Night 31: Saga, Steamed Buns with Meigan Cai and Meat
The Late Night Diner is a part of Rhodes Island's canteen. That goes without saying – to whom had anyone ever heard of a diner in the boiler room?
As the name implies, it opens around midnight. There are only a handful of customers at a time.
Operators off their night shift could take an order and bring back to their quarters. Night owls could sit dining-in while leeching off the Diner's wi-fi. The Doctor would come for instant noodles from time to time.
Drinks are in the cooler. Anyone burdened by their own thoughts could take one and chug it down, anytime.
Menu? No such thing exists. What the Chef prepares is what you get. It all depends on his mood of the day.
Welcome to the Rhodes Island Late Night Diner. In here, you might even meet a familiar face or two.
Other than serving late night meals, the Diner would occasionally stay open for breakfast. It mostly depended on the Chef's energy and what was left from last night. Many operators would come for his breakfast. A good number of them were the ones who direly needed some fills after night shift. The rest were the engineers who never had a fixed schedule on meals and would only eat when they feel hungry. Of course, there were still the handful who had very health lifestyle and ate breakfast as it was intended.
The teriyaki didn't sell well last night, so the Chef cut the leftover beast belly meat into large chunks with width of a finger. He planned to make steam buns with them to compensate for the losses. When he was about to heat up the wok and stir-fry the meigan cai – Yan-style salt pickled vegetables – the first customer of the day had arrived on his doorstep.
"Good morning Mister Chef, do you serve breakfast this morning?" She greeted him with cheer and bowed politely. "My unfilled stomach growls fierce, only a full meal would quench its incessant complaint!"
"Sure, I do serve breakfast. But you have to wait for a while." The Chef raised his head as he replied. When he saw his inquiring customer his hand holding the oil bottle twitched. "Wait, wha – what's on your back?!" He looked to the cloth-wrapped pole-arm she carried, and the sight of it brought up some not-so-pleasant memories.
"Ah this." the young monk errant took the wrapped weapon off her back and held it in her hands. "This is my naginata. I carry it with me most of the time, and I plan for a spar or two in the training room after breakfast. You can take a look – it's tightly wrapped and would cause no harm at all!"
"I'll pass. Take it and put it over there, and watch out not to poke a hole on the ceiling again." The Chef's voice carried a hint of tremble. He thought that he ought to have a chat with the Security Department so that the ban on carrying weapon inside the canteen would be put back on schedule for discussion. Saga leaned her naginata against the wall in a far corner as she was told. She silently pondered why the Chef used the word "again". As far as she knew, she had never broke the ceiling of the Diner in the past.
In the kitchen, the Chef was busy preparing ingredients for the steamed bun. The meigan cai was stir-fried till the moisture was gone and started giving off its salty aroma. After putting it aside for later use, the Chef added minced green onion and ginger to the wok then started cooking the belly meat chunks. When the meat started turning grey and the scent of charring came out of the wok, the oil in the fat had also leaked out enough that the fatty part of the meat took on a nice, semi-translucent brown. Another few rounds of stir-frying later, the green onion and ginger mince was charred enough to stick to the bottom of the wok. It was then the Chef poured in yellow soybean paste dissolved in Yan yellow wine. The brownish sauce immediately formed a cloud of vapour in the heat, and the pleasant saucy aroma was released in an instant. The sauce coated the meat in a layer of golden brown, and the Chef added some rice spirit to reduce the gamey taste as well as spoonful of dark soy sauce to balance the colour. When it was finally done, the meat shined in dark amber. The colour of the filling should be dark – this way the steamed buns would take on a tantalizing colour. Otherwise the bun would look rather pale and unappetizing.
While the Chef was preparing the fillings for the buns, Saga had been sitting cross-legged at a nearby table. She had closed her eyes and been chanting the mantras quietly. The smell of the cooked fillings spread out from the kitchen, and the aroma made her nose wiggle. Her fingers counting the stringed beads slowed. It was then the Chef put chopped bamboo shoots and shiitake mushroom bits into the wok, their distinct flavours added another layer of taste to the already delicious meat. It also made the young monk errant gulp.
It was said there had been a luxurious delicacy existed in Yan that combined ham, fowlbeast meat, bone broth and an assortment of shells and scalebass. With its broth golden and aroma unparalleled, it had even the power to brought the staunchest monks who swore off the worldly pleasure to vault over the wall of monastery just to have a taste. Here she sat smelling the cooked filling for the buns, and thought that the Chef's cooking must also posses such power. Saga swallowed again, and opened one eye to take a peek inside the kitchen.
"I thought you are vegetarian." The Chef put chopped fresh scallion and meigan cai into the wok and stirred. "Guess I was wrong."
"I was not a formal monk, merely raised in a monastery. The old head priest didn't initiate me to swear off spirits and meat. He only taught me the scriptures and instructed me on martial arts. 'Tis said by a wise monk that one could hold Buddha in their hearts yet still having meat and wine in their belly. Come to think of it, grandpa head priest made the right decision. I could enjoy my meals but not offend Buddha's teachings. For me, t'was quite a fortunate existence." Saga closed her palms together and bowed slightly, a sense of devotion emanated from the gleam in her eyes.
The Chef kneaded the leaven dough and portioned them into smaller pellets. He then rolled the pellets into skins. He put the filling in one and wrapped the skin around it. With eighteen folds he closed the bun at the top then placed it a large round bamboo drawer. When all the buns were done and the drawer filled, he put it on the steamer at last. It would only take ten minutes for the buns to be cooked and ready to serve.
"More operators should be like you." The Chef said, placing a plate of three steamed buns on the table before Saga. The large buns looked quite appetizing. The skin was smooth and hot to the touch, and from the folds on top Saga could see dark amber coloured juice seeping out a little. Quickly she grabbed one and took a big bite without hesitation. Underneath the soft spongy skin was the juicy and savoury filling – the meat was succulent yet not greasy, and it mixed well with the crunchy bamboo shoots, chewy shiitake mushroom and salty meigan cai bits. With juice dripping down from the corner of her mouth, Saga enjoyed her meal quite much.
"I know what you mean." Saga swallowed the mouthful of food, and wiped at the corner of her mouth. "The operators from Medical Department said similar words to me before. I think it is about me keeping a healthy sleep schedule and lifestyle."
It may be so, the Chef thought, but I'm sure I meant for something else. Different motive, I guess.
Then he took the drawer full of steamed buns off the steamer, and hang the "Serving Breakfast" sign inside the display cabinet.