Qin Huai had no idea that the Three Course Duck was just a small appetizer tonight.
Although the Three Course Duck is high in difficulty and fashionable, it’s not the best dish made by Huang Shengli. He’s actually best at Sizzling Fried Eel, followed by Braised Silver Carp Head.
Braised Silver Carp Head, like the Three Course Duck, theoretically belongs to the category of soup dishes, characterized by a long cooking time, unlike Sizzling Fried Eel, which crisps out of the pan in a flash.
Huang Shengli is nearly working on dual lines; just as the Three Course Duck enters the pan, the Braised Silver Carp Head needs to be prepared for steaming.
Huang An Yao is a competent commentator.
"Braised Silver Carp Head is also one of my dad’s specialties. The fish head needs to be three pounds, too big and the meat isn’t tender enough, too small and it’s too bony and tricky to handle, and not satisfying to eat."
"The key to this dish is freshness. It may look like just chopping the fish head, layering some green onions, ginger, and garlic for steaming isn’t much, but this is the freshest step."
"After the fish head is steamed, remove the bones, heat the wok with lard, don’t fry, pour in sliced mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, ham, and the broth from steaming the fish head, then put the fish head back in to cook."
"This lard and fish broth are crucial. The broth cooked with lard is aromatic and smooth. Don’t mind the fishy odor from the steamed carp head broth; when mixed with lard and those ingredients and cooked together, it brings out the essence of freshness from the carp."
"Oh right, there’re dried scallops too. You see that small bowl with soaked dried scallops? Make sure to pour in the soaking water as well."
"By then, the river freshness, ocean freshness, mountain treasures, and land delicacies come together, that flavor."
Even with the fish head still steaming, both Huang An Yao and Qin Huai smacked their lips simultaneously.
"There’s no need to mention the Sizzling Fried Eel, that’s my dad’s forte!"
"You’ve missed the best time for it. It’s autumn now; eel is best enjoyed in spring or summer. Spring eel is the most tender, while summer eel is the fattest with fewer bones and more meat. Personally, I prefer summer eel."
"With my dad cooking so many dishes today, Sizzling Fried Eel will definitely be the last. You’ll see; some dishes simply cannot have the aroma without lard."
"Sizzling Fried Eel precisely. See the eel prepared over there? It will first be blanched to about eighty percent cooked, then blanched again with soy sauce and light soy sauce for color and flavor. The process is quite simple, like regular stir-frying – no need to flip the pan or adjust the fire control. The crucial part is those last couple of steps."
"Couple of steps?" Qin Huai was completely engrossed.
"Guess why it’s called Sizzling Fried Eel. The essence is after thickening and taking it off the heat, drizzling piping hot oil on the eel strips twice, or thrice, two sizzling sounds and it’s ready for the table."
"When the dish is served, the hot oil still dances on the eel strips, the whole plate glistens beautifully, with a soy sauce coloring. But it doesn’t taste oily, nor too hot. At this point, just use chopsticks to pick up a piece directly, mix it a little, that’s when the temperature and flavor are at their peak."
"That flavor, sweet and fresh with a lingering taste. You might think it’s a bit sweet if you’ve never had it before, but I think sweet Sizzling Fried Eel is the best! The lingering sweetness is the soul! I haven’t had it for months."
Wait, as the young master of Huang Ji Restaurant, what exactly have you been eating these past few months? Why haven’t you eaten any dishes for months?
Qin Huai looked at Huang An Yao until Huang An Yao felt a bit uncomfortable and asked, "What’s up?"
"I feel like you... really know how to eat." Qin Huai was somewhat at a loss for words.
He had heard some gossip about Huang An Yao from Dong Shi, mostly about terrible marketing plans. He didn’t really know much about him, only that despite being Huang Shengli’s only son, Huang An Yao wasn’t interested in learning to cook, and had no interest in managing the restaurant or taking over the family business either.
Of course, you couldn’t say he had no interest at all; it was mainly because he didn’t have the capability.
Even though he studied financial management in college, it was clear he didn’t do well. Dong Shi had mentioned that he was a nice person with a great personality but essentially a homebody, not fond of going out, nor interacting with people.
Socializing with customers and communicating with suppliers were actually tasks that he forced himself to do.
Although he was nominally the young master of Huang Ji Restaurant, in reality, he was merely a mascot young master. Everyone clearly understood that Huang Ji Restaurant’s future wouldn’t be handed over to him; Huang Jia was the undisputed heir for Huang Shengli, the future leader of the restaurant. It’s likely that Huang An Yao would just hold shares and wait for dividends, at most joining in management.
