Before the new store opens.
The most important task in the kitchen is to taste the dishes.
Therefore.
On the evening of the seventeenth day of the Lunar New Year, all the staff of the new store gathered together.
The reason for choosing an evening for the tasting...
It’s all because of little cutie Xuanxuan!
Huang Tao, the doting father, specifically chose the ti after Xuanxuan finishes school for the tasting to satisfy her cravings.
He really went through a lot of trouble!
For this tasting, Huang Tao specially invited professional Old Qin, his good friend Gu Zhihao and his girlfriend Zhang Linya, as well as Xuanxuan’s two teachers—Ye Wen and Xu Weiwei.
Of course.
He also invited Jiang Mingtao and Ding Cheng, Ma Junwen, and other wealthy second generation friends.
After all, during this ti, they helped Huang Tao a lot.
Contributing effort! Contributing money!
As soone who has nothing else to repay them with, Huang Tao can only express his gratitude in this way.
In the evening, after picking up Xuanxuan, Huang Tao went straight to the new store.
"From now on, Daddy will work here!"
Upon entering the new store, Huang Tao enthusiastically showed off to his precious daughter, as if he were a child who hadn’t grown up: "Xuanxuan, do you think the new store looks good?"
Since the purchase of the new store, Xuanxuan hadn’t visited again, so she was very happy now, wearing her little black leather shoes, hopping and running around the store cheerfully, looking around.
The little one’s laughter, like silver bells, danced like butterflies among the flowers, adding liveliness to the store.
Hearing Daddy’s words, the little one ran over excitedly, eyes full of joy, blinking: "It looks good, even better than the decor of the old hot pot restaurant!"
"I love hearing that!"
Huang Tao smiled, reached out to rub Xuanxuan’s soft black hair, and gently asked: "Then will Daddy make lots of delicious food for you here from now on?"
Xuanxuan, even more delighted by Daddy’s words, bead with happiness.
She lifted her little head, eyebrows arched, and requested: "Daddy, bend down a little..."
"What is it..."
Curious yet compliant, Huang Tao lowered himself a bit at her request.
"Smooch!"
A loud kiss echoed in the spacious, quiet restaurant.
Huang Tao was stunned.
Instinctively wiping his cheek, he felt a spot of clear saliva and a joyous smile crept onto his face.
He hadn’t done anything!
Yet, he got a reward from his daughter!
And it was a soft, fragrant kiss.
Then, a soft voice chid in his ear again: "Thank you, Daddy."
"Daddy, you’re the best!"
Though only a couple of sentences, they ant more than a thousand words.
They made Huang Tao’s heart burst with joy, his smile almost reaching his ears, a proud smile without the slightest concealnt.
It was just then.
"Boss Huang..."
"Boss Huang, I’m here."
Ma Junwen and his group of over a dozen people entered one after another, greeting Huang Tao with smiles all around.
"Ma Junwen..."
Huang Tao responded politely to each of them, then laughed and said: "Since you’re here, have a seat first~"
"Sure."
They sat at the nearest tables.
Rushing in yesterday, they hadn’t taken a good look inside, so now they naturally wanted to carefully assess the decor of the place.
"The detailed look reveals that the style is great, it matches my aesthetics."
"Boss Huang, how many dishes are we tasting tonight? Can you give us a hint?"
"With a store this big, there should be at least twenty or thirty dishes, right?"
Huang Tao smiled and replied: "Just three dishes, Longjing Shrimp, Boiled Cabbage, Braised Turtle."
"Wow!"
Ma Junwen exclaid: "None of these are simple!
Having eaten Huang Tao’s main dishes recently, they were already regarded by the group as divine.
However, today’s three tasting dishes were also famous delicacies.
The hearts of this crowd of wealthy second-generation were already buzzing with anticipation.
"Boss Huang, are you going to be over here from now on? Are you still going to West City Old Street?"
Huang Tao replied: "Mostly here now, West City Old Street will be managed by Xu Hao and Jiang Chao."
Jiang Qihang casually remarked: "Okay, anyway we’ve already bought houses here, no matter where you go, it doesn’t matter to us."
Ma Junwen nodded: "Right, wherever Boss Huang goes, we’ll buy houses there!"
Huang Tao: "..."
Are these guys here to show off their wealth?
For a second, he regretted inviting them for the tasting.
Other wealthy second-gen also chid in: "Exactly, wherever you go, Boss Huang, we’ll buy houses there too."
Rich and capricious, you guys just enjoy yourselves~
Huang Tao had no desire to speak with this wealthy bunch and threw a cool eye-roll at them.
"Tao!"
Gu Zhihao, holding his girlfriend’s hand, called out before even stepping through the door.
Huang Tao was a bit surprised: "You guys are here early, did you skip work to co? Aren’t you afraid of losing your pay?"
"Nobody knows better than you, Tao..."
Gu Zhihao, wrapping his arm around Huang Tao’s shoulder, responded: "To taste the new food you make, even if I skip work and lose pay, it’s worth it."
"Besides, I work nearby now, it’ll be much easier to co by in the future."
This is the allure of gourt food!
Of course.
Only with food made by Huang Tao.
Another twenty minutes or so passed and the others gradually arrived as well.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Huang Tao chatted for a bit, entrusted Xuanxuan to Ye Wen and Xu Weiwei, and let Li Chengzhan and other waiters take care of the others in the store. He then headed to the kitchen to start preparing the first dish.
The large space allowed everyone to watch Huang Tao cook the whole process.
A group of people sat near the kitchen, craning their necks for a better view.
Old Qian, along with other assistant chefs, was busy in the kitchen.
Make ample preparations for tomorrow’s opening.
