Rebirth: Starting from the Cafeteria

Nothing to do.

Du Shaojie took stock of his recent gains.

During this period, a total of 12 dishes received the overall evaluation of "delicacies", which brought him 6000 redemption points and 12 hours of income.

[Exchange points: 190918 points\534066 points]

【Duration: 64 million hours\751.30 million hours】

The gain was not much, but the improvement in his cooking skills was real, and that was better than anything else.

He suddenly realized that although his basic skills were solid, he still had a lot of room for improvement. For example, this time he made a breakthrough in seasoning, which improved his overall cooking skills.

"It seems that I can go back and improve my knife skills and carving. I need to work harder on the appearance of the dishes, and try to achieve some results."

Du Shaojie got new motivation and decided to go back to knife skills and carving.

Generally speaking, high-end restaurants pay more attention to plating, while mid-range and low-end restaurants have relatively lower requirements. He is okay in this area, but he can also strive for better results.

After Wang Yongli finished his work, Du Shaojie asked him to buy some radishes so that he could practice carving when he had time.

Not long after, Wang Yongli brought a big bag of carrots and white radishes to Du Shaojie.

Du Shaojie sometimes wondered if he should take in an apprentice. Although he gave lectures everywhere and taught many skills to Xiao Jianjun, Tian Feiyu and others, he did not have a real apprentice.

But when he thought about his age, he felt there was no need to rush.

Today was a nice day, Du Shaojie sat in the yard, the radish in his hand kept changing its shape under the carving knife. Flowers, birds, fish, insects, birds and animals all looked lifelike.

But he shook his head, feeling that something was missing.

This kind of thing cannot be rushed and requires a lot of practice. Perhaps when the time is right, your skills will be improved to a higher level.

As for knife skills, for now, he can only practice in simulated scenes. It’s not that there are no opportunities for practice, but it’s that they are relatively few. He has his own restaurant, who dares to let him do odd jobs?
Besides, if he went to the restaurant kitchen to practice on a whim, it would definitely interfere with everyone's normal work.

"Yongli, let's go to the suburbs tomorrow."

Du Shaojie remembered a place, the fish restaurant he came across when he went fishing before.

Although the boss and his wife's cooking skills are not that great, they are nice people and you can go and hang out with them when you have free time.

The next day.

Wang Yongli drove Du Shaojie to the lake.

It was still early, so the two of them went fishing here for a while. Du Shaojie was lucky today and actually caught two grass carps and a few small miscellaneous fish.

Then the two drove to the fish restaurant.

"Did we go to the wrong place?"

It was still early for lunch, but many customers had already arrived at the fish restaurant.

Du Shaojie walked in and saw that the house had changed a lot, and it seemed that it had been renovated not long ago. This was a little beyond his expectations, so he turned his head and glanced at Wang Yongli, asking him if he had taken the wrong road.

"It must be this store."

Wang Yongli was also stunned for a moment, and then said that it was impossible that he had found the wrong place.

At this time, the proprietress saw Du Shaojie and the other man, and hurriedly came over with a smile: "Chef Du, you're here? Please come in and sit down. Boss, come out and see who's here."

The proprietress was very enthusiastic and pulled Du Shaojie into the private room.

After a while, the boss came running over from the kitchen, his rough face almost smiling like a flower.

"Chef Du, we are all blessed by you! Ever since you gave me your guidance, the business of my fish restaurant has gradually improved. Look, we just renovated it a while ago, and we hired two more people in the restaurant."

"That's because you are very understanding, boss. I didn't help you much."

Du Shaojie said politely, he never took small matters to heart.

"Don't call me boss, just call me Old Wu."

The boss's name is Wu Dazhui and his wife's name is Chen Cuilian. They are both very honest people.

Du Shaojie didn't care about these little things. He then asked Wu Dazhui to cook a fish and bring it over. His cooking skills had indeed improved significantly.

"Chef Du, what do you think I need to improve?"

Wu Dazhu stood aside, feeling very nervous.

He had seen Du Shaojie's cooking skills, and compared to him, his own dishes were simply not up to par. He felt that Du Shaojie was her benefactor, and since it was rare for him to come again, he wondered if he would give him some pointers again.

Wu Dazhu was very nervous.

"There is progress, but there are still many problems. I happen to be free today, why don't we go to the kitchen together and I will demonstrate it to you."

Du Shaojie then went to the kitchen with Wu Dazhu.

At this time, there was an extra cook in the kitchen, and this young man was responsible for chores such as washing and cutting vegetables.

Wu Dazhu came in and was about to kick the young man out, but Du Shaojie smiled and waved his hand, saying it wasn't some secret, so there was no need to be so serious. "Old Wu, what's your signature dish now?"

Du Shaojie didn't look at the menu just now, so it would be the same if he asked Wu Dazhui.

Wu Dazhu said that he mainly cooks fish dishes here. His signature dishes are [Steamed Fish with Black Bean Sauce], [Pan-fried Fish Cakes] and [Sweet and Sour Fish]. In addition, there is a strong-flavored [Spicy Fish] which is also very popular.

