Chapter 130: Chapter 130: Delicious Ice Cream, A New Mission!
Happy Ranch had its own short video account, sharing daily clips of cows, sheep, cats, and dogs, amassing over four hundred thousand followers. Zhang Xinya was in charge of running Happy Ranch’s short video operations.
After the banquet ended that day, she immediately edited the video of Jiang Feng making the Fairy Chicken. Some parts were sped up, bringing the total video length to just three and a half minutes—not too long. She posted the video online right away with the accompanying text: "At today’s ranch banquet, we invited Executive Chef Jiang to take the lead. Enjoy his Fairy Chicken!"
The video began with Jiang Feng, blindfolded, deboning a whole chicken, surrounded by many watching chefs, as he explained his technique. The first chicken was deboned blindfolded to replicate the traditional method; he removed the blindfold for the subsequent ones. This was followed by the marinating and cooking process, with each step explained. The video concluded as the outer layer of clay was cracked open, the wrappings were peeled away layer by layer, and the chicken was sliced, revealing glistening sauce oozing out.
Soon, followers began to see the video. They initially thought it was just an ordinary food video but were quickly captivated by the cuisine showcased, especially the final presentation of the roasted chicken. The tender skin, glistening with oil, was enough to make anyone’s mouth water.
Comments flooded the section:
"Watching this makes me crave it so much! I have to ask my mom to make it for me."
"Doing things blindfolded isn’t that hard with practice. For example, I’m 20 this year. I’ve never seen my own butt, but I always wipe right on target."
"Three hundred reckless people have already saved this. I’m curious to see when they’ll actually learn how to make it."
"Executive Chef Jiang is still so impressive! This dish is incredibly difficult to make!"
"I’m a culinary student, so take my advice: don’t try this casually. Just the first step, deboning a whole chicken, is beyond what an ordinary person can do!"
The video quickly gained popularity, amassing a high number of likes and views. Due to its excellent completion rate, the system continuously pushed the video into larger traffic pools. More and more people saw the Fairy Chicken made by Jiang Feng, and many found it extraordinary.
"How come I’ve never seen this kind of dish before?"
"It looks so delicious."
"The final presentation is just too good."
In China, a land renowned for its hidden talents, many chefs with culinary expertise saw the dish and offered their comments:
"This dish resembles Huaiyang Cuisine’s Eight Treasure Gourd Duck. In that dish, a duck is deboned while keeping its skin intact, then stuffed with eight different fillings. This Fairy Chicken shows similar ingenuity."
"Indeed, I also recognized the method of the Eight Treasure Gourd Duck."
"His technique is very professional. The blindfolded deboning alone demonstrates his solid foundational skills."
"To have such culinary skill at his young age, he must have trained under a master chef."
The response to the video was overwhelmingly positive. Zhang Xinya was shocked when she checked the backend data. Previous videos were considered quite good if they reached ten or twenty thousand likes, but this video surpassed fifty thousand likes shortly after being posted, and the number was still climbing rapidly. This indicated the video was becoming increasingly popular. It seemed everyone enjoyed watching such content. It also demonstrated that Jiang Feng’s culinary skills were highly engaging to watch. After all, not everyone’s cooking could draw such a large audience.
The video became a local sensation. In the city’s trending topics, the hashtag #ExecutiveChefJiang’sFairyChicken quickly gained traction, appearing towards the bottom of the list. Many people clicked to watch.
Local food enthusiasts left messages:
"When is Executive Chef Jiang going to set up his food truck again? We’re waiting to eat his food!"
"In all these years, he’s the only great chef I recognize. His culinary skill is truly exceptional!"
"Food made by Executive Chef Jiang just tastes different!"
"Please set up your stall again! I want to queue up for it one more time!"
Everyone was eagerly anticipating it. As the saying goes, fervent wishes eventually bring a response.
「」
There were about ten days left before the restaurant’s grand opening, and Jiang Feng found himself with free time again. He resumed his vacation mode, enjoying his leisure time at home every day. Occasionally, he would take Little Black out for a walk. When hungry, he would simply cook a couple of hot dishes. Life was relaxed.
Until that evening, when the system issued a new mission.
[New Mission: Set up a street stall on Academy Road for seven days, selling 200 desserts daily.]
[Mission Reward: Jade Bracelet (market value approximately 8 million)]
[Recipes Acquired: Homemade Old-Fashioned Popsicle, Homemade White Rabbit Ice Cream, Homemade Green Mood Ice Cream, Homemade Ice Cream, Homemade Mango Pomelo Sago, Homemade Watermelon Iced Tangyuan.]
[Materials Acquired: 1 kilogram of milk, 1 kilogram of cream (claimable once per day).]
[Accept mission?]
