The Gourmet Customizer

When they reached the kitchen doorway,

Brother Fang Chang and Zhan Yang saw Su Chen and the others bustling about. Standing on the very outskirts was Zhang Li, pinching her nose.

"I have a question." Brother Fang Chang looked at Zhang Li, his expression serious.

"Huh?"

"If it really stinks, and you pinch your nose, doesn’t the smell just go in through your mouth?"

Zhang Li’s brow furrowed. She thought for a moment. "I guess so."

"Then why are you still pinching your nose?"

"Because it stinks!"

Fine. Brother Fang Chang was defeated by the petite girl’s logic. Craning his neck, he asked, "Boss Su, what’s this? The stench has spread all the way downstairs!"

Su Chen was mincing ginger. He turned his head and said, "I’m cooking."

"What kind of dish is this? It stinks so bad! Get us a serving!"

Zhan Yang quickly pulled Fang Chang back. "Are you nuts?! You say it stinks, but you still want a serving? Go over there and eat some steamed buns, or tea eggs!"

Brother Fang Chang shot him a look that clearly said, ’What do you know?’ "You doubt Boss Su’s skills? So what if it’s stinky? Even if it stinks, our Boss Su can make it fragrant!"

Su Chen felt quite pleased by Brother Fang Chang’s ass-kissing.

’Looks like Brother Fang Chang is the only one who gets it,’ Su Chen thought. ’The rest of them don’t understand a thing. If you’ve got the guts, don’t you dare eat any when it’s done!’

"Alright! I’ll prep some extra ingredients then."

Su Chen picked up another knob of ginger, then thought for a moment and added a few more. "Forget it, there are only ten fish in total, I might as well cook them all. The kindergarten teachers will be here soon anyway."

Zhan Yang found this incredibly novel. "Eating fish first thing in the morning, isn’t that a bit much?"

In Jingzhou, people were more accustomed to eating lighter things for breakfast, like congee, soup, or something similar.

"Ah Bao, help me wash the fish and put them by the window to air dry for a bit."

Liu Ahbao’s chubby face twitched. "Boss, why don’t you do it?"

Su Chen looked at Ah Bao like he was an idiot. "Because it stinks!"

’Does that even need to be said?’

’After washing this stuff, even with gloves on, your hands will stink for ages.’

Ah Bao really wanted to ask, ’So if I wash it, my hands *won’t* stink?’

But Su Chen was the boss, after all, so he could only grumble about it internally. "Alright then."

After putting on two layers of disposable gloves, Ah Bao obediently carried the wooden bucket away.

The next part was easy. Su Chen sliced the skinless pork belly and cooked bamboo shoots, then cut the leeks into roughly one-inch sections. That was all the prep work; it was an incredibly simple dish.

The only difficult parts were marinating the fish beforehand and the control of heat and technique during the cooking process.

A moment later, Ah Bao returned with the washed and dried fish. After taking off his gloves, he sniffed his hands.

BLECH!

The lingering smell on his hands was even more disgusting than smelling the fish directly!

Su Chen didn’t use several different stoves; instead, he chose one enormous wok.

This was the one they normally used to make big batches of food for the kids!

He placed the large wok over a high flame and dropped a spoonful of lard into it.

Su Chen felt a pang of regret. He had already used his White Jade Hand when marinating the fish this morning. Otherwise, if he could just whip out the Skill now, this dish would definitely turn out even better.

Still, it wouldn’t be bad. Over the past week, Su Chen had already trained all the Skills he possessed to Max Level proficiency!

Now, it was time to show off his technique!

When the lard was about seventy percent hot, he slid all ten fish into the wok at once!

Each side had to be Blasted for about a minute until the surface of the fish turned a beautiful golden-yellow. Then, he removed all the fish and set them aside to drain the excess oil.

"Hey, not bad. After that little oil Blast, the stench has faded a lot."

"It has faded quite a bit. I can even faintly smell a hint of fish aroma!"

"Why do I feel a faint sense of anticipation? Could this really become a delicious dish?"

The few people watching were in disbelief, especially Zhang Li. This was the very thing whose smell had almost made her pass out. Could it really become something Delicious?

While the ten fish were set aside to drain, Su Chen left the base oil in the same large wok and added the sliced, skinless pork belly and bamboo shoots for a quick stir-fry.

Once they released a sufficiently tempting, meaty aroma, he returned all the fish, which had been Blasted to a golden-yellow, from the large strainer back into the wok.

"The seasoning is very simple. I have to say, there’s a reason why Huizhou Cuisine has left such a brilliant mark on history!"

He added soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, minced ginger, and chicken stock to the wok.

There weren’t even any other complicated steps. It was just that simple. He turned the heat to high to quickly bring the sauce in the wok to a boil, then reduced it to a low simmer.

"Alright, just let it cook like this for half an hour and that’ll be enough."

Su Chen clapped his hands together, his work finally done.

Zhan Yang pressed a hand to his forehead and chuckled in spite of himself. "Every time I watch Boss Su cook, I always feel like making a dish is no big deal."

Brother Fang Chang nodded in deep agreement. "I even tried to copy Boss Su’s techniques at home a few times, but the results were a complete disaster!"

Su Chen laughed. "That’s because, at this stage, the dish really is simple. There’s almost no technical skill involved."

The only time you need to control the heat is when you’re pan-frying the fish in lard. The amount of oil is key, and so is the heat control.

Too much oil and it becomes a Blast; too little and it’s just a pan-fry.

The key is to use just the right amount of oil so that the fish maintains a state between pan-frying and Blasting after entering the wok. This prevents the fish from breaking apart while also allowing every part of the marinated fish to undergo a uniform Maillard reaction in the hot oil.

As for the seasoning that follows, controlling the amounts is just a matter of practice.

Even so, the few people watching were still deeply impressed.

"I should probably go open all the windows..." Zhang Li said after taking a short walk outside and coming back in.