You can't make braised dishes without master stock.

Especially with Tiger Skin Chicken Feet.

After being fried and shocked in ice water, the chicken skin is covered in porous folds made of various gelatin, so it feels loose, but has no flavor at all.

The entire flavor of Tiger Skin Chicken Feet comes from the master stock.

Lin Xu grabbed a large soup pot for braising, poured in the pork bone broth after straining it.

Then, according to the amount of stock in the pot, he added salt, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and crystal sugar in sequence.

Since it was the first time making the braising sauce, the seasonings were all double portions.

This way, he could ensure the braising liquid would be rich and flavorful enough.

He turned on the stove.

Brought the stock in the soup pot to a boil.

Then added half a pound of whole dried chili peppers, a handful of Sichuan peppercorns, another handful of Sichuan peppercorns, plus star anise, bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, and scallion and ginger.

Simmered for another hour.

Let the spices and seasonings fully infuse the stock.

And allowed the medicinal notes in the spices to completely evaporate.

By this point, the chicken feet were fully plumped up.

Each one was twice as big as before.

Lin Xu scooped them out and put them into the soup pot, then added a huge spoonful of pork fat and a scoop of chicken fat.

Pork fat made the chicken feet glossy and rich.

While chicken fat gave them a stronger, savory aroma.

Very soon.

The soup pot came to a boil again.

He lowered the heat, letting the pot stay just below a boil.

This could effectively prevent the chicken skin from cracking and slipping off due to boiling, which would ruin their appearance.

After half an hour.

He turned off the heat.

Let the chicken feet soak in the master stock.

To make delicious Tiger Skin Chicken Feet, you must stick to the "thirty percent cooking, seventy percent soaking" rule.

Soaking helps the skin expand again.

And allows the flavor of the stock to fully penetrate inside.

After soaking for about an hour.

Lin Xu took out a self-heating tray.

Carefully arranged the chicken feet on it, one by one.

Added a little extra master stock.

And with that, this Tiger Skin Chicken Feet snack was finally ready.

"Wow, it smells amazing!"

Panda, watching the plump, thick chicken feet on the tray, was full of admiration for the boss.

These chicken feet were just beautifully done.

The color was rosy and glossy.

The size was huge.

The surface was covered in that tempting tiger-skin pattern.

"If you want to try, go ahead."

Seeing Panda's eager face, Lin Xu handed him an empty plate and let him pick a couple to taste.

They'd prepared even more noodles than yesterday.

But with Panda helping out,

Lin Xu finished all the prep work before 10:40 in the morning.

Panda had done basic kitchen work for two years before this.

His basic skills were solid.

He could handle chopping and washing with no trouble.

So Lin Xu just needed to focus on the more technical steps—stir-frying toppings, making cold sauce, and frying chili oil.

"Really, boss? Can I really eat?"

Panda looked at Lin Xu with excitement.

At his last job, eating meant getting fined.

He didn't expect the boss at Lin Ji to be so generous.

Letting the staff taste the finished snacks first.

"If you don't taste it, how will you introduce the chicken feet to customers? Can't just keep saying 'tastes good,' right?"

After that, Lin Xu picked up two chicken feet for himself.

And was the first to give them a try.

The chicken feet were slick and glossy.

With a rich, savory aroma.

Then came a touch of numb spiciness.

The flavor wasn't overwhelming.

But it was absolutely tantalizing.

The thick skin was full of the master stock's juices.

One bite.

Juices burst forth.

The fresh, spicy, numbing taste exploded in your mouth again.

The taste buds switched right on.

Your appetite instantly skyrocketed.

"Damn! These chicken feet are way too tasty! Boss, you're awesome!"

Panda smacked his lips after finishing one, dying for more.

Out of this world!

He'd never had chicken feet this good in his entire life.

"We're definitely going to sell out today!"

After Lin Xu finished his two chicken feet,

He once again brought out the electronic blackboard by the door.

