Beef Fried Rice (2)

After the students were dismissed, some of them began to drop by the shop one after another. Once school let out, Chen Yu ran to the night market, planning to buy a portion of river snail rice noodles.

However, today the teacher had run overtime, dismissing class twenty minutes later than usual. By the time she reached the night market, the river snail noodle shop was already fully packed. Oh no! Not only the river snail noodle shop, but the other shops were also crowded with people.

Based on past experience, if she waited, she would be late. She wandered around like a headless fly. At this moment, a small shop without a signboard caught her eye. Relatively speaking, there were far fewer customers inside, and the price of the fried rice was not expensive. But she couldn't help but feel a bit hesitant; with so few people, she could guess the taste without even trying. Alas, there was no other way. She could only go to this shop, otherwise she would have to attend evening self-study on an empty stomach. She walked in and found that the windows of this small diner were all clean, and there was not a single speck of dust on the tables. It felt somewhat warm, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of goodwill.

The kitchen was an open-style kitchen. Through the glass, she noticed Bai Yinuo frying rice inside. She was somewhat shocked by her beauty, and her voice unconsciously lowered. "Excuse me, how many minutes will it take to make a portion of beef fried rice?" Bai Yinuo thought for a moment and replied, "The ingredients are all prepared. It will take about three minutes." Chen Yu breathed a sigh of relief; this meant she wouldn't be late. "Then please give me a portion of beef fried rice to go. I want to eat it in class." "Alright, 15 yuan."

The rice had been cooked the night before and chilled in the refrigerator.

This way, the grains of rice would absorb enough moisture to become plump and succulent.

The inside of the rice grains remained soft and fluffy while the outside was dry, making it easy to absorb the aroma of the oil and fry up that delicious flavor. Her master had once taught her that eating rice was about tasting the rice itself; it shouldn't turn into eating seasonings.

Bringing out fifty to sixty percent of the ingredients' natural flavors was already delicious enough. Therefore, Bai Yinuo only used sweet, bitter, spicy, or sour seasonings when making complex dishes, for which she had even summarized closely guarded secret recipes.

When making ordinary, simple food, she always adhered to the simplest Great Dao, rarely adding other seasonings, including various modern and novel condiments. She heated the wok with oil, used a high flame, and tossed the beef and rice into the pan.

Her slender, smooth wrist was not as weak as it appeared; her movements in tossing the wok were smooth as flowing water. After three minutes of frying, a portion of fried rice perfect in color, aroma, and taste was ready. Bai Yinuo had previously thought that customers might need takeout, so she had bought a stack of transparent lunch boxes, which now came in handy. Chen Yu caught the rich aroma and couldn't help but swallow her saliva, her stomach rumbling involuntarily. It seemed... it seemed to look quite good. Just as she was doubting, she suddenly realized the time. "Oh no, I'm going to be late." She picked up the lunch box, paid for the food, and left quickly, not forgetting to call out, "Thank you, Boss!"

She carried the lunch box into the classroom. Haishi No. 2 High School's management was relatively humane; they did not rigidly require all students to eat in the cafeteria, did not forbid families from delivering meals, and did not prohibit students from eating in the classroom during this time.

Therefore, many families would deliver meals to the classroom, and students would wait at the delivery spot after class for their families to bring food to the school. Chen Yu returned late. Many in the class had already finished eating and were seizing the brief time to read, with only a scattered few still having their meals.

The classroom was filled with the aroma of food. Chen Yu sat in her seat, took a deep breath, and opened the lunch box.

The beef fried rice was glistening and translucent, with every single grain distinct.

The moment she saw it, only one phrase crossed Chen Yu's mind—I want to eat! Because it was summer, the rice had barely cooled down, and the airtightness of the lunch box was quite good. The fragrant aroma was no different from when it had just left the wok, instantly filling the entire classroom.