Chapter 744 - 689: This Dish Is Quite Interesting_2
Completing the task can earn you 5 goodwill points.
Fu Yu turned his head to look at Zhao Meng, feeling deeply moved.
With these 5 goodwill points, I now have 95 goodwill points with Zhao Meng.
Zhao Meng really treats me like his own son.
However, does this task involve successfully getting Zhao Meng out of trouble?
What does that mean?
Fu Yu suppressed his curiosity and nodded: "Okay, I understand."
...
Seeing two outsiders in the kitchen, everyone immediately watched them curiously.
The kitchen is unlike other places; it has always been off-limits to outsiders.
Especially at a place like Shangshi Private Kitchen, where the dishes cooked are all secret recipes.
If someone from a rival restaurant learns these secrets, it would be like revealing them.
Even Wang Yulong was a bit puzzled, not sure what the boss was thinking.
Both Yao Shi and Zhao Meng are smart people, and they naturally understood the need for discretion in these matters.
However, since Liu Yunong invited them over, it meant she genuinely regarded them as friends.
This sincerity and respect made them feel quite appreciated.
Since Liu Yunong was so thoughtful in her actions, they couldn’t betray this precious trust.
Therefore, once they entered the kitchen, both of them focused intently and followed Liu Yunong to the cooking station, keeping their attention fixed.
Liu Yunong quickly noticed this and felt an even greater appreciation for Yao Shi and Zhao Meng.
Since they were about to cook, Liu Yunong straightforwardly instructed the kitchen helper to prepare the ingredients.
She personally accompanied Yao Shi and Zhao Meng to familiarize them with the cooking station.
This included the location of the condiments, all the utensils, and the method of cooking the Peony Fish dish.
The recipe Liu Yunong had for cooking Peony Fish wasn’t handed down from her ancestors, but she once heard someone mention a unique dish with a very complex cooking method that isn’t offered by ordinary restaurants.
To taste authentic Peony Fish, one has to try their luck at an old, reputable restaurant.
This particular recipe was procured through a friend from an elder master chef.
Speaking of which, Peony Fish is an evolved version of the traditional Sichuan dish "Peony Chicken Slices," known for its complicated technique and elegant presentation, characterized by a distinctive Sichuan fish flavor.
The reason Liu Yunong was deeply interested in this dish was that, when she looked it up online, she discovered that Peony Fish was one of the eight Sichuan imperial dishes from the Qing Dynasty, famous alongside Boiled Cabbage.
Moreover, like Boiled Cabbage, it’s one of the finest non-spicy Sichuan dishes.
This sparked Liu Yunong’s interest immediately.
The Peony Fish dish sounded intriguing!
What really got Liu Yunong invested was the failure of her first attempt to cook it.
Despite following the recipe accurately throughout the cooking process, the plating didn’t go well, and the fish slices didn’t hold their shape.
Furthermore, the taste was somewhat disappointing.
This made Liu Yunong feel quite frustrated.
With her personality, she would typically keep trying until she successfully completed the dish.
However, at that time, she was invited to participate in a chef competition in Bei’an.
She was also busy preparing for the opening of a new branch, so the dish slipped her mind amidst the activities.
While hosting Yao Shi and Zhao Meng today and mentioning the recently mastered live-cooked carp, she suddenly recalled the matter.
While Yao Shi and Zhao Meng borrowed the recipe to have a look, Fu Yu quickly glanced over the classic traditional flavor recipes.
Even Fu Yu found it somewhat tricky on first glance.
It wasn’t that the dish was particularly hard to cook, but the process was extremely troublesome.
Not only did the fish meat need to be sliced very thinly, testing the chef’s knife skills,
but each slice also needed to be beaten into a fan shape. A plate of fish slices like that couldn’t be completed in less than two or three hours.
Then there’s the frying; the slices couldn’t be fried together but needed to be fried one by one.
During frying, the slices must be shaped like petals with chopsticks, a process taking three to four hours to succeed.
This dish alone, including preparation and cooking, could take most of the day.
Not to mention the final plating!
No wonder restaurants don’t offer this dish—it’s just too much trouble.
Having quickly checked the classic traditional flavor recipe for Peony Fish,
Yao Shi and Zhao Meng finished reading the recipe Liu Yunong shared with them, both looking a bit serious.
Goodness!
They knew the dish wouldn’t be easy, but they didn’t expect it to be this difficult!
Creating Peony Fish involves not only an exquisite appearance but also a crispy, delicious flavor.
But if it requires frying each slice as recorded in the recipe, can the fish remain crisp?
Fried foods become less appealing over time, affecting their taste.
Even someone with Liu Yunong’s excellent culinary skills couldn’t succeed in cooking it.
Previously, Zhao Meng held out some hope that he might manage to cook the dish.
But now, that thought was gone.
After all, compared to Liu Yunong, he was still a long way off.
But now that everyone was here, it was too late to back out.
What to do?
With this in mind, Zhao Meng couldn’t help but sigh.
Oh well, what’s done is done.
If the cooking fails later, it’s no big deal.
After all, Liu Yunong didn’t succeed either.
And besides, Yao Shi is here; maybe Yao Shi can do it?
Just as this thought crossed his mind, he heard Yao Shi say, "I’m afraid I can’t do it either! To fry the fish slices into petal shapes, you need to shape them in hot oil. But I overworked my hand yesterday, and my tenosynovitis is acting up, so it’s hard to exert strength."
"At most, I can take a look while you cook, but I certainly can’t handle the pan."
Liu Yunong understood.
Chefs often suffer from conditions like tenosynovitis due to the prolonged weight of the wok.
Yesterday was Little New Year, a particularly busy day, leaving her own back somewhat sore.
Smiling, Liu Yunong agreed: "Alright, Chef Yao, help keep an eye, see if there are any improvements we can make while cooking, this dish is indeed quite challenging."
Zhao Meng was a bit taken aback by this.
But then he realized and lamented the situation.
It’s over!
Now he couldn’t even rely on Yao Shi!
Looks like soon he’ll just have to admit his limitations after the cooking fails.
However, Yao Shi then said, "Old Zhao’s hand isn’t well either, he’s just come back from a break for treatment. How about having Xiaofu cook it, and we guide from the side."
Zhao Meng was about to force himself to take over when he heard Yao Shi and paused.
Right!
His tenosynovitis is indeed an old ailment.
If he couldn’t do it, it would be better to let Fu Yu have a go.
What if Fu Yu could do it!
Thinking this, Zhao Meng felt a sense of relief.
Meanwhile, Fu Yu, already having taken the task, stepped up when hearing Yao Shi suggesting he take over, responding promptly: "Right, Chef Zhao’s hand was incapacitated recently, let me handle it."
Zhao Meng felt gratified upon hearing this.
No wonder he favored this kid!
He’s always perceptive and proactive!
Look, he could even help ease his worries!
Liu Yunong had no objections either.
Inviting Zhao Meng and Yao Shi over today was genuinely to research the Peony Fish cooking method thoroughly.
At their level, not every dish needed to be cooked personally; by observing others, they could identify many issues and understand the dish better.
They say two heads are better than one.
Moreover, they weren’t just any chefs; they were experienced seasoned chefs!
Additionally, Liu Yunong had an inexplicable trust in Fu Yu.
Somehow, she felt that in certain culinary skills, Fu Yu might surpass her.