I've been reborn, I'm definitely going to become an internet celebrity!

Chapter 126 [Is this considered pre-cooked food?]

Huang Weixiong heated the pan until it was scalding hot, and white smoke billowed up. He threw in two pieces of butter, and with a sizzle, the aroma of milk exploded, filling the entire kitchen with that sweet and caramelized fragrance.

He quickly spread the onion slices on top. The onions stuck to the bottom of the pot, and the edges immediately curled up, sizzling and releasing a smoky aroma mixed with the scent of milk.

The conversation on Liu Zhuohao's side stopped, and the group of people stood up and went to stand by the stove.

The beef was marinated in advance, coated with egg white and starch until it was translucent. When it was poured into the pot, "whoosh—" the slices of meat quickly changed color under the high temperature, and the edges curled up slightly.

Huang Weixiong flipped his wrist quickly, and the aroma of the beef rose with the heat, making it smell tender.

In a dozen seconds, it's ready to serve.

The beef was served glistening with oil.

Huang Weixiong quickly rinsed the pot clean, reheated it, and threw in two more pieces of butter.

Blanched carrot slices are then added to the pan. The orange-red slices fry along the bottom of the pan, while butter sizzles and bubbles in the crevices. The sweetness of the carrots is brought out by the hot oil, giving them a caramelized and sweet aroma.

At this point, pour in the remaining sliced ​​onions and sprinkle in some diced green bell peppers.

When green peppers are heated, their sweet, slightly raw aroma immediately spreads, mixing with the caramelized scent of onions.

After frying for less than a minute, Huang Weixiong poured the beef back in.

The final step is the black pepper sauce.

This was prepared in advance by him: minced onion, minced garlic, and ground black pepper, sautéed in butter, then mixed with oyster sauce and beef broth, and thickened with cornstarch until it clung to the spoon.

When you pour it into the pot, the sauce immediately boils and bubbles as soon as it hits the hot pot.

The pungent, spicy aroma of black pepper explodes out, mingling with the creamy scent of butter, the sweet caramel of onions, and the meaty aroma of beef—a blend of flavors that assaults the nostrils.

His hands never stopped, coating every slice of beef, every green pepper, and every onion with the sauce.

The beef was glistening with oil, the green bell peppers were vibrant green, the carrots were orange-red, and the thick sauce clung to them, steaming hot.

"Out of the pot!"

Huang Weixiong shouted and turned the whole pot upside down onto a plate.

The beef was piled high, the sauce dripped down the gaps, and steam rose upwards.

"good!"

"It looks delicious!"

Cheng Bing and Yang Boran clapped and cheered from the side.

Master Yang stood by the stove, nodded, and the look of disdain on his face finally subsided a bit: "Not bad, but you should know how to properly cook something on a hot plate, right?"

He paused, then said, "We don't have a hot plate right now. You can do it this way, but if we had a hot plate..."

Huang Weixiong quickly answered, "The beef topping needs to be prepared in advance!"

Upon hearing this, Master Yang finally smiled, indicating his satisfaction.

Liu Zhuohao, however, was somewhat puzzled. Had he ever eaten sizzling beef rice?

Of course I've eaten.

However, he was a customer and thought the dish was good, as it was quite popular in some fast food restaurants and tea restaurants, so he chose to order it. But he didn't know how to make it.

Having known him for so long, Huang Weixiong understands that his boss is not a professional chef, but rather a self-taught one. He explains in a timely manner: "Making the beef topping in advance means preparing the ingredients first, and then stir-frying the beef in a large wok until it is about 60-70% cooked."

"While cooking the beef, stir-fry the onions, blanched carrot slices, and green bell peppers in a separate pan. Then stir-fry the onions and carrot slices together, pour on the black pepper sauce (don't add too much at this point), spread them out to cool, and then quickly put them in the freezer for preservation."

"When guests arrive, heat a hot plate on the stove to over 200 degrees Celsius, add a small piece of butter, top with a spoonful of rice, then pour on the beef topping prepared in advance from the refrigerator, cover it, and let it simmer inside. When you serve it to the guests, the butter on the hot plate is sizzling, and the beef inside is heating up —"

Master Yang chimed in from the side, "Question: Why lay it flat to cool it down quickly and then put it in the refrigerator to keep it fresh?"

Wong Wai-hung then added, "Because the beef was cooked to be tender enough when served on the hot plate, it wasn't fully cooked; it was only medium-rare or medium."

