vrcanaries Chapter 527 Tasting Dishes
Chapter 527 Tasting Dishes
Xu Yiyi was still wondering whether or not to give Wu Yuan a bath when Wang Pangzi dragged her to the kitchen.
He pointed to several items prepared on the table and said he was going to practice the first four dishes for tomorrow's banquet.
"Master, I've thought about it and I think I should try the dishes a few more times tonight, otherwise I'm really nervous."
Xu Yiyi said with a hint of helplessness, "Don't be nervous, it's nothing serious."
Seeing her so calm only made Fatty Wang more anxious.
Xu Yiyi sighed and glanced at the ingredients she had bought.
The four appetizers she ordered were raw sea bass sashimi with golden orange pickles, marinated sand crab with lime juice, honey-roasted prawn jelly, and clams soaked in plum wine, all made with seafood.
The four items can then be divided into four portions using an exquisite lacquer box.
Golden minced fish is made from raw slices of sea bass, served with a sauce made from crushed ginger, garlic, tangerines, oranges, mustard, and other ingredients. Oranges are prized for their golden color and aroma. However, because these dishes were made for high-ranking officials and nobles, the names of the dishes could not be simple.
Fatty Wang's hands were a little shaky, and the fish slices he cut were not very even in thickness.
The sauce was either too sour or too bland.
"What's wrong with you? You're not usually this good." Xu Yiyi took a bite of the fish slice, and her eyes immediately showed confusion.
Upon hearing this, Fatty Wang panicked even more and was about to start over.
"Alright, alright, make all four dishes first, and I'll try them."
Xu Yi waved her hand, signaling Wang Pangzi to continue.
The second dish was given a more poetic name, "Sea Moon's Clear Radiance," which was basically sand crab marinated in wine and then drizzled with lime juice.
The sand crabs are small and already marinated; just chop them into small pieces and drizzle with lime juice.
However, Fatty Wang was clumsy when dismantling the crab legs and almost cut his hand.
The third dish is called Amber Prawns, which is made by baking prawns in honey and then making them into a jelly.
The soup base is clear chicken broth with agar added. After simmering over low heat until dissolved, a little salt and Shaoxing wine are added for flavor. Remove from heat and let cool until lukewarm.
Pour a thin layer of chilled soup into a small bowl, let it solidify slightly, then place a honey-roasted shrimp inside, and slowly fill the bowl with chilled soup again.
After freezing, the shrimp jelly is unmolded and plated, resembling amber encasing red jade. The shrimp meat is sweet, fresh, and bouncy, while the frozen soup is clear, fresh, and refreshing. It is a cold dish that combines both craftsmanship and deliciousness.
The fourth one is called Plum Rain Qinbei.
As the name suggests, it involves blanching clams, then mixing plum wine, preserved plums, ginger slices, and a small amount of the original clam broth. Sugar or salt is added to adjust the balance according to taste, and the mixture is boiled again to release the flavor of the preserved plums. Finally, it is removed from the heat and allowed to cool completely.
The clam meat absorbs the sweetness of plum wine and the slightly salty and sour taste of preserved plums, and tastes even better after being frozen.
But with each thing Wang Pangzi did, his brows furrowed a little more.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his apron was greasy from being wiped on.
The efficiency he usually displayed in restaurants was completely gone, replaced by tension.
Old Lu had somehow wandered to the kitchen doorway and was leaning against the doorframe, looking around.
Seeing Wang Pangzi's expression, he teased, "Wang Pangzi, show some of your usual wok-flipping and cursing spirit. What a coward!"
Wang Pangzi was already annoyed, so he turned around and glared at him: "It's easy for you to talk when you're not the one suffering! Tomorrow I'm representing the boss to help out! If anything goes wrong at the banquet, I'll be the one who gets punished!"
After he finished speaking, he ignored Lao Lu and buried himself in practice again.
Cut the fish, prepare the sauce, marinate the crab, grill the shrimp...
If it doesn't work the first time, try it again.
Xu Yiyi watched from the side, occasionally offering a few words of advice.
Fatty Wang responded in a muffled voice, his hands still moving.
The night grew deeper.
The light in the kitchen was always on.
Xu Yiyi watched for a while longer, then looked at the sky and saw that it was getting late.
Wu Yuan had already woken up.
Unable to coax him, A-Yue had no choice but to carry him into the kitchen.
"Boss, you should take the child home to sleep first! I'll be busy for a little while longer..."
Fatty Wang continued to scald the clams as he spoke.
Xu Yiyi had no choice but to tell Fatty Wang to rest early as well, and then went back to her room to sleep.
As she lay down, she could still faintly hear noises coming from the kitchen.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Xu Yiyi got up.
Passing by the kitchen, I found Fatty Wang already there.
He was filtering out the last bit of juice from the "Plum Rain Scallops" and carefully tasting it.
Hearing footsteps, he turned around, revealing two dark circles under his eyes.
"You didn't sleep all night?" Xu Yiyi asked in surprise.
Fatty Wang shook his head. "I was asleep, but I was thinking about something and woke up early."
He couldn't sleep, so he had to get up and get busy.
Fortunately, perseverance pays off, and we were finally able to prepare these four cold dishes.