Below the three types of noodles, he added the newly launched braised snack:

[Signature Tiger Skin Chicken Feet: 6 yuan/each]

Once he'd finished writing,

he set it at the door.

And just then, Old Mr. Gao strolled up in his floral T-shirt and white slacks.

Don't let his head of white hair fool you—he loved to wear flashy floral shirts or T-shirts, often with a jade Buddha bead necklace dangling on his neck.

He looked every bit like an old Chinese expat fresh from Southeast Asia.

"Boss Lin, how about we check out the apartment after the lunch rush?"

Seeing Lin Xu at the door, Old Mr. Gao brought it up first.

Lin Xu nodded:

"I was just about to talk to you—I've been busy making chicken feet all morning and didn't get a chance to call."

"Chicken feet? The new braised snack on the sign today is the Tiger Skin Chicken Feet?"

Old Mr. Gao didn't even mention the apartment anymore, turning eagerly to Lin Xu:

"Are the chicken feet ready now? Can I order yet?"

"Of course, everything's set."

Old Mr. Gao pointed at the shop door:

"Then I'll eat first, and we can talk about the lease after lunch."

With that, he strode into the shop.

He spotted the tray of chicken feet on the kitchen side and said to Lin Xu:

"Give me four chicken feet and a small bowl of tomato egg noodles. My teeth aren't great, can't handle most braised snacks—just love the easy-to-eat Tiger Skin Chicken Feet."

Lin Xu agreed readily.

Headed to the kitchen to start rolling out noodles.

Panda quickly picked up a plate and served Old Mr. Gao four chicken feet.

"Take your time, sir—your noodles will be ready in a moment."

Old Mr. Gao took the plate and gave it a good sniff.

Then praised out loud:

"Whoa! You can tell from the smell this master stock's made from pork bone broth—fragrant as heck."

Panda gave him a thumbs up:

"You're the real deal, sir—it's definitely pork-bone soup."

Old Mr. Gao chuckled

Picked up the chicken feet and started tasting.

The chicken feet tasted fantastic.

And were soft enough too.

With a gentle suck, the bones came off completely.

A gentle chew, and

The savory aroma burst open in his mouth.

"Delicious! These chicken feet really are something else!"

Old Mr. Gao polished off a whole chicken foot in one go, full of praise for Lin Xu's craft.

While he was eating,

Panda and a few of his friends walked in.

As soon as they entered,

Old Mr. Gao waved at them:

"You have to try the new chicken feet today—they're authentic!"

Panda let out a hearty laugh:

"Nothing Lin the Boss makes could ever taste bad."

He eyed the tray of chicken feet, then glanced at Lin Xu rolling out noodles:

"Give us twenty chicken feet, four bottles of North Pole, four big bowls of noodles with braised eggplant and pork sauce. We're a bit early today and not super hungry, so just a bowl each."

With that, he pointed his phone at the counter's payment code and started paying.

Twenty chicken feet—120 yuan, four North Poles—20 yuan, four bowls of noodles—120.

Total: 260 yuan.

"All this for a bowl of noodles? That's like 65 per person—kind of extravagant, huh?"

One of Panda's friends who hadn't been here before muttered under his breath.

"Relax, you'll see—it's worth every cent!"

Panda said it, then went to grab a North Pole for himself.

On social media,

A netizen named Shen Family Little Yueyue posted a question under the Lin Ji's Food topic:

"Newbie checking in! When eating at Lin Ji's Food for the first time, how can I fake looking like a regular?"

Soon after,

a helpful netizen named "Genius Girl Loves Food" replied:

"Regulars walk in and give the boss a kiss—the guys kiss his hand, the girls kiss his face, then shout 'I'm here!' That's all it takes!"

Under the shade near Lin Ji's Food,

A tall, striking girl in a high ponytail read the reply on her phone and her lips curled up in a tiny smile:

"If only it really were like that—wouldn't that be great!"

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