Chapter 63 Is this a KTV or a restaurant?

Chapter 63 Is this a KTV or a restaurant?

Su Yingxue and Ye Feifei exchanged a glance and followed Chen Ru quickly toward the door. Just as they stepped out, Su Yingxue's gaze suddenly froze—in the crowd, the chubby Miao, wearing an exaggerated floral shirt, was chatting and laughing, with Wang Wei standing beside him, holding the hand of a little girl of about four or five years old; that must be his daughter.

Not far away, several stylishly dressed young girls carrying exquisite handbags were posing for their phones, clearly a group of girlfriends meeting for afternoon tea.

"Welcome." Chen Ru smiled professionally and whispered to Su Yingxue, "Go back to the kitchen. These are important clients; treat them well."

Su Yingxue nodded gently and turned to walk towards the kitchen. The mysterious new recipe she received in yesterday's system lottery made her determined to try her hand at cooking it today.

At this time, the "Golden Glory" KTV was already filled with several tables of guests, making it much more lively than usual.

Wang Wei led his son into the KTV, followed closely by Fatty Miao, Cui Lan, and her group of girlfriends.

"Daddy, I want to eat potato chips!" Five-year-old Wang Niu Niu looked up at her father, puzzled, as he brought her to this unfamiliar place.

"My sweet daughter, no potato chips, Mommy's working overtime today. Daddy's going to treat you to something delicious!" Wang Wei smiled and patted his daughter's head, the memory of the delicious fried chicken from last time flashing through his mind. This time, he had specially saved some of his secret stash of money, just to take his daughter out for a feast.

"Is it the fried chicken from last time? I want to eat it again!" Wang Niu Niu jumped up excitedly, her little face full of anticipation. She clearly remembered the delicious fried chicken her father brought home last time.

"Keep your voice down." Wang Wei led his daughter into the KTV, a hint of embarrassment flashing across his face, but he quickly straightened his back. He was just there to eat, what was there to be shy about?

"Old Wang, it's my treat today!" Fatty Miao grabbed Wang Wei. "The fried chicken here is absolutely amazing! Look, even my wife's girlfriends came because of the aroma."

Cui Lan ignored Fatty Miao beside her and enthusiastically greeted her best friends, "Fenfen, Xiaodie, let me tell you, the fried chicken here is absolutely amazing!"

"You brought us here to sing karaoke, didn't you? You said we were here to eat..." The girlfriends joked and laughed, not taking Cui Lan's words seriously at all, and instead acting as if they were on a picnic.

"It's been so long since I sang! Today we're going to sing 'I'll Love You Till I Die,' and we absolutely have to hit those high notes!"

"Haha, then I'll perform 'The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau' for you!"

The group jokingly walked towards the front desk. Fatty Miao waved his hand generously, preparing to book a deluxe private room.

Cui Lan quickly intervened: "We'll have two private rooms. You and your friends can have your fun, and my girlfriends and I will have ours. We won't bother each other."

"Wife..." Before Fatty Miao could say anything more, Cui Lan had already pulled her girlfriends straight upstairs.

"Hahaha, then I'll order ten servings of fried chicken, it's none of your business!" Fatty Miao immediately put on a smiling face and turned to Wang Niuniu, "Girl, we're going to eat our fill today!"

"Eat to your heart's content! Eat to your heart's content!" Wang Niu Niu waved her little hands happily, her innocent laughter infecting everyone present.

Inside the private room, Fatty Miao couldn't wait to order a five-person fried chicken set meal, several bottles of cola, and a plate of spicy duck necks as soon as he sat down. Then he started his "personal concert" at the top of his lungs.

Meanwhile, Cui Lan and the others discussed, "I want to eat pasta, do you want some?"

"I ate too much at lunch," Xiaodie said, flipping through the new menu. "But this braised snack looks good. How about we order some spicy duck neck? It'll be fragrant and spicy, definitely whetting our appetites."

