Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 699 - 357: Do I Really Have a Talent for Being a Master?
The study of the Double Crab Bun was arduous at the front with Zheng Siyuan and Tibetan Mastiff, and challenging at the back with Qin Huai.
Seeing that Zang Liang’s thickening was already on track, but Zheng Siyuan hadn’t finished kneading the dough, Tan Wei’an had completely withdrawn from the Double Crab Bun research group. Qin Huai originally planned to return to his cooking station to make a batch of Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls to ensure the midday supply.
It had been several days since the new and old patrons of Yunzhong Restaurant had tasted Master Qin’s Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls, they must be longing for them.
Of course, everyone also misses Master Qin’s Green Bean Cake, Three Meat Buns, Kidney Bean Roll, sticky rice cake, osmanthus cake, lotus root cake... 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
But now, Master Qin just wants to make Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls, Master Qin just loves to make some Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls.
Yesterday afternoon, the Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls that Qin Huai placed at Luo Jun’s house were missing a small portion when delivered to Yunzhong Restaurant this morning. According to Zhang Shumei’s message, Luo Jun said those rice balls were his charge for storage fees and kitchen use, intending to warn Qin Huai and others not to idly use his kitchen to cook.
However, Qin Huai could guess that Luo Jun wanted to eat the Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls and came up with a reason to keep some.
Yesterday’s Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls used meat processed with the help of Cao Guixiang, making them taste much better than the ones Qin Huai usually makes.
Luo Jun, with his picky taste, could definitely tell the difference. After the three of them left yesterday, he tasted a Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Ball and found it delicious, so he kept some, and it was understandable.
After all, the old buddy doesn’t have much time left, if he loves to eat, he should eat more.
Qin Huai has already thought about it, no need to wait for Zhang Shumei to come to Yunzhong Restaurant every day to buy snacks, and no need for Chen Huihong to provoke Luo Jun to come out and eat, he would just take the raw dough to Luo Jun’s house to steam every day after work!
Master Qin will make daily visits to serve the Tibetan Mastiff.
As Luo Jun’s primary heir to the estate, and the sole inheritor of all his assets, Qin Huai stated that his palliative care would be done very well.
Decisions about how grand the funeral will be, and whether to choose a dazzling, Luo Jun-style tombstone can be handled by Chen Huihong and Qu Jing; Qin Huai just needs to handle the palliative care well.
Qin Huai returned to the cooking station, intending to make Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls.
Upon checking, he found there was no flour.
Alright then, it shows that everyone still respects him very much. During these days when Master Qin wasn’t at Yunzhong Restaurant, no one used his cooking station.
Qin Huai went to the storeroom to get flour. He had just taken a couple of steps when an observant apprentice from Zhiwei Restaurant noticed what Qin Huai needed and quickly put down his work to run errands.
Qin Huai casually glanced at the dough he was kneading.
Hmm, very ordinary, even more ordinary than what Pei Xing kneaded.
Oh right, Pei Xing.
Qin Huai began looking for where Pei Xing was.
As an official employee of Yunzhong Restaurant, Pei Xing was one of the chefs Qin Huai taught quite a bit, yet not very well.
It’s not that Pei Xing is lacking in comprehension; and by talent, Pei Xing is actually quite decent.
The main issue is that he didn’t choose the right field; Qin Huai isn’t very good at teaching how to knead dough, his forte is seasoning. Qin Huai’s lessons with Li Hua on seasoning were quite effective; however, when teaching Pei Xing, it made Pei Xing seem lacking in comprehension and Qin Huai’s explanations also fell short.
Plus, Pei Xing has an overly complex inner world, the type to grind his teeth when thinking too much; as a result, Qin Huai routinely gave Pei Xing some care, like care from the boss, for silently grinding his teeth in the corner.
Yes, Master Qin is just so caring and considerate towards his employees.
Now that Qin Huai felt his teaching skills were up to par, the first person he thought of was Pei Xing.
Qin Huai searched everywhere and finally found Pei Xing at the cooking station in the farthest corner, still making shaomai for some reason.
Qin Huai: ?
Do you love making shaomai that much?
Why hadn’t I noticed this before?
Could it be because Pei Xing had previously been a snack master and didn’t have the space to make breakfast, and actually, Pei Xing’s real dream over all these years wasn’t to become a snack master, but to become a specialized breakfast shaomai maker.
Qin Huai was touched by Pei Xing’s dream. He never thought there would actually be a snack master who wanted to become a breakfast chef. When Qin Huai realized he didn’t have to be a breakfast chef, he never got up at 4 a.m. again.
Couldn’t get up, impossible to get up.
Qin Huai walked to Pei Xing’s side, finding that Pei Xing’s shaomai was still as poorly made as ever.
Simply put, this was wrong, that was wrong, and his pastries with pastry layers were incomparably better.
Qin Huai was not well-versed in making shaomai, but could say quite a bit about it.
"There’s a problem with your shaomai skin," Qin Huai said. "Putting aside the fillings issue, you’ve never really changed the problem you have with the fillings, this is a bad habit that’s hard to change for a while."
"The usual method for shaomai skin is to knead with warm water first, then with cold water; you did it like this too, but haven’t you noticed your lack of flexibility here?"
"Your skin is rolled well, thin yet uneven, with flower-like edges for easier filling, but there’s a problem with your dough to start with."
"I’ve told you many times, kneading dough is about finding the right feel, finding that knack. Where’s that knack? It’s the feeling the moment your hand touches the dough, the pressure you apply, and feeling whether the dough’s softness or hardness aligns with your requirements."
"It’s that kind of feeling..."
"Did you get the feeling I’m talking about?"
"It’s this feeling, not that feeling."
"That feeling is this..."
"This feeling is..."
Qin Huai rattled on and on, and seeing this, the apprentices from Zhiwei Restaurant looked enviously at Pei Xing, their faces full of admiration for official employees who could have Master Qin come over, passionately guiding them in a one-on-one tutorial.
