But as time passed, Yuan Zhou slowly understood that it was precisely because the food was too delicious that such a rule was required.
That was because all foodies had a problem: they had no self-control when facing delicacies.
The passive ability of a foodie: able to have another serving of food even after the foodie was already full from eating.
Another passive ability of a foodie: Still able to eat some fruits even after the foodie was stuffed from overeating.
When a foodie encountered something delicious, the foodie would lose all judgment over his actual capacity for food. Having bigger ambitions than his actual stomach capacity would be a very apt description for a foodie.
Without this rule, it was very probable that there would be people eating so much they got gastritis. This was especially true for Wu Hai who would probably eat himself to death.
Back to the topic, while the customers ordered the new dishes, the customers still waiting in line were watching on anxiously. Everyone was curious about what the new dishes were.
Meanwhile, the various group chats related to Yuan Zhou’s restaurant were in an uproar.
In [Boss Yuan is not allowed to go on holidays] group chat, Rowing Water said: “Comrades, come quickly, Boss Yuan released many new dishes!”
In [Dragon and Tiger Squad] group chat, TYeee said: “Is there anything that can be happier than receiving salary in this world? Yes. To have Boss Yuan release new dishes during my payday!”
In [Thirteen Iron Foodie Group] group chat, Deep Clouds2 said: “On behalf of the myriad foodies, I would like to propose that Boss Yuan changes his practice of secretly releasing his new dishes. When other restaurants release their new dishes, they would do a lot of promotions. This needs to change about Boss Yuan.”
Because of that message, the mood within the Wechat group changed. Previously, everyone was talking about which of the new dishes to eat, but now, everyone started talking about Yuan Zhou instead.
Not to mention promotional discounts for the new dishes, there was no promotion whatsoever for the new dishes.
Events were also extremely rare at Yuan Zhou’s restaurant. According to the old-time customers, they had only encountered discounted food at Yuan Zhou’s restaurant two times before.
Other restaurants would normally offer discounts during public holidays, yet the two times Yuan Zhou’s restaurant had offered discounts were on completely random days.
Back to the restaurant, Ma Zhida had just gotten his half-year bonus. Thus, he prepared to treat himself today and ordered two dishes: Beer Braised Duck and Taro Chicken.
The moment Yuan Zhou received the list of orders from Zhou Jia, he knew that the new dishes had been discovered.
As a notable individual from the Chongqing School of Sichuan Cuisine, Yuan Zhou had cooked many of these dishes to himself before. It was worth noting that he was secretly making and eating them by himself.
“By the way, the rumored origin of this Beer Braised Duck is quite unreliable,” muttered Yuan Zhou as he suddenly thought about the information he found when he searched for the origin of this dish.
Every single dish would have its origin, and the Beer Braised Duck was no exception. One of the rumored origins of this dish was it was a dish that had been accidentally created one day when Emperor Kangxi mixed duck meat and some rice wine.
As an experienced chef, Yuan Zhou did not think that was possible. The Beer Braised Duck wasn’t delicious just because it was a mixture of liquor and duck.
Rather, it was thanks to the auxiliary ingredients that enabled the blending of the wheat’s fragrance within the beer and the flavor of the duck, creating a delicious flavor. Therefore, that origin would only make sense if Emperor Kangxi’s tastebuds were spoiled.
“Only certain types of seafood like crabs and clams will be good by simply adding liquor to the mix,” Yuan Zhou continued mumbling.
Yuan Zhou was busy mumbling, yet his hands did not stop working.
First to be prepared was the knife he was going to use to cut the duck.
He selected a suitable knife from the rack. Apart from Miracle Kitchen Knife, he still had many other knives.
These were all supplied by the system, thus they were all of top quality as well. Yuan Zhou had been taking great care of them.
After all, a knife was akin to a chef’s second life.
This time, Yuan Zhou selected a porcelain knife to handle the duck. When cutting the duck meat, it was preferable to not have any contact with any ironware. Due to the attributes of duck meat, iron would spoil its taste, also reducing the nutritional value of the duck.
Both taste and nutritional value were very important for Yuan Zhou. Thus, he handled the duck with care.
When the duck laid there, its skin was tight and glossy, clearly a top quality duck.
Whoosh! Yuan Zhou picked up the porcelain knife and readied himself. When cooking Beer Braised Duck, the cutting part had to be done quickly.
Before Yuan Zhou started cutting, he would plan properly. There were bones within the duck, thus, the time it took for each part of the duck to cook would be different. Thus, he had to determine the size of the pieces he cut according to the size of the different bones, and should also avoid separating the bones from the meat.
Each slice of Yuan Zhou’s knife was precise and clean, the pieces were of different sizes yet all were similar in weight.
This was not an exaggeration. In fact, many veteran chefs were capable of this. Of course, Yuan Zhou was even more thorough with it.
From the instant he laid eyes on the duck, he no longer sees the duck as a whole. Rather, in his eyes, the duck was already separated into pieces.
He washed the duck pieces with water before preparing the auxiliary ingredients. Scallion, garlic, ginger, and chili, all were cut and placed on a plate.
If a person with OCD saw this, he would feel very comfortable as the ingredients of different colors were clearly and neatly separated, while the chili pieces all facing the same direction.
Yuan Zhou obtained his good cooking skills through training, while his speed was obtained with familiarity. To the side was a pot of boiling water.
Whoosh. Yuan Zhou poured the duck pieces inside. The meat and the skin tightened upon touching the boiling water while the blood within was squeezed out.
“Done,” Yuan Zhou thought to himself. He then started scooping the duck pieces out the water.
Ding. That was the sound when the exposed duck bones came in contact with the plate. The pieces of duck with a layer of steam billowing out of it looked extremely appetizing for Ma Zhida.
“I’m really craving for it. Too bad it is not ready yet,” Ma Zhida mumbled to himself.
Next, Yuan Zhou rinsed over the duck meat with some cold spring water. While drying the duck meat, he started heating up some oil on a different pot.
When the oil was boiling, Yuan Zhou lifted two plates.
Whoosh! The ingredients and the sauce were both poured in. Instantly, a strong flavor spread everywhere.
By the time the garlic turned slightly yellow, Yuan Zhou poured in the duck pieces and started stir-frying it. If a customer observed properly, he would be able to notice that there was a tempo to Yuan Zhou’s stir-frying.
It was unknown if this was some special technique or if it was merely due to Yuan Zhou’s OCD. Next, he poured in the scallions.
In this step, the additional oil would be forced out of the duck. But for the sake of better taste, Yuan Zhou had one additional step before this: adding a spoonful of sugar syrup before adding the scallions.
Next, Yuan Zhou added some salt and soy sauce. Since Ma Zhida preferred a heavier taste, Yuan Zhou added more. He would adjust as necessary depending on who he was cooking for.
When Yuan Zhou wielded a spatula, he was like a swordsman wielding a sword. He brandished his spatula around, akin to a swordsman displaying exquisite swordplay. With his stir-fry, the sauce, ingredients, and the duck were perfectly blended.
Yuan Zhou took out a jug of draught beer and poured half the jug into the pot. After it boiled, he turned the fire down and let it simmer.
Then, Yuan Zhou started preparing the Taro Chicken. In fact, he was operating four pots at the same time.
The Beer Braised Duck was a dish with a unique and strong flavor. After cooking, the alcohol would be gone, leaving the flavor of the wheat that when combined with the flavor of the duck, a perfect combination would be created.
“Ma Zhida has good taste indeed,” Yuan Zhou praised.