"Yes, yes, two servings of fried chicken, please. We can order more if needed!"

Meanwhile, in the kitchen—

Su Yingxue was focused on preparing the new dish. She was different today because the mysterious new recipe she'd won in yesterday's system lottery had prompted her to try cooking it herself. Usually, she was Chef Wei's assistant, but today the roles were reversed.

"Sprinkle the seasoning, coat with flour..." Su Yingxue operated skillfully, her eyes sparkling with eagerness.

In the kitchen, Su Yingxue wore a clean floral apron, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, her forearms speckled with seasoning powder. On the counter in front of her, glistening duck necks were piled in a bamboo basket, while dark red chili peppers, golden garlic, and emerald green scallions were neatly arranged on white porcelain plates, filling the air with a subtle spicy aroma—this was her "Secret Recipe Spicy Duck Necks," a modified version of the system's new recipe. Meanwhile, in a non-stick pan beside her, tomato meat sauce was simmering, preparing for another new dish, "Italian-Style Bolognese Pasta."

“Let’s deal with the duck necks first,” she murmured to herself, picking up a duck neck with her fingertips and carefully rinsing it under running water. These duck necks were freshly delivered this morning, their skin a healthy pale pink, and the meat around the joints thick and plump.

She laid the duck necks flat on the cutting board and used a sharp kitchen knife to make several shallow cuts on the skin—this was to allow the seasonings to penetrate better. With each "thud" of the knife against the meat and bone, she recalled the three key steps to flavorful cooking emphasized in the system notification: marinate thoroughly, simmer for a long time, and reduce until dry.

In the large basin on the table, a secret marinade was already prepared: star anise and cinnamon were fried in hot oil to release their amber aroma, Sichuan peppercorns were stir-fried until they turned slightly black, and then paired with dried chili peppers from Hanyuan, Sichuan, red garlic from Qiubei, Yunnan, and a spoonful of secret red oil.

Su Yingxue poured the cleaned and scored duck necks into a basin, added two spoonfuls of cooking wine, and then mixed them thoroughly with her gloved fingers, ensuring that each duck neck was coated with the seasoning. As the marinade sizzled and seeped in, she glanced at the wall clock—exactly twenty minutes of marinating.

"Use this time to make tomato meat sauce." She turned around, opened the refrigerator, and took out two ripe cherry tomatoes and three beefsteak tomatoes—the system recipe specifically noted, "Cherry tomatoes enhance the flavor, and beefsteak tomatoes thicken the sauce."

She scored the top of the tomato with an X, blanched it in boiling water for thirty seconds, easily peeled off the skin, and then blended it into a smooth paste using a food processor. She poured olive oil into a cast iron pot, added diced onions and ground beef, and sautéed until the ground beef turned golden brown. Then she poured in the tomato paste, along with a spoonful of red wine, half a spoonful of sugar, and freshly ground black pepper.

The flames on the stove licked the bottom of the pot, as tomatoes and beef simmered together under the high heat, gradually simmering into a thick sauce. Su Yingxue kept stirring with a wooden spatula to prevent sticking, until the sauce became as smooth as silk, able to cling to the spatula and slowly slide off.

She took a bite; the sweet and sour flavor was slightly salty and savory, with a hint of red wine aroma—perfect.

By this time, the marinated duck necks were ready. She poured the duck necks, along with the marinade, into a pressure cooker, added two slices of ginger and a kettle of boiling water, and pressure-cooked them for fifteen minutes. Once the pressure valve released, she opened the lid, and a steaming aroma of spicy flavor wafted out. The duck necks had become soft and tender, yet still retained a slight chewiness.

She took the duck necks out and drained them. Then, she heated a large pot of oil to 60% of its maximum temperature and fried the duck necks one by one until the skin was slightly wrinkled. This step makes the duck necks firmer and locks in the juices.

The duck neck smells delicious.