Free Web NovelChapter 552: Chapter 464: Evenly Matched—Let’s See Whose Brain Works Better
Don’t be fooled into thinking that making the three-flavor tofu skin is easy; even though it looks similar to what he made, the taste could be worlds apart.
The three-flavor tofu skin, as the name suggests, has tofu skin and the three-flavor diced ingredients as essential components, while the glutinous rice just needs to be steamed correctly — as long as it’s not raw or over-steamed mushy rice, the taste should be about the same.
The ingredients for the three-flavor diced mix are provided on-site, the difference lies in personal seasoning.
Chefs with heavier tastes and those with lighter tastes might produce very different flavors.
Another important aspect is the grinding level of the rice slurry.
The slurry contains not just raw rice but also mung beans and other things. If it’s not soaked long enough, it can’t be ground finely and may leave a grainy texture that the naked eye can’t easily see.
The provided materials are naturally soaked suitably, but there’s the worry that these new chefs won’t blend them with the blender long enough or fast enough, which might also leave fragments and affect the texture.
These small details can only be discerned by tasting.
Chris nervously watched the farmer-like man in front of her, with his sun-darkened skin, fearing he might shake his head at any moment.
Thankfully, Old Chen didn’t display any special reaction. He simply nodded and went straight to Lin’s table next door.
"Phew..."
Chris let out a long breath, gently patting her chest.
"Does this mean I passed?"
She hadn’t even tasted the tofu skin she made; she had no idea about the flavor.
It’s not that she didn’t want to taste it; it’s mainly that the dish was made in one piece, and once cut and a piece taken, the visual effect would be greatly reduced.
In normal Western cuisine thinking, the first bite must be taken by the examiner.
After all, the plating and presentation are crucial scoring points.
After working tensely for half a day, now relaxing all of a sudden, she felt terribly hungry.
She quickly picked up the tongs and placed the small cut-off piece of three-flavor tofu skin onto her plate, eagerly taking a big bite.
The surface of the rice skin, pan-fried to golden brown, had been completely wrapped in golden egg skin, sparkling with visible crisp golden wrinkles that looked utterly appetizing.
The texture of the tofu skin wasn’t as crisp as it looked; instead, it was soft and sticky, with a slight egg resiliency.
The aroma of rice and beans mixed with eggs and lard exploded instantly upon entering the mouth.
The glutinous rice underneath was distinct, thoroughly soaked in the sauce, full of salty and savory flavor.
The texture of the glutinous rice in the mouth was clearly different from regular rice, chewier, softer, and stickier; each grain soaked in lard aroma without feeling greasy.
As one chews, the crisp bamboo shoots diced and juicy mushroom diced alternate, continuously adding to the texture of the tofu skin and glutinous rice.
The overall flavor wasn’t striking but had a simple, unpretentious deliciousness that became more appetizing the more you ate, making it irresistible not to continue eating.
The sesame sprinkled on the surface played a crucial role, with the fragrance bursting forth to the brain every time teeth bit into the sesame grains.
The slight garnish of scallion further diluted the minimal greasiness, giving an illusion of eating fried rice.
Since Chris only tasted the ones made by Old Chen and her own, she couldn’t quite figure out the judging criteria as the texture difference didn’t seem significant.
While she was tasting, Lin’s tasting session had also concluded on that side.
Old Chen still cut a small piece to taste, nodded with a thumbs-up, and left without saying anything.
His front foot just left, Chris eagerly rushed over, picked a piece from Lin’s plate, and placed it in her own.
"Let’s exchange and taste to see if there’s any difference. I have no idea how this thing could be considered poorly made."
"Sure."
Lin was also hungry and quickly clamped a piece for herself, devouring it ravenously.
After tasting her own and then Chris’s, her face was full of surprise.
"Huh?"
"It seems there’s not much difference in taste?"
Chris also gave her a thumbs-up: "That’s right, I think the taste of what you made isn’t different from the chef’s."
"You’re amazing!"
"I can’t believe you really haven’t worked in a kitchen before."
Lin shyly scratched her head and softly said thanks, for a moment unsure of how to react.
Both of them were extremely hungry, having gotten out of bed in the middle of the night to travel, only having eaten two leek pies in the morning.
After this massive workload, two pieces of three-flavor tofu skin didn’t feel like anything, and they both instinctively went for the third and fourth pieces.
Each piece of three-flavor tofu skin was only the size of a woman’s palm, two pieces together might just amount to a bowl of rice.