This kind of apprentice inheriting the legacy while the son loses power should have been an exciting drama in a normal rich family. After all, Huang Ji Restaurant is a reputable establishment in Gusu, with a considerable market value and impressive revenue in past years, worthy of a dramatic showdown.
But Huang An Yao accepted it quite well.
According to Dong Shi, he wasn’t quite sure what Huang An Yao was busy with every day. Since the last marketing failure, Huang An Yao became elusive, appearing for a bite when there was good food, disappearing for days when there wasn’t, not really involved in Huang Ji Restaurant’s management affairs.
"I also think I have a knack for eating." Huang An Yao nodded, "I don’t like cooking, nor do I have the knack for it, much less endure the hardship. But I’ve loved eating dishes made by my dad and uncle since I was a kid."
"Did Si Yuan ever tell you, I live in the neighborhood where he runs his pastry shop, I go there every morning to buy snacks."
"I’m not afraid to tell you, I have no intention of managing the restaurant, nor further studying management. I just want to be a freelance writer for Taste. My dream is to become someone like Mr. Xu, traveling everywhere tasting all kinds of food, and founding my own gourmet magazine in my 40s, becoming a renowned food critic." Huang An Yao said longingly.
Qin Huai didn’t understand a word: "What is Taste? A gourmet magazine? Who is Mr. Xu? A famous food critic?"
"You don’t know Taste?!"
Qin Huai shook his head.
"You don’t know Xu Cheng?!"
Qin Huai continued shaking his head.
Huang An Yao was completely shocked, never expecting a chef with such high pastry skills to have crafted such marvelous Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns, Three Meat Buns, Five Fillings Bun, and quirky Dried Tangerine Peel Tea, to not even know who Xu Cheng was.
He knew Qin Huai was a maverick, but didn’t expect him to be so unconventional.
No wonder his dad personally invited Qin Huai to Gusu for exposure.
Huang An Yao could only educate Qin Huai on basic culinary knowledge.
Taste is the most famous gourmet magazine in the industry. Since its establishment a few years ago, it went from issuing one edition a month to now one every two months.
Appearing in Taste is a dream for almost all chefs because being featured means gaining acknowledgment from the renowned foodie Xu Cheng. Taste is available in several countries worldwide, with significant influence and authority.
No matter where you are a chef from, even if you are from an unheard-of small country running a street stall, appearing in Taste would immediately gain admiration from food lovers around the world. Loyal fans of Taste won’t hesitate to buy plane tickets to visit that small country to savor hidden culinary gems.
Huang Ji Restaurant is recognized locally as a renowned restaurant primarily because Huang Shengli was featured in the 7th edition of Taste, though not on the cover, the article penned by Xu Cheng was of high value.
In Xu Cheng’s article, he devoted much space to praising Huang Shengli’s Three Course Duck and Sizzling Fried Eel, making these two dishes undoubtedly the marquee dishes of Huang Ji Restaurant. Even now, when many food enthusiasts mention Huang Ji Restaurant, their first thought is:
Going to Huang Ji Restaurant, you must try Master Huang Shengli’s Three Course Duck and Sizzling Fried Eel, as they were praised by Mr. Xu in Taste.
Such is the influence of Taste.
Besides being the founder of Taste, Xu Cheng is a renowned foodie and an ordinary rich Nth-generation heir, managing the substantial assets left by his parents alongside Taste.
It shows that being a foodie and writer still requires some financial support.
After all, traveling the world isn’t something that can be done with just a pen and a backpack; an endless credit card is necessary too.
After listening to Huang An Yao’s information, Qin Huai thought he was someone with grand dreams.
He just searched Xu Cheng’s assets online and realized compared to Xu Cheng, Luo Jun was merely a plain Bifang.
"Being a food critic sounds nice, but what about Master Huang and his collab..."
Qin Huai hadn’t finished talking when he heard a sizzling sound.
The mouth-watering aroma!
The scent of garlic, oil, winter bamboo shoots, and eel strips all blended together, greeting them directly.
Qin Huai couldn’t spare any more thought for conversation.
Because what followed was various fragrances.
The aroma of meat, fish, sweetness, saltiness...
For the first time, Qin Huai understood what it means to not render a mental picture because it hasn’t been experienced.
Huang Shengli’s voice thundered through, "Sizzling Fried Eel is ready! What time is it? Oh, it’s 8:10 already, are all the dishes done? Where’s Xiao Qin? An Yao? Call them over, it’s time to eat!"