I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 771 - 340: President Chen’s Future... Mother-in-law! Fancy Ways to Eat Grouper! [Seeking Monthly Ticket]_3

Chapter 771: Chapter 340: President Chen’s Future... Mother-in-law! Fancy Ways to Eat Grouper! [Seeking Monthly Ticket]_3

Everyone walked into the restaurant together. Chen Yan clattered up the stairs, ready to find trouble with Shen Baobao.

Meanwhile, Geng Lishan leisurely made his way to the reception desk, played with Dundun for a while, and then took his wine upstairs.

In the kitchen.

The Ham had already been cooked.

The Star Grouper had also been slaughtered.

Xie Baomin was holding a kitchen knife, ready to dress the Star Grouper.

First, he cut from behind the gills, simultaneously removing the fish’s pectoral fins. After the sides were cut, he chopped off the head.

"When cutting off the fish head, you must keep the pectoral fins, as this part will be used for decoration later. It can’t be damaged; otherwise, it will affect the dish’s presentation," he said.

Lin Xu nodded, taking note.

Once the fish head was cut off, the rest of the fish body was much easier to handle.

He sliced along the fish’s backbone, filleting the meat from both sides, also removing the rib bones, and finally chopping off the Fish Tail, trimming it into a "V" shape to enhance the presentation.

"The fish’s backbone and ribs are of no use. We might as well make a fish bone soup with them later; it’ll taste great," he said.

After that, Xie Baomin sliced the two pieces of Fish into slightly thicker slices, put them all in a small basin, added a small handful of ginger slices, a pinch of white sugar, a touch of Light Soy Sauce, mixed everything well, and then added some peanut oil for fragrance.

After the Fish was marinated, he took the fish head, made a cut from the gills, and sliced open the pectoral fins, one on the left and one on the right, each side bearing a fin, making them look like wings.

After cutting, he casually broke off the fish teeth and placed it on a long serving dish.

The fish head was placed at the very front, with the two pectoral fins laid next to the head.

The Fish Tail was then placed at the other side of the dish.

Once arranged, it was placed into the steaming cabinet to cook.

"Fish heads take longer to cook, so they need to be steamed for three minutes ahead of the Fish to ensure even doneness. Otherwise, the head could be undercooked, potentially resulting in stomach problems," he explained.

After putting it into the steaming cabinet, Xie Baomin began preparing the other ingredients.

He sliced the Ham into thin pieces, then diagonally sliced the mushrooms into pieces of roughly the same size as the Ham. Finally, he diagonally cut the peeled luffa into thick slices, trimming the sides to create perfect squares.

This would make it easier to arrange the fish slices and other ingredients on top. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Once everything was cut, the fish head was also steamed perfectly.

Xie Baomin took the plate out, first arranging the luffa slices neatly in the dish. Then, taking the marinated fish slices in his hand, he layered a slice of Ham on top, followed by a mushroom slice.

He then placed another piece of Fish on top and continued this process, carefully arranging them on top of the luffa slices in the dish.

The fish slices and ingredients could be neatly arranged in two rows in the dish. It was then placed into the steaming cabinet and cooked on high heat for seven minutes.

While waiting, Xie Baomin blanched some choy sum and also cut some extremely fine strips of Scallion and Ginger, as well as Red pepper strips for color contrast.

There’s a little trick to cutting fine Red pepper strips: first, slice the pepper into pieces, then slice these pieces in half lengthwise to thin them out. When you cut them again, you’ll have hair-thin Red pepper strips.

Once these preparations were completed, the fish in the steamer was also nearly done.

When he took it out, a rich, fresh aroma filled the air.

"Wow, it smells so fresh!" Lin Xu exclaimed, inhaling deeply. He appreciated the fresh scent. No wonder Star Grouper is always so costly; there’s indeed a reason for its price, he thought.

Xie Baomin said with a smile, "This isn’t enough. There’s still a step to enhance the aroma."

Having said that, he arranged the blanched choy sum on both sides of the Fish.

After placing them, the visual appeal of the dish immediately improved significantly.

Next, he arranged the sliced Scallion and Ginger on top. He then heated some peanut oil and poured it over them, instantly releasing the fragrance of the Scallion and Ginger, as well as the Red pepper strips.

Finally, he drizzled a bit of Steamed Fish Sauce over it.

This fancy Qilin Grouper was now ready.

"Senior brother, will the fish taste better cooked this way?" Lin Xu asked.

Xie Baomin said, "Grouper is already very tender and flavorful by itself. Even without doing all this, the taste wouldn’t be much different. As for why it’s presented this way, it’s purely for the sake of a higher price."

This was the core technique of all high-end restaurants now—plating.

Exquisite plating doesn’t necessarily make the dish tastier, but it definitely commands a higher price.

I originally planned to put this dish on the restaurant’s menu, Lin Xu thought. But after hearing this, maybe it’s better to stick to the method for Steamed Sea Bass to prepare Grouper instead. It’s a simple method, and customers won’t feel short-changed—the best of both worlds.

After preparing the Fish, Xie Baomin said, "Bring it out for everyone to try. It’s just in time for dinner. I just had lunch, so I won’t take a bite now. I’ll have a taste tonight when we drink."

Lin Xu was speechless. So he even had a meal before ’borrowing’ these two fish, he thought. Isn’t he afraid they’ll all team up and beat him?

Out in the dining area, a pair of cousins were bickering over ginger candies.

Upon seeing Lin Xu walk over with a plate in hand, Manager Chen stood up to take a look, then said to Shen Baobao, "Look, isn’t this Grouper? And here you were telling me it’s a common dish."

Shen Baobao crammed the remaining ginger candies into her mouth and mumbled, "We eat it often at home, so how is it not a common meal? Wow, this fish tastes so fresh! Xu Bao, bring me a bowl of rice! I need to do some justice to this fish."

Lin Xu smiled helplessly. "It’ll be out in a moment. Besides this fish, today we also have dry-fried chicken cubes. You can eat first. I need to go in and prepare the ingredients and dishes for tonight."

Tonight’s banquet for Liu Zhengyu was lavish, featuring Drunken Crab, braised horse mackerel, pot-steamed pigeon, and other labor-intensive dishes.

Many dishes required advance preparation, so he needed to stay by the stove to prevent any accidents.

「Meanwhile, in a small city along the Southeast Coast.」

Dressed in casual clothes, Ren Jie sat in a small restaurant with Sui Fusheng, enjoying the locally famous Oyster Pancake.

"Captain, it’s been a week. Why has the target suddenly vanished? Couldn’t they have fled again?"

Just as Sui Fusheng was about to speak, his phone rang. After answering, he said to Ren Jie, "News from the undercover agent with the snakehead. A fishing boat is leaving from the Fishing Port Pier at eleven tonight. It might be smuggling people out. We must be ready..."