Added to the fact that the glutinous rice soaked in dice mix and sauce was genuinely appetizing, within just a few minutes, they were able to devour half of the food they prepared.
The remaining half was divided among the observing waitresses, so they wouldn’t go hungry when busy later.
Having watched the beauties for half an hour, they were long starved, coupled with the incredibly rich aroma in the air, each of them resembled hungry tigers pouncing on food, devouring it without concern for appearance.
"Delicious!!"
"The texture of this rice is amazing, both hard and soft, and also sticky."
"Is the crispy stuff inside what pandas eat? I didn’t expect it to be so tasty!"
"There seemed to be so many big chunks of fat during the preparation, but now you can’t see it at all, nor taste it."
"So magical, where did all the oil go, magic tricks?"
The servers could only get one piece each, and it wasn’t enough; Dais and the other four veteran employees unanimously chose to let the newcomers have it first.
Anyway, there would be more dishes prepared by other chefs coming out soon, so no need to rush.
Having finished a batch, Chris and Lin, after filling their own stomachs, didn’t idle around because they knew that was just a trial run, and the real purpose was the upcoming lunch.
Since they had completed the assessment, it was time to formally start preparing for the lunch quantity.
The battle wasn’t over, it was just beginning.
During lunch preparation, there was no need for each person to cook separately; instead, they could collaborate and work together as a team.
No need for Zhao Shun and Old Chen to give any instructions, Chris took a look at the work on the table in front of them, and proactively moved the trolley with soaked rice and mung beans to her spot.
"Lin, shall we grind the rice together?"
"Sure!"
As they started moving into the next stage, others began finishing the three-delicacy bean curd skin as well.
It must be said, the chefs who came through Lin Chen’s online interviews had passed the level.
Even though intentionally some small details were hidden during the demonstration and explanation, these chefs flawlessly made the bean curd skin, and the rice slurry was ground into a smooth paste.
This surprised Old Chen greatly and made him very satisfied.
During his previous kitchen work when he trained apprentices, mistakes were almost inevitable; it couldn’t compare to these chefs who completed the process just by intuition, even without knowing a thing.
What he didn’t know was that the rice slurry step hit right on the strength of Western chefs.
Western cuisine, especially French cuisine, specializes in making various thick soups and sauces, which cannot do without a blender.
It can be said that the concept of blending ingredients smoothly has long been embedded in the minds of Western chefs, becoming a work instinct, hence no mistakes.
But with the flawless bean curd, Old Chen faced a challenge.
Since the bean curd was fine, he could only judge from the seasoning.
However, seasoning is a very subjective concept; what he found bland, others might find salty, and vice versa, with no standard at all.
Especially in Chinese cuisine, there are no fixed recipes or measurements, relying solely on the chef’s instinct.
Even he couldn’t guarantee the flavor of each batch of three-delicacy bean curd skin was the same, so how to score for these foreign chefs?
Thinking about this, Old Chen felt indecisive and discussed briefly with Zhao Shun, then hurried into the restaurant to find Lin Chen.
Anyway, he’s just an employee; the Head Chef should handle tough problems!
"What did you say?"
Lin Chen looked a bit stunned after hearing the report, staring at the honest Chen Dongliang in front of him.
"All of them, all nine, made the three-delicacy bean curd skin almost the same? All qualified?"
"Yes, yes."
Lin Chen didn’t inquire much into details; if Old Chen, who never lies, gave such an assessment, it proved the quality was indeed good.
"Since we can’t judge by taste, we’ll have to start from other aspects."
"Surely there must be differences in completion times? Any procedural innovations or improvements?"
"Yes, the two female chefs were the fastest."
After briefly describing Chris and Lin’s previous performance, Lin Chen nodded with satisfaction, picked up a pen, and recorded it all on the chart.
"Alright, that’s settled then, you go ahead, it’s about time to start lunch preparation."
"Okay."
After sending off Old Chen, Lin Chen went to the back kitchen to check on Chef Raphael’s progress.
After his morning demonstration, Chef Raphael was eager to try things out, so he started experimenting in the kitchen.
Seeing he temporarily didn’t need any help or clarification, Lin Chen returned to his office, called Boss John, and ordered a large batch of black fish for making pickled fish fillets.
Since discovering black fish could be used for cooking last time, the farm had already cleared out a batch early on and kept most of the black fish separately, waiting for his order.
Who knew they would wait for several weeks?
Receiving the call, Boss John heard Lin Chen finally intended to deal with the batch of black fish, and jumped up excitedly.
"I’ll fish them right away!"
