Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 83: All the Regulars Came for the Barbecue

The secret to perfectly grilling vegetables without charring and drying them out is to brush on oil.

Most street food stalls or barbecue places choose to deep fry first and then grill just for appearance, significantly reducing serving time.

Lin Chen didn't do that. He hated vendors who used deceptive practices the most, especially barbecue stalls.

Back home in Great Xia, every time he craved something grilled over charcoal, eight out of ten places turned out to be frying spots, leaving him heartbroken.

If it's going to be grilled, it should be done entirely with charcoal; otherwise, just call it fried skewers.

Charcoal has a strong flame that can't be adjusted, making it easy for vegetables to dry out or char, so they need to be brushed with a layer of oil before grilling to speed up cooking and prevent excessive moisture loss in the ingredients.

Turning every half minute is also the most effective way to prevent charring.

The lotus root slices he cut were thicker, while the potato slices were relatively thinner, but not as thin as those see-through ones with dozens on a skewer in most barbecue places at home.

Besides brushing with oil, he needs to occasionally brush on a layer of secret sauce to prevent drying out and to infuse the vegetables with flavor.

This sauce he made from leftover marinade broth, scooping out two spoonfuls and adding bone broth from the morning's congee, then thickened slightly with sweet noodle sauce.

After brushing on the sauce, the surfaces of the potato slices and lotus root slices visibly change in color, turning from white and yellow to a reddish-brown, with shiny, dripping vegetable oil making them look delicious.

Green beans are the easiest to cook; with sauce and oil, they can be done in about two minutes, while shiitake mushrooms are harder to cook.

He pre-sliced the back of the mushrooms with a cross-cut, soaking the whole skewer in sauce to let them absorb it fully, then brushed with oil and grilled. The high temperature causes the mushroom's moisture molecules to boil, creating a steamer-like effect and speeding up cooking.

"The potato slices and green beans are ready! No special requests mean mild spice by default, and there's sweet sauce as an option; it's recommended to brush both."

"The mushrooms and lotus root will be ready in another minute; please be patient and have some milk tea or jelly to quench your thirst first."

As the skewers grilled merrily on this side, time unknowingly approached ten o'clock.

At the entrance of the mall across the road, several big security guards began closing the shutters, coincidentally heading this way.

At the entrance of the nearby parking lot, nine familiar figures slowly approached.

From the street corner, two tall beauties in high heels came hurrying over.

The subway entrance also saw a surge of familiar faces.

"Hey boss, we're back again!"

"Good evening, Lin, don't bother asking, just do your thing, we'll take them all!"

"Wow, Lucas, you've even got milk tea now? You know the drill, twenty portions of jelly as usual. How many flavors of milk tea do you have, three kinds? Then nine cups of each, to-go."

"This barbecue looks too tempting; what on earth do you Great Xia people have in your heads to come up with so many delicious things?"

The wave of regular customers brought great pressure to Lin Chen, whose forehead was covered in sweat, his hands moving in a blur, his whole face reddened by the charcoal heat, without even time for a sip of water.

Moreover, he had to remember each customer's preferences and quantities, running his brain at full capacity.

The only fortunate part was that the seasonings did not include common allergens like nuts, or he felt his head might explode.

He felt this stall was even more pressuring than serving in a kitchen, needing to simultaneously oversee so many ingredients, each with different grilling times, dramatically increasing the challenge.

Richard suddenly tugged at Marian's sleeve, staring in a particular direction.

Marian got the hint and patted his shoulder.

"Go ahead, dear, boys shouldn't be shy. You're the best."

"O-okay! I'm going!"

Taking a deep breath, he pulled out a pink notebook from his backpack and walked straight in that direction.

"Uh?"

Dreya, enjoying a watermelon coconut drink in the refreshing summer night, keenly sensed someone approaching and reflexively turned her head.

"H-hi, b-beautiful lady!"

Seeing it was just a half-grown boy, she smiled warmly, nodded, and said, "Hello, handsome young man, what can I do for you?"

Her gaze slipped down to the pink notebook tightly clutched in his hands.

Richard's face reddened instantly, hastily holding out the notebook and shyly lowering his head.

"I-I... Lisa said if I could get your autograph, she'd agree to go out with me! Please!"

"Wow~"

Anna, standing by, looked enviously at Dreya and nudged her with her shoulder, "Quick, sign it! He's your little fan!"

Dreya didn't move, silently watching the boy, "What's your name?"

"Richard!"

"What do you like about Lisa?"

"Uh? Well... She's pretty, and her voice is nice, every time I see her, my heart races!"

"Lift your head and look at me."

Richard took another deep breath, mustering the courage to make eye contact with the beauty in front of him, but within a few seconds, he surrendered to her clear and deep green eyes.

Dreya suddenly reached out and placed two fingers above his chest, quietly feeling for a few seconds before withdrawing, shaking her head.

"Your heart's racing; your reason isn't enough to prove you genuinely like Lisa. You like all pretty girls you see, am I right?"

"I won't sign for you until you're sure of your feelings."

"??"

Richard stood there with his mouth agape, looking bewildered, while Anna also awkwardly covered her face, turning away without saying anything.

Dreya, as good as she is, always has this odd character to take things seriously at strange places, but Anna is used to it.

After all, kids don't clearly distinguish between liking and loving; experiencing more while young is part of the journey, no need to judge by adult standards.

Dreya seemed resolute in not giving an autograph, waving Richard away.

He lowered his head, unhappy, and stumbled back to Marian.

"I'm sorry, Mom, I failed."

"What did she say to you?"

Marian, not at all angry, was instead curious and inquired, as she had yet to see a star not give a kid their autograph, guessing there might be a special reason.

"She-she said I..."

After listening, Marian covered her mouth, trying hard not to laugh so as not to hurt her son's confidence.

"It's alright, dear. Every man in the world gets a racing heart seeing a beauty. If there's no reaction, then maybe he likes men; it's completely normal."

"But what she said does have a point; take your time to think about the answer carefully. There's plenty of time, and I hope you'll get that autograph next time you meet."

George, standing by, patted his shoulder reassuringly, "Don't worry, Richard, that angelic lady is helping you~"