.

"Food that is not cooked properly and is kept at room temperature for a long time is very likely to breed bacteria."

"Therefore, it needs to be cooled down quickly and kept fresh."

Master Yang nodded in satisfaction, "Add a little more, but don't add too much butter, otherwise the food cooked on the hot plate will be oily and greasy."

After all, one is a teacher in the school and the other is a student in the school. If they really do it, asking and answering questions, it will be just like being back in the classroom.

Liu Zhuohao listened from the side, and his doubts were resolved.

It turns out that teppanyaki rice isn't actually cooked on a hot plate, but rather that the final cooking step is completed on the hot plate when it's served.

He didn't ask the question, which would have seemed very unprofessional.

Although he is not a professional chef, he is now the owner of a restaurant.

No wonder the teppanyaki restaurants I usually eat rarely offer the option to add toppings; they always have a fixed menu, like beef and potatoes, beef and pineapple, or curry seafood, or green pepper and chicken.

It turns out the toppings were prepared in advance.

No wonder Chef Yang and the others said that this dish is considered fast food in their definition. If the ingredients are prepared in advance, the whole process from ordering to serving may only take three to four minutes.

But does this count as pre-made food?

Forget it, at this stage, there's probably no concept of pre-made meals.

Similarly, the same principle should apply to teppanyaki pasta.

"Fried rice is much more difficult; it really has to be stir-fried on a hot plate."

Master Yang looked at the three men, from Huang Weixiong to Cheng Bing, and then to Yang Boran, and shook his head. "This is a true test of skill, and it's different from fried rice in an iron pot."

He didn't say anything, but told them to make fried rice.

"But pre-cooked beef probably doesn't taste as good as freshly cooked beef, right?" Liu Zhuohao, standing next to him, took a bite of the beef and asked this question, "Specifically, in what ways?"

There were many questions he couldn't bring himself to ask.

But this problem is possible.

"To be honest, there's definitely a difference."

Chef Yang frankly said, "But the taste is not much different. Not many people can tell the difference. If you make it fresh, it should be called teppanyaki. It is more difficult than fried rice. You have to process several ingredients at the same time, and the failure rate is high."

He paused for a moment: "The taste of freshly made food is inconsistent."

"Those who know how to cook will make it taste great, while those who don't, or those who aren't in a good mood that day, will make it taste bad."

"But if you prepare the toppings in advance, at least the ones from the same pot will taste the same. Before you officially set up your stall, try a serving yourself. If it tastes good, the next dozen or so servings will all taste the same, with little difference."

Liu Zhuohao nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

This raises two issues: cost and serving time.

Liu Zhuohao nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Next, Huang Weixiong, Cheng Bing, and Yang Boran took turns trying other dishes, such as garlic butter baked shrimp, boiled beef, spicy chicken wings, black pepper chicken nuggets, and shrimp cakes.

The spicy chicken wings and black pepper chicken nuggets weren't the frozen supermarket products from fast food restaurants; they were actually made by cleaning a whole chicken in front of Liu Zhuohao, under the watchful eyes of the other three experienced chefs.

Several experienced chefs munched on chicken wings without saying a word, but their chopsticks never stopped.

Cheng Bing stood to the side, watching them eat, and couldn't help but mutter, "—Luckily, I reviewed it when I helped the boss make a whole chicken feast a while ago."

Liu Zhuohao heard this, looked up at him, and almost laughed.

Indeed, just a week ago, they had filmed the whole chicken feast, and they even gave themselves a lot of guidance.

However, today's visit made him look at these three "vocational school students" in a new light.

Whether at their stalls or at home, they are always a little ashamed because of their education. When others ask what school they went to, they don't dare to say it out loud and always mumble to themselves.

But today, in this kitchen, right under the watchful eyes of the master chef, their energy was completely different.

When I was cooking just now, I really looked like a chef.

"Yes, yes, Mr. Liu, the one who studied at Minsheng University before, is now recruiting at our school."

While gnawing on a chicken wing, Master Yang took a moment to make a phone call. With something still in his mouth, his voice was muffled. "After all, he's been on TV twice, so he's definitely reliable. I'm more worried about whether you're reliable or not."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Your grades in school are good. I saw you once at the hotel before; you were still chopping vegetables. There are too many chefs there; it's hard to even get a kitchen job. But if you come here, Boss Liu definitely won't let you do odd jobs—"

On the other side, Master Chen and Master Huang were also on their phones, eating and chatting at the same time.

