Rebirth: Starting from the Cafeteria

Chapter 89 Who is worrying about nothing?
"Well, that's it. Xiao Du, work hard, and if you have any questions, ask Master Zhong."

Cao Dachuan was already used to it, and since the matter had been finalized, he didn't bother to say more and just told the two to get back to work.

Du Shaojie was busy all day. In the afternoon, Cao Dachuan received a call from Director Cai, informing Du Shaojie to go there at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning and try to go early so as not to be late.

Cao Dachuan didn't understand, but Du Shaojie understood as soon as he heard it, and he would be hosting Director Luo's family dinner tomorrow.

"Manager Cao, I will...

Du Shaojie wanted to ask for leave, but was interrupted by Cao Dachuan before he could finish his words.

"You don't need to come to work tomorrow. It will be counted as a day of official business."

When Du Shaojie heard this, his eyes widened. Could things be handled in this way?

Of course, he had no objection at all, otherwise it would have to take up his own compensatory leave. After all, he didn't have many compensatory leaves in a month.

When she returned home in the evening, Wang Yuxiu told Du Shaojie that the white-striped chicken and water chestnuts were in the kitchen.

"Okay, I know."

Du Shaojie responded, then took out a bag from his schoolbag and placed it on the table.

Xiaoya blinked and asked, "Brother, what is this?"

Xiaomei knew what her sister was thinking, so she smiled and said, "Xiaoya, why don't you just ask if it's delicious?"

Du Shaojie found it a little funny, so he walked forward and opened the bag, which contained three fried cakes.

"You guys will eat it tomorrow morning. Heat it up on the fire before eating. You two should finish your homework and go to bed early. I still have work to do for a while."

Du Shaojie then washed his hands and changed his clothes before going to the kitchen.

Now that the ingredients were ready, he could finally make the dish "Chicken Slices with Lotus Root". But before that, he needed to fetch two more buckets of water to use in processing the ingredients.

After fetching the water back, he took out a carp, sliced ​​some fish meat, removed the bones and cleaned it.

Then wash the whole chicken, slice the chicken breast, remove the fascia and set aside. Then prepare the chicken rack and put it in a soup pot to make some simple "stock".

Chop the chicken and fish separately, then chop them together for a while, try to chop them as finely as possible. In layman's terms, chop them into minced meat, and put them into a small bowl after completion.

Next, process the water chestnuts, clean them and chop them into small pieces. Put the small particles into a bowl of meat paste, add appropriate amount of water (clear soup) and stir it into a paste with your hands.

Then beat a few eggs, separate the egg whites, and add them to the meat paste several times and mix well. At this time, you can add salt, MSG, and wet starch in turn, mix well and set aside.

In another soup pot, add the broth and bring to a boil over high heat.

Just add salt, MSG, ginger juice and cooking wine as seasoning, then use water starch to make a glazed starch for later use.

The next step is the most important step, frying.

First, heat the pan, pour a large amount of oil into the pan, and turn to medium heat. When the oil temperature rises to nearly 30% hot, scoop out the meat paste from the basin and put it into the pan.

Du Shaojie operated with both hands at the same time, scooping the meat paste with one hand and gently shaking the pot with the other.

After all the meat paste is put in and floats up in large pieces, you can scoop it out and put it into a soup bowl that has been filled with glazed starch in advance.

This dish was supposed to be topped with sautéed pea sprouts, but he didn't have the ingredients, so he skipped that step.

At this time, the white chicken slices floating in the bowl look like blooming hibiscus flowers, which is very beautiful.

Du Shaojie took a pair of bowls and chopsticks, tasted the chicken slices and soup, and felt that they were okay.

The only drawback is that the oil temperature was a little high before, and there are a few tiny holes on the surface of the chicken slices. Although it is not noticeable without careful observation, defects are defects and exist objectively.

Sure enough, the dish [Chicken Slices with Lotus Root] that I made for the first time was not up to standard.

He then cleaned up the kitchen, sealed the stove, washed up, and went back to his room to lie down.

He carefully recalled Zhong Fuxiang's cooking method, and then compared it with his own, and found many small problems. This is also a kind of gain, finding problems and solving them, people can make continuous progress in this process.

The next day.

Du Shaojie arrived at Compound No. 1 early in the morning.

I went up to the gatekeeper and explained my purpose. The gatekeeper made a phone call before letting me in.

"Master Xiao Du, it's so early? Master Liao hasn't come yet. Have you had breakfast? The cafeteria is not closed yet, how about I take you to eat something?"

Director Cai is indeed worthy of being called the "housekeeper". She appeared as soon as Du Shaojie arrived.

"I've eaten, thank you."

Du Shaojie had eaten two steamed buns, a fried egg and a small dish of pickles in the morning, and his stomach was still full.

So he rejected Director Cai's kindness and waited for the other party's arrangements.

"Then you take a rest first. Here, this is today's menu."

Director Cai nodded, then arranged for Du Shaojie to rest in the room and handed him a menu.

Du Shaojie took it and sat on the chair to take a look. He saw the [Scallion-fried Sea Cucumber] at first glance, and then the [Sliced ​​Chicken with Lotus Root].

It seems that today's family dinner is of quite high standard.

"Director Cai, have the sea cucumbers been soaked in advance?" Du Shaojie suddenly remembered this question and asked quickly.

