Chapter 319: Chapter 198: Xiaoxu, Your Father-in-law Wants to Become Sworn Brothers with Your Dad! The Recipe for Boiling Fish!【Seeking Monthly Ticket】_3
Wow... What a spread!
"Here comes my junior brother. The Giant Grouper will be ready in no time."
A variety of prepared parts were arranged on the workbench, including fish intestines, fish lips, fish belly, fish fillet, fish tail, fish liver, and fish brain, among other ingredients.
Dai Jianli saw Lin Xu approaching and nudged him with his shoulder, laughing, "Thanks for helping us advertise Building 18 yesterday. When you run out of those dipping sauces, just let me know. I’ll make you some more, striving to make them even tastier than last time."
"Thank you, Chef Dai!"
Upon hearing this title, Dai Jianli immediately frowned and said, "What an awful way to address someone. Your senior brother and I are like brothers from different mothers. You should be calling me ’brother’."
Lin Xu: "..."
This ’brothers from different mothers’ bit has got me all confused.
"Dai, go away... Oh right, could you make a Boiling Fish for my junior brother later? He hasn’t witnessed your cooking skills yet."
"You got it!"
Boiling Fish?
Lin Xu’s interest was immediately piqued.
Just yesterday, the system rewarded him with three Perfect Level Cooking Learning Cards. With such an important occasion today, and so many head chefs squeezed in here, it would really be a waste not to learn something.
But before he started learning, Lin Xu first asked Guo Xinghai to help fetch a few front pork elbows. Using a free stove, he began making Crystal Sugar Pork Knuckles.
Madam Shen was expected today, and he had to fulfill his promise of Crystal Sugar Pork Knuckles.
Additionally, according to the Shen Family’s tradition, eating pork knuckles at significant events was customary. A betrothal banquet without Crystal Sugar Pork Knuckles might seem imperfect to the old lady.
Scalding the skin, singeing off hairs, cleaning, blanching, caramelizing sugar, cooking in a pressure cooker...
There were many people today; a single pork knuckle would probably not make it halfway around the table before being snapped up.
So, Lin Xu used a large pressure cooker to cook six pork knuckles.
After the pork knuckles were on the stove, the Giant Grouper was completely broken down.
Dai Jianli washed his hands, and seeing that Lin Xu was now free, he smiled and said, "Shall we start making Boiling Fish now? This dish is actually quite similar to Boiled Fish, but Boiled Fish is cooked in water, while Boiling Fish is cooked entirely in oil."
Oil? Wouldn’t that just be frying the fish slices?
Dai Jianli picked up a piece of Dragon meat.
After cutting it into strips, he used a knife to slice it into fish pieces about three millimeters thick.
"Your senior brother is really good to you. I’ve never used such fine ingredients to cook a rustic dish like Boiling Fish in my life. If word got out, I don’t know how many people would criticize me for wasting such precious food."
Lin Xu, curious, asked, "How is this kind of fish usually cooked?"
"Giant Grouper is typically steamed or charcoal-grilled. It can also be prepared with salt and pepper, braised, Fried Crispy, and so on. Any way you cook such a high-end ingredient, it will be delicious."
After the fish was sliced, it was placed in a basin.
Then, the seasoning began.
"After slicing freshwater fish, we generally rinse them to reduce any muddy or fishy taste. But for deep-sea fish like this, it’s best not to. Each extra rinse would just wash away more of the fresh flavors."
While speaking, he added a bit of salt and a tiny dash of sugar (to enhance the flavor) to the Scallion and Ginger water. He stirred it until dissolved and then poured it over the fish. He repeatedly mixed it by hand, allowing the flavors of the Scallion and Ginger water to seep into the fish.
Next, he added an egg white, mixed it until the fish was coated in a slurry, and then added a handful of cornstarch.
Continuing to mix by hand, he coated the fish slices with a thin layer of starch, then poured in a little oil, and the fish was marinated.
While the fish was marinating, Dai Jianli grabbed a handful of Chinese lettuce and two stalks of Chinese celery from the freshly washed greens beside him. He gave them a quick chop and set up a wok.
He started making the base vegetables.
He added a bit of vegetable oil to the wok, heated it, then tossed in the Chinese celery. After a few stirs, he added the Chinese lettuce and stir-fried over high heat until just cooked but still crisp, before transferring it to a serving bowl.
"’When stir-frying base vegetables, you must use high heat. This way, they come out crispy and taste better.’" Dai Jianli, fearing Lin Xu might not understand these details, made sure to explain it.
