Chapter 103: New Dish: Huoxiang Crucian Carp
Time slowly ticked by to four-thirty in the afternoon.
It was time to head back.
Although they still hadn’t caught a glimpse of the Red-crowned Cranes.
But that was alright. No one felt disappointed.
The group started to head back.
Back at the restaurant, everyone started ordering food.
Since it was already this late, of course they would have dinner before leaving.
Li You was once again busy in the kitchen.
During this time, teachers from the school like Chu Yiwei, Lin Xin, and Zhang Qinghe also came to the restaurant for dinner.
After a flurry of activity, it was nearly seven in the evening by the time the last group of customers finished eating and left.
It was time to go home.
His mom, dad, and their guests were still waiting for him at home.
He took some of the ingredients he would need for the evening from the Storage Pavilion, loaded them onto his motorcycle, locked up the shop, and rode off.
...
Twenty minutes later, he was back home.
Liu Jialiang’s family and Li Zhong and his wife had already arrived. They were in the courtyard, chatting with his parents.
Everyone’s eyes lit up when they saw Li You return. They knew they were in for a treat soon.
"Xiaoyou, do you need any help?" Liu Jialiang, Li Zhong, and the others asked.
Li You smiled. "No need. You all just keep chatting."
Then, Li You carried all the ingredients into the kitchen and got to work.
He was making the usual dishes: Mapo Tofu, Cabbage in Consommé, Twice-Cooked Pork, and Stir-fried Shredded Potatoes.
And one new dish: Crucian Carp with Huoxiang.
The family’s pickling crock contained pickled ginger and pickled chili peppers.
With that, he had all the ingredients for the Crucian Carp with Huoxiang.
Tonight, he would whip up a few of them to see how they tasted.
He would use top-quality crucian carp.
’When cooking for my own family, I have to use the best ingredients, don’t I?’
First, he needed to grab some pickled ginger and pickled chili peppers.
Li You grabbed a bowl and went over to the pickling crock.
As he lifted the lid, the rich aroma of pickled vegetables instantly wafted out.
It was a very distinct aroma. Those unaccustomed to it might find it unpleasant, but Li You thought it was wonderful.
This was the aroma of truly authentic, traditionally fermented pickles.
His mother was very skilled at making pickles.
He reached in and fished out some pickled ginger and chili peppers.
He popped a small piece of pickled ginger straight into his mouth and began to chew.
It was a bit spicy, but delicious.
Li You loved eating pickled ginger. He could polish off a whole bowl of white rice with just one piece.
Back in the kitchen, the first step was to prepare the fish. They were already ready to go: ten high-quality crucian carp, each weighing about half a pound, that he had caught earlier from the Spatial Fish Pond.
After cleaning them, he scored both sides of each fish and marinated them with salt, scallion segments, slivered ginger, and cooking wine.
Next, he began preparing the other ingredients and seasonings.
After a flurry of prep work, everything was ready, and the crucian carp had finished marinating.
He heated oil in a wok and began to pan-fry the fish.
Making Crucian Carp with Huoxiang requires pan-frying the fish until both sides change color.
Just searing them until they change color is enough; there’s no need to fry them until they’re golden brown on both sides.
Of course, if one really wanted to fry them until golden brown, that would be fine too.
’But you absolutely can’t overcook them. The timing has to be just right.’
Once all the fish were seared, he heated the remaining oil in the wok and stir-fried the pickled chili, pickled ginger, scallion segments, and minced garlic until fragrant.
Once they were fragrant, he added broad bean paste, Sichuan peppercorns, and chopped huoxiang leaves.
Then he added water and returned the fish to the wok.
After simmering the fish for a while, he removed them and arranged them on a platter.
After a few more steps, he finished by thickening the sauce with a cornstarch slurry. He then drizzled the sauce over the fish and garnished it with some freshly chopped huoxiang leaves.
And it was done.
It was an appetizing dish known to relieve summer heat, expel dampness, and regulate qi, making it very popular in the summer.