This mission was quite interesting. Make desserts? Jiang Feng’s mouth watered at the thought. He himself was quite fond of desserts. It’s quite common for people who don’t drink alcohol to enjoy things like milk tea and ice cream.
Academy Road... there should be an elementary school and a middle school there, Jiang Feng mused. Catering to kids should be good business.
Then, he muttered to himself, "I’m not interested in the Jade Bracelet; I just want to bring a little coolness to the children. What’s eight million here or there? I’ll take this mission."
Jiang Feng chose to accept the mission. He had taken a few days off and had plenty of free time. The restaurant hadn’t opened yet, so there wasn’t much for him to do. Running a stall selling drinks and ice cream for a week wouldn’t be too tiring.
Jiang Feng immediately began to prepare the ingredients for making ice cream. The method was very simple, requiring only molds, milk, cream, lemon juice, and seasonal fruits, among other things. Jiang Feng considered the recipes he had acquired, planning to first make some ice cream and watermelon iced tangyuan, and then some popsicles. When the time came, he would load them into the food truck’s freezer and sell them directly.
It was time for some independent street vending again. He was rather looking forward to it.
After preparing the ingredients, Jiang Feng started by trying to make homemade ice cream. The cream and milk, supplied by the system, were of exceptionally high quality.
Jiang Feng lit the stove, added 400 grams of milk and 1,200 grams of cream according to a 1:3 ratio, and began to heat it. Simultaneously, he found a bowl, cracked 12 eggs into it, added 160 grams of white sugar, and mixed everything thoroughly with a whisk. Then, he poured the heated cream and milk mixture into the beaten eggs and sugar. After mixing again, it formed a slightly yellowish, creamy mixture. At this stage, one could add crushed Oreos or seasonal fruits.
Wanting to taste the original flavor first, Jiang Feng put the creamy mixture back into the pot to continue heating. He set the temperature to 80 degrees Celsius, the optimal temperature.
Making ice cream involves simple steps but requires great attention to detail. The ingredient ratios affect the freezing point, while the cooking temperature influences the texture. Good ice cream can be easily scooped into a ball with a spatula and has a smooth, soft texture. Inferior ice cream, however, seems frozen solid in its container, requiring considerable force to scrape out with a spatula. This is because an incorrect sugar proportion makes the ice cream freeze too hard.
But Jiang Feng used fresh ingredients, perfect ratios, and meticulous handling of details. Consequently, the ice cream he made was bound to taste good.
Jiang Feng watched the creamy mixture heating in the pot, stirring it gently with a spoon. The mixture was exceptionally smooth, looking delicate and velvety. A rich, milky aroma wafted up.
When it was almost ready, Jiang Feng turned off the heat, poured the entire creamy mixture into a container, and placed it in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator to chill. Once frozen, it would be ice cream.
The finest ingredients often only require the simplest cooking methods. Handmade ice cream prepared this way would undoubtedly taste better than commercially produced ice cream from the market.
Jiang Feng busied himself with other things. Two hours later, he went to the refrigerator and took out the now-frozen ice cream. At this point, the ice cream had taken on a pale yellow color. Its surface looked like a layer of pale yellow snow, appearing soft and delicate.
He took a spoon, inserted it gently into the ice cream, and immediately scooped up a portion. Jiang Feng tasted it.
Instantly, a refreshing coolness spread from his tongue throughout his body. The sweet taste stimulated his body to release dopamine, making Jiang Feng feel a sense of joy from within. The smooth consistency, delicate mouthfeel, and rich sweetness... It was so refreshing. It was like a cool breeze on a hot summer day. His whole body felt relaxed.
"Not bad at all," Jiang Feng smiled, satisfied. The ice cream tasted even better than he had expected.
Never mind the stall for now, Jiang Feng thought. I’ll just enjoy this myself first.
Jiang Feng continued to scoop and eat the ice cream. The cool, sweet sensation washed over him again and again, stimulating his taste buds. The ice cream melted in his mouth, like winter snow yielding to spring. As it slid down his throat, his body felt increasingly refreshed.
The ice cream was truly delicious. Ice cream this good is bound to captivate those kids.
At that moment, Little Black was wagging its tail by Jiang Feng’s feet, clearly wanting some ice cream too.
"Little Black, you’re a dog," Jiang Feng said, waving his hand dismissively. "Dogs can’t eat this ice cream; they’ll die if they eat it."
Besides, this wasn’t the first or second time he’d tricked the dog.
Upon hearing "dogs will die if they eat it," Little Black’s expression stiffened, and its tail stopped wagging. Then it turned and trotted off to the living room to play, oblivious to the treacherous ways of humans.
Jiang Feng was just worried the little fellow would get a stomachache from the cold treat, especially since he was going to feed it meat soon anyway. So, he had to resort to a little white lie.