I'm the Culinary God

As a chef, and a highly educated talent who graduated from Central Finance University, Lin Xu felt that when he encountered gourmet food, he wouldn’t have that kind of reaction like "I have no culture, one ’whoa’ can conquer the world."

But upon tasting this delicious pot-stewed eel back, he couldn’t help but say "whoa."

This thing is really tasty, like a delicious bomb exploding in his mouth without warning.

Various aromas, multiple textures intertwined and interwoven together, it’s simply a great enjoyment.

Xie Baomin served two plates, let the server take them to the table, and then asked Lin Xu:

"Do you want to try it yourself?"

Lin Xu really wanted to give it a try.

Just now, he used a Cooking Learning Card to learn this pot-stewed eel back, and now he wanted to experience how to make this type of dish with crispy base.

As he started working with the ingredients, Xie Baomin said beside him:

"The characteristic of the pot-stew technique is to pan-fry one side to a crispy texture while keeping the original taste and texture of the ingredients on the other side. This technique can be extended to make many delicious dishes. This pot-stewed eel back actually evolved from pot-stewed chicken and pot-stewed fish."

Many dishes have their own unique cooking characteristics.

For example, pan-frying both sides until fragrant is called dry frying, or fragrant frying. Pan-frying both sides until golden and then stewing with water is called pot stew, while reducing the sauce to dry is called dry braising.

In Shandong cuisine, each cooking technique has its specific name.

Different techniques result in dishes that may look similar but have distinct differences in flavor and texture.

While Lin Xu was busy making pot-stewed eel back, the relatives and family in the upstairs private room were completely mesmerized by the wonderful taste of the dish.

The crispy texture of the toast, the tenderness of the eel back, and the fresh shrimp paste in between make one fall in love with it with just one bite.

Not only does the pot-stewed eel back taste great, but it also looks excellent.

From the bottom’s golden brown, the color lightens as it goes up, and there are three dark eel backs on top.

The three-barred design looks not only beautiful but also very eye-catching, making one want to take a bite at first glance.

"It’s so delicious, I could polish off the whole plate of pot-stewed eel back!"

Shen Jiayue initially heard the words pot-stewed and didn’t expect much, but once she tasted it, she realized how outstanding the texture was and couldn’t stop.

Chen Yan also ate with continuous admiration:

"When we start filming videos after the New Year, we must invite the chefs to make this dish on camera. Make a lot of it. I want to achieve pot-stewed eel back freedom!"

As the boss behind many chefs, Mr. Chen discovered for the first time how one-sided his understanding of Chinese cuisine was.

Never tasted Tai Chi Chicken Porridge, fine, but never seen this pot-stewed eel back in a restaurant either, realizing for the first time how much of a bumpkin he felt like.

Elder Gao said:

"This kind of rare dish will become harder and harder to find due to its complex preparation, yet it doesn’t fetch high prices. But with Xiao Xu around, you can have him make it whenever you want. His cooking skills make it not difficult for him to prepare these kinds of dishes."

In the kitchen, after finishing the pot-stewed eel back, Lin Xu smeared more shrimp paste on the leftover toast slices, placed a whole fresh shrimp on top, and made a dish of pot-stewed shrimp.

After tasting it, Xie Baomin said:

"The flavor is good, but the shrimp paste and shrimp overlap. You should use chicken paste or other ingredients to add layers of flavor."

A good dish should not only strive for color, aroma, and taste; layers of flavor, contrast in texture, and comparison of ingredients are all essential.

These are all aspects that a chef should pay attention to.

Lin Xu nodded seriously, indicating he remembered.

He carried the newly made pot-stewed shrimp back to the private room, and those who had just finished the pot-stewed eel back and were still savoring it suddenly lit up.

Chief Gao was right, Xiao Xu really can make it.

Not only can he make it, he even figured out a new way to do it.

Looking at the lightly reddish shrimp on the surface, everyone couldn’t help but pick up their chopsticks to taste it.

Elder Gao tasted it and pointed out the same issue, ingredient overlap.

He briefly explained the key points of the pot-stewing technique, and Lin Xu was listening intently, when suddenly a system prompt sounded in his mind:

"The host has listened to the teachings of two state banquet masters in succession, and the Perfect Level pot-stewed eel back has been specially upgraded to the Perfect Level pot-stew general technique. Congratulations to the host."

What?

It can upgrade like this?

Lin Xu found for the first time that the mastery of a technique could be upgraded from a single dish to a general technique, which isn’t just a matter of one plus one being greater than two, but a leap from point to line.

From now on, as long as he wants to, he can make any Perfect Level pot-stew dish.

Compared to pot-stewed eel back, this is simply a huge leap.

Elder Gao gave Lin Xu a brief pointer, then raised his wine glass to toast, and casually discussed some details about the wedding.

He and Luo Shan have no children, so now that their little apprentice is getting married, they naturally want to go all out, after all, he also helped Xie Baomin with his wedding back in the day.

As a master, one must keep things fair.

Lin Hongqi said:

"Thanks to Master Gao for his deep love and loyalty to Xiao Xu. There is a tea-serving session at the wedding tomorrow. Initially, the wedding company arranged for several elders and our parents from both sides, but we feel that just serving tea to us is not enough. You and Ms. Luo must also be served tea. We hope you will not decline."

Serving tea is an essential part of a Chinese wedding.

Originally, it was the daughter-in-law serving tea to the parents-in-law, but now it has developed to include the bride’s parents and grandparents as well.