Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 110 - 104: Garlic Grilled Oysters, Irresistibly Fragrant (Part 2)
"Shells! I see shells! Oh my god, it's oysters!"
When Lin Chen pulled out a Gillardeau Oyster larger than his palm from the crushed ice, exclamations sounded nearby.
For locals, oysters are a part of everyday meals and they're tired of them, even lobsters and king crabs don't interest them. It's the tourists who really enjoy them.
Hearing the enthusiastic reaction, Lin Chen felt somewhat relieved, knowing that tonight's stall was already half a success.
A poke, a twist, a swipe.
His movements were incredibly fluid, opening the oysters at lightning speed and placing them back in the foam box for refrigeration.
"Hey bro, these oysters are top quality, right? They must be premium. Look at the meat, so plump and thick, it's making my mouth water. How much are they?"
Some eager customers approached, staring intently at the tender oyster meat neatly arranged on the crushed ice, their throats gulping uncontrollably.
Almost everyone knows that oysters are a must-try here, whether raw or cooked.
Especially raw oysters, considered a delicacy in many Western countries, sold in numerous bars and restaurants, they're quite a common food.
Such big and high-quality premium oysters aren't cheap in restaurants—ordering a dozen might cost close to a hundred euros.
This guy deliberately brings them to the beach to sell, surely at a cheaper price, just slightly above cost to earn some labor fee.
People are out to have fun, few care about the cost, as long as it's not excessive, most are willing to try local specialities.
"Sorry, these are just semi-finished products now. Later, when my food truck arrives, they'll be made into Great Xia's unique grilled oysters."
"Grilled oysters?!"
The person was puzzled upon hearing that.
The most common way to cook oysters is frying, the kind that's batter-coated, besides that there's creamy soup, but it's not often seen.
Ninety percent of the time, they're eaten raw.
"Oysters can be grilled?"
Never having heard of this method, the person was extremely curious, holding a box of hot dog buns in hand, decided to stay and see how the oysters were grilled.
Waiting, more people came up to inquire. Hearing about grilled oysters, they also chose to stay.
With the number of opened oysters growing, Lin Chen got a bit anxious.
Five customers were already waiting beside him. Where was Lucas, taking a leisurely stroll?!
After waiting two more minutes, he finally saw that familiar bright red color approaching steadily and stopping by the roadside.
Here, there's a specially widened road, perhaps designed for food trucks, anyway others set up their stalls here, so he did too, without much concern.
A total of seven hundred and twenty oysters, over two hundred had been opened, and the discarded shells filled two foam boxes.
He called Lucas to move the trash to the pickup truck's trunk, then quickly boarded the food truck, shutting the door, and activating the time buff.
Curious customers crowded around the window, peeking in, watching Lin Chen wielding a knife in each hand with incredible speed, chopping garlic cloves on the board into fine granules in the blink of an eye.
The time buff speeds up by twenty percent, visually it seems slightly faster, not overly exaggerated, giving the impression of skillful technique.
If he sped up by forty percent, Lin Chen wouldn't dare do it publicly—that would be too conspicuous, clearly suspicious.
His movements were naturally fast, and with a twenty percent boost, it looked like a Head Chef showing off in a culinary show, knife shadows flickering, sustaining for just half a minute before he stopped and put the minced garlic into the bowl, preparing for another round of chopping.
During the break, he poured 3 kilograms of vegetable oil into the pot to heat up.
The minced garlic was divided into two portions, each 2.5 kilograms. One portion was rinsed with water to remove garlic's raw taste so it wouldn't turn bitter when fried.
The purpose of leaving the other half unwashed was to retain the garlic flavor while minimizing bitterness. Washing all of it would dilute the aroma.
When the oil reached half heat, slightly warming the hand, he put the drained garlic in for a quick stir-fry, simmering on medium-low heat for about ten minutes until the color changed to light golden, then scooped it out to cool.
The retrieved garlic naturally retained the oil heat, continuing to change color in the next 3-5 minutes, finally turning golden.
The aroma of fried garlic was overwhelming, unknowingly attracting more customers to crowd around.
After hearing from each other, they realized this stall was going to make grilled oysters they had never tried before!
With the rich garlic aroma mingling in the air, the method seemed quite similar to Western garlic butter.
Imagining the delightful taste of shrimp, lobster, king crab cooked with garlic butter, almost every customer decided to stay and wait.
The main reason being, there were no other options.
Next door was only a hot dog stand; wanting other food meant walking further. At this time, restaurants near the beach were mostly packed.
Since waiting was inevitable, might as well wait here.
After retrieving the first batch of garlic, he poured the remaining unwashed garlic into the pot for frying.
This time it didn't take long, fry until it didn't irritate the eyes, then pour it, along with the oil, into a stainless steel basin nearby.
While still warm, he sprinkled in a handful of chili for flavor, added five spoons of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce, five spoons of oyster sauce, ten spoons of soy sauce, and five spoons of chicken essence or concentrated chicken broth.
The original system recipe suggested adding ten spoons of a certain chili sauce brand named "Spicy Sister", but it wasn't available here; he didn't dare buy unfamiliar sauces.
Considering few foreigners enjoy spicy food, he chose the most widely accepted Lao Gan Ma.
This stuff wasn't spicy at all, primarily aromatic, hence adding a bit of chili for a slight kick.
A whole basin of close to nine kilograms of garlic sauce contained only about ten chili pieces, which after dilution had no significant spiciness, at least he thought even kids could eat it.
The premise being not eating the chili.
Utilizing residual heat kept stirring the garlic sauce to fully integrate the seasoning into the garlic.
Golden and silver garlic danced around in the slightly red garlic oil, releasing an exceptional aroma. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
"Gulp"
Someone swallowed harshly, the sound drifting into the car through the window.
Lin Chen subconsciously looked up, meeting over a dozen ravenous eyes.
"Is it done, is it done yet?"
"Can we start grilling, boss, I'm starving!"
"Though I've never tried grilled oysters, just this bowl of garlic oil, anything grilled would taste fabulous!"
"Hurry up, boss, how much is it, I want those huge oysters!"
"Lucas!!"
Lin Chen deactivated the speed-up status, calling Lucas, who was slicing watermelons nearby: "Write the menu, premium ones 6 euros, No. 1 4 euros, No. 2 2 euros, beverages as usual, write it down yourself."
"Sure, no problem!"
Today's prepared drinks remained watermelon coconut and watermelon green coconut, both had proven popular with customers, selling exceptionally well, especially by the beach.
Simple to prepare, just needed to slice some watermelon, involved no technical skills.
The only addition was coconut jelly today.
Lin Chen quickly chopped several bundles of scallions, cleaned the counter, took down the stove, lit the charcoal, and set up the grill.
While waiting for the charcoal to heat up, he mentally calculated the cost and selling price.
A total of 720 oysters, selling all could earn 2400 euros, deducting the cost of 1700, a net profit of 700, plus the beverage with almost no cost, easily doubling profit.
It seemed he was selling oysters, but truthfully the main profit came from drinks; oysters were merely a customer-attracting tactic.
To his taste, the garlic sauce was perfect; for foreigners, having too much would feel salty, prompting them to buy drinks—a strategy ensuring most customers likely contributed a drink purchase.
If someone didn't eat much or preferred heavy flavors, a word of recommendation would suffice.
After tasting the delicious grilled oysters, no one could resist an ice-cold watermelon coconut drink.
