Chapter 57: A Fish Cake That Makes You Drool Just from Hearing the Recipe
Chapter 57: Chapter 57: A Fish Cake That Makes You Drool Just from Hearing the Recipe
"Sir, please come in."
Lu Yongliang hesitated to push the door, so Zhang Li opened it for him.
Inside wasn’t a kitchen, but a typical employee cafeteria. To receive Shang Mingke and his party, the cafeteria had been thoroughly cleaned, with only a single round table left in the very center.
The table was completely bare, which suited Lu Yongliang just fine.
True hospitality meant cooking dishes to order, a fundamental principle for any chef, yet a practice that felt exceedingly rare these days.
The moment Lu Yongliang stepped inside, his eyes landed on the two people in the cafeteria. Without a hint of hesitation, he headed straight for Aunt Fang.
"Hello! My name is Lu Yongliang. I just came across your video on my phone and made a special trip to visit. I hope I’m not disturbing you." Lu Yongliang’s tone was exceedingly polite.
Aunt Fang stared at his outstretched right hand, then turned to Su Chen in complete confusion.
’Boss, say something!’
’What in the world is going on?!’
’Isn’t he a VIP? Why does he want to shake my hand? I’m just a cleaner!’
"H-hello to you, too." Aunt Fang stiffly shook his hand. "Are you here to eat?"
"Yes! Of course!" Lu Yongliang exclaimed, recalling the words he’d overheard outside the door.
’If I say no, she’ll probably shove a rolling pin in my mouth, won’t she?’
Besides, it would be completely unacceptable not to show respect by trying the Hubei Cuisine this master worked so hard to prepare.
But what truly stunned Lu Yongliang was that a master of traditional Hubei Cuisine techniques was a woman!
It wasn’t that he looked down on women, but the culinary profession—wielding knives and working with open flames all day—was dominated by men. The most accomplished chefs were almost all men as well.
Aunt Fang let out an "oh." "Boss, they want to eat again."
Su Chen waved a hand, signaling for her to stop talking.
Though these people had nothing to do with Delicious, they were still Xinghui’s honored guests. It wouldn’t do to be inhospitable.
"Sir, please have a seat." Su Chen stood up. "Are the other distinguished guests in your party ready to dine?"
Lu Yongliang shook his head. His mouth was speaking to Su Chen, but his eyes never left Aunt Fang for a second, making her feel rather awkward.
"Let the young folks worry about their own business. You’re the boss here, aren’t you? Not bad, not bad!"
After a moment’s thought, Su Chen insisted, "It might be best to ask your assistant here to go check with them."
The dishes he had prepared were portioned for five guests.
Take the fish cake balls, for example. The fish cake, made from a kilogram of yellowcheek carp, could be cut into one hundred slices, which divided perfectly into five bowls.
This was why Su Chen had been a little frustrated when he learned their party had grown to six people.
Having only one person eat now was simply preposterous.
Of course, if the man insisted, it wasn’t out of the question, but there was no harm in asking first.
"Fine, fine, fine." Lu Yongliang waved his hand impatiently, having little patience for a regular boss like this. "Don’t ask. You," he said to Zhang Li, "go get Mingke... I mean, President Shang. Tell him I said to come eat. Now!"
With a flustered "Yes!", Zhang Li scurried out of the cafeteria.
Lu Yongliang stood up again. "Master," he said to Aunt Fang, "why don’t we start now? I have a bold request: may I observe while you cook?"
Aunt Fang shot Su Chen a pleading look. "Maybe I should go do some sweeping?"
"Go ahead," Su Chen said.
Su Chen was both amused and surprised.
’I don’t know who this man is, but for him to come visiting just after watching a video... could he have seen the one He Shuting filmed earlier?’
’What a coincidence.’
Aunt Fang grabbed a broom and walked out of the cafeteria, leaving Lu Yongliang utterly dumbfounded.
’What kind of boss is this?’
’A master with such skill is also responsible for sweeping the floors?’