’I’m sure Mom and Dad, and the guests, will love it.’
He moved on to the other dishes.
After another flurry of cooking, the Cabbage in Consommé, Twice-Cooked Pork, Stir-fried Shredded Potatoes, and Mapo Tofu were ready as well.
Dinner was served.
His parents and the guests had long been waiting with eager anticipation.
They were all pleasantly surprised to see the Crucian Carp with Huoxiang on the table.
A new dish for dinner! They were truly in for a treat.
They had to try it right away.
Everyone’s first bite was of the Crucian Carp with Huoxiang.
Including Li You himself.
The moment the fish entered his mouth, it was incredibly tender and delicious—tasty beyond words.
Li You was very satisfied. His parents and the guests were even more effusive with their praise.
Liu Jialiang said, "We’ve made Crucian Carp with Huoxiang ourselves before, and we thought it tasted great back then. But now, after trying Xiaoyou’s version, I feel like we were just wasting good ingredients."
Li You just smiled and said that was an exaggeration. He then urged everyone to eat up, insisting they finish all the dishes that night.
And of course, every dish was polished off completely.
Everyone ate plenty of rice as well.
They were all thoroughly full and utterly satisfied.
After resting for a while, Liu Jialiang’s family and the Li Zhong couple took their leave one by one.
Li You returned to his room to watch some TV and relax.
...
「The next day.」
In the morning, Li You made three bowls of beef noodle soup for breakfast, same as usual.
After breakfast, he filled two large soda bottles with brine from the old pickling crock.
He then climbed the plum tree outside the courtyard and picked a large bag of plums.
With that done, he got on his motorcycle and set off.
Li You didn’t go straight to the restaurant. Partway there, he stored the brine and plums in his Storage Pavilion.
Then he changed his route and headed directly into town.
Today was market day, and he wanted to see if anyone was selling young ginger.
He planned to mainly pickle two things: young ginger and chili peppers.
Although young ginger wasn’t in season, sometimes produce vendors would bring greenhouse-grown ginger to the town market.
Li You decided to go have a look.
Of course, even if he did find some, the quality of greenhouse ginger would likely struggle to reach medium grade or better.
’But either way, I should go take a look first.’
He parked his motorcycle at the market entrance and walked inside.
"Haha! Boss Li! What brings you to the market today?"
Someone greeted Li You just as he entered the market.
It was Zhao Yu, the owner of the tobacco shop.
His shop was located right next to the entrance.
Li You smiled. "Morning, Boss Zhao. I’m here to see if anyone’s selling young ginger."
Zhao Yu replied, "There’s not much young ginger this time of year. But you should be able to find some. You’ll have to look around, Boss Li."
Li You nodded. "That’s the plan."
He then said goodbye to Zhao Yu and continued on his way.
Eventually, he did find a stall selling young ginger.
It looked decent enough, but unfortunately, the system judged its quality as low grade.
After a moment of hesitation, Li You decided against buying it.
He would rather delay launching the Crucian Carp with Huoxiang dish than use low-grade ingredients.
’If it were for me to eat, it wouldn’t matter.’
’But since I’m selling it to customers, I should use at least medium-grade ingredients.’
’I have to build up the restaurant’s reputation, after all.’
’Since it’s hard to buy medium-grade young ginger in the real world, maybe I’ll have a chance to get some through the system?’
’Right, I should check the progress on my current main quest.’
He called up the mission panel.
"Main Mission: Achieve 500 customers in one week.
(In Progress)
Current Day: 7.
Customer Count: 452."
He was already at 452 customers, but it was also the seventh and final day.
That meant he needed to get 48 customers today.
Otherwise, all mission data would be reset, and the mission would start over.
Li You definitely didn’t want the mission to restart.
Today was Sunday. Getting 48 customers seemed very possible.
This thought lifted Li You’s spirits.
The reward for this main mission, aside from a recipe, was two lottery chances.
’With lottery chances, I might be able to get young ginger as an ingredient.’
’I hope I can get 48 customers today.’
...