Chapter 14 – Difference in Standards
Translated by Prosperousfood.com
Rehosted by Gumihou at kitchennovel.com
Frankly speaking, when Ye Chui saw Tian Xiaoduo’s smiling face as he stood in front of the roast mutton skewers stall, Ye Chui was quite impressed with this man’s patience.
He looked around and saw that there were no thugs around to create trouble for him. Plus, the meat stall owner in the wet market had vouched for this man’s identity in the morning. All these made Ye Chui see Tian Xiaoduo in a more favourable light.
Of course, he was still careful when dealing with Tian Xiaoduo.
Ye Chui did not say a single word, and accepted the money from Tian Xiaoduo. Then he passed 5 sticks of mutton skewers to him.
Tian Xiaoduo heard from Fang Tao that Ye Chui had opened a stall selling mutton skewers here. At night, he immediately rushed over.
As a 5-star chef, he initially looked down on these street foods.
But at this moment, he was attracted by the smell of the lamb skewers. With a dignified face, he walked to one side so as not to affect the stall’s business. Filled with anticipation, he took a bite of the mutton skewers. Then he immediately stood there, stunned by the taste.
As a chef, his taste buds are far more acute than most people. He could immediately tell how good these mutton kebabs are. He had also done some research on roasting lamb during non-peak periods on weekdays. But the roast lamb that he had carefully prepared is not as tasty as than this simple kebab.
Tian Xiaoduo appeared intoxicated by the taste of this mutton skewers.
He continuously chewed on it, like evaluating a flask of good wine. His expression was like evaluating a good painting, immersing himself within, and forgetting everything else.
Then his fat face sudden looks even more wretched…
Seeing this, Ye Chui could not help but to praise him. It can be seen that this fat man is really an expert in tasting the food and can truly appreciate the extraordinariness of this simple lamb skewer. His intoxication looks exactly like the demeanour of a truly deluded gourmet.
Tian Xiaoduo spent a full ten minutes before eating five lamb skewers one by one.
In his eyes, he said to himself with a bit of surprise: “This mutton was marinated before charcoaling, which removed the smell of the lamb and preserved the mutton’s freshness.”
“Oh, and there is another kind of taste. It is a kind of seasoning. It almost played the role of finishing touch and made the taste of kebab perfectly sublimated… What is that? ”
Tian Xiaoduo continued to mutter to himself. There is something that he could not understand. He eagerly looked at Ye Chui and asked, “What is the last kind of seasoning? I used several spices to season the roast lamb, but I still could not replicate this kind of taste. Did you use any valuable seasoning to increase the taste of lamb? What kind of spices is that?”
“It is cumin. I added some cumin.” Ye Chui smiled as he replied.
“Cumin?” Tian Xiaoduo was surprised.
“Yes, just ordinary cumin, fried on a pan, ground into powder and sprinkled it on the mutton skewers.” Ye Chui explained.
Tian Xiaoduo looked like he had understood: “Oh, that was cumin ……. That’s right, that kind of taste is cumin. After being mixed with mutton, it helps to create a magical combination. That is amazing, it is incredible! ”
Looking at Tian Xiaoduo’s expressions of delight, Ye Chui couldn’t help laughing. Cumin, also known as fennel [1], is an essential seasoning for kebabs or other skewers. We could even say that the best way to deploy cumin is to cook with meat. However, because of the absence of meat in the past 80 years, this “the king of condiments” gradually faded out of sight.
Even the top chefs like Tian Xiaoduo were not used to the savoury taste. And mistakenly thought that is a great spice.
“You really are the one I am looking for!” Tian Xiaoduo recovered his senses. He looked at Ye Chui with surprise and delight. “Little brother, I can…”
“I’m busy right now.” Ye Chui interrupted Tian Xiaoduo. He flipped the lamb skewer in front of him. “You can wait until after I have finished my work. Of course, I don’t mind if you help me work.”
Let the head chef of five-star hotels help to sell lamb skewers?
On a normal day, Tian Xiaoduo is would think that this definitely a joke. But at the moment, he didn’t feel that it is funny at all. Rather, he felt that it is an honour. If that dish of Da Pan Ji made Tian Xiaoduo interested in Ye Chui’s cooking, then this mutton kebab has allowed Ye Chui won the respect of Tian Xiaoduo.
Tian Xiaoduo, without saying anything, rolled up his sleeves and stood with Ye Chui.
Seeing the reactions of Tian Xiaoduo, Ye Chui nodded with satisfaction. Tian Xiaoduo is a five-star chef. In the eyes of Ye Chui, the god of cooking, this status is meaningless.
But Tian Xiaoduo’s love for cooking and his persistent attitude has touched Ye Chui. Just for this, he is willing to give Tian Xiaoduo a chance.
Of course, to get this opportunity, Tian Xiaoduo also has to work hard by helping him sell lamb skewers.
“When the lamb skewers are roasted, they must be heated evenly. To ensure the best taste, it is best to roast them until they turn golden yellow…” Ye Chui said. While teaching Tian Xiaoduo, he roasted lamb skewers in his hands.
Tian Xiaoduo studied hard. He learnt every quickly. After all, he was a great chef. He quickly grasped the essentials.
Then the people who queue up in front of the mutton skewer stall split into two groups. One group queued in front of Ye Chui, and the other queued in front of Tian Xiaoduo.
The two queues seemed to become a stage for a chef battle. And the winner would be determined by the side with the greater number of customers.
Just because roasting lamb kebabs seem simple, does not mean that roasting it is a simple task. To really do a good job of barbecue evenly is quite hard.
In the modern world, we often see this situation. In the night market, there two adjacent stall selling lamb skewers. They use the same barbecue equipment, the same ingredients, and everything appears to be the same.
But customers will always prefer one of them to the other. They feel that the taste of mutton skewer that is roasted by one stall is better to the other.
This is the difference between standards of roasting.
When Tian Xiaoduo just took over, he also wanted to defeat Ye Chui. After all, he still has the pride of a 5-star chef.
But to his surprise, he gradually discovered that the queue in front of him was much shorter than the queue waiting on Ye Chui’s side.
And after the mutton skewers had been purchased, the customers’ reactions told him that he mutton skewers that he roasted were not as good as Ye Chui’s.
Regular customers are not the reason why there are more customers that are interested in purchasing from Ye Chui.
The more likely reason is that the mutton string grilled by Ye Chui is really more delicious. Although the gap is subtle, it is there.
By this time, Tian Xiaoduo had no more contempt for the young man who was half his age. Rather, he was filled with respect for this man’s cooking skills.
Because there are now two people tending to the stall, all the lamb skewers were sold out by ten o’clock in the evening.
Tian Xiaoduo helped Ye Chui to tidy up and move the empty boxes to Ye Chui’s tricycle.
On the way back to his estate, Ye Chui smiled and asked Tian Xiaoduo with a smile: “What did you need from me?”
“The recipe of the chicken dish that you cooked a few days ago…” Tian Xiaoduo hesitated for a moment, then he continued, “Please can you sell this recipe to me? A very important guest had made a reservation in the restaurant that I am working in. This guest requested to eat chicken dishes, and his appointment is only a few days away.”
Note
[1] Actually cumin and fennel are two different kinds of spices. Cumin is slightly bitter. Fennel is slightly sweet. They may belong to the related family of plants, but the taste is totally different. See https://www.spiceography.com/fennel-seeds-vs-cumin-seeds/
^_^
Translated by Prosperous Food dot Com
Rehosted by Gumihou from kitchennovel dot com.
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