"You are quite thoughtful. Master Liao came yesterday and everything that needs to be prepared in advance has been prepared."

Director Cai looked at the other person with admiration. She liked this rigorous work style.

At this time, the doorbell rang and Liao Yongxin arrived.

Afterwards, Du Shaojie followed Liao Yongxin to the kitchen and began to prepare for the family dinner at noon.

"Xiao Du, you should make this [Dry-fried Fish] dish. But today's request is slightly different. Director Luo's family wants to eat the authentic [Da Qian Dry-fried Fish], is that okay?"

The two of them were talking while they were busy.

Liao Yongxin still trusts Du Shaojie very much, and will let him cook whenever he has the chance. At the same time, his requirements are also very strict, and if his requirements are not met, he will definitely kick him.

"No problem, I'll do it."

Du Shaojie responded with a smile, saying that he was capable of doing the job.

The methods of making dry-fried fish are similar, but [Daqian Dry-fried Fish] has some local characteristics. As long as you pay attention to the subtle changes in seasoning, you can make authentic dishes.

[Da Qian's Dry-fried Fish] is a delicious dish that originated from the hometown of the Chinese painting master Da Qian. It was later brought to Taiwan and overseas by the master, and became famous all over the world.

There is no way to verify this legend, but this dish [Daqian Dry-fried Fish] is indeed a classic Sichuan dish.

Du Shaojie had already mastered the traditional method of cooking this dish, but he had made some minor adjustments when he prepared it before because he took the local people's taste into consideration.

Since the host requires the original flavor, then it is not difficult to follow the traditional method.

"Okay, you make the [Da Qian Dry-fried Fish], and I'll make this [Sliced ​​Chicken with Lotus Root]. Also, you're responsible for all the cold dishes, and I'll go see if the sea cucumber is ready."

Liao Yongxin's forte is Sichuan cuisine, but he also dabbles in Shandong cuisine.

For example, he can make [Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallions], and he makes it quite well, but it is troublesome to make.

Du Shaojie did not try to stand out. In fact, in the simulated training scenario, he had already raised the simulated evaluation of the dish [Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallions] to a "medium-low" level.

But after all, I have never done it in real life, so it is better to keep a low profile.

The kitchen fell silent. Two busy figures were like the second hands of a fully wound alarm clock, moving without stopping for a moment.

"Hoohoo. Finally done!"

Before noon, the two had completed all the preparations, and Liao Yongxin couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief.

He always said that being a chef is a physical job, so he would rather stay in the company cafeteria than go to a big restaurant.

"Master Liao, I want to watch you make [Chicken Slices with Lotus Root] later. This dish is part of the exam, so I have to study hard. Otherwise, I will be at a loss if I really get picked."

Du Shaojie accompanied Liao Yongxin outside to smoke and mentioned his own thoughts by the way.

Who knew that after Liao Yongxin put out the cigarette, he looked at him with a very strange look, as if smiling, and wanted to say something but held it back.

"You are such a jerk all day long! Okay, you can watch if you want. We can cook at different times."

Liao Yongxin waved his hand impatiently, then turned and went to the kitchen.

Du Shaojie felt puzzled. What did it mean to worry about nothing? Wasn't it his duty to worry about the chef grade examination?
"Don't just stand there in a daze. Come in and get ready to work. Don't dwell on this all the time. I think you will definitely pass the exam. When that day comes, you will understand why I say this."

Liao Yongxin walked to the door, turned around and shouted.

He knew some inside information about the exam, but didn't want to reveal it now. When he thought of the brat's surprised expression, he wanted to laugh.

Back in the kitchen, Du Shaojie estimated that it was about time, so he started to prepare cold dishes. There were four cold dishes today: cold jellyfish, chicken, cold jelly, and preserved egg tofu.

Less than ten minutes after he was ready, Director Cai called for the food to be served.

Four cold dishes were served one after another. Du Shaojie started to make the [Daqian Dry-fried Fish], while Liao Yongxin started to make the [Scallion-fried Sea Cucumber].

The two of them were busy with their own things, and Du Shaojie had no time to watch the dish made by Liao Yongxin, which was a bit regrettable.

After the [Da Qian Dry-fried Fish] was ready, he went over to help Liao Yongxin. Various delicious dishes were served one after another, and in the end only one [Fu Rong Chicken Slices] was left.

Liao Yongxin began to quickly prepare the meat paste, and when he was done he asked Du Shaojie to heat the pan and add oil.

"Xiao Du, you have to pay attention to the oil temperature. It should be between 20% and 30% hot."

When Liao Yongxin saw that the oil temperature had risen to the ideal level, he began to slide the chicken slices into the pan, giving Du Shaojie some pointers while he worked.

Du Shaojie carefully felt the changes in the oil temperature while shaking the wok constantly.

After the chicken slices were fried, they were poured into a colander to drain the oil. Du Shaojie did the rest of the work alone, while Liao Yongxin stood by with his hands behind his back, and the whole dish was completed smoothly.

Next, the two went to eat.

Director Luo was very busy today and couldn't leave, so Director Cai came over to explain.

After dinner, they cleaned up the kitchen, then they each carried a large bag, tied it to the back seat, and rode away.

(End of this chapter)