Chapter 94: Chapter 93: Gained Another Personal Skill

Fu Yu was feeling a bit smug when suddenly an electronic notification sounded in his ear:

[Ding! Reward for the Rising Star of the Kitchen: Congratulations on acquiring NPC Chef Zhang Zhen’s personal skill: Boiling (Intermediate)]

Fu Yu turned his head in surprise to look at Zhang Zhen.

Zhang Zhen was eagerly watching him make Ah Ma’s Sacred Pork.

The two exchanged a glance.

Fu Yu’s eyes were sparkling.

His previous skill level in boiling was just beginner, but now benefiting from Zhang Zhen’s light, it directly advanced to intermediate.

Happy!

Zhang Zhen was confused.

You kid, why are you staring at me like this?!

How can you start cooking and suddenly become so amused?

What’s so beautiful?

Fu Yu happily skimmed off the scum from the pot.

Switched to a slow simmer on low heat.

Both are about cooking meat.

Now Fu Yu could clearly feel the difference between beginner and intermediate levels.

Before, he also boiled, but when determining the doneness of food, he relied on color and tasting.

But now it’s different.

He just needed to use chopsticks to casually poke around in the pot, take a look, and immediately judge the doneness of the food.

Is it still a bit tough and needs more cooking?

Or is it done and can be taken off the heat now?

It’s truly amazing!

Even Fu Yu found it quite fascinating.

While the meat was simmering, Fu Yu began to prepare the pig’s trotters.

He had smelled the spice bags from the music restaurant before and thought they were pretty good, but Fu Yu compared them to the method in the specialty family banquet cookbook.

He thought the cold marinated pig’s trotter in it was more suitable.

After all, it’s an engagement banquet, and by the time the hosts can actually sit down to eat, a table full of good dishes will probably have gone cold.

Since it’s a cold dish, there’s no need to marinate the pig’s trotter again; the kitchen already had some prepared.

Zhang Zhen, while fishing the pig’s trotter out of the pressure cooker, exclaimed: “Chef Fu, your luck is unmatched! In our kitchen, we rarely make marinated pig’s trotters. We usually make cold pork ear dishes. If a customer hadn’t pre-ordered yesterday, I wouldn’t have marinated the pig’s trotters last night.”

Made with the secret marinade, the pig’s trotter smells amazing just from the aroma!

Having been soaked in the marinade, it’s still a bit hot to the touch.

Fu Yu conveniently let it cool and started preparing the annual pig stew.

The key to this annual pig stew is in the pork and the vermicelli with cabbage.

Fortunately, the music restaurant always prioritizes the quality of its ingredients.

The pork used here is from home-raised pigs in rural areas, fed with tofu dregs, known as rustic pork.

Qianlima’s kitchen uses pork bought from the market, which is decent, but compared to the rustic pork from the music restaurant, the difference is evident.

This rustic pork is truly good.

The lean meat is a vivid red, and the fat is as white as snow.

Under the light, there’s a shiny layer of oil over the surface.

With this quality of meat, even a simple stir-fry would become incredibly aromatic.

Fu Yu considered that when the New Year comes, he could perhaps discuss with Chef Yao about buying some pork to take home.

His dad especially loves pork dishes.

However, the two butcher shops in their small county sell rather average-quality meat.

Now that he’s officially employed, not only does he earn a salary, but he can also work part-time at the music restaurant, plus make some extra money by completing tasks.

With some financial flexibility, Fu Yu started thinking about how to improve his family’s living conditions.

He didn’t dare to dream big yet.

But for buying some food and drinks to honor his parents, he’s quite willing to spend.

Fu Yu was making plans in his head while continuing to work.

Washed the cabbage and cut it into sections, sliced the pork into thin pieces.

Chopped the green onions and ginger.

Heated up oil in the pot, added the meat slices, and stir-fried until they changed color and released their oil.

Added the green onions, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise to bring out their aroma.

Poured in soybean paste and quickly stirred it.

Added the cabbage and stir-fried it evenly.

Poured in soy sauce and continued stir-frying.

Added water and made a pit in the middle of the cabbage, placed the washed vermicelli inside, and added a bit of dried chili.

Covered the pot, brought it to a boil, then reduced the heat to a gentle simmer.

While the pot was simmering, Fu Yu turned his attention to preparing the cold marinated pig’s trotter.

In fact, in an authentic Eight Plates and Eight Bowls, the main dishes are just a few, while the side dishes are often adjusted according to the local season.

Marinated pig’s trotters are a must, but how it’s prepared depends entirely on the chef’s arrangement.

No matter how good the marinated meat is, when eaten cold or hot, the taste will definitely be different.

Fu Yu thought the cold preparation was quite good.

No matter how long it’s left aside, it still retains its original flavor when eaten.

Once the marinated pig’s trotters were cooled, he separated them for later use.

Zhang Zhen watched Fu Yu’s technique in separating the pig’s trotters and was secretly amazed.

This kid’s skills in separating are something he’s definitely practiced.

With this tendon and meat separation, and the clean break of bones, if he hasn’t done it at least fifty times, he’s definitely done over a hundred plates.

He was watching Fu Yu separate the trotters intently, but soon found himself exchanging another glance with Fu Yu.

Zhang Zhen scratched his head: What are you looking at me for now, kid?

This time, Fu Yu spoke, smiling: “Chef Zhang, since I’m making this cold dish, I should taste it first. Otherwise, I won’t know the saltiness and can’t season it properly.”

Zhang Zhen was a bit speechless.

Instinctively he turned to look for Yao Shi, only to find that his boss had already left unnoticed.

He then looked back at Fu Yu and nodded: “Go ahead, taste it, there’s plenty in this big pot!”

There’s a saying that goes, a chef who doesn’t steal a taste won’t gather grains.

This might not sound pleasant, but it reflects the reality in the kitchen.

Chefs must taste their dishes in advance.

Taking a taste while cooking a dish is common practice.

However, chefs like Zhao Meng and Zhang Zhen have long developed the hand feel for seasoning.

When casually cooking a dish, they don’t even need to taste it, as their hands instinctively know the right amount to add.

If it were in Qianlima’s kitchen, Fu Yu would have just started tasting without hesitation.

But here, in the music restaurant.

It’s impolite to eat someone else’s food without notifying the head chef, especially in front of them.

Fu Yu smiled, received the nod of approval, put on disposable gloves, and chose a decent-looking pig’s trotter to go “taste” at the side.

He had a bit of alcohol the previous night and didn’t have much of an appetite in the morning.

His mind was preoccupied with matters at the music restaurant, and he only had half a bowl of rice soup for breakfast.

Now, with things settled and having worked for a while, he was genuinely getting hungry.

Taking advantage of the tasting opportunity, Fu Yu openly gnawed on half of one.

This pig’s trotter was indeed fragrant!

The oily and bright reddish-brown color looked appetizing.

With one bite, the skin was tender and fragrant but not greasy, smooth in texture, delicious, and tempting.

Filled with collagen, Fu Yu ate it with satisfaction.

He removed his gloves and continued working.

Crushed a garlic clove and minced it, then smashed it again to bring out more flavor.

Sliced the scallions into small pieces or sections.

Added minced garlic and a little aged vinegar on the pig’s trotters, poured in some of the original marinade, added a bit of Sichuan pepper oil, poured in red chili oil, and finally sprinkled with chopped scallions.

Added a suitable amount of MSG and sugar, mixed well, then plated it, pouring the remaining sauce on top.

A colorful, fragrant, and flavorful cold marinated pig’s trotter dish was ready!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep