The Gourmet Customizer

"Today is the kids’ first day eating here. Our menu has been posted in the parents’ group chat, and the response has been pretty good so far." Ling Shuyu, the temporary head of the meal service, was now in charge of handling all matters related to the parents’ group chat.

She wasn’t very good at communicating with people, so she would create the plans and Zhang Li would execute them. The two long-time colleagues now worked together in perfect sync.

"Okay." Su Chen looked at Ah Bao. "I’ll be cooking for the first week. Just learn as much as you can. You can start cooking next week, and I’ll teach you anything you don’t know individually."

Hearing that he was going to learn how to cook, Ah Bao puffed out his chest and promised, "No problem!"

The promise originally made to the parents was: two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and one soup.

The menu sent to the parents’ group chat on the first day of school was: Stir-fried Eggs with Yellow Chives, Vinegar-Sautéed Shredded Potatoes, Sweet and Crispy Wanzi, Sautéed Pork with Mini Flower Rolls, and a Shiitake Mushroom and Tofu Soup.

These were all very common, homestyle dishes. For children, the main focus of a meal is nutritional balance and health.

Furthermore, the food couldn’t be too salty. It was best if it was a little blander than what adults eat.

There could be no chili peppers, and it was best to avoid even chicken essence and MSG. Using chicken broth to enhance the flavor would be enough.

The mini flower rolls were a Jingzhou specialty. These didn’t need to be made from scratch; they could be bought ready-made from the supermarket, thawed, and then stir-fried.

So, for the time being, Su Chen wouldn’t need to make this dish himself.

"Let’s prepare the Wanzi first. The stir-fried eggs and shredded potatoes are quick to make, so we can cook them right before serving without any delays."

Sweet and Crispy Wanzi was an authentic Lu Cuisine dish, which was why Su Chen said that learning Lu Cuisine was definitely a worthwhile endeavor.

Jingzhou People loved this stuff too!

"Boss, what’s the difference between these Sweet and Crispy Wanzi and Four-Joy Wanzi?" Liu Ahbao was somewhat familiar with Lu Cuisine, but he had only ever heard of Sweet and Crispy Wanzi, never eaten them.

"The method for Four-Joy Wanzi is quite similar to Lion’s Head meatballs, except you add things like sea cucumber and sea shrimp to the filling to enhance the flavor. Sweet and Crispy Wanzi are more homestyle. They’re sweet, crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside." He turned to the other employees. "You all can learn this too. It’s a simple dish. You can make it for New Year’s. It’s incredibly satisfying."

Once the Wanzi are fried, they can be stored for a long time. When you want to eat them, you just take them out to thaw and then cook them a second time.

Whenever they’re served, they’re always a dish that adults and children alike can’t get enough of.

Hearing that anyone could learn how to make it, the employees were suddenly intrigued. They all washed their hands, rolled up their sleeves, and prepared to get down to business.

He added water to a pot and turned on the heat, then cut some fatty pork into large chunks and put them in the pot to boil, simultaneously adding a splash of cooking wine, green onions, and ginger to remove any gamy taste.

He Shuting had no interest in cooking. Besides, she could never stomach fatty pork, so these Wanzi weren’t her cup of tea. She was only responsible for filming.

"You have to use fatty pork for this dish. Lean pork just doesn’t work," Su Chen said as he prepped the ingredients. "You just need to boil the fatty pork until it’s barely cooked through."

This was where it differed from stewing Lion’s Head meatballs.

Because Lion’s Head meatballs are pure meat, they need to be cooked for a long time to render all the fat out of the pork, which is what makes them delicious.

Su Chen cooked, and the others watched intently.

Everyone even started to think it really wasn’t that hard. You just add cooking wine, green onions, and ginger to the water in the pot, then boil the fatty pork until it’s cooked. What was so hard about that? ’Anyone with hands could do this, right?’

Placing the cooked fatty pork on a cutting board, Su Chen said, "Dice them into small, even cubes. You all should stand back."

SWISH!

Everyone instinctively took three steps back!

"When you’re at home, you can take your time cutting. I’ll just speed things up a bit."

THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!

Liu Ahbao’s eyes burned with excitement as he watched. The Wild Blade Technique truly lived up to its name!

With a flash of the blade, the chunk of pork became slices. With another flash, the slices became cubes!

Moreover, the diced pork retained the original shape of the pork chunk. It wasn’t until Su Chen gave it a push with his hand that the block collapsed like a falling skyscraper, instantly scattering into countless tiny cubes across the cutting board.

"Godly skill! That’s godly skill!"

Su Chen ignored Ah Bao’s sycophantic praise and put the diced pork into a large bowl.

"Ah Bao, give me a hand. Separate some egg yolks."

"You got it!"

Liu Shengnan said indignantly, "I can help too."

Su Chen paused for a moment. "Why don’t you watch first."

Two bowls were placed in front of each of the two men. Holding an egg, they cracked it with a sharp TAP, then shook it over the first bowl!

The egg white flowed in.

They then shook it over the second bowl!

The egg yolk flowed in.

Liu Shengnan, who had wanted to help, quickly waved her hands. "Never mind, never mind."

They only stopped after separating forty or fifty eggs in a row. Su Chen thought for a moment and said, "Let’s refrigerate the egg whites. We can use them for other dishes tomorrow."

These Sweet and Crispy Wanzi only required egg yolks.

The separated egg yolks were mixed evenly with flour and the diced fatty pork in the large bowl.

"Alright! Next up is frying the Wanzi!"

Su Chen set up three woks—two for himself and one for Ah Bao. "Oil temperature at 180 degrees. Fry until the surface of the Wanzi is golden brown."

The temperature couldn’t be too low, or it would be difficult to fry them to a golden-brown color. But it couldn’t be any higher, either, or the outside would get crispy while the meat inside was still raw.

’Just as I thought, this isn’t hard at all!’ Ah Bao thought to himself.

’If it’s this simple, Boss Su could have just explained it verbally. Does he not trust my skills?’

"Aunt Fang, you and the others can help pick out the Wanzi."

"Okay!"

Aunt Fang went to help Ah Bao pick his out, while Ling Shuyu stood by Su Chen’s side. Zhang Li also squeezed in close and picked up a pair of chopsticks.

Su Chen thought for a moment. "Zhang Li, maybe you should just watch."

"Why!" The short-legged girl glared. "I want to help too!"

Su Chen recalled the scene of Zhang Li struggling with the shrimp paste balls the other day and decided against letting her do this. "You can help me prepare some other things we’ll need later."

"Oh!" Zhang Li handed the chopsticks to Liu Shengnan and stepped back.

Instantly!

Su Chen started to put on a pair of disposable gloves. He grabbed a handful of filling in each hand and then, with a forceful squeeze...

...a plump, round meatball squeezed out from the space between his thumb and index finger!

Then, with a sharp motion, the Wanzi dropped right off and into the wok, his control so precise that not a single drop of oil splashed!

Ah Bao was completely stunned. "Godly sk—"

He could only squeeze the Wanzi out from his hand and then use a spoon to scoop it into the wok...

The difference in skill was immediately obvious!

"Pick ’em out!"

Su Chen shouted, and Ling Shuyu and Liu Shengnan quickly extended their chopsticks to pick the Wanzi out of the wok.

He was so fast that for a moment, the two of them couldn’t even keep up with his pace!