Chapter Six: This Steak Is Cooked to Perfection

“Mom, you can’t force feelings. It’s my brother’s freedom to choose who he wants to date. Please don’t meddle in this!”

“What do you little girl know?” Lin’s mother shot Lin Xiang a sharp look, impatiently shooing her away. “Go on, go find somewhere cool to hang out!”

She pushed Lin Xiang out of the woodshed.

The sky was still bright, and rain seemed imminent yet uncertain. Thinking of the couple’s mention of the state-run hotel hiring a Western cuisine chef, Lin Xiang couldn’t bear staying at home any longer. “Mom, it’s about to rain. There must be plenty of mushrooms growing on the back hill. I’m going to pick some.”

“Everyone knows it’s going to rain, yet you’re running outside! At least take a raincoat with you!” Lin’s mother barked as she rushed out from the main room, but Lin Xiang had already disappeared.

Fortune favored Lin Xiang. At the village entrance, she happened upon Old Sun, who was driving his ox cart to town. She handed him the ten cents she had earned selling anti-inflammatory medicine and climbed onto the cart. After a bumpy half-hour ride, she finally arrived in town.

The state-run hotel was easy to find: a three-story building with a bright red signboard that stood out amid the otherwise drab surroundings.

A notice was posted at the hotel entrance, earnestly seeking a Western cuisine chef. The notice had been up for half a month, still untaken down, indicating they had yet to find a suitable candidate.

Lin Xiang entered the state-run hotel with calm confidence.

It wasn’t mealtime, so only a few scattered tables were occupied. The waitstaff and cashier sat chatting on stools. Noticing Lin Xiang come in, a waitress barely lifted her eyelids, her indifferent attitude tinged with arrogance. “We only have noodles left now. One bowl costs eighteen cents plus a coupon.”

“I’m not here to eat,” Lin Xiang said, pointing at the notice on the wall. “I heard the hotel is looking for a Western cuisine chef. I want to give it a try.”

“You?” The waitress scrutinized Lin Xiang from head to toe, her disdain nearly spilling over. “Comrade, no offense, but do you even know what Western cuisine is? You’ve probably never heard of it before and still came to apply? You really know how to flatter yourself!”

Lin Xiang understood. In this era, anyone with a secure job typically looked down on rural folk. She had rushed out without changing clothes, her jacket patched in two places. It was only natural for others to belittle her.

She didn’t argue. Instead, she spoke openly, “Western cuisine doesn’t refer to just one dish. Like our country has eight major culinary traditions, Western cuisine also has six main schools, each based on different countries’ flavors. But what most people think of as Western food is mainly pan-fried steak.”

The waitress hadn’t expected Lin Xiang to know so much—it was unlike someone just trying their luck. She dared not delay and hurried off to the kitchen.

A moment later, a middle-aged man wearing a chef’s hat and holding a large iron ladle emerged from the kitchen. “Who said they can cook Western food?”

Lin Xiang quietly raised her hand. “That would be me.”

The chef was unlike the waitress—he didn’t look down on her or assume she was just lucky because of her youth or shabby clothes. He quickly beckoned her inside. “Come, young comrade, come in and make us a steak to try!”

Inside the kitchen, Lin Xiang immediately spotted a slab of beef ribs on the cutting board. The piece was small and unevenly cut.

Chef Shen pressed a freshly sharpened knife into her hand. “Make us a steak with this.”

Lin Xiang pointed at the beef ribs. “You can make steak from ribs, but the texture isn’t as good. The best part is the upper shoulder blade—tender yet firm.”

If conditions allowed, one could also select beef by its marbling. In a proper Western restaurant, each steak’s price varies according to its marbling and cut.

But Lin Xiang knew that in the late 1970s, cattle were considered farm tools and private slaughter was forbidden. The collective team only allowed slaughter when the ox was sick or had died of old age.

Chef Shen obviously didn’t know steaks required selecting specific cuts. Fortunately, the state-run hotel had an entire cow; the ribs were almost all used up, but the shoulder blade remained.

“Wait here, I’ll get it for you!”

While waiting, Lin Xiang asked the other kitchen helpers for seasonings.

“Star anise, cinnamon bark, bay leaf, scallions, ginger, soy sauce, and rock sugar—bring me some of each.”

Marinating a steak also required orange, rosemary, and oyster sauce, but Lin Xiang knew the town’s state-run hotel would have none of these. Rather than complicate things, she would substitute with what was available.

When Chef Shen returned with the shoulder blade, Lin Xiang swiftly cut a perfect steak from it.

She evenly coated the beef with the marinade she had just prepared.

“Beef needs marinating? Isn’t it like pork—you can just cook it straight away?” Chef Shen asked skeptically.

Ordinary people rarely ate beef and thought all meat was the same. They treated beef like pork, rarely marinating it unless for a special dish. So Lin Xiang’s approach surprised him.

She explained, “Beef and mutton differ from pork—they have a gamey flavor. Foreigners’ diets tend to be lighter, unlike our country’s extensive seasonings. It’s best to marinate the meat before cooking to enhance the flavor.”

Chef Shen took out a notebook and silently jotted down the marinade recipe. “No wonder the taste felt off—I didn’t marinate it!”

After about ten minutes of marinating, Lin Xiang began pan-frying the steak.

Online tutorials mostly recommended butter for cooking steak, but Lin Xiang found butter better used as a seasoning. Using it as cooking oil was too heavy and affected the taste.

Fortunately, the kitchen had corn oil, which was a perfect substitute.

“Once the pan’s hot, pour in a little oil—just enough to coat the bottom evenly. Then put the marinated steak in, flipping it back and forth to ensure the best taste and to lock in the juices. Also…”

Lin Xiang explained every step to Chef Shen. When the steak was done, he eagerly reached out with chopsticks to grab a piece.

“I heard foreigners eat steak with a knife in the left hand and fork in the right, cutting it into pieces before eating. But I say that’s too much trouble—just biting into a whole piece is better.”

Still, Chef Shen took scissors and cut the steak into smaller portions. He quickly picked up a piece, placed it in his mouth, and chewed slowly, savoring it.

After swallowing, he said, “The taste is different, no doubt. Actually, it’s quite delicious.”

The kitchen helpers each took a piece and praised Lin Xiang’s pan-fried steak enthusiastically.