I'm the Culinary God

"This dish is a race against time!"

At the dining table, Geng Lishan wiped the vinegar sauce from the corner of his mouth, full of admiration on his face.

Beside him, Cui Qingyuan curiously asked:

"A race against time? What does that mean, Mr. Lishan?"

Geng Lishan laughed and said:

"The fish needs to be killed and cooked on the spot, ideally cooked right after slaughter, so when slaughtering live fish, timing is crucial. The fish undergoes three rounds of frying. While the second round of frying happens, the vinegar sauce is being made; immediately after the third round, the sauce comes out of the pan and must be poured over the fish without any delay."

Facing him, Xie Baomin picked up the conversation:

"Once the vinegar sauce is poured on, the dish needs to be served immediately, and the diners must start eating quickly. The longer it sits, the worse the crispy texture becomes, and the fish’s freshness gets subdued by the vinegar sauce."

After three rounds of re-frying, the batter on the fish is extremely crispy, and this is when it tastes best. If it sits, the sauce will soften the crispy batter, losing the best flavor of the Vinegar Fried Crucian Carp.

After speaking, Xie Baomin looked at Lao Huang and asked:

"Where did these wild Gu fish come from? They can’t be cheap, can they?"

Lao Huang waved his hand:

"No big deal, no big deal, it’s nothing."

He wanted to express that providing ingredients for Chen Yan’s event was no big deal, but what kind of person is Xie Baomin? As soon as he heard ’no big deal,’ he immediately pushed further:

"Then tomorrow, get me twenty or thirty of them, preferably bigger ones."

Lao Huang: "..."

You dog, are you picking a fight on purpose?

Farm-raised Gu fish are everywhere, but wild ones... You think they’re like wild chestnuts in the suburban mountains, just scoop them up with a dustpan?

He ignored Xie Baomin and continued enjoying his meal.

Lao Dai chuckled and said:

"Lao Huang tried to sneak in an advertisement while giving a gift, why do you have to expose him, Lao Xie? Brother Huang, come, let’s have a drink."

Lao Huang glared at him:

"Get lost, you cheeky devil, you still haven’t paid for the little crocodile you snatched from my car last time. Director Liao doesn’t acknowledge it, saying there’s no official purchases. You better pay me back."

Dai Jianli opened his mouth, then patted his head, and said to Xie Baomin:

"Wow, Fanta is strong; just two glasses made me dizzy."

Lao Huang laughed and scolded:

"Encountering you two cheeky devils, I’ve lost years of my life... By the way, my wife wants Lin to help make some bait noodles to try. Do you guys know how to make it? If you do, I still have a few Gu fish."

Next to him, Cui Qingyuan, who was biting into a lamb chop with Geng Lele, immediately said upon hearing this:

"Bring the fish back to the shop later, let Boss Lin make the Vinegar Fried Crucian Carp again. Today’s dish was satisfying, charge it to my card, my treat."

He still hasn’t spent much of the million in his bank account, so he takes this opportunity to splurge.

Apart from Vinegar Fried Crucian Carp, they’ll grill a lamb and make some dishes that aren’t usually found at the restaurant.

Since it’s New Year’s holiday and feeling lazy to wander around, just having food and drinks with friends is enough.

Geng Lele raised both hands in agreement:

"Great, great, let’s have Brother Xu buy a larger lamb. I haven’t had a satisfying whole roast lamb in a while, need to indulge this time."

While they were chatting, Dundun sauntered over to Chen Yan’s side.

At this time, Chen Yan’s family and Ren Chongmo’s family were sitting at the dining table, discussing the upcoming toast.

Seeing Dundun approach, Chen Yan leaned over and held the little one in her arms, smiling as she asked:

"What brings you here, darling? Big aunt is getting engaged, do you not mind me anymore?"

Though everyone proved last time that durian is a fruit, not poop, Dundun still unconsciously frowns whenever he sees Chen Yan, trying to stay as far away as possible.

Always feeling if he doesn’t avoid quickly enough, he’ll smell something awful.

Today the little one took the initiative to approach, making Chen Yan a bit surprised.

"Meow~~~"

Dundun let out a cry, then broke free from the aunt’s embrace, lightly leaped onto Chen Yan’s shoulder.

"What are you doing little darling, be careful not to fall."

Chen Yan didn’t expect Dundun to do such a thing, wanting to stop the little one but worried it might fall off her shoulder, puzzled, she felt a furry paw patting her head.

Nearby, Ren Jie lowered his bowl, curiously asked:

"Dundun patted your head, what does that mean?"

Chen Yan was equally bewildered:

"No idea, maybe this little guy thinks my hair is thick and wants to pull it?"

Just after speaking, Dundun jumped onto Ren Jie’s shoulder, then raised his furry paw to pat Ren Jie’s head too, before jumping down, swaggering over to Lin Xu’s table with his little butt wiggling.

"Hey? What does that mean?"

The newly engaged couple was puzzled, unable to understand what this chubby cat was up to.

"What does it mean? Crossing several tables just to tap our heads?"

Chen Yan looked at Dundun’s departing figure, if not for the imminent toast, she’d grab the little guy for a scolding, hitting my head on such a joyful occasion, how absurd!

While she was angrily contemplating, she suddenly noticed a pair of hundred-yuan bills on the floor beside her.

Huh?

Whose money fell?

She went over to pick up the money, holding it up as she asked: