The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Fu Yu has always been someone with ideas and quite decisive in his actions.

He went through the personal skills he could choose from, one by one.

Since only the basic skills were available for selection, there wasn’t much to agonize over.

Cooking.

Not needed for now.

Frying.

Already up to standard, next.

Braising.

No way!

Stir-frying.

Pass!

...

Roasting!

Thinking of the roast duck that makes him drool, Fu Yu’s eyes lit up.

Teach a man to fish, instead of giving him fish!

This roast duck is so delicious. If I could learn how to make it, I could make it myself whenever I crave it in the future.

Qianlima also has a roasting area. Although the scale and equipment can’t compare to the music restaurant, roasting a duck wouldn’t be difficult.

This is the one!

Fu Yu chose roasting as his personal skill without hesitation.

It’s better to be lucky than early.

Having learned it now, there will be opportunities to learn other skills in the future.

[Ding! You have chosen Yao Shi’s personal skill of roasting to learn, formal classes will begin soon]

That afternoon, after Zhang Zhen finished planning the evening’s dishes distribution with the two chefs, he returned to his cooking station and saw Yao Shi happily chatting with Fu Yu, occasionally glancing in his direction.

Zhang Zhen’s sixth sense told him something was amiss.

”Zhang Zhen, come here for a moment!” Yao Shi looked over and called Zhang Zhen as soon as he saw him look up.

”...” Zhang Zhen had a stern expression on his face, feeling as if something bad was about to happen.

”I think the way they make roast duck is quite interesting, and I’d like to learn it myself.” Sure enough, Fu Yu spoke up immediately.

Hearing this, Zhang Zhen sighed inwardly, thinking Fu Yu is still too young!

Is the secret method of making roast duck something one can just learn?

”Sure, let’s go. I’ll take you over now.” Yao Shi replied readily.

Under normal circumstances, Yao Shi wouldn’t have said this.

This roast duck is a signature dish of their restaurant. From roasting to spice ratios to the final slicing and presentation, all of it was painstakingly developed by Yao Shi. How could he let anyone learn it so easily?

Zhang Zhen: ”...”

”Really! That’s great!” Fu Yu’s eyes sparkled.

The system didn’t deceive me!

”Well then, Zhang Zhen, can you take on Fu Yu’s tasks for now?” Yao Shi assigned the work to Zhang Zhen.

”... Alright, boss.”

Zhang Zhen was dumbfounded as he watched his boss truly take Fu Yu to the roasting area.

Ah! This... this...

It took Zhang Zhen a while to find his voice, muttering hoarsely, ”Could it be that Chef Fu is the boss’s illegitimate child? Otherwise, why reveal even the secret recipe?”

The music restaurant’s ducks, although not as good as the stuffed ducks from Yuquan Mountain, are also quality grass-fed ducks bought from local farmers.

Their skin is thin, the meat tender, and the taste is quite good.

Since it’s about learning to make roast duck, choosing the duck has to be the starting point.

Because of the large quantity used by the music restaurant, the ducks are processed outside, then frozen and uniformly delivered.

In the kitchen, they are thawed directly for scalding and coloring with sugar.

At Qianlima, Fu Yu had scalded chickens and colored them with sugar before.

This time, following Yao Shi’s instructions, he handled it quite easily.

He thoroughly cleaned the basin filled with sugar water and mixed in sugar syrup and clear water.

Then he set the pot on the stove, added clear water, and brought it to a boil.

Yao Shi instructed, ”At this point, you must use high heat. The water needs to boil vigorously. The ratio of sugar to water must be appropriate for the duck skin to be bright and beautiful.”

Fu Yu nodded, lifting the duck hook with his left hand and holding the duck above the pot, while his right hand held a ladle, scooping up the boiling water from the pot.

As Fu Yu was operating, Yao Shi carefully advised, ”Be sure to keep the duck head out of the water.”

Fu Yu followed instructions obediently.

Starting from the incision on the duck, he poured the boiling water over the duck skin from top to bottom.

Yao Shi added, ”When pouring the boiling water over the duck skin, be sure to do it 3-4 times.”

Fu Yu hurried to scald it an extra time.

After the duck skin was scalded, the duck had to be quickly held over the basin of sugar water, and the mixed sugar water was poured over it.

Finally, drain the water from the duck cavity.

The proportion of sugar water and the method of mixing it, Yao Shi explained to Fu Yu alone.

Fu Yu carefully noted it down while marveling inwardly, even with the system’s control, Chef Yao’s determination to protect his secret recipe remains unwavering.

Fu Yu had no plans to share the secret recipe with others; at most, if circumstances allowed, he planned on occasionally making one for himself when he badly craved it.

After scalding and coloring the duck skin with sugar, it was time to air-dry the duck blank.

Hang the duck blank, which had its skin scalded and colored with sugar, on the duck-hanging rod, and place it in a cool, ventilated place to dry.

This process also has its own tricks.

Yao Shi advised, ”While air-drying the duck blank, avoid sunlight and refrain from using high-intensity lamps. In winter, do not have heating equipment installed indoors. During the air-drying process, keep an eye on it at all times, and if any oil leaks from the duck skin, take it down immediately and store it in a cold storage.”

These are all experiences Yao Shi had accumulated over many years of making roast duck.

Fu Yu was an excellent student, diligent and intelligent.

Teaching him was easy for Yao Shi.

With the preliminary work done, the next step was the key step in making roast duck.

Roast duck focuses on the word ”roast.”

Yao Shi put great emphasis on this part.

At the music restaurant, the fuel used is mostly jujube wood. Only when there’s a jujube wood shortage do they switch to other fruit tree woods like peach, apricot, or pear.

Preparing the firewood, starting the fire, these tasks have dedicated personnel, and the methods are not difficult. For those familiar with igniting the stove, it’s a breeze.

The only somewhat tricky part is sealing the duck cavity to prevent the broth from spilling out after filling.

Yao Shi taught Fu Yu a clever technique, and Fu Yu succeeded on his first attempt.

Then came the tasks of filling the broth and the second coloring stage, which also went smoothly.

After all these were done, it was time for roasting in the oven.

In the presence of the roaster, Yao Shi personally demonstrated and guided Fu Yu: ”During the roasting process, the fire intensity is crucial. It needs to be adjusted at any time according to the need. Generally, when the duck blank is first placed in the oven, keep the fire strong. As the oven temperature rises, and as the duck blank colors, the fire needs to be gradually reduced.”

”Once the duck blank is in the oven, make sure the right rear side faces the fire. When the right rear side is golden orange, rotate the duck to face the left rear side to the fire. When the left side has the same color as the right, rotate again to roast the left breast, roasting the whole duck in sequence.”

”When the duck’s color is almost even, and when the incision on the duck oozes white, oil-laden broth, hold up the duck and, after adjusting the color underneath, it can be taken out of the oven.”

Fu Yu listened attentively, committing every step to memory.

The roaster beside them was dumbfounded.

This, why is the boss personally teaching him?

Even when he first took over the roasting job, the boss didn’t teach him this thoroughly, leaving him to figure it out himself.

Thinking of this, the roaster looked at Fu Yu differently.