Qi, realized that he didn’t even need to supervise them; as soon as they tasted the beef meatballs they made by themselves, it became an amusing game for them.
There’s no child who doesn’t love games. However, most games are seen by parents as distractions. This was a game they loved and could become a foundation for their livelihood—something very hard to find.
Moreover, Boss Wang seemed to have high prestige among the kids. If he praised a child, that child would almost jump out of excitement, and the others would look enviously, then work even harder.
Wang Fan knew these kids desperately needed affirmation because that’s how he grew up. When they did well in a certain area, a simple "great job" could make them exceedingly happy.
Today, there were still many newcomers, and those from yesterday were mostly reluctant to leave.
Firstly, it’s rare to encounter this outdoor big boss, and secondly, Aksu is truly beautiful.
Aksu not only has its famous apples but also scenic beauty on par with the Northern Border. Many came in the morning to buy food and then head off to the picturesque places.
Also, compared to the currently popular and crowded areas like Ili and Altai, the tourists here were much fewer, allowing them to enjoy a peaceful time with nature.
Lu Yuan and Jiang Tian planned for this.
Both were students studying in Russia, taking advantage of the holidays to return to China and travel while enjoying the food.
As overseas students, what’s missed most is hometown cuisine.
The two had planned to buy Boss Wang’s food early in the morning and head straight to Ta Village, then travel east while going back to Beijing.
However, plans didn’t keep up with unforeseen changes.
They thought they would leave immediately after buying, but Wang Fan’s food held them on the spot.
A beef meatball was put in his mouth and bitten into, and Lu Yuan’s eyes widened at Jiang Tian: "You might not believe it, but I think I was just attacked by a meatball!"
With just one bite, six or seven jets of juice squirted into his mouth. It felt incredible.
Jiang Tian nodded vigorously: "Me too, me too! Is Boss Wang’s food always this aggressive? But these meatballs are so delicious, so fresh!"
Lu Yuan stuffed two beef meatballs into his mouth, his cheeks bulging like a big hamster, speaking with a muffled voice: "Local food is the best! Oh, I’m craving it so much!"
Jiang Tian struggled to swallow the beef and said: "Eat less, Boss Wang was asking for preferred shrimp flavors just now, except for boiled shrimp, I ordered a pound of everything else. I’m really looking forward to the stuffed pepper shrimp paste."
Wang Fan indeed added new flavors to choose from today.
To find more ways to sell his future father-in-law’s shrimp, he kept updating the dishes; stuffed pepper shrimp paste and garlic prawns were today’s new offerings.
The shrimp meat had been pounded into compact shrimp paste, and he mixed in some diced shrimp to enhance the texture.
High-quality ingredients really don’t need excessive seasoning, just a touch of salt and sugar, and made using shrimp heads, shells, and shrimp legs to brew a fragrant shrimp oil.
Adding the pure spring formed by melting Tianshan snow became the final weapon to conquer diners’ taste buds.
At that time, Wang Fan was in the backyard, holding a green pepper, demonstrating to the children how to handle it.
"Just grab the little end of the pepper, gently press and twist, then push it in slightly to remove the end. Try it out."
As his words fell, the pepper end in his hand came off intact, thrilling over a dozen kids.
Kids, especially boys, are more interested in hands-on activities than mental ones, particularly things in the kitchen, which trigger their curiosity.
But trial and error come with a cost; when the children tried twisting off the pepper ends, some twisted them into shreds, some cut them in half, and some twisted them beyond recognition.
The kids, at a loss, looked at Wang Fan. Principal Qi’s temples were pulsating, clearly on the brink of explosion.
Wang Fan merely smiled and said: "It’s okay, this step has a tiny bit of difficulty, but I believe you can complete it as long as you try seriously. Feel free to experiment, but remember, these ruined peppers will be part of our meal today, so if you don’t want to eat peppers all day, focus more while doing it."
"Don’t think about whether you can succeed. It’s a slightly difficult task. You only need to do it little by little, and you’ll definitely succeed."
Hearing Wang Fan’s words, the children’s uneasy hearts finally settled.
Tuomuer was particularly happy to hear the mess he made wouldn’t go to waste, as it removed any guilt feelings, like making amends for his mistakes.
Taking up another pepper, he took a deep breath to adjust his mindset, rehearsing Wang Fan’s actions in his mind, slowly turning his hands.
"Click..."
The green pepper emitted a crisp cracking sound, but Tuomuer’s hand remained steady as he rotated and pushed.
"Pop..."
A soft sound, Tuomuer looked at the pepper in his hand incredulously and drew it out slowly; all that remained was a pepper end full of seeds.
"I did it! Teacher Wang, I did it!"
Tuomuer raised his hand excitedly, clutching the pepper end like a victor’s trophy.
Wang Fan came over, patted Tuomuer’s head, and smiled: "Great job, you were very attentive."
