The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Yao Shi clearly intended to showcase his skills in front of Fu Yu today. With scissors in hand, he dealt with the shrimp whiskers, claws, and veins, then cleaned and drained them.

Next, he tackled abalone, razor clams, and squid.

He washed what needed washing, cut what needed cutting, piled them together, added Jiang Mo, cooking wine, black pepper powder, soy sauce, and salt, and marinated them evenly.

While the seafood was marinating, he prepared other ingredients—slicing onions, ginger, garlic, and dried chili peppers.

He cleaned the seafood mushrooms.

He cubed the potatoes and carrots.

He parboiled the potatoes, carrots, and fish balls until fully cooked, drained them...

Yao Shi prepared the sauce and handed it to Fu Yu, saying, "Here, have a taste."

Fu Yu took it, dipped a bit with his finger, put it in his mouth, and immediately widened his eyes, blurting out, "Whoa..."

Zhao Meng and Sun Qingning turned simultaneously to stare at Fu Yu.

Yao Shi thought his cooking technique and secret sauce flavor had conquered Fu Yu, and he smiled subtly.

That’s more like it!

No matter how talented, he still has less cooking experience, still a bit green!

Zhao Meng chuckled, looking at Fu Yu with affection: Silly boy, surprised already?

Yao Shi was indeed skilled and swift in handling seafood and preparing vegetables.

Due to his fast pace and skillful techniques, outsiders found his actions aesthetically pleasing.

And the secret sauce recipe was a secret passed down from Elder Dong back in the day, so it was undoubtedly very aromatic and unique.

But Fu Yu wasn’t amazed by that!

Rather, he was surprised to discover something.

He merely tasted a tiny bit from the sauce bowl, yet the entire bowl’s flavor and balance seemed to change.

Everything was displayed before him, clear as day.

This is incredible!

Realizing this, Fu Yu felt his breath quicken.

He clearly saw that the bowl contained seafood sauce, oyster sauce, ketchup, red wine, and sweet sauce combined.

As he held the porcelain bowl with seasonings, lines of dialogue boxes appeared clearly before him:

[Seafood sauce: 15g, amount added below standard...]

[Oyster sauce: 17g, amount added below standard...]

...

[Main ingredient mix completion assessment, 86 points. Seafood sauce, oyster sauce... sweet sauce proportions below standard, taste too salty, lacks umami...]

Fu Yu saw the upper part of the seasoning bowl was in red zones. Some parts were green, meaning the proportions were just right, while others were red, indicating the proportions were below standard.

This discovery was a huge surprise for Fu Yu!

Why say that?

The cooking process itself isn’t particularly difficult; as long as you control the heat and have a basic understanding of handling ingredients, you can cook.

But what’s the hardest part of making a dish delicious?

It’s the accuracy of the seasoning proportions, which is very hard to grasp.

So often, the difference in culinary skills among chefs comes down to their mastery of seasoning proportions.

Like this seafood braise, it might taste good just following the prescribed seasonings.

However, to achieve the perfect taste, you must precisely control the proportions when preparing the sauce!

Because of the guidance from the green lines and dialogue boxes, Fu Yu could easily control the seasoning proportions.

However, Fu Yu often couldn’t precisely gauge the sauce’s taste.

Even if a lamb is delicious, it’s hard to satisfy everyone’s taste.

Even a superb chef can’t guarantee universal acclaim for every dish.

But now, with accurate prompts from the dialogue boxes, it means he can adjust the proportions as suggested to create a flavor most suitable for the masses.

Realizing this, how could Fu Yu not be excited?

For a chef, this was a weapon that makes one invincible!

Yet, knowing that the sauce in hand was slightly unbalanced in proportions.

But watching it, he dared not speak!

He could clearly see exactly how much each ingredient was off to achieve the perfect proportion.

If added, the dish’s taste post-cooking would certainly be excellent!

At this moment, Fu Yu was full of indecision.

He wanted to remind Yao Shi, but he couldn’t say it outright.

Putting aside whether others would believe him, he couldn’t mention it just for face-saving reasons.

Even if he was sure he was right, situations like this in interpersonal dealings couldn’t be directly corrected.

After a brief hesitation, Fu Yu dismissed the idea of speaking up.

Perhaps, only once he truly matures, once his cooking vastly surpasses others, could he freely guide others’ operations without second thoughts or worries.

With this in mind, Fu Yu silently watched the cooking continue.

A whirlwind of emotions surged within him.

Keep it up!

Fu Yu!

The cooking continued, and Yao Shi truly deserved his reputation as head chef; his series of operations were very skillful.

The prepared sauce went into the pot, mixed evenly, and simmered until thick and bubbly.

At this moment, Yao Shi suddenly warned, "When simmering the sauce, be careful not to overcook it, or it will taste bitter."

Fu Yu hurriedly responded, "Okay, got it."

Actually, water and sugar were added to the sauce, and after the sugar melted, honey was added.