Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 435 - 378: No More Snatching, Everyone Takes Turns Eating!
If the appearance of the braised pork knuckle satisfied most people’s cravings for carbohydrates and fats, then when the Immortal Duck was served, most guests had their taste buds completely refreshed.
It’s no exaggeration to say that none of the people present had ever tasted anything like it before.
They never had a clear concept of what "umami" truly was. So, what exactly is umami?
Most of them only knew that adding a bit of MSG, chicken powder, or sugar could enhance the umami.
But if you were to cook two dishes, one with chicken powder and one without, the vast majority of people probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Umami was always just a concept that existed in the mind.
However, this dish, Immortal Duck, truly gave their taste buds a lesson: Umami is undeniably real.
Everyone who tasted this dish felt invigorated, their bodies warming up.
And there’s a peculiar phenomenon in grand feasts: if the dishes are all piled on the table at once, there will often be a lot left over, and it won’t all get eaten.
If the dishes are served one after another, then most tables will usually finish everything.
Originally, according to the plan, Chen Mo’s serving speed could basically bring out all the dishes in one go. At the very least, as guests were eating one dish, the next would be served.
But who would have thought that just the eight cold dishes would stun everyone, leading to a frenzy for the subsequent dishes.
Now, everyone at the table is sitting upright, eagerly waiting for the next dish to appear.
If someone unaware of the situation were to enter the courtyard at this moment, they might harshly criticize today’s chef for not even ensuring the serving speed, questioning what the point of the feast was.
Chen Mo was anxious too.
"Damn it, finished again?"
Hou Yao slammed his knife onto the cutting board, "Who the hell told you to make everything on the spot? Would it kill you to prepare in advance? Who does a feast completely on the spot?"
Chen Mo was also a bit baffled, "I didn’t expect this situation either. Logically, my timing should be absolutely right!"
The timing was right, but he couldn’t keep up with everyone’s rapid eating.
"Alright, I’ve already cut the ginger scallions, hurry up!" Hou Yao pushed the sliced ginger and scallion into a small basin in front of Chen Mo.
Pork and duck had been served, now it was time to change flavors.
Taking down the steamer baskets for the knuckle and duck, he placed the freshly killed sea bass, since Chen Mo had gone to prepare the fish while the assistants rendered the duck fat.
Luckily, he’d practiced well on the highway; otherwise, the speed of killing the fish would indeed have slowed things down.
Steamed Sea Bass is considered one of the simpler dishes to prepare. As long as the process is mastered well, it absolutely shouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes from start to finish.
After killing and cleaning the fresh sea bass, Chen Mo handed the task directly to Hou Yao.
It has to be said, in terms of just this dish, Steamed Sea Bass, Master Hou’s skills may not be inferior to Chen Mo’s.
This steamed fish is also one of the bestselling dishes at Yueyun Pavilion; many people go to Mu Xin’s restaurant just to eat freshly steamed fish.
A few minutes ago, Hou Yao wiped the fish cleaned by Chen Mo dry with a cloth.
Then he added refined salt, MSG, and sesame oil blended together into the fish’s belly.
As it happens, even though Chen Mo was preparing other things with his hands, his eyes were fixed on him the whole time.
When he saw this step, Chen Mo had an epiphany; but when he saw Hou Yao mixing the sliced pork, shredded ginger, and sliced mushrooms with dry flour and salt, then layering them atop the fish with a bit of lard and vegetable oil, Chen Mo’s mind was buzzing.
Placing the fish on scallion sections to steam makes sense—to remove the fishy smell.
But to cover fish with pork and mushrooms was beyond Chen Mo’s expectations.
At this moment, the steamed fish prepared by Hou Yao had been in the steamer for twelve minutes, and his timing was just as precise as Chen Mo’s.
Once the time was up, he immediately instructed the assistant to bring out the fish platter, while the large iron pot had already boiled the pre-prepared lard.
Chen Mo noticed that Hou Yao used a lot of lard for this dish.
The assistants brought the fish platters one by one and placed them in front of Hou Yao, apparently following the same routine they used at Yueyun Pavilion.
The assistant quickly removed the scallions from under the fish with tongs, while Hou Yao placed freshly cut scallions on the steamed bass and sprinkled a bit of pepper powder on top.
With his other hand, he ladled half a scoop of boiled lard over the top, then poured specially bought steamed fish soy sauce into the fish juices for a slight stir.
All twenty fish were made following exactly the same steps, and the cooperation between Hou Yao and the assistants ran as smoothly and distinctly as machines in a factory.
In no time, the twenty fish dishes appeared in front of the guests.
Chen Mo didn’t dare to linger either. For the preparation of the [chicken], he opted for Lu Cuisine.
In fact, the people from Guangdong are renowned for their chicken dishes, having the best skill and fame.
But Chen Mo still considered the taste preferences, as Jingzhou people favor heavy oil and salt. A lighter flavor is fine for seafood, but not for dishes with large portions of meat.
If he were to make a white-cut chicken, the guests might not like it.
Chen Mo was quite skilled at braised chicken, but it somewhat lowered the standard.
"Master Hou!"
Hou Yao’s eyes rolled to the sky, "Had I known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have come along. I thought I was just here to enjoy the feast, damn it!"
