Daddy's Gourmet Shop-Chapter 416 - 406: Boss Huang’s Impressive Speed

"I’m so sorry... you two, have you waited long?"

Having seen off the various stall owners and Jiang Guowei, and given instructions regarding the kitchen, Huang Tao, who was temporarily free, approached the table where Yang Luyi and her companion were seated. With an apologetic smile, he said, "Our place is small and doesn’t have a dedicated reception room, so I’m afraid you’ll have to chat here at the table."

"Boss Huang, you’re way too polite. Actually, the environment and hygiene of your place are excellent, much better than many restaurants, and it’s really warm inside too."

Yang Luyi laughed gracefully, "We both ate here last night and this morning, and it’s been a great experience."

"Yes, the food here is really delicious. Whether it’s the Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce from last night or the pan-fried buns for breakfast this morning, everything was delightful and never tiresome!"

Liu Zishan nodded in agreement and then asked the question she had been eagerly awaiting: "Oh, by the way, Boss Huang, you are planning to introduce new dishes gradually, aren’t you?"

Aside from a few staple foods, the variety of dishes at the restaurant really wasn’t much.

It did seem a bit monotonous.

Though there are indeed many restaurants that specialize in a few dishes and perfect them, Liu Zishan secretly hoped Delicious Restaurant could come up with more tasty dishes.

With a chef this skilled as the owner, the new dishes would surely be delicious too.

When that time comes...

She could come over more often with Luyi to eat.

Of course.

Even if no new dishes come out, they would still keep coming back to eat.

Not knowing what Liu Zishan was truly thinking, Huang Tao thought she was asking about the restaurant’s development plan!

He responded with modest confidence, "We will definitely be introducing new dishes gradually. Although our restaurant has only recently expanded, it has mostly stabilized. We’ll introduce new dishes at intervals because there are many varieties in the restaurant industry, and we chefs have our unique strengths in this regard."

He was not just making promises.

Even without system rewards, he planned to use the store points to introduce one or two new dishes periodically.

Only if Delicious Restaurant introduces new dishes quickly enough will both new and old customers find it refreshing, without getting bored.

Liu Zishan and Yang Luyi exchanged a glance, both seeing satisfaction in each other’s eyes.

Haha~

They’d get to enjoy a steady stream of new dishes in the future.

Huang Tao smiled and said, "Oh, by the way, you really came at the right time today. We’ll introduce a new dish at noon."

"Ah... a new dish?"

The two girls’ eyes lit up and they eagerly asked, "Boss Huang, may we ask what the new dish is?"

Huang Tao answered truthfully, "The meaty version of Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce."

The girls looked expectant, "It must be delicious as well!"

Even though they hadn’t tried the vegetarian version, it didn’t dampen their anticipation for the meaty one.

Then the three of them discussed the reporting details.

Huang Tao straightforwardly asked, "Reporter Yang, for this interview, is there anything you need me to do?"

Yang Luyi smiled and said, "We would like to take a photo of every dish made in the restaurant at noon, as well as a photo of the restaurant’s facade. If possible, we’d also like to take a few photos of you cooking."

Old Qin, who stayed to sample the meaty Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce, couldn’t help but feel both surprised and impressed with Huang Tao upon learning that his food was going to be featured in the Morning Post!

He was not only invited by the editor-in-chief of "Food and Beauty" to be featured in the magazine, but now the reporters from the Morning Post eagerly wanted to interview him and include his restaurant’s food in Wenling City’s travel guide food section.

He recalled how, when he previously worked as the head chef of a five-star hotel, his hotel was included in the hotel’s section of Wenling City’s travel guide.

However!

The food from their hotel couldn’t make it to the food section.

The hotel president even specially invited the Morning Post’s editor-in-chief for a meal, hoping to promote their hotel’s food as well, but was declined by the editor-in-chief.

The hotel president knew the editor-in-chief’s temperament, so after being refused a few times, he ceased to bring it up!

And now, a reporter from the Morning Post sought out Huang Tao to shoot the food at his restaurant...

It’s safe to say that the food at Boss Huang’s restaurant deserves this exclusive interview and to be a beacon of Wenling’s culinary scene.

"Sure, no problem at all."

After hearing Yang Luyi’s request, Huang Tao nodded in agreement, "I can arrange that for you."

