Food Wars!: I Became a Fantasy Ingredient Supplier

"If she hadn't kept pouring you drinks, things wouldn't have turned out this way."

"Hmm, I remember she was drunk too, right?"

When the topic turned to Leonora Nakiri, Ye Chen remembered that she had also been drunk the night before, so he casually asked about her condition.

“My mom woke up more than half an hour before you.”

Alice, as it is said.

Then, she composed herself and said softly to Ye Chen, "Since you're awake, why don't we stay here and have something to eat? I... I'll make some molecular gastronomy desserts myself..."

Ye Chen was stunned for a moment before tidying up his slightly disheveled clothes and fixing his cufflinks.

"How could I dare to trouble you like this?"

"It's out of the way."

Since things had come to this, Ye Chen could only take a deep breath and say, "Alright, I'll cook it myself. Didn't you say you wanted to try my cooking sometime?"

Alice found it hard to believe.

Finally, after much effort, he came to his senses and quickly nodded, his eyes filled with excitement.

……

Chrysanthemum fish.

This is a Huaiyang dish.

It is popular with diners for its beautiful appearance and sweet and sour taste.

As is well known, Huaiyang cuisine emphasizes knife skills. After slicing the fish, it is first cut into squares, and then the four corners are cut off to make it nearly round.

True chrysanthemum fish knife skills require first slicing thin slices 3 millimeters thick, each slice reaching the fish skin but not cutting through; then cutting into shreds, and repeating the same operation; after slicing, apply powder twice!

At this moment, in the spacious and bright kitchen.

Ye Chen, dressed in a pristine white chef's uniform, was preparing a fish.

The first step is the "three-step process": remove the scales, gills, internal organs, and black membrane from the abdomen of the fish, clean it thoroughly, and then scrape off the mucus on the surface of the fish with a knife.

Then, a scene that shocked Alice unfolded:

Boom!

There was a loud bang.

Ye Chen then decisively chopped off the entire piece of fish.

Next, quickly cut the fish meat along the spine with a knife, then place the fish skin-side down on the cutting board and scrape off all the fish bones from the belly.

The knife tilted.

Starting from the tail end, slice the fish into 3 ml thick slices.

Stack the sliced ​​fish pieces neatly, then cut them into strips, and repeat this cutting technique until all the fish meat is cut.

……

"what?"

Am I seeing things?

Alice's tiny mouth was wide open, big enough to fit an egg, forming a large "O" shape.

She is skilled in molecular gastronomy, but she has also been exposed to traditional cuisine and understands some of the tricks of knife skills. Although she is far from being able to compare with those excellent chefs, she is at least much better than the average person!

"Hold the knife at a 45-degree angle and make even diagonal cuts on the surface of the fish."

"The cut is deep enough to reach the fish skin but not through it, and the thickness of each piece is precisely controlled to 3 millimeters, so that each petal is of uniform thickness."

"no!"

"Is this...is this possible?"

"Using this diagonal slicing method to process fish meat, it can easily break apart if you're not careful..."

"How exactly did he control the force? How did he slice the fish so beautifully and then cut it into strips?"

At this moment, Alice finally understood:

Ye Chen, with his short black hair, is indeed ridiculously strong!

……

What details?

Can you tell a person's cooking skills by their skill level?

The answer is just three words:

Payslip!

A professional chef—look at his payslip.

If hotel, restaurant, and inn owners don't have the ability to recruit talent, they certainly won't last long.

For ordinary families, the difference lies in how skilled the knife work is, how hot the oil is, and how fragrant the food is...

Of course, "strength" is subjective.

Let's start with knife skills. Comparing many chefs and most housewives, how many can cut potato shreds perfectly? Most young women born in the 90s probably don't know how to cook, right?

Even women born in the 70s, not many of them could cut it, right?

However, to be able to cut fish meat so exquisitely, and to make it so visually appealing, is truly remarkable...

There probably aren't many like that in this world!

……

Cut the fish.

Place the ingredients in a large bowl, add 1 tablespoon of salt, 4 tablespoons of cooking wine, ginger slices, and scallion segments, mix well and marinate for 10 minutes.

The marinated fish is coated with cornstarch.

Ah!

No part should be missed.

Put plenty of oil in the pot, and when the oil is about 50-60% hot, put the fish into the pot.

To fry the fish beautifully without burning your hands, Ye Chen used two chopsticks to lift the fish meat and place it into the pot with the petal side down.

Then fry the fish until golden brown, then remove and set aside.

再取一只干净的小碗，依次放入3勺的白糖、2勺的香醋、1勺的生抽、1勺淀粉、4勺清水搅拌成碗汁备用。

In the pot.

Pour in an appropriate amount of oil.

Once the oil is hot, add the tomato sauce and stir-fry until evenly mixed.

Pour the sauce into a pot and bring it to a boil. Before removing it from the heat, drizzle in a little oil and stir well.

"Wow, that's amazing! Is this the skill level of the gold medalist in the Esquif Junior Cooking Competition?"

The entire series of smooth and effortless actions left Alice completely dumbfounded.

……

"Ah?"

Why are you all in the kitchen?

Just then, Leonora, who had run to the kitchen drawn by the aroma, immediately saw Ye Chen preparing chrysanthemum fish.

Unconsciously, she recalled the time she spent drinking with Ye Chen last night, and she still felt a faint sense of happiness in her heart.

Unconsciously, a hint of warmth flashed in those bright eyes.

Chapter 44 Doubts

Ready to serve.

Like blooming chrysanthemums.

It has a lifelike shape, vibrant colors, and emits an enticing fragrance.

"Ye Chen, what an amazing delicacy you made! You even managed to cut the fish into flower petal shapes, and it smells so delicious!"

Leonora Nakiri leaned closer, gently inhaling the aroma of the freshly cooked chrysanthemum fish, completely captivated.

"As you can see."

"The fish is cut in a way that resembles a chrysanthemum, hence the name chrysanthemum fish."

Having just finished his work, Ye Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead and began to explain.

"Chrysanthemum fish?"

"That's a really ordinary name!"

Beside her, Alice frowned and said.