Once the base vegetables were arranged, he brought over the marinated fish slices.
He neatly laid the fish slices on top of the base vegetables.
The biggest difference between Boiling Fish and Boiled Fish lies here.
Boiled Fish involves cooking the ingredients in a spicy broad bean paste broth until done, then sprinkling it with chopped dried chili before pouring hot oil over it.
Boiling Fish, on the other hand, involves placing the fish slices directly in the bowl and then pouring searing hot oil over them, using the high temperature of the oil to cook the fish.
The two methods are entirely different, but both taste very good.
Once made, they can both be deemed Divine Artifacts for accompanying rice.
"Try not to overlap the fish slices, to prevent them from being undercooked. Also, spreading them in a single layer like this makes a standard full portion of fish," he said.
Lin Xu nodded, silently taking note.
After arranging the fish slices, Dai Jianli set up the wok again and poured in two large scoops of rapeseed oil.
"Boiling Fish is a dish that evolved from Sichuan cuisine. Therefore, when cooking it, try to use rapeseed oil, which is commonly eaten in the Sichuan and Chongqing regions. But using just rapeseed oil isn’t fragrant enough, so we need to add something else," he explained.
After saying that, he added a large spoonful of lard and a large spoonful of Seasoning Oil into the wok.
Lard enhances the fragrance. Seasoning Oil adds a complex aroma.
While the oil was heating, Dai Jianli prepared nearly half a basket of dried chili segments and half a bowl of Sichuan peppercorns.
Building 10 specialized in Cantonese cuisine, where dishes were generally lighter in flavor.
His current activities had him taking half of the dried chili segments prepared by the assistant chefs, causing several of them to hurriedly start cutting more chili segments with scissors, flustered.
They were afraid of being scolded by the supervisor if seen.
After the oil in the wok heated up, Dai Jianli said, "When the oil is about 70% heated, turn off the flame. Then pour in the dried chilies and Sichuan peppercorns. If you’re worried about burning them, you can soak these two ingredients in alcohol beforehand."
After he finished speaking, he turned off the heat.
He poured the dried chili segments and Sichuan peppercorns into the wok.
The hot oil in the wok immediately began to boil furiously, and a rich, spicy, and numbing aroma spread out.
Dai Jianli stirred the contents of the wok a few times with a ladle to ensure the peppercorns and chilies were heated evenly.
Then he poured everything all at once into the bowl layered with fish slices.
The hot oil started boiling again, now mingled with a fresh fragrance of fish.
As he was pouring the oil, Lin Xu silently recited in his mind, "Activate Cooking Learning Card!"
The Cooking Learning Card was instantly triggered.
"Learning subject: Dai Jianli. Current Skill is Boiling Fish Cooking Technique. Would you like to learn?"
"Learn!"
"Congratulations, Host, for acquiring the Perfect Level Sichuan Cuisine innovative dish—Boiling Fish."
Not bad, not bad at all. He had mastered it in one go. It seems he really had a connection with Chef Dai, this fun-loving guy.
As he was musing, Guo Weidong came over, frowning. "Dai, you son of a gun! Why didn’t you turn on the range hood when you were frying the peppers and peppercorns? Look at how you’ve choked everyone in the kitchen..."
Lin Xu came back to his senses and realized that the kitchen was indeed filled with a pungent, numbing, and spicy smell. Nearby chefs were fleeing outside, covering their mouths and coughing as they ran.
They were obviously choked by the chilies.
Dai Jianli put down the wok, laughing as he said, "Well, I just wanted to add a bit of ’atmosphere’ to your kitchen."
Guo Weidong: "..."
You damn thing! Is this choking, numbing smell that makes it impossible to stay here what you call ’atmosphere’ in your home?
"Now that the Giant Grouper has been disassembled, crawl back to your eighteenth level of hell!"
Still smiling, Dai Jianli said, "Why are you chasing people away, Old Guo? I was just about to teach Brother Lin how to make Fried Fish Fillets."
Guo Weidong waved his hand impatiently. "I can teach him. If I let you continue, I’m afraid you’ll demolish my kitchen... Lin Xu, how about I teach you how to make Fried Fish Fillets? Want to learn?"
Lin Xu, who had been enjoying the drama: "..."
Is this for real? Such a good thing?
"Yes, yes, yes! I really want to learn! I was just eager to witness Chef Guo’s skills!"
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Sorry, brothers. I kept deleting and editing, and I’ve been busy until now to get this Chapter’s content ready. This Chapter is 5,400 characters long. Asking for Monthly Tickets, brothers!