Chapter 320: Chapter 199: Fried Fish Fillets! This Crystal Sugar Pork Knuckle is Delicious! Happy Engagement! [Request for Monthly Ticket]
Dai Jianli didn’t leave. Instead, he went looking for Xie Baomin and Song Dahai with a teasing smile. They were about to eat Giant Grouper; he just couldn’t bear to leave.
Guo Weidong sighed, then turned on the range hood and all the kitchen ventilation equipment, which significantly reduced the choking smell in the kitchen. He glanced at the Boiling Fish made by Dai Jianli and said to Lin Xu, "Although that rascal is as much trouble as your senior brother, his skills are still quite good. Try this Boiling Fish; the taste should be very good."
By now, the Red Oil in the basin was no longer boiling vigorously. The Red Oil had a rich, glossy red color and wafted a tempting spicy aroma. Just from the smell, it was very enticing.
Lin Xu felt that having a serving of Boiling Fish, a small bowl of rice, and a bottle of ice-cold cola during his school days would have been incredibly satisfying. Unfortunately, he no longer played basketball, and his appetite had decreased a lot. Sometimes, he even ate less than his Shen Baobao.
Picking up a pair of disposable chopsticks from the nearby shelf, Lin Xu stirred in the basin. The oil-soaked fish slices immediately surfaced, filling the air with their fragrance once more.
Sichuan cuisine is quite interesting. Some dishes involve digging through piles of chilies to find pieces of meat, like Spicy Chicken Cubes and Cold Eating Rabbit. Others involve searching for ingredients in Red Oil, just like this Boiling Fish right in front of him.
Lin Xu picked up a slice of fish draped in Red Oil from the basin and put it into his mouth. As soon as it touched his taste buds, he felt the richness of the oil and the spiciness it contained. However, the spiciness in the Red Oil was neither overwhelming nor choking. It was just intensely aromatic.
As he chewed gently, the initial spicy flavor in his mouth was soon masked by the fresh taste of the fish.
Giant Grouper was a delicacy among seafood. When used to make Boiling Fish, its fresh flavors were maximally sealed into the fish by the surrounding oils. The moment he tasted it, his appetite, which hadn’t been strong, was instantly whetted by this delicious aroma and flavor. Even the spiciness became a mere backdrop.
"How’s the taste?"
"Delicious. The freshness is locked into the flesh, making the flavor even richer."
Unfortunately, there was no rice right now. If only there was a bowl of rice to go with it, that would be even more perfect.
Hearing this, Guo Weidong looked a bit surprised. He grabbed a pair of chopsticks, tasted it, and immediately said, "No wonder Xie Baomin asked Dai to teach you Boiling Fish. I thought you liked spicy flavors, but it seems he already knew the secret of using oil to lock the freshness into the flesh."
After tasting it, Guo Weidong looked towards Xie Baomin in the distance, a look of admiration on his face.
What is talent? This is it. Using a spicy flavor for such delicious fish. It might seem like a reckless waste of a fine ingredient, but in reality, it actually intensified the delicious flavor of the fish. Xie Baomin had even figured this out. He truly deserved to be the leading figure of the middle generation at Fishing Platform. Head Chef Gao firmly held the top spot among the elder generation. Xie Baomin was the leader of the middle generation. And among the younger generation, he had initially thought his nephew would distinguish himself, but then Lin Xu had emerged out of nowhere. This trio of master and disciples was truly impressive.
After reflecting on this and taking advantage of the remaining time, Guo Weidong began teaching Lin Xu how to make Fried Fish Fillets.
"Each culinary style has its quick stir-fry dishes, such as Lu cuisine’s Oil-fried Double Crispy, Coriander Fried Meat Shreds, and Sauce Burst Chicken Cubes. Sichuan cuisine has similar dishes, represented by the ’raw-fried’ and ’fire-blasted’ series."
The head chefs at Fishing Platform had different training backgrounds, so their teaching methods varied. Xie Baomin taught cooking by starting with the dish in question but would interject many small culinary tips during the process. It was the same approach Head Chef Gao used. When Dai Jianli taught cooking, however, his instruction revolved entirely around the dish at hand. He didn’t digress to discuss other culinary knowledge. He just wanted to get through the cooking process efficiently, all while making sure to have some fun. If it weren’t for Guo Weidong’s formidable presence rushing over, Lin Xu wouldn’t have even realized that this head chef was cooking without turning on the ventilation.
As for Guo Weidong, his teaching was typical of an academic style; when teaching a dish, he would start by explaining its category. This not only gave one a new understanding of the dish’s category but also unknowingly inspired one to try this cooking method with other ingredients.
Perhaps this was why Cantonese cuisine was considered the only evolving one among the Eight Great Cuisines, Lin Xu sighed to himself.
Seeing Guo Weidong cutting a piece of fish and starting to cook, he quickly focused, preparing to seriously learn how to make Fried Fish Fillets from this head chef.
Once he mastered it, he could introduce it in his restaurant and make more money!
"Fried Fish Fillets, similar to the Boiling Fish that Dai just made, also requires slicing the fish and marinating it beforehand. However, the difference is that for Fried Fish Fillets, the slices need to be as thin as possible."
Guo Weidong’s knife skills were top-notch. As his kitchen knife danced, thin and uniform slices of fish were cut. The sliced fish didn’t need to be washed. It was directly mixed in scallion and ginger water before being seasoned with a small spoonful of salt.
"Most meats shouldn’t be salted during marination, as salt is a strong dehydrating agent that can be detrimental. However, when making Fried Fish Fillets, it’s necessary to add some salt. This utilizes salt’s dehydrating properties to make the fish slices gelatinous and sticky, which improves the texture of the quickly stir-fried fish."
Oh ho! Got it, got it.
Guo Weidong vigorously worked the fish slices in the basin by hand, mixing and slapping them a few times. When the fish slices became gelatinous, he added half an egg white and a little cornstarch.