Seeing the look on Lu Yongliang’s face, Su Chen had to suppress a laugh. "Sir, that lady is our company’s cleaner. If you and your friends are ready to eat, I’ll go and prepare the meal."
"What?" Lu Yongliang was stunned once more. "Are you telling me that the person I saw in the video... was you?"
Su Chen nodded. "If you’re referring to the video our company filmed, then yes, that was me."
"You’re saying... you’re the one who prepared the fish cake balls?" He still seemed skeptical.
"Yes."
Lu Yongliang stood frozen, momentarily unsure what to feel. He had been in this company for less than half an hour.
Yet in that time, his emotions had been on a constant, violent rollercoaster.
’Hold on, you’re a company boss. What are you doing in a kitchen?’
’And fine, you’re in the kitchen, but what was that about the cleaning lady threatening to shove a rolling pin in someone’s mouth?’
’Is the relationship between the boss and the employees here always this... friendly?’
’Most importantly, this boss in front of him was so young—twenty-five, maybe twenty-six at most.’
’That technique for handling fish, the force behind his chopping... could someone that young really have perfected those skills?’
’When I was his age, I was still stuck peeling potatoes in the kitchen!’
Lu Yongliang, still not entirely convinced, asked, "Young man, may I observe while you cook?"
Su Chen didn’t hesitate. "If you don’t mind, then of course."
With that, he turned, pushed open the door to the kitchen, and walked in. Lu Yongliang followed right behind him.
"I’ve already prepped all the ingredients for the dishes. Shall we begin?"
Lu Yongliang saw the countertop laden with bowls and containers. This itself wasn’t unusual; his setups at the National Guest House were often far more complex.
The difference, however, was that at the National Guest House, a head chef would have several assistants assigned to them. A head chef would never have to handle simple prep work personally.
"You prepared all of this yourself?"
"Mhm."
Su Chen followed the steps he had planned out. The first dish would be the fish cake balls. Even with all the ingredients prepped, the dish still required a long cooking time.
Seeing Su Chen enter his zone, Lu Yongliang held his tongue.
He simply stood to the side and observed. There was one thing he couldn’t quite understand, though: why was this boss cooking in a suit?
’Was it just to look cool for the camera?’
Su Chen poured a basin of paste into a steamer basket lined with damp cheesecloth, spreading it to a thickness of about an inch and a third. This detail alone made Lu Yongliang nod in silent approval.
The steamer basket looked brand new, likely purchased specifically for this dish.
’This boss is a man who cares about the details!’
The one-and-a-third-inch thickness for the fish cake was a golden rule established by countless chefs through endless experimentation.
As for the fish paste itself, Lu Yongliang couldn’t resist asking, "Young man, could you tell me how you made this paste?"
Su Chen didn’t hold back. "Mince white fish meat and add water, starch, egg whites, and fine salt. Stir for five minutes. Separately, dice fatty pork and mix it with starch, minced ginger, fine salt, MSG, and egg whites, kneading until combined. Then you just mix the two together."
Lu Yongliang nodded in satisfaction. The method was perfectly by the book.
This was the very dish that embodied the saying: ’The fish holds the flavor of meat, and the meat carries the fragrance of fish.’
During the long steaming process, the fat from the diced pork would be continuously rendered, with some of it permeating the fish paste and the rest being absorbed by the starch.
At the same time, the high heat would draw out the delicate aroma from the loose fish mince, allowing it to gradually infuse the pork.
As Su Chen placed the tray into the steamer, Lu Yongliang’s eyes began to gleam.
This dish needed to steam for at least forty minutes. Just like in the classic dish, *mei cai kou rou*, the fatty pork would become so tender after prolonged steaming that it would melt in your mouth.
And because of the starch, these cubes of pork wouldn’t change much visually, but the moment they entered your mouth...
He drew in a sharp breath.
Just imagining it, Lu Yongliang could already picture the melt-in-your-mouth texture. He hadn’t taken a single bite, yet it felt as if the rich aromas of pork and fish were already dancing on his tongue.
If he could just have one bite, wouldn’t it be simply divine?