The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Chapter 96: Chapter 95: Awarded the Braising Skill

Making a noodle balloon is quite an art.

You need to adjust the ratio of salt, water, and sugar based on different temperatures and room conditions.

Otherwise, it’s likely that you won’t be able to blow a proper noodle balloon.

Even if you manage to do so, it won’t be big, and it’s easy to blow it apart.

When Fu Yu taught Zhang Zhen and the two other chefs the technique of making noodle balloons, he didn’t hold back at all.

He recited the method from the special family banquet recipe step by step.

Then he demonstrated it by hand while the others watched.

After finishing, Zhang Zhen and the other two tried one by one.

Although none of the three were skilled in dough making, the method of making noodle balloons was not difficult at all.

Once you grasp the ratio, you can easily make them.

As for baking, it was even easier.

However, when they first tried, they all blew the noodle balloons directly with their mouths.

Once they mastered the method, they switched to using the newly bought pumps.

Unexpectedly, using the pump made it even more difficult to blow the noodle balloons.

The pump doesn’t allow you to control the air pressure with small, even puffs like blowing with your mouth does.

If you’re not strong enough, you can’t press down on the lever; if you’re too strong, the air rushes into the balloon unevenly, making one side thick and the other thin, affecting the appearance.

Fu Yu, relying on his exceptional touch, carefully and smoothly blew a perfect and round noodle balloon with the pump.

Zhang Zhen and the others weren’t able to.

They tried again and again, failing each time.

Just to practice using the pump to blow the noodle balloons, they spent nearly over an hour.

Zhang Zhen worried that Fu Yu might be getting impatient, so he chuckled and said, ”Look at us old guys being so clumsy! We can’t even figure out how to use the pump. Chef Fu, please be patient with us, let us practice a bit more!”

The music restaurant was only handling small orders today, so the other chefs could take care of them.

Zhang Zhen and the other two chefs weren’t in a rush.

But just because they weren’t in a rush doesn’t mean Fu Yu wasn’t.

Zhang Zhen was always perceptive; with that one sentence, regardless of what Fu Yu thought, he couldn’t show any dissatisfaction on his face.

Sure enough, Fu Yu smiled and said, ”No worries, take your time. This noodle balloon is a skill-based thing. If it were that easy to learn, what would there be for me to teach?”

These words made Zhang Zhen and the other two chefs feel quite comforted.

Exactly!

If this skill were easy to learn, would the boss have needed to specially hire Fu Yu to teach them?

It must be because it’s not easy to master!

Zhang Zhen and the others continued to fuss with inflating the noodle balloons.

Fu Yu contentedly calculated the time.

Yao Shi set his pay for teaching the noodle balloon technique at 100 yuan per hour.

It was nearly two hours now.

Without doing much, just watching others play with noodle balloons, he easily earned 200 yuan.

It’s almost like picking up free money!

The learning session lasted two and a half hours in total.

It went fairly smoothly!

Zhang Zhen and the others barely managed to master the technique of inflating the noodle balloons.

With time and practice, they’ll get the hang of it.

Fu Yu didn’t really earn the money without doing anything.

Besides guiding them, he also played the role of an encouraging audience, providing moral support to Zhang Zhen and the others.

Soon, the noodle balloons were successfully baked and placed on plates.

The next second, an electronic prompt sounded in Fu Yu’s ear:

[Ding! Task from NPC music restaurant owner Yao Shi: Working part-time in the restaurant, teaching the chefs how to make noodle balloons, has been successfully completed. Reward: Yao Shi’s personal skill, marination (intermediate)]

He happily received Yao Chef’s personal skill!

Marination is actually a method of making cold dishes.

You place processed ingredients or semi-prepared products in a pre-made marinade and heat them.

This allows the fragrant taste of the marinade to seep into the ingredients, creating the dish.

Then it’s cooled and plated.

Fu Yu had never had the opportunity to learn marination before.

It’s not that Zhao Meng was being secretive.

It’s just that the marination spices in the Qianlima kitchen were already processed into marinade bags.

The amount of spices and water needed was predetermined.

Fu Yu knew the ratios but didn’t know exactly what was in the marinade bags.

But he wasn’t concerned about it.

He just hadn’t thought about it before.

Now, after the earlier events, he suddenly realized that he only needed to touch the marinade bag to know what spices and how much of each were inside.

With such an advantage, he couldn’t help but gain skills, even if he wanted to stay low profile.

After all, the crown of success just seems to effortlessly find its way onto his head.

There wasn’t much he could do about it.

He had a delicious lunch with the kitchen crew.

Mainly because the cooking methods at the music restaurant were quite different from those at Qianlima.

He was used to everyday meals at home, so it was refreshing to change flavors; the food from other places always seems tastier.

In the afternoon, Fu Yu was assigned to sauté a few dishes, and then Ren Mingqing called him over to the bakery section to ask about the method of making Longevity Peach.

Although he said he was asking for guidance, Ren Mingqing was actually familiar with the three kinds of Longevity Peach that Fu Yu made.

Previously, the issue arose because the order taker didn’t ask correctly, and the customer gave the wrong ingredient details.

However, as Fu Yu explained, Ren Mingqing listened attentively.

After Fu Yu finished, Ren Mingqing nodded and praised, ”I notice your basic dough skills are very solid! You’re right: as the saying goes, baking soda gives strength, and salt gives structure. When mixing dough, adding a bit of baking soda and salt, and using warm water, makes it softer. Kneading thoroughly and evenly is crucial. After letting it rest, knead and rest again, and the dough will be easier to handle.”

Fu Yu didn’t realize it at first, but then it dawned on him that Ren Mingqing wasn’t seeking his guidance but was cleverly trying to teach him about dough handling.

Feeling grateful, Fu Yu studied dough making with Ren Mingqing for a while.

But since he was hired to work in the Red Case District, he couldn’t stay for too long.

Ren Mingqing felt it was a pity, thinking Fu Yu was a great talent for dough making who, with proper training, would certainly excel.

After a busy day, in the evening, as work was done for the day, Fu Yu said goodbye to Yao Shi and took a ride back to Qianlima.

He had left directly through the main entrance that morning, without passing by the kitchen to see Zhao Meng.

Now returning, he reflected on his delightful day at the music restaurant, and decided to buy a pack of special dried beef jerky as a token for Zhao Meng.

But the beef jerky was quite expensive.

A small pack with only a few pieces cost over 130 yuan.

Fu Yu couldn’t resist; he took a small piece from the bag and savored it slowly.

Expensive, yes, but deliciously aromatic!

He’s sure Zhao Meng would love it.

Just as he was thinking this, his phone suddenly rang.

It was Zhao Meng calling.

Fu Yu wanted to laugh; it was like Zhao Meng sensed it, and there he was, calling.

”Fu Yu, when will you be back?”

Zhao Meng had already heard about Fu Yu helping the music restaurant with its banquet dishes.

This call was about something urgent he wanted to discuss.

Fu Yu, unaware of the details, smiled and replied, ”I’m on the bus, should be there in about ten minutes.”

Zhao Meng said, ”Okay, then come directly to my place; I have something to discuss with you.”

Fu Yu agreed and hung up the phone.

Still pondering, he wondered, what could it be?