The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book)- 12

 

| TBBOTOF | 12

Tang Xu washed his hands three times before finally removing the black soot and revealing his original porcelain-white skin color. Chef Liu stared wide-eyed at the transformation.

"You..." he began to speak but couldn't find the right words.

Tang Xu smiled at him. "Chef Liu, please wait outside for a moment. I'll bring it out to you when it's ready."

Although Chef Liu wanted to watch, he also understood that such exclusive craftsmanship wouldn't be shown for free. He nodded and stepped out.

The method for Snowy Mung Bean Paste wasn't difficult, but without an electric mixer, beating the egg whites with chopsticks was quite tiring for the wrists and arms.

After about half an hour, as Chef Liu waited impatiently outside, Tang Xu came out carrying a plate of Snowy Mung Bean Paste.

The chubby egg bubbles were arranged in the dish, snow-white in color. Just looking at them made one feel the tenderness. On top, there were some fine sugar granules sprinkled. Even without tasting it, the appearance alone tempted people to take a bite. Not to mention the sweet aroma that wafted into the nose, making Chef Liu's mouth water uncontrollably.

Fuyun Restaurant mainly served hot dishes with cold dishes as a supplement. Chef Liu enjoyed making meat dishes, and stewed and boiled meats were his specialties. The cold dishes were handled by his apprentices. However, in the restaurant business, if new dishes weren't introduced for a long time, even regular customers would gradually decrease. Nowadays, even wealthy gentry had very discerning tastes.

This Snowy Mung Bean Paste smelled sweet like pastries, but its appearance was different from the usual puff pastry desserts. Calling it a dish wouldn't be entirely inaccurate.

Chef Liu didn't bother with chopsticks; he just pinched one with his fingers.

Soft and fluffy in his hand, he first smelled its aroma, then took a bite.

The outer layer seemed to have been fried in oil, while the inside was tender and fluffy, with a sandy texture from the bean paste filling. Despite being fried in oil, it didn't feel greasy when eaten.

Chef Liu, while eating, couldn't stop wondering how this dish was made, but unfortunately, he couldn't figure it out.

His expression was puzzled, but his successive hand movements told Tang Xu that he was very satisfied with what he was eating.

Tang Xu breathed a sigh of relief. Snowy Mung Bean Paste was his mother's favorite sweet dish before she passed away. He had found many recipes online and followed them closely, then researched the proportions himself. 

He mastered the technique to fry the egg bubbles to be fluffy, tender, and round without collapsing or turning yellow due to temperature changes. He also controlled the oil temperature to keep the outer layer white, soft, and round, without becoming greasy. The dish had to strike a balance between sweetness and not being overly greasy.

He made a total of ten white balls, and Chef Liu had two in quick succession. Now, there were only four left in the plate.

As Chef Liu reached out for more, Tang Xu moved the plate away and smiled at him. "Chef Liu, let's leave these four for Boss Wu to taste."

Chef Liu licked the sugar residue off his fingers and nodded. "You did a great job."

Tang Xu thanked him, feeling pleased with the positive feedback.

Boss Wu's expression after tasting could be described as shocked.

Fuyun Restaurant had branches in Jing'an Prefecture City and Xiquan County, and both were doing well in business. Boss Wu had worked in the city for some time before being allowed to become the manager in the town. He was confident in his abilities, and indeed, during his tenure, Fuyun Restaurant in the town had made good profits. However, recently, he had noticed a decline in business.

When he asked regular customers about the reason, they all said the taste of the dishes hadn't changed, and they were still delicious. But they felt that the menu had become somewhat monotonous, with only a few dishes rotating repeatedly. After eating the same dishes for a while, they started to feel bored. They also inquired about when the restaurant would introduce new dishes, as they would definitely come to try them out.

Recently, Chef Liu and his apprentices had been focusing on innovation, but they kept rotating the same few flavors. Not to mention the feedback from customers, Chef Liu himself didn't find them appetizing.

Now, suddenly tasting a sweet yet not greasy dish, Manager Wu's eyes lit up.

He looked straight at Tang Xu, his eyes full of surprise and anticipation.

Tang Xu sat up straight, smiling. "What do you think?"

"Delicious," Boss Wu rubbed his hands together, his face beaming. "You've made this dessert very well. But eating just sweet dishes might get a bit cloying."

"No one would order this dish alone. It could be sold as a dessert alongside the dishes the restaurant already offers. If wealthy patrons enjoy it, they might even take some home for their families to try. The great thing about this dish is that it doesn't collapse when it cools down, and it's not greasy to eat whether hot or cold."

Tang Xu was full of confidence, looking straight into Boss Wu's eyes without flinching. "I also have a few refreshing side dishes to accompany it. If the manager is interested, I can prepare them for you to try."

Boss Wu looked at Chef Liu.

Regarding the kitchen affairs, he couldn't interfere too much. Even if he really wanted to try the side dishes Tang Xu mentioned, he had to first seek Chef Liu's consent.

Chef Liu nodded readily, agreeing. He also wanted to see how much skill this young man really had.

Neither Chef Liu nor Boss Wu had realized that Tang Xu was actually a ger; they had mistaken him for a poor young man head of a household.

Tang Xu returned to the kitchen. By now, the restaurant had started to have customers coming in for lunch, although not many, just scattered groups of two or three. Chef Liu couldn't let him stay alone in the kitchen anymore. Next to the main kitchen, there was a small one with a stove that Chef Liu usually used to stew meat.

Tang Xu took a few dishes and seasonings from the main kitchen and spent about half an hour working in the small kitchen. Then, he brought out three dishes.

Shredded pork stir-fried with shredded bamboo shoots, wood ear mushrooms, and carrots. The pork was tender, and the vegetables were crispy, with a tangy and appetizing flavor.

Stir-fried mushrooms and dried tofu. The tofu was cut into thick strips and deep-fried, then stir-fried with soaked dried mushrooms, Sichuan peppercorns, and Chinese prickly ash, resulting in a spicy, savory, and stimulating taste that perfectly complemented a bowl of rice.

Chopped potatoes, the difficulty of this dish lay in cutting the potatoes into good shapes, which took some time. When frying the potato chunks, the heat couldn't be too high or too low, to achieve a texture that was soft inside yet crispy outside. Seasoned with cumin powder, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and chopped Chinese prickly ash, it had a similar spicy flavor to the mushroom and tofu dish but was less intense.

As the three dishes were placed on the table, their fragrance wafted into the air.

Chef Liu and Boss Wu couldn't wait and both picked up their chopsticks, instinctively reaching for shredded pork stir-fried first.

Tang Xu sat beside them, sipping tea from a bowl. Then, he turned to the waiter and said, "Please help us with three bowls of rice, thank you."

After working for so long, he was hungry too. He figured the two men wouldn't mind him joining them for a meal.

The waiter glanced at the chef and the manager, then at the smiling young man beside him, before turning around to serve the rice.

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