Liu Zishan cheerfully asked, "You mean you’ll start now?"

Huang Tao hummed affirmatively, "Let’s start with the new dish first."

"That’s perfect!"

"Feel free. I’ll be done shortly."

With that, Huang Tao donned his chef’s coat, walked into the kitchen, washed his hands, and started preparing the meaty Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce.

Liu Zishan picked up a small action camera, set it at the right angle, and began recording.

She also took out a mirrorless camera, looking for the best shooting angle.

Old Qin and Yang Luyi stood by the kitchen’s glass partition, ready to witness Huang Tao’s culinary skills.

Huang Tao took some cleaned eels and cut them into segments about ten centimeters long with a knife.

Then he laid the cut eel segments flat on the chopping board and cut them into thin strips ten centimeters long, all with a "chop chop chop."

The speed of his hands, faster than the eye could follow, left Liu Zishan and Yang Luyi, who were witnessing Huang Tao’s knife skills for the first time, amazed.

"Wow... Boss Huang’s knife skills are amazing! And he’s so fast! I couldn’t even see where the knife was..."

"Yes, I could only see a faint afterimage of the knife..."

Yet Huang Tao remained calm and collected, continuing to cut quickly.

Once the eel strips were cut, he placed them into a basin.

He poured in the egg whites that Xu Hao had prepared beforehand, then added salt, cooking wine, light soy sauce, starch, and other seasonings.

He mixed them well with his hands.

The eel strips were marinated and coated with the seasoning.

After completing this step, he drizzled a bit of cooking oil into the mixture.

This step was to ensure that when the eel strips were fried in the oil later, they could quickly separate and slide throughout the pan.

Huang Tao mixed the eel strips a few more times and set them aside to marinate for a while longer.

Taking advantage of the marinating time, he began to prepare the other ingredients.

He sliced the wood ear mushrooms and asparagus lettuce into strips and blanched them.

He chopped the pickled peppers finely, and minced the green onions and ginger.

He prepared the cornstarch mixed with water and other needed ingredients.

He also took a bowl and added salt, sugar, aged vinegar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, broth, and cornstarch mixed with water, stirring them evenly.

And so!

The sauce needed for the Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce was prepared.

Seeing the eel strips had marinated and absorbed the flavors, he placed a wok on the stove and heated it up.

He poured in some cold oil and swirled it to coat the pan.

After swishing the pan, he poured out all the oil in the pan and added two more spoonfuls of cold oil.

Once the oil was hot, he quickly stirred the marinated eel strips in the pan with a spoon, allowing them to separate quickly.

After over ten seconds, the color of the eel strips gradually changed, and they were no longer limp.

Huang Tao quickly lifted the pan, pouring all the eel strips and hot oil into a strainer over the oil drum.

Then he placed the pan back on the stove.

Next, he added the chopped green onions, ginger, and minced pickled peppers to the pan.

He stir-fried them over low heat.

This brought out the aroma and red oil of the ingredients.

While Huang Tao executed this step, Old Qin and Yang Luyi watched his operation intently from outside the kitchen.

Yang Luyi naturally focused on the dish’s taste and texture.

However, Old Qin, being quite familiar with this type of Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce, was very clear about the dish’s taste and texture, so his attention was on Huang Tao’s technique and fundamental skills.

Up to this point, he hadn’t found a single flaw.

Seeing that the aromatics in the pan were almost ready, Huang Tao turned up the heat.

Then he added the shredded asparagus lettuce, wood ear mushrooms, and eel strips to the pan to stir-fry.

The fire was very strong at this point, so Huang Tao used the spoon-flipping technique to stir-fry the ingredients quickly, preventing the dish from overheating and burning while ensuring all the ingredients mixed evenly.

After a minute,

Huang Tao took the bowl of prepared sauce and drizzled it into the pan.

He continued stir-frying.

Ensuring the sauce coated all the ingredients evenly.

Once the sauce in the pan reduced,

he sprinkled chopped green onions into the pan and drizzled some sesame oil.

He gave it a few more tosses.

To mix the green onions and sesame oil evenly.

Finally, he plated the dish.

A visually appealing plate of Shredded Eel in Garlic Sauce appeared in front of them.

"Click click click!"

Resisting the aroma, Liu Zishan swallowed her saliva while pressing the shutter.

Huang Tao did not pause and began preparing the next dish.