Seeing Huang Tao coming over, Old Qian stands by, waiting and ready for orders, looking every bit like an apprentice.
Old Qian has been by Huang Tao’s side these days, and everyone knows he is the forr head chef of Taste mory, who left his position specifically to join Huang Tao’s restaurant.
Even brought his apprentice along!
From initial surprise to now being accustod.
The first dish Huang Tao wants to prepare is, naturally, Longjing Shrimp.
To make this dish, he specifically asked Old Qian to purchase wild river shrimp.
At this point, these river shrimp are still fresh and lively, so Huang Tao and Old Qian start peeling the shrimp together.
What is referred to as peeling shrimp.
To be precise, it should be squeezing shrimp.
First, pinch off the shrimp’s head, then squeeze hard forward along the tail, and the plump shrimp at will pop right out of the shell.
With the system experience backing Huang Tao, even though it’s his first ti squeezing shrimp, his speed is entirely on par with the seasoned Old Qian, maybe even showing signs of overshadowing him!
Moreover, Huang Tao’s actions are quick and deft, with no unnecessary movents.
In the eyes of everyone, his skill is simply miraculous.
"Boss Huang makes even the peeling of shrimp so aesthetically pleasing."
"So fast! In just a few minutes, this large bowl of shrimp is done."
"I used to think I had a talent for cooking, but seeing this shrimp peeling, I realize I’m just useless. Don’t ask why, just know I can even break shrimp during peeling."
"Forget it, I might as well be a quiet foodie!"
This group of rich kids, watching Huang Tao’s shrimp peeling technique, compare it with their own hands and truly feel like they are only good at eating.
Old Qin lightly fans himself, his expression unchanged, but feels astonished inside at Huang Tao’s quick shrimp peeling technique.
He has seen Huang Tao’s knife skills with duck and Wensi Tofu, knows Huang Tao has excellent knife skills.
Didn’t expect his shrimp peeling technique to be equally good and fast!
Ye Wen just feels Huang Tao looks incredibly handso while seriously cooking, worthy of admiration, finally understanding why so say they desire a chef partner.
Especially soone handso, serious, and skilled in cooking like Boss Huang...
Who could resist?
Xuanxuan also looks at her father with her heart and eyes full.
Huang Tao first washes the shrimp at twice with clean water to remove the residue in the intestines and the layer of mucus on the shrimp’s surface.
"Old Qian, get the shrimp veins out, please."
"Alright!"
The two of them each take a toothpick and remove the long shrimp veins from the shrimp at one by one.
All done.
Huang Tao then puts the shrimp at into clean water and washes it once more.
These shrimp!
Must be washed several tis to achieve a white color.
If you skip these steps, and directly cook the shrimp, they’ll turn red.
Then it wouldn’t be Longjing Shrimp.
After all.
Authentic Longjing Shrimp requires a pure white color.
After cleaning thoroughly, Huang Tao takes so baking soda from Old Qian.
Using baking soda to clean can remove the surface mucus while enhancing the shrimp’s texture, making it even crisper.
Once washed, he dries the shrimp thoroughly with kitchen paper before starting the marination.
Marination enhances the shrimp’s crisp tenderness and prevents it from becoming sticky when it contacts hot oil.
He places the drained shrimp into a stainless steel bowl.
Adds a spoonful of salt.
Beats the shrimp in one direction until it becos gummy.
The aim is to coagulate the shrimp’s surface protein for a crisper texture and ease marination.
About five minutes later, the shrimp surface prominently sticky, Huang Tao stops and adds two egg whites into the bowl.
Continues beating.
Thanks to the egg whites, the initially sticky shrimp also beco much smoother!
After stirring for a minute, the egg white thickens slightly, and he adds a handful of dry cornstarch to lock in the shrimp’s moisture during cooking.
Continues stirring for thirty seconds.
The surface of the shrimp also gets coated with a layer of white paste.
At this point.
Marination process is complete.
To prevent the shrimp from losing its coating and sticking during cooking, he pours half a spoon of peanut oil onto the shrimp.
Stirs a few tis.
Sets aside to marinate for about ten minutes.
While waiting, he doesn’t remain idle; he filters the tea leaves Old Qian steeped earlier.
Separates the tea leaves from the tea water.
Then he takes a bowl and starts to mix the sauce needed for the dish.
Into the bowl, he adds a spoon of salt, sugar, a bit of dry cornstarch, then uses the tea water from the tea leaves to blend these into a sauce.
Using tea water for the sauce can enrich the dish’s tea aroma, making its flavor better.
Once the shrimp are marinated.
He places the wok on the stove and pours in a little under half a pot of peanut oil.
As the oil reaches a third of the heat, he gently places the marinated shrimp into the oil.
He pushes gently in the pan’s bottom with a spoon to avoid sticky shrimp.
About twenty seconds later, Huang Tao sees that the shrimp in the pan are distinct and not sticking to each other.
He retrieves the white shrimp from the pan.
Sets them aside to drain the oil.
Then drains out all the hot oil from the pan, leaving just a little bit of bottom oil.
Returns the drained shrimp into the pan, lightly stir-frying before pouring the prepared sauce into the pan.
Continues stir-frying.
Once the sauce envelops the shrimp, he adds the pre-steeped tea leaves into the mix.
Stir-fries for another ten seconds or so.
Dishes out the finished dish.
The whole cooking process was very brief.
Both the oil pass and final stir-fry are almost counted in seconds.
The greatest challenge of this dish is maintaining the shrimp’s pure white color and ensuring the added tea leaves remain intact, not wrinkled or torn, with a vibrant green color.
Only then.
Can this dish be considered truly perfect.
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