Yang Yong subconsciously looked down on Ye Chui, and he glanced at Tian Xiaodu, thinking he understood something—when Tian Xiaodu said he wanted Ye Chui to come over and cook, he didn't specify what Ye Chui did.
He just said to let him try making a chicken dish. At this moment, Yang Yong thought Ye Chui must have used Tian Xiaodu's connections. He wanted to work in Wan Lai Fu's kitchen.
Having Ye Chui cook was just to have him showcase his abilities as a formality. Could a seventeen or eighteen-year-old teenager really compare to the chefs here?
However, since it was for the sake of Tian Xiaodu's face, he had to be lenient...
Thinking about these things, Yang Yong continued to speak to Ye Chui, "I heard Master Tian say that you have excellent culinary skills and want to demonstrate them in person to impress us. Hehe, I wonder what dish you plan to make, Mr. Ye?"
Ye Chui naturally sensed the condescension in Yang Yong's words, but he wasn't angry. After all, we're talking about real skills, right? He continued to smile and said, "I plan to make a chicken dish. However, due to the secrecy of my recipe, I hope you can stand a bit farther away while I'm cooking."
"What!?"
When Ye Chui said this, Yang Yong's face changed drastically, and the other chefs became indignant. How audacious to clear the kitchen just to cook a dish?
Only Tian Xiaodu felt that this was normal —ancient recipes were precious, and chefs at his level understood this the most. Clearing the kitchen was a reasonable request. He hurriedly said to Yang Yong, "Manager, this young man is making a dish from a lost recipe. It's understandable that he doesn't want people to see. Besides, there aren't many customers now. Let's just forgive him."
Although Yang Yong still looked displeased, thinking that Ye Chui was causing trouble on purpose, he couldn't undermine Tian Xiaodu's face. So, Yang Yong calmly said, "Alright, but I'll make it clear. We just had a VIP arrive a while ago. We can't afford to waste too much time."
"I'll be done in twenty minutes."
Ye Chui smiled confidently.
Under Tian Xiaodu's command, the busy chefs reluctantly made way. Everyone was driven outside the kitchen. Even Yang Yong, Fang Jun, and Tian Xiaodu, who remained in the kitchen, stood far away at the entrance.
"Even if it's an ancient recipe, not everyone can produce the essence of the recipe." This made Yang Yong somewhat disdainful, but he was also intrigued.
The kitchen was fully equipped with ingredients and seasonings. Ye Chui tied on an apron, stretched his arms, and looked at the familiar stove facilities. A happy smile appeared on his face. This feeling was so familiar; he had spent most of his time in the kitchen in his previous life, and the facilities here felt intimate.
Under the watchful eyes of Tian Xiaodu and others, Ye Chui first set up a deep fryer on the stove, pouring in half a pot of oil. Then, he took out a fresh white-striped chicken he had bought in the morning from the refrigerator, placed it on the cutting board, and wielded a large kitchen knife.
With a few crisp sounds, he skillfully and precisely chopped the entire frozen chicken into small pieces. The head and tail were discarded. He then switched to a pointed knife, swiftly deboned the chicken, cut the meat into small pieces, and placed the chicken chunks in a small bowl.
This process took less than two minutes, and the entire chicken had been neatly prepared. Such knife skills impressed the chefs.
Then, Ye Chui took out various seasonings and poured an appropriate amount of salt and cooking wine into the chicken pieces. He then started repeatedly pounding the chicken with his hands.
This was done to enhance the flavour of the chicken. The technique of pounding the chicken had its nuances –the force applied couldn't be too strong, or it would cause the chicken to lose moisture, and the punches couldn't be too slow, or the fibrous tissue of the chicken wouldn't have time to absorb the flavours properly.
The intensity and speed of the pounding had to be just right to achieve the optimal state of the chicken. It was a skill that required precision.
After three minutes of this, the nearby frying pan had already heated oil to about eighty degrees. Ye Chui then sequentially placed the chicken pieces into the hot oil. A delightful aroma of fried chicken immediately filled the air, and Ye Chui expertly flipped the meat chunks with bamboo chopsticks.
For chefs working in the kitchen, this aroma was more than familiar. However, the scent of the dish prepared by Ye Chui seemed even richer than the usual fried chicken, making everyone involuntarily salivate.
Standing at the door, they could only see Ye Chui's back, unable to witness the specific steps he took. They craned their necks, trying to catch a glimpse.
Yang Yong's initial disdain had diminished, but he still said stubbornly, "It's just fried chicken pieces. What's so special about it?"
The chefs also thought that it was just fried chicken pieces. Although the aroma was intense, was it worth clearing the kitchen for this?
"No!" Tian Xiaodu watched Ye Chui's busy figure and suddenly said thoughtfully, "The aroma of this fried chicken is unique; there must be some special treatment...Moreover, Ye Chui is probably not just frying the chicken pieces, right? There should be other steps coming up."
Indeed, it wasn't just frying chicken pieces.
When Ye Chui fried the chicken pieces to a golden brown, crispy texture, he scooped them out with a strainer.
He turned off the stove for the frying pan and started another one, adding oil and waiting for it to heat up. Then, he began preparing other seasonings: dried red chilli peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, green onions, ginger, doubanjiang (broad bean paste), monosodium glutamate, and white sugar...
Among them, chilli peppers were the main ingredient. He cut them into one-inch pieces. After the oil in the pan was hot, he stir-fried them.
A spicy aroma filled the air. Yang Yong, standing at the entrance of the restaurant, couldn't help but sneeze. Fang Jun and Tian Xiaodu, as chefs, were somewhat immune to this kind of smell, but they still felt quite uncomfortable.
On the other hand, Ye Chui seemed completely unaffected by the aroma. His hands moved skillfully, placing various seasonings in the pan in sequence. He poured in the golden fried chicken pieces and stir-fried them on high heat.
The fiery flavour of the chilli blended with the aroma of the chicken, creating an exquisite and delightful taste. It was spicy to the extreme, yet incredibly fragrant, making people's mouths water uncontrollably!
Finally, he transferred the contents of the pan to a plate, and the task was completed. It took no more than twenty minutes.
A plate of food with a rosy hue, and golden chicken pieces complementing vibrant red chilli peppers –it interpreted the 'colour' in taste, colour, and fragrance perfectly. As for how it would taste, only time would tell.
Tian Xiaodu picked up a pair of bamboo chopsticks, picked up a piece of chicken, and put it in his mouth. The first thing that filled his taste buds was the spiciness –hot, spicy, to the extreme. There was also a hint of numbness. He bit down lightly, and the chicken was crispy and tender, with an extremely satisfying texture.
Tears welled up in the eyes of the chubby man, whether from the spiciness or from being moved, it was hard to tell. He chewed carefully.
"Spicy, fragrant, crispy, and tender. This dish is so delicious!" Tian Xiaodu seemed to go crazy for a moment, turned to look at Ye Chui, and asked eagerly, "Brother Ye Chui, this dish...what is it called?"
Ye Chui explained with a light smile.
"This dish is called Spicy Chicken."