The Gourmet Customizer

Chapter 96: Chapter 74: Preparing a New Breakfast, S Level Tea Eggs

His words left the others speechless. Zhang Li stood in the back, trembling, not daring to utter a word.

The atmosphere grew icy. Aunt Fang wanted to speak up several times to salvage the situation, but she didn’t know what to say. Just then!

"Everyone, follow me!"

A voice, slightly weary yet incredibly excited, came from outside the door, followed immediately by a whirlwind of a figure bursting into the kitchen.

Everyone scrambled to their feet and followed him into the kitchen.

You could ignore what other people said, but you couldn’t ignore the boss!

Su Chen rubbed his eyes, feeling a little sleepy. "Liu Shengnan, approve some funds. Bai Xiaobo, you’re in charge of buying some Coca-Cola. Get the large, two-liter bottles. A dozen or so cases should be enough."

"He Shuting, contact the egg supplier. We absolutely need another delivery of eggs tonight, at least a hundred pounds."

"Aunt Fang, keep chopping the chicken. Don’t worry about anything else."

"Ling Shuyu, Zhang Li, get a basin of clean water and wash the eggs we have in the kitchen. Just wash thirty of them."

He rattled off all the assignments in one breath. The old hands at Delicious were already used to Su Chen’s whirlwind style, but the newcomer, Zhang Li, was a little lost.

"Boss, wash the eggs?"

Su Chen nodded. "Yes, wash the outside of the shells. They need to be spotless."

"Oh." Zhang Li scratched her head, completely clueless as to what the boss had up his sleeve.

As the work was being assigned, Liu Ahbao, who hadn’t left yet, came over. "Boss Su, what are you planning?"

Su Chen didn’t hide it. "I’m preparing to add tea eggs to the menu tomorrow. I’m going to make a test batch today."

"Oh? A new dish?" Liu Ahbao’s interest was piqued. "You can make something special even out of tea eggs?"

"Hard to say. That’s why I need to test it."

Because of what Lu Yongliang had said, Liu Ahbao already had a preconceived notion that Su Chen was incredible. The moment he heard about the tea eggs, he forgot all about going back to his hotel to argue with people online. It was as if his feet were welded to the floor of Delicious.

"I have to see this, then. I can watch, right?"

Su Chen nodded. "You can, but I’ll be making the eggs and also cooking stir-fried chicken for customers, so the kitchen might get a little chaotic." Su Chen pointed at the top of Liu Ahbao’s head. "Can you take that thing off before you talk?"

’Talking to a camera is creepy.’

"Chaos is fine!" Liu Ahbao took off his camera. "How about this? I watched you make the stir-fried chicken earlier and got the gist of it. Why don’t I cook for the new customers?"

Su Chen took a breath, inwardly baffled.

’Does this master-disciple duo just love being free labor in other people’s kitchens?’

’So what if you’re a Senior Technician? So what if your master’s a National Banquet Master?’

’You really think I wouldn’t dare put you to work?’

"Oh, I couldn’t possibly."

Liu Ahbao immediately straightened his back. "My master told me that if I can learn a trick or two from you, I’ll be invincible when I go back to E Province! When I’m cooking later, just give me a few pointers so I don’t embarrass you."

Free labor, and a Senior Technician at that. Of course Su Chen wanted to make use of him.

Back when he was a streamer, he’d learned a little about the culinary industry. A chef of Liu Ahbao’s caliber could easily find a job in a hotel with a monthly salary of twenty thousand.

Besides, Su Chen had gained some new insights while watching Lu Yongliang cook.

If he could watch his disciple cook some more, he might be able to learn something too.

"Alright then. It’s six-thirty now, the perfect time to start. Let them handle their tasks, and we’ll handle ours."

"You got it!"

Liu Ahbao put the camera in his backpack and pulled out a white chef’s uniform, which looked much more professional than Ling Shuyu’s.

"You carry that around with you?"

Liu Ahbao grinned sheepishly. "Of course. I take this uniform everywhere I go. I’m not used to wearing new ones."

Su Chen was silent.

’Damn it, they’re all more professional than me!’

’Am I the only one who cooks in a business suit?!’

Once Liu Ahbao was ready, Su Chen started by explaining a key point.

"We’re using Sanhuang chicken, so you have to blanch it in cold water first. But the water can’t get too hot, or the chicken pieces will cook through."

Liu Ahbao finished the thought, "And if it’s cooked through before stir-frying, the meat will get tough. Boss Su, you’re a genius!"

’I’ve seen chefs who are picky about their ingredients, but I’ve never seen a chef who adapts his technique to them so perfectly.’

Su Chen ignored the blatant flattery. "You should remember the spices."

"Yep, the classic Lu Cuisine seasonings. I have no problem with those."

"When you use the oil, you have to remember: use more for more chicken, less for less. After the pieces are all coated, the amount of oil left over has to be just enough to fry the aromatics."

"That..." Liu Ahbao was stumped.

’Who could possibly master that?’

Su Chen thought Liu Ahbao just didn’t understand, so he added, "If there’s too much oil, the sauce will be greasy and cloying. Plus, the chicken skin will render more fat while it fries over low heat, so you have to get that right. Lastly, add chicken stock before taking it off the heat. We don’t use chicken powder."

"Oh, I see!" Liu Ahbao had thought the dish looked simple, but after hearing Su Chen’s explanation...

It was all in the details!

And they were the kind of details that were difficult to solve with technique alone!

Especially the amount of oil. How the hell was he supposed to control that?

Every chicken was a different size, which meant the amount of oil would be different every time.

’Damn it!’

’Am I going to embarrass myself?’

’I can’t embarrass my master!’

Liu Ahbao braced himself and followed the steps he had observed earlier. He was especially nervous during the blanching stage, but luckily Su Chen gave him a reminder at the critical moment, allowing him to barely meet Su Chen’s standard.

"Would it really be ruined if I cooked it a little longer? Even just for ten seconds!"

Su Chen nodded. "The water temperature is constantly rising, and it rises even faster as it approaches boiling. Ten seconds is enough time for the juices inside the chicken to cook through."

’So I embarrassed myself after all.’

For the subsequent stir-frying, Su Chen was also the one to determine the amount of oil.

Su Chen didn’t say anything during the stir-frying process, but he nodded to himself in approval.

’Liu Ahbao is a Senior Technician, all right. His technique is almost on par with my own Max Level [Stir-fry] skill!’

Just as he added water and began to braise the chicken, Ling Shuyu and Zhang Li finished washing the eggs.

"Boss, the eggs!"

Su Chen took the eggs.

Ordinarily, you don’t need to wash eggs to make tea eggs; you can just boil them for a bit and then change the water.

But...

Su Chen’s tea eggs were a little different. If he didn’t wash them, they wouldn’t feel quite clean enough.

He laid all twenty eggs on their sides on the cutting board.

With a flicker of intent, he silently equipped a badge that no one else could see.

He focused his mind, his eyes fixed on the raw eggs, which were all nearly identical in size.

’So... just how delicious could the tea eggs be, the ones rated S Level in the Gourmet Practice Room, the kind that render you speechless with a single bite?!’