Chef at the University Canteen-Chapter 351 - 242: The Squirrel-Mandarin Fish That "Squeaks" (Part 2)

This dish involves meticulous procedures and has a unique presentation. Once completed, the entire fish’s flesh fans out, resembling a "squirrel" with its "head raised and tail up."

What makes it more intriguing is that when the fried fish, resembling a "squirrel," is served at the table, and hot gravy is poured over it, the fish seems to "squeak" like a "squirrel."

Du Guangning felt troubled because the difficulty with this dish, Squirrel Mandarin Fish, lies not in its cooking method but in the knife techniques required.

Using intricate knife skills, you must cut the whole fish like carving a lattice pattern, creating 108 garlic clove-sized pieces without the flesh falling apart, resembling a blooming chrysanthemum. This is something even a seasoned chef would find challenging.

"Alright, I’ll make this dish. You go ahead and prepare the others."

Jiang Yu glanced at Du Guangning, nodded, and said.

Du Guangning could handle the general dishes, but with his knife skills, crafting this Huaiyang dish, which demands high knife precision, would be beyond his ability.

After hearing Jiang Yu’s words, he heaved a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly, responding:

"Okay, then I’ll go make the Braised Prawns."

Braising prawns requires no knife skills, not even peeling them. This should be an easy task.

Jiang Yu: "..."

This Xiaodu must have been scared stiff by dishes requiring knife work, right?

It’s just a Squirrel Mandarin Fish, merely an entry-level test for Huaiyang chefs’ knife skills. Where’s the fuss?

If I asked you to make Silk Tofu, cutting a block of silken tofu into hair-thin shreds without breaking them, wouldn’t you lose your mind?

Jiang Yu shook his head, discarding these thoughts. He reached out to grab the mandarin fish placed on the platter and laid it on the chopping board, taking a knife with his other hand to begin the preparation.

He first planned to remove the fish bones and spines.

Jiang Yu held the fish with one hand and wielded the knife with the other. He sliced behind the gills on both sides, severing the fish head completely.

The fish head needed to retain its fins on both sides so that when plating, the head could stand upright, supported by the fins, forming a "head-raised" posture.

Afterward, he pressed the knife against the fish’s backbone, slicing the flesh on both sides horizontally down to the tail without cutting through. He then carefully removed the bones from the belly using diagonal cuts.

Next, it was time to create the intricate cuts.

He laid the fish flat on the chopping board and made vertical cuts at 0.5 cm intervals. Then, he repositioned the fish horizontally on the board, making diagonal cuts to form diamond-shaped patterns, cutting five-eighths through the skin and flesh, ensuring the skin remained intact.

The third step was frying the fish.

Jiang Yu coated the cut fish flesh with appropriate amounts of salt, pepper, cooking wine, and egg white, along with the fish head. He sprinkled starch over them.

While sprinkling the starch, Jiang Yu did it with great care to ensure the intricate cuts were also coated with starch. Once the fish head and body were fully covered, he shook off any excess starch.

Then Jiang Yu heated oil in the wok. When the oil was ready, he first placed the starchy fish head into the wok, slowly ladling hot oil over it until the head was set, then removed it to drain the excess oil.

Next, Jiang Yu held the fish tail, gently lowered the body into the oil, and used chopsticks to hold the tail steady, similarly ladling oil over it. Once set, he removed it from the oil to drain.

After a brief pause, Jiang Yu fried the head and body again until they turned golden yellow, removed and drained the excess oil, then placed them on a serving plate.

The final step was making the sauce.

With fresh oil heating in a new pan, Jiang Yu added tomato sauce, stir-fried it briefly, then added cooking wine, vinegar, white sugar, salt, and a bit of water. Once boiling, he thickened it with some starch.

At this point, it only required pouring the gravy over the arranged dish, and the Squirrel Mandarin Fish would be mostly complete.

But in a restaurant setting, pouring the sauce is typically done at the dining table. If this Squirrel Mandarin Fish doesn’t "squeak" like a "squirrel," the dish is considered a failure.

Hence, before removing the sauce from the heat, Jiang Yu turned and called Yan Tongtong over, telling her:

"Xiaoyan, the Squirrel Mandarin Fish is ready to be served. You go ahead, and I’ll follow shortly."

"Oh, oh, oh!"

Yan Tongtong wasn’t sure why Jiang Yu also needed to go into the private room, but since her senior instructed her so, she followed his orders.

She carefully lifted the oval plate arranged in a squirrel shape with both hands and proceeded directly to the "Autumn" private room.

Once Yan Tongtong left the kitchen, Jiang Yu grabbed the small iron pot containing the steaming gravy and rushed after her.

After entering the private room, Yan Tongtong placed the dish on the table and cheerfully introduced it:

"The Squirrel Mandarin Fish is here. Please wait a moment!"

With that, she stepped aside, waiting at the edge of the room.

Around the table in the "Autumn" private room sat about a dozen people. They were a mix of men and women, mostly around thirty, all well-dressed, with several wearing glasses, looking scholarly.

As the Squirrel Mandarin Fish was brought in, everyone turned to look. The oval white plate showcased a fish with its head raised, tail high, and body fried with the flesh flaring out, resembling a ruffled "squirrel" gently bowing.