Ma Zhiqiang had a wealth of work experience.

Before becoming a freelance banquet worker in Beijing, taking whatever jobs came his way, he had run a small restaurant, joined a braised chicken rice chain, and contracted to run a school canteen window.

His work experience was almost comparable to Grandpa Gao's romantic history.

Now asked by his boss to make a canteen-style braised eggplant, he immediately got to work.

After washing the eggplants, he WHACK, WHACK, WHACKED them into rolling knife cuts with his cleaver. While chopping, he said, "In the canteen, the eggplant pieces are relatively larger because it makes the dish appear more voluminous and substantial."

Once chopped, he put the eggplant pieces in a basin, cracked an egg over them, and sprinkled them with salt. After mixing well, he added some flour. "Starch is too expensive," he explained, "and the paste it makes is too thin, so school canteens use flour. This makes the batter thicker. Not only does it make the pieces look bigger and improve the texture, but it also uses less oil for frying."

When it comes to flavor, cuisine offers endless possibilities. But when driven by cost, all accompaniments, ingredients, and seasonings are squeezed down as much as possible to guarantee enough profit.

That was exactly what Ma Zhiqiang was doing now.

In his words, "Actually, when making this in a school canteen, we don't even add eggs to the batter. We just sprinkle a little water on the eggplant pieces to ensure the flour sticks."

Once the eggplant pieces were prepared, he heated oil in a wok. While the oil was heating, he also prepared some tomatoes, Green and red peppers, and wood ear mushrooms.

These accompaniments were usually essential.

"In winter, when eggplants are more expensive, some onions are added to bulk up the dish," Ma Zhiqiang commented. "But in summer, eggplants are cheaper, so that's not necessary."

Lin Xu and Xie Baomin exchanged bewildered glances.

Indeed, every trick was used to save money.

One of the apprentice brothers, Lin Xu, had started his career at Fishing Platform, while the other, Xie Baomin, owned a restaurant whose business had boomed from the start. They had never experienced the plight of small restaurant owners who had to pinch every penny.

So, listening to Ma Zhiqiang's explanation, a sense of poignancy washed over them.

They always felt that people in the catering industry really had it rough.

Once the oil was hot, Ma Zhiqiang scattered the batter-coated eggplant pieces into the wok, frying them until the batter turned golden brown before removing them.

He didn't double-fry them. The main purpose of double-frying is to render out excess oil. However, these eggplant pieces were already encased in a thick batter. Retaining some oil actually made them more flavorful; expelling it would have diminished the aroma.

Watching Ma Zhiqiang's method, Xie Baomin finally realized the difference between his cooking and that of the school chefs.

"My methods are indeed too refined..." he murmured.

Ma Zhiqiang poured the oil out of the wok and began to stir-fry.

He stir-fried minced scallions and garlic in the wok until fragrant. Then, he added half a ladleful of tomato paste, frying it until aromatic before adding water. He seasoned the mixture with salt, sugar, Light Soy Sauce, Dark Soy Sauce, and also added Chicken Essence and Flavoring.

He then tossed in the wood ear mushrooms and tomato chunks.

Adding the tomatoes at this late stage wasn't to cook them down into a sauce; like the Green and red peppers, they were purely for garnish.

Once the liquid in the wok boiled, he gave it a couple of stirs, then tossed in the fried eggplant and the Green and red peppers. After they were added, he brought it to a rolling boil over high heat. Next, he thickened the sauce with a cornstarch slurry, simmering until it was viscous. A final drizzle of Seasoning Oil, and the dish was plated.

The braised eggplant made this way was intensely aromatic, with a thick, glossy sauce. The tomato paste imparted a beautiful red sheen to the eggplant. The tomato pieces largely retained their shape, and the peppers were tender-crisp.

Yes, this is the taste!

Lin Xu was instantly transported back to his university canteen days.

Without saying another word, he went to ladle himself a bowl of rice.

He spooned some sauce from Ma Zhiqiang's braised eggplant and added a few pieces of the slightly soft eggplant to his bowl, then eagerly took a mouthful with his rice.

In one second, he was back at the Finance University canteen.

Too bad the canteen ladies expertly wielding their serving ladles and the lines of students weren't here, or the sense of immersion would have been even stronger.

"Senior Brother, you should try this. This is the authentic canteen flavor," Lin Xu urged. "The Chicken Essence and Flavoring really make the taste pop—it's more robust and straightforward than your Pork Bone Broth."

Stock can also enhance umami, but it doesn't quite compare to specialized flavor enhancers.

Xie Baomin's mood finally lightened.

He smiled helplessly. "I was wondering what the difference was. So that's the secret... Thank you, Xiao Ma, for showing me what real school canteen food is like."

Ma Zhiqiang, having finished cleaning the wok, was now preparing lunch for everyone. "You're too kind, Chef Xie. It was nothing, really."

「Soon」

Lunch began.

Shen Jiayue also came to get her boxed lunch.

But seeing two dishes of braised eggplant on the table, she curiously asked, "Are eggplants cheap today? Why make two eggplant dishes?"

Lin Xu replied with a smile, "Today, Senior Brother had a culinary cook-off with a school canteen's head chef. That's why there are two braised eggplant dishes: one high-end hotel version and one school canteen version."

Shen Jiayue immediately reached for the portion Ma Zhiqiang had prepared. "In that case, I'll have the school canteen version!" she declared. "I still remember how the ladies in our university canteen always gave you a huge portion of braised eggplant. If I asked for some, they wouldn't give me as much. So stingy!"

A sweet smile graced her lips as she recalled her university days.

Ah, that was our youth! she thought. My youth had you in it, and your youth had me. How wonderful!

She tasted Ma Zhiqiang's version, then Xie Baomin's, and sincerely commented:

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