Gourmet: Twins' Father and Chef of the Kindergarten

He became increasingly convinced that his decision to come here as an assistant chef was an exceedingly wise choice.

He believed that under Huang Jun’s meticulous cultivation, his culinary path would become even broader, with infinite prospects.

At this moment, Meng Hongze’s admiration and respect for Huang Jun were almost overflowing.

After all, his own progress was entirely due to Huang Jun’s attentive guidance.

As they say, "many hands make light work."

Soon enough...

The meticulous process of deboning all the carp needed for today was completed.

"Chef Huang, why don’t you give us some feedback? Is our skill passable at least?"

Although Zheng Yaohua and the others said this, their faces all had a subtle expression of expecting praise.

After carefully examining, Huang Jun nodded approvingly: "All are quite good. Since everyone is prepared, let’s proceed to prepare other dishes. Once the carp is cleansed, we will make the three-flavor deboned fish."

"Alright! We’ll go to the workroom and get all the necessary ingredients ready."

Qian Guoxiang responded cheerfully.

After speaking, he led the other four assistant chefs, disinfected their hands again, and collectively entered the workroom.

At the same time, Huang Jun turned to face Aunt Lin and Aunt Li not far away, gently instructing: "Aunt Lin, Aunt Li, please clean these fish, both the depths of the fish belly and the scale surfaces. Aim for immaculate while maintaining the integrity of the fish. After completion, please deliver them to the workroom."

"Alright, got it, Chef Huang, don’t worry! We’ll make sure they are squeaky clean for you!"

Aunt Lin and Aunt Li almost simultaneously gave affirmative responses.

Soon, they quickly gathered other new staff members and together engaged in this meticulous task, deftly washing the deboned carp according to Huang Jun’s requests.

Seeing this!

Huang Jun nodded in satisfaction, then turned and walked into the disinfection room, diligently completing all the necessary disinfection procedures before entering the workroom, officially starting his "lunch cooking" mode.

Besides the special addition of three-flavor deboned fish, today’s lunch menu adhered to the traditional setup of three dishes and one soup.

There was braised pork, stir-fried pork with radishes, pan-fried tofu, and shrimp and mushroom soup.

These dishes were ones he frequently cooked, therefore making them with adept skill, maximizing each ingredient’s potential...

Time quietly slipped away.

After a while...

Aunt Li and Aunt Lin joined forces, carrying a basin filled with cleansed carp, and lightly walked into the workroom.

Nearing Huang Jun, Aunt Li asked with a cheerful smile: "Chef Huang, we’ve cleaned all the carp you requested. Should we place them on the workbench?"

Huang Jun lifted his head, moved his gaze from his busy hands, and replied with a smile: "Sure, place them on the workbench!"

"Alright, Chef Huang, we’ll place them right away."

Aunt Li and Aunt Lin adeptly and carefully placed the basin of carp steadily onto the workbench, producing a crisp "bang" sound.

Huang Jun nodded again to express gratitude, courteously saying: "Thank you for your hard work, Aunt Li and Aunt Lin."

Aunt Lin chuckled, her facial wrinkles seemed to blossom like chrysanthemums, saying: "Chef Huang, you’re too polite. This is just what we should do; feel free to ask anytime you need us."

Aunt Li nodded in agreement, articulating: "Indeed, Chef Huang, we’re constantly at your service, ready at any moment."

"Alright..."

He continued focusing on his work, completing all remaining tasks and then proceeded to make the additional three-flavor deboned fish dish.

He picked up the carp that had been thoroughly cleaned, starting to marinate them with scallions, ginger, Sichuan peppercorn, and cooking wine to better remove the fishy odor and enhance the flavor.

Once everything was prepared, he began preparing the three-flavor stuffing to fill the fish belly.

The so-called "three-flavor stuffing" is merely a general term and isn’t limited to specific ingredients.

Common stuffing includes pork, ham, bamboo shoots, shrimp, water chestnuts, and others, with a wide variety that can be freely combined based on the season and individual taste.

The richer the selection of stuffing, the more layered and delicious the flavor of the fish will be.

During the creation of this dish, the deboning of the whole fish is a crucial step as it effectively prevents the stuffing from spilling out during steaming, thus affecting the dish’s aesthetic and taste.

Of course,

For Huang Jun, with his systematic assistance, the issue of stuffing overflow is not at all a concern.

He calmly and systematically filled the fish belly with the meticulously prepared minced pork, ham chunks, diced fresh bamboo shoots, and diced mushrooms, layering them with precision spoon after spoon.

During the filling process, he purposefully separated the ingredients, ensuring perfect flavor fusion, allowing the savory aroma of the ham to delicately permeate every fine part of the fish meat, adding a unique touch to the dish.

Well, it’s worth mentioning...

The seasoning for this dish is exceedingly simple, with only a coating of light soy sauce applied inside and out on the fish, without any additional seasonings.

Therefore!

The rich flavor of the ham becomes the key to enhancing the freshness of the fish.

Not only does the fish belly need ham adornment, but when plating later, a thin layer of ham strips and slices is required on the plate base and atop the fish, ensuring the ham’s aroma thoroughly and deeply permeates, rendering the steamed fish meat more enticing and extraordinarily delicious.

"Chef Huang, if we just stuff the filling, it might easily overflow during steaming."

Out of good will, Zheng Yaohua couldn’t help but remind.

When he previously made this dish, to prevent the embarrassing situation of stuffing overflow during steaming, he always meticulously sliced all the ingredients and carefully inserted them into the fish belly as filling.

But before his voice fell, Yu Daqing and Zhao Weiguang beside him cast an eye of "mind your own business," seemingly saying, "Is it necessary for you to worry? Do you have any idea of Chef Huang’s divine culinary skills?"

Especially Meng Hongze, who had become Huang Jun’s number one fanboy, looked at Zheng Yaohua with a trace of dissatisfaction, as if saying, "You can question my character, but you must never question Chef Huang’s culinary skills."

These nuanced looks fell into Zheng Yaohua’s eyes, making him slightly embarrassed.

He scratched his head, showing an awkward yet polite smile, just about to explain something when Huang Jun already smiled confidently and responded: "No worries, I got it."

Seeing Huang Jun’s unhurried manner, Zheng Yaohua secretly felt he was indeed overthinking.

After all, everyone knows Huang Jun’s skill well; he surely can effortlessly manage this dish.

He smiled and nodded, agreeing: "Indeed, Chef Huang’s skills are well recognized by all of us; certainly, there’s no problem."

After speaking, he seized the moment to add one more sentence, attempting to dispel the previously nuanced atmosphere: "Actually, I wasn’t doubting Chef Huang’s skill; I myself encounter the stuffing overflow issue frequently when making this dish, feeling a bit anxious, thus couldn’t help but remind."

Meng Hongze immediately interjected: "Everyone has their skills; your inefficiency doesn’t mean Chef Huang can’t do it!"

"Exactly!"

Zheng Yaohua promptly nodded, fully agreeing.

At this point, Huang Jun had completed filling and plating all the carp, only needing to steam them one by one in the steam cabinet.

With the addition of ham, he didn’t use scallions, ginger, chili, Sichuan peppercorn, or any spices since the unique aroma of the ham was sufficient to make the fish meat incredibly delicious.

After finishing everything, Huang Jun wiped his hands, a confident smile on his face: "This is the first time trying it, unsure of its taste, hoping everyone will be satisfied later."

After hearing this, not only did everyone not show any worry, but their hearts were filled with unprecedented anticipation.