Around 1000 years ago, coal became widely used as cooking fuel,
1000年前，煤作为厨房燃料开始兴起，
but it is from the age of firewood when Chinese cooks developed the habit of valuing heat,
但从木柴时代起中国的厨师就养成了珍惜热量的习惯，
which requires cooks to cut the food into proper forms according to the way they are cooked.
这就要求厨师将食材料理成恰当的形状以配合不同的制作方法。
Western cooks cut the food into different forms with various cutting tools, while the Chinese do their various cuttings with only one tool.
西餐的厨师每个动作都有相应的刀具中餐的厨师手中的一把刀却能行出无数刀法。
Sunflower Chopped Pork.
这道葵花大斩肉。
The pork is sliced, using the most commonly-used skill, plane cutting.
运的是最常用的“平刀法”。
It is commonly known as Yangzhou Style Braised Meatball.
葵花大斩肉就是俗称的“狮子头”。

To achieve a super-spongy taste, the streaky pork is sliced, shredded and diced into the size of a pomegranate seed.
为了取得极致的松软口感，厨师将五花肉细细地切成石榴子大小的颗粒。
They do so because properly diced meat would be easy to roll into a ball, and unlikely to collapse.
肉粒正是由于大小适宜很容易在厨师的双手中抱团，上劲儿。
The meatballs are then put into chicken broth prepared beforehand and stewed for nearly 2 hours during which, the meatballs must not fall apart.
在事先吊好的鸡汤里小火慢炖将近两个小时依然保持完整的形状。
But after this, there is still more to be done.
这并不是结束。
When the meatballs fully absorb the essence of the chicken broth, remove any grease on the surface, and put them into a fresh pot of chicken soup.
在溶合了猪肉和鸡汤的鲜美滋味后撇去浮油，放入另一锅鸡汤。
This is the last step of making Yangzhou Style Braised Meatballs.
一道清炖狮子头才算完成。
Every time he returns, Ju Changlong likes to visit the places he's been as a young man.
每次回乡，居长龙总要到年轻时熟悉的地方走走。
25 years, it seems to be no more than a blink of an eye in the history of a city, but long enough for a person to develop a deep nostalgia.
二十五年，相比一个城市的兴衰流转显得短暂，但对一个人来说却足以酿出浓厚的乡情。