"No, yes, yes, it's your junior brother who's come looking for us."

"He's now working for a boss who's planning to open a restaurant but can't find a suitable chef, so he's come to our school to recruit people."

"Yes, graduation season hasn't started yet, and job fairs haven't begun, so this is just to communicate privately first."

The three chefs were gnawing on chicken wings while talking on the phone, not even bothering to drink the tea on the table, which had gone cold.

Liu Zhuohao listened from the side, occasionally catching a few words in his ears.

Some people, upon hearing the name "Liu Zhuohao," said they "felt a vague impression" and were willing to come over and chat.

Some people, upon hearing that it was a "small restaurant" and then asking the owner, found out he was a young man under twenty, immediately refused.

My reputation hasn't spread that far yet.

She's just a local celebrity in the Chaoshan region.

After making a round of calls, Master Yang put down his phone, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and looked at Liu Zhuohao.

"So, our restaurant doesn't have any main dishes?"

This question wasn't directed at him, but at Huang Weixiong and his group.

The exam was over, and the boys finally dared to sit down and catch their breath.

Huang Weixiong scratched his head: "No—no, right?"

His gaze fell upon them.

"In fact—"

Liu Zhuohao hesitated, "I do want to cook elaborate dishes. As a family restaurant, if customers occasionally want to book a table or a private room for a birthday or holiday, we can have something that can be served."

The current menu doesn't include any major dishes.

He didn't tell the three experienced chefs present the price; he only mentioned the name of the dish.

However, the most expensive item inside is still the original cut steak at 58 yuan per serving, which is the same price as at the street stalls.

"Then I'd like to hear what kind of elaborate dish you're planning to make."

At the front, Chef Yang, who was instructing Huang Weixiong on how to cook, spoke up and turned around.

"Braised sea cucumber with scallions, braised crab meat lion's head meatballs, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, steamed grouper, roasted whole lamb, braised chicken, typhoon shelter style stir-fried lobster, steamed lobster, steamed hairy crab, frozen red flower crab —"

Liu Zhuohao casually rattled off a long list of dish names, some Cantonese, some Fujianese, some Shandongese—

'

The names of these dishes stunned the people present, who looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Mr. Liu, are you planning to open a high-end hotel?" Chef Chen said with a subtle expression. "If you dare to include these as dishes, you can't make it work without setting aside hundreds of thousands just for the cost of the ingredients."

"If they can really offer several hundred thousand, then there have to be customers who are actually willing to pay the price to eat there."

Liu Zhuohao quickly explained, "No, no, no, I meant, ordering food."

"It means that the guests have to make reservations in advance, leave their phone numbers, and pay a deposit. Then our restaurant will prepare the food, which is specially prepared for guests who want to hold banquets."

"Specifically, I'd like to try asking the three chefs if they have any suitable private chefs," meaning that if we actually offer this service and customers place orders, we can cook according to their specific needs.

This is another service that helps open up sales channels.

If Liu Zhuohao wants to open a restaurant, he can only open a family-run restaurant at affordable prices.

He needs to make it affordable for most customers.

However, he does not intend to give up the high-end market. Although he is not currently doing business in this area, he can start another brand to do this in the future.

A high-end brand focuses on price, while a mid-to-low-end affordable brand focuses on volume.

The three experienced workers fell silent.

"If that's the case, then we probably can't help the chefs who can cook these elaborate dishes. At most, we can give you their contact information," Chef Huang said. Chefs who can cook these elaborate dishes and dare to take on "private jobs" are not easily managed by them.

Even though they were once students at this school and graduated from there.

"It's okay, no rush, we'll contact them slowly. I'm not launching this food ordering business right now," Liu Zhuohao quickly added. "I just had this idea, after all, this approach isn't uncommon here."

Hidden menus are quite common in restaurants in the Chaoshan region.

Especially in some street food stalls, it is common to see that the dishes on some customers' tables are not from the menu, but are specially ordered by the owner through private connections.

The three chefs said they could immediately arrange to meet someone, assess their skills on the spot, and discuss wages.

But in reality, the students whose names the three chefs remembered, those with some skills, certainly wouldn't lack work.

So even if they are interested, they have to ask for leave and find a time to make another appointment.

Even if I want to come here to work later, I have to negotiate with them one or two months in advance before I can quit my original job.

In the afternoon, Liu Zhuohao had other things to do.

Give it away.