The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Zhang Jinyu was utterly dumbfounded.

The plate of Liangxi ”Crispy Eel” in front of him looked exactly like the regular one made at the restaurant.

If he hadn’t seen with his own eyes that Fu Yu used dried shiitake mushrooms as a substitute for eel, he would’ve never figured out that shiitake mushrooms could replace eel in this dish.

”Chef Fu, this is just amazing!”

Fu Yu smiled slightly: ”Well, does it look convincing to you?”

Zhang Jinyu nodded repeatedly: ”More than convincing! It’s exactly the same!”

Fu Yu picked up a small bowl of reserved shiitake mushroom strips and tried one himself.

To his surprise, it was really not bad!

Fu Yu then handed it to Zhang Jinyu to let him have a taste.

Zhang Jinyu was in awe, speechless.

He never would’ve imagined that dried shiitake mushrooms could mimic the texture of eel so closely!

Zhao Meng, hearing the news, also came over to take a look.

And just one look, wow!

It was undoubtedly an authentic Liangxi ”Crispy Eel.”

He tasted it again, savoring the flavor.

The look in Zhao Meng’s eyes as he glanced at Fu Yu became a bit peculiar.

Half-joking, half-serious, he asked: ”How did you come up with this method?”

With Fu Yu’s background, it’s impossible that he specifically practiced this dish.

Yet the dish he made had just the right color, aroma, and taste, and was convincingly real!

Fu Yu casually made something up: ”Oh, it’s actually a vegetarian temple dish. When I was a student, a classmate’s mother was a Buddhist, and their family always ate vegetarian. When I visited their home, I found this dish particularly delicious, so I learned how to make it.”

So it’s a vegetarian temple dish, no wonder!

When done well, vegetarian temple dishes can be just as flavorful.

Zhao Meng sincerely said: ”The way you make this dish, it could be a feature dish of vegetarian temple cuisine!”

Fu Yu cheerfully finished the remaining bit at the bottom of the bowl and continued cooking.

The yam slices were steamed and set aside to cool.

Just as Fu Yu took out the yam slices, an electronic prompt sounded:

[Please proceed to the next dish: Glass ”Fish Fins”]

After removing the beany taste from the tofu, it was mashed and mixed with scallions, minced ginger, cooking wine, white pepper, fine salt, MSG, and sesame oil to make the filling.

The tofu skin was trimmed into a rectangle, coated with dry starch on one side, and evenly spread with a layer of tofu filling.

Then, vermicelli was neatly arranged, and another layer of tofu filling was spread on top of it.

Finally, another piece of tofu skin covered the top, with the edges neatly trimmed.

The plate was greased, and the ”fish fin” raw was placed in a steamer for about 3 minutes.

An electronic voice sounded again:

[Please proceed to the next dish: Crispy ”Fish Steak”]

Once cooled, the yam slices were smashed into a paste on a cutting board, mixed with scallions, minced ginger, fine salt, chicken essence, and white pepper for flavor, forming a filling.

The filling was divided into even portions, each pressed into a slice, and coated with sesame seeds on both sides to make ”fish steak” raw.

The frying pan was heated with oil to medium heat, then the ”fish steak” was fried until crispy and fragrant, taken out, and sliced for presentation.

An additional serving of tomato sauce was prepared, and the dish was ready to be served.

Zhang Jinyu handed the dish to the waiter, and curiously asked upon his return: ”Chef Fu, you use either mushrooms or tofu for these, so what ingredient can replace the smooth ”fish fillet”?”

Fu Yu laughed heartily and replied: ”Wheat gluten.”

”What?” Zhang Jinyu was incredulous: ”You can do that?”

Fu Yu cooked the water gluten in boiling water, removed it, and let it cool.

He then took out the steamed ”fish fin” raw, sliced it, and plated it.

He added vegetable broth to the pan, seasoned with fine salt, MSG, and coated a glass starch paste over the ”fish fin.”

And with that, the Glass ”Fish Fins” was complete.

Following the system’s prompt, Fu Yu sliced the cooled water gluten, coated it with starch and egg white paste.

Green and red peppers were seeded and sliced.

Rehydrated shiitake mushrooms and bamboo shoots were washed and sliced.

An empty wok was heated with oil to medium-low heat, then the ”fish fillet” was lightly fried and removed.

A bit of oil was left in the pan, heated, and aromatic scallions, ginger, and garlic were sautéed.

Sliced mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and green and red pepper slices were tossed in.

Seasoned with fine salt, cooking wine, vegetable broth, and MSG.

The ”fish fillet” was stirred in, finished with cornstarch paste, drizzled with sesame oil, and plated.

In no time, dish after dish was plated and sent out by Fu Yu.

Room 207.

A waiter came in with a plate of Liangxi ”Crispy Eel.”

Ma Hua Chao gazed at the reddish-brown, glossy plate of Liangxi Crispy Eel before him, subconsciously swallowing.[p]

Half a month of bland meals left him fed up.

As soon as the waiter brought the plate in, Ma Hua Chao eagerly picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a strip of ”eel,” and put it in his mouth, savoring it carefully.

The eel was fragrant, crispy, and delicious; the sauce was sweet and slightly salty, with a crispy texture and tangy flavor.

He quickly took another piece.

Not only was this dish appetizing; it was slightly addictive, making it hard to stop.

He hadn’t even had enough when the waiter came in again, this time serving a plate of Crispy ”Fish Steak.”

The large pieces of ”fish steak” were golden and shiny, with a salty, tender inside, like fish fillet, and crisp, fragrant outside.

After having two pieces, Ma Hua Chao silently complimented them, they were indeed delicious.

He had barely eaten a few bites when he felt a clear sense of fullness in his stomach.

It was from being starved during this time.

Although the symptoms sounded severe, aside from intense pain during episodes, he was otherwise fine, occasionally gritting his teeth through minor aches and managing.

Ma Hua Chao set down his chopsticks, eagerly looking forward to the remaining dishes.

After returning from delivering the dishes, Zhang Jinyu couldn’t help but ask: ”How are the customers with the dishes?”

The waiter, puzzled, replied with a question: ”Why wouldn’t they be happy? Weren’t the dishes made by Chef Fu?”

Zhang Jinyu curiously asked: ”Did the customer try them?”

The waiter frowned: ”They did, though they didn’t say anything, they seemed to be enjoying the food.”

Zhang Jinyu nodded, increasingly admiring Fu Yu from the bottom of his heart.

To make vegetarian dishes indistinguishable from the real thing—what an incredible culinary skill!

After getting information from the waiter, Zhang Jinyu whispered to Fu Yu: ”Chef Fu, the customer didn’t notice we swapped the dishes.”

Fu Yu couldn’t help but glare at Zhang Jinyu—what a fool!

This kind of thing should be understood and left unspoken, not talked about openly.

Fu Yu instructed in a low voice: ”This matter, you know it, I know it, the heavens and earth know it—don’t let anyone else know!”

Zhang Jinyu quickly said: ”But Chef Zhao knows too!”

Fu Yu relented: ”Alright, the three of us know, Chef Zhao definitely won’t say anything, and neither will I, so just watch it.”

Zhang Jinyu nodded with determination: ”Alright, you can count on me!”

Being able to do so would be strange!

Zhang Jinyu was otherwise diligent and honest, never cutting corners, a straightforward and good-natured person.

Just one thing, he was a bit absent-minded and always spoke without thinking.

Fu Yu couldn’t help but worry for him.

With such a nature, it would be hard for him to get by anywhere in the future!