"I really didn’t expect your new store to look so grand!"
At the kitchen entrance, Guo Xinghai, having made a round inside the store, marveled, full of admiration for the place.
The newly renovated Lin Ji’s Food was not only stylish but, more importantly, boasted exceptional talent in the kitchen. Wei Qian, Zhuang Yizhou, and Zhu Yong were all masters who had competed in cooking competitions.
Qin Wei and Ji Minghui might not have competed, but they were also quite famous at Fishing Platform, a place teeming with talent.
Looking back now, the previous two cooking competitions hadn’t really been about culinary skills at all. They were purely recruiting fairs for Lin Xu.
"Hello, Xinghai, welco to our Lin Ji. What would you like to eat tonight? I’ll cook it for you personally."
Seeing Guo Xinghai, Wei Qian stopped trying to secretly learn from Xie Baomin and ca out to greet him actively.
"Today, I’m just here to feast, so I’ll eat whatever you prepare."
Qin Wei handed Guo Xinghai a cup of Sour Plum Soup. After taking a small sip, he smiled and started chatting casually with Wei Qian.
In the kitchen, Guo Weidong, looking like he had Xie Baomin right where he wanted him, said, "Old Xie, if you keep giving that sidelong glance, I’ll instantly send a ssage in our Fishing Platform group chat, inviting everyone to co and taste your softshell turtle."
Xie Baomin’s fight left him all at once.
That damn crowd had snatched all the pork kidneys clean last night. If he notified them to co today, he feared not even a drop of sauce from these softshell turtles would be left.
Thinking this, Old Xie imdiately put on a smile and bumped Guo Weidong with his shoulder. "Weidong, what do you think about braising it this way? Do we need to add other ingredients? You absolutely can’t leave tonight—we good brothers need to have a few more drinks."
Guo Weidong was speechless. You shaless dog, you’re certainly adaptable, aren’t you? And now we’re good brothers again?
He looked at the softshell turtle being stir-fried in the wok and said, "It’s ti to add the aromatics. After stir-frying them until fragrant, you also need to deglaze with Rice Wine. If you keep stir-frying like this, you’ll ruin the softshell turtle!"
Hearing this, Xie Baomin quickly dumped the aromatics into the wok and continued stir-frying.
When the stir-frying was almost done, instead of adding Rice Wine, he splashed in a generous half-ladle of high-proof Liquor.
As soon as the Liquor was added, he deliberately tilted the wok, allowing the stove’s fla to leap over the rim. The Liquor in the wok instantly ignited, completely enveloping the turtle and chicken pieces in flas.
"Hey! That’s a nice move!"
Guo Weidong had been curious why Xie Baomin hadn’t quickly deglazed with Rice Wine to dissipate any gay sll while enhancing the dish’s llow flavor. He hadn’t expected Xie Baomin to imdiately use this flaming technique.
Compared to Rice Wine, the burning Liquor enhanced the llow flavor more significantly and had a better effect in removing gay and off-putting slls.
This trick wasn’t complex; all chefs at Fishing Platform at the head chef level or above could easily pull it off.
But knowing the technique didn’t an knowing how to apply it.
Cooking, once a certain level is reached, evolves from a re display of techniques to their artful combination and arrangent.
How to best use learned cooking techniques to enhance and showcase the flavor and texture of ingredients is a challenge every chef faces.
But Xie Baomin seed never to have such dilemmas.
Every ti he cooked, he could flexibly adjust his techniques according to the ingredients.
This is probably what talent looks like.
"Weidong, what do you think would be good to add and stew in this dish?"
Quite a few people were dining together tonight: three from the Lin Family, three from the Shen Family, plus the Guo family’s uncle and nephew. The originally planned single chicken and one softshell turtle seed sowhat inadequate.
Guo Weidong said, "You definitely have an idea. Just go ahead and make it; I’m not picky."
Hearing this, Xie Baomin imdiately instructed Wei Qian, who was by the door, "Little Wei, get so Chinese yam and wood ear mushrooms. Since we’re adding ingredients, let’s add sothing warming and nourishing."
Guo Weidong couldn’t help but laugh. "Be careful you don’t overdo it and give yourself a nosebleed. When you’re not busy, co to Building Ten. I’ll teach you so soup recipes to save you from flailing around for quick fixes, looking like you’re at death’s door."
"Weidong, if you say that again, I’m adding chili peppers—a whole big bowl of dried chili!"
"Then I’ll post on Monts to promote this softshell turtle and chicken dish of yours."
Xie Baomin felt as if his vital spot had been hit; his defiance vanished instantly.
As he busied himself, he asked, "My wife got a gym mbership and wants to work out at least three tis a week. Weidong, do you think exercise is more effective, or dietary therapy?"
"Dietary therapy is effective, but it has to be built on a foundation of exercise."
Xie Baomin felt sowhat defeated.
Among the trio of master and apprentices, his junior brother was out of the question. He was in his vigorous twenty-sothings, an age where one is so full of beans that even tripping could practically crater the ground. Their master, though nearly seventy, was all sinew and muscle, fit enough to haul heavy sacks at the docks.
Only he, Xie Baomin, was a bit frail. He hadn’t felt it before, but recently, with his wife taking the initiative so passionately, he suddenly felt a bit overwheld.
Drinking goji berry water all day couldn’t seem to put the spring back in his step.
It’s really true: "Midlife crises inevitably strike, and these jokes are all about "!
After the Liquor had burned off, he added Light Soy Sauce and Dark Soy Sauce, then white sugar and pepper powder, and finally a bit of Oyster Sauce for extra savoriness, completing the seasoning for the dish.
He stirred everything a few tis to distribute the seasonings evenly in the wok, then added boiling water. After covering the wok with a lid, he turned down the heat and began to simr.
Braising is essential for red-braised dishes. This process not only ensures the ingredients are thoroughly cooked but also allows the flavors to penetrate deeply. For this particular dish, simring served an additional purpose: to render the collagen from the softshell turtle’s skin, thereby enhancing both the texture and flavor of the dish.
The softshell turtle’s fringe is rich in collagen, as are its bottom shell, limbs, and even its entire outer skin.
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