The Gourmet Customizer

It didn’t seem so bad standing in the kitchen, but if you went outside, you could still smell a very strong stench.

That stench...

’Damn it! All those repressed memories are flooding back!’

Su Chen and the others were sitting at a table in the main dining area, chatting idly.

"Boss Su, now that you finally have a moment, I wanted to ask if you’ve made any headway on the engagement banquet menu?" Brother Fang Chang was quite invested in this.

Just a few days ago, his future father-in-law had called to ask if the arrangements were in order. He said that after his fiancée’s grand-uncle, Jiang Wusheng, heard there was such a reclusive master in Jingzhou, he couldn’t wait to come for a taste.

Su Chen said, "The menu won’t be a problem. There are only a few of you, ten at most, right? Eighteen dishes will be more than enough."

"Really?" Brother Fang Chang had originally thought Su Chen would make ten dishes at most, one for each person. Eighteen was simply beyond his expectations. "Eighteen is definitely enough, we might not even be able to finish it all!"

’Can’t finish it all?’ Su Chen thought back to their previous meals. ’You guys always act like there’s not enough.’

"Actually, there is one thing I’m worried about."

"Let’s hear it!" Brother Fang Chang declared with bravado. "Nothing can be allowed to interfere with my engagement banquet with Yuanyuan!"

Su Chen said, "Bai Xiaobo probably told you already, but there will be other guests that day."

"He did mention it. What’s the matter, Boss Su? Is it a problem?"

Su Chen shook his head. "I’m worried that your fiancée’s grand-uncle and father-in-law might know the guests from the Capital City. And considering the person from the Capital City has quite an imposing presence, I’d hate for it to ruin the mood for you and your fiancée."

"That won’t be a problem!" Brother Fang Chang waved his hand dismissively. "I’ve already talked it over with my fiancée. As long as her father is happy, we don’t care about anything else! The real ceremony is the wedding. This is just the engagement, it’s no big deal!"

"Good to hear."

They were all good friends by now and chatted idly for a while longer. Su Chen glanced at his watch. "The fish should be about ready."

"Let’s go, let’s go take a look! Boss Su, you’re not actually going to charge me for this fish, are you?" Brother Fang Chang asked cheekily. ’We’re such good friends, it wouldn’t be right to charge me for one little fish, right?’

"Eighty-eight per fish. Not a penny less." Su Chen stated the price and decisively slipped into the kitchen.

The moment the pot lid was lifted, a huge cloud of steam billowed out, carrying a mixture of aromas that filled the kitchen.

It was the aroma of cooked fish, but not the usual kind. Mixed in was a faint, stinky odor!

Yet you couldn’t simply describe it as "stinky."

"Short-stuff" thought for a good while. "How is this fish so... fragrantly stinky?"

Yes, that was it. A wondrous sensation that was both fragrant and stinky, impossible to put into words!

"Patience. It’ll be ready to eat in a moment."

After simmering on low heat for half an hour, the sauce in the pot had nearly cooked down. He sprinkled in pre-chopped green garlic, poured in the prepared thickening slurry, and finished it with a spoonful of rendered lard.

"Plate it up!"

Ah Bao brought over ten fish platters. The fish were transferred from the wok to the platters, and then a ladleful of sauce was generously drizzled over each one!

Care had to be taken not to scoop up the pork used for flavoring, though the bamboo shoots could be included.

Ten plates of fish were lined up neatly on the counter. Su Chen picked up the first one. "Alright, everyone, time for a taste test!"

"Short-stuff" had her chopsticks ready.

’It was embarrassing to pass out from the smell, but getting to taste the boss’s personally-made stinky fish made it all worth it!’

Su Chen tasted the fish first.

The fish, having been marinated and fried, was so tender the meat practically fell off the bone. A gentle poke with his chopsticks was all it took for a piece to flake away.

The flakes of meat resembled garlic cloves, tender and white, looking exceptionally succulent.

"Mm, the meat is firm and has a good bite, but it’s not tough or dry. As you chew, you get a hint of salt-cured fish, but it’s much milder than actual salted fish. It’s the perfect fusion of cured and braised fish. Only mandarin fish has the right texture to pull this off."

Su Chen’s palate was quite refined by now, and that one bite gave him a good idea of the dish’s quality.

’A Level cuisine.’

’If it were S Level, there wouldn’t be this much analysis after the first bite. You’d just be desperate for another.’

But for his first attempt without using the practice room, Su Chen was quite satisfied with himself for achieving this level of quality.

"Say no more, Boss Su! Eighty-eight it is! Just hurry up and get one for me and my brother here! Oh, right, do you have any steamed buns? A fish like this needs a staple to go with it."

"We do. I’ll go get them." Ah Bao packed ten steamed buns for the two of them. It was their usual amount; they were regulars, after all.

Brother Fang Chang didn’t stand on ceremony. He and Zhan Yang carried the fish and buns outside to dig in.

Xiaozhangli and Brother Ah Bao also began to sample the fish.

"This is delicious! I can’t taste any of the stench!" Zhang Li said, taking a large bite of fish. But after she swallowed, she felt something wasn’t right. "Wait, but now there’s a bit of a stinky aftertaste in my mouth!"

Ah Bao, who was also eating, said, "That’s not a stench. Savor the flavor carefully."

Zhang Li puffed out her cheeks and exhaled the air in her mouth through her nose, making a soft PUFFING sound.

"I think you’re right... It’s fragrantly stinky!"

Ah Bao rolled his eyes. "That’s about as sophisticated as your palate gets. Just eat your fish."

Both he and Su Chen ate with restraint.

This worked out perfectly for Short-stuff. "SMACK SMACK! Boss, this taste-test is really free, right?"

"That’s right, it’s free."

Zhang Li giggled foolishly. ’Getting up early every day is totally worth it if I get to eat this. Other people have to pay eighty-eight bucks for this fish, so it’s like I earned eighty-eight bucks today!’

’Perfect!’

To be able to cure them whole, Su Chen had originally instructed Ah Bao to buy mandarin fish that were around a pound each. Any larger and they would have had to be cut into pieces for the curing process.