The fish dishes here are a hodgepodge, not only with Cantonese characteristics, but also some heavy-flavored dishes.

The customers who come to his shop for consumption are not only locals, but also many customers from other places, so the range of choices available to them is wider.

"Well, a customer just ordered [Sweet and Sour Fish], so I'll show you how to make it. There are many ways to cook this dish, and the main ingredients used are also varied. Let's make [Sweet and Sour Carp] today."

Du Shaojie took a cleaned carp and began to process it.

The first step is to cut the meat into pieces, which is a basic and critical step. This affects whether the ingredients can be well-seasoned and whether the subsequent frying process can be smooth.

What he made today was the "Fish Leaping Over the Dragon Gate" shape, which required higher knife skills.

Wu Dazhu didn't even dare to blink, and watched Du Shaojie's operation seriously. After cutting the cuts, it was marinated, and then fried.

The whole process is extremely smooth and there is no flaw. The fried carp is placed on a plate, and then the cooked sauce is poured on it and garnished. This [Sweet and Sour Carp] is ready.

Wu Dazhu looked at the dishes in front of him, his eyes sparkling with longing.

If he could make dishes of this level, his restaurant would definitely be very popular. He memorized the key points of the technique and asked the waiter to serve the dishes.

Not to mention Wu Dazhui, even the cooks and waiters were shocked by the appearance of this dish.

Not to mention the customers, who would have thought that in such a remote fish restaurant, they could actually eat dishes comparable to those in a big restaurant? You know, this fish restaurant is just at the level of farmhouse cuisine, and the reason why the business is good is only because the boss's cooking skills are decent.

At this time, the guests at the next table saw this [Sweet and Sour Fish], and the visual effect alone made them salivate.

"Boss, give our table a dish of [Sweet and Sour Fish] as well."

“We want it too.”

Customers arrived one after another, and [Sweet and Sour Fish] became a new favorite, with more and more orders placed.

Du Shaojie was practicing his knife skills in the kitchen while constantly giving instructions to Wu Dazhui.

Afterwards, he was only responsible for cutting the meat, and the pickling, frying, and making the sweet and sour sauce were all handed over to Wu Dazhu. If there was anything wrong, he would correct it in time, and the quality of the finished dish was quite good.

Before they knew it, the two of them had cooperated with each other and made 10 dishes of [Sweet and Sour Fish] in one go.

After eating, the customers were very satisfied.

What else is there to say about the prices of farm dishes and the quality of restaurants?
After finishing the ordered dishes, Wu Dazhu started to make the spicy fish. This dish is actually grilled fish pieces, which are marinated and then coated with a thin layer of flour before being fried.

After frying, it is cooked with dried chilies, garlic and other ingredients. It tastes spicy and salty and is very delicious when eaten with rice.

What is Du Shaojie's level? You can grasp the essence after watching it once.

"Old Wu, the seasoning of this dish can be improved. Let me make it again, just watch."

Du Shaojie personally cuts the fish into pieces, marinates, fries, and then roasts it.

He told Wu Dazhu some tips during the production process.

For example, how can we prevent the batter from coming out when frying with flour? Another example is how can we make the fish fillet thoroughly flavored? And so on.

The final key is seasoning. The focus of spicy fish seasoning is to fully blend the spicy, garlicky and salty flavors together to form a complex taste.

He didn't talk about anything too profound, and Wu Dazhu couldn't do it either.

After the spicy fish was cooked, the waiter quickly served it. This dish was a real challenge to the guests' taste buds and made them salivate with delight.

In one lunch hour, Du Shaojie had no idea how many fish he had processed, and he gained a new understanding of flower knife techniques.

Seeing that the time was almost up, he made a large plate of spicy fish and had a delicious meal with Wang Yongli.

"Boss Du, the fish cooked this way is really delicious! It's addictive."

This is Wang Yongli’s true thought and also his affirmation of this dish.

Du Shaojie has always felt that the masters are among the common people. Strictly speaking, this dish can be classified as a "jianghu dish", but it tastes great.

Today, not only did he teach Wu Dazhui his skills, he also learned good things from him, such as how to cook spicy fish.

"Chef Du, you have done me and Old Wu a favor! Why don't you just let Old Wu be your apprentice? In his heart, you are his idol and his eternal goal."

The proprietress Chen Cuilian was very tactful. When she saw Du Shaojie and Wang Yongli had finished eating, she quickly brought them a fruit plate and brewed a pot of good tea.

Du Shaojie also heard that the proprietress wanted him to teach Wu Dazhu more skills.

"Old Wu is old after all, so there is no need for him to work so hard. As long as he can master the two dishes of [Sweet and Sour Fish] and [Spicy Fish], he will never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of his life."

Du Shaojie laughed. He would certainly not accept an "uncle" as his apprentice.

With the skills he taught, Wu Dazhu can run a fish restaurant well with just two dishes. This is what it means to have one trick to conquer the world. (End of this chapter)