What’s this called?

Talent!

Everyone says he’s a rare genius in the culinary world.

Clearly, Fu Yu is the real rare talent with extraordinary gifts.

Yao Shi sighed inwardly and then advised, "Put the sauce improvement on hold for now; this grilled fish is good. Delivery from other restaurants has already arrived, so get a move on."

Fu Yu nodded, "Okay, Chef Yao."

Yao Shi left after speaking.

Fu Yu watched Yao Shi leave the grilling area, then turned to Zhang Jinyu and instructed, "Go, prepare a new set of the ingredients we just used."

Zhang Jinyu did as told, but as he walked out the door, he hesitated, turned back, and tentatively asked, "Chef Fu, can we proceed with the official grilling this time?"

Fu Yu reached for a clean empty bowl, "Hmm, let’s aim for success this time."

Zhang Jinyu: "..."

Are we still trying?

He wanted to say a few words of persuasion, but Fu Yu, at first glance, seems easy to talk to. However, after spending more time with him, you’ll slowly find out that Fu Yu is quite stubborn at heart.

Once he sets his mind on something, he won’t give up until he achieves his goal.

Particularly determined in his research.

But now time is really running out.

If the grilling fails again and the order gets messed up, what are we going to do...

Sigh!

Zhang Jinyu, looking worried, went to prep the ingredients.

...

The best taste of food is its original flavor.

Highlighting the original taste of the food.

Sauces are just an assistant.

Fu Yu carefully searched his memory for all the sauce recipes he knew.

Previously, he focused on exotic sauces, but this time, he turned his attention to classic sauces.

Classic sauces are often the most used, most delicious, and most focused on the texture of ingredients.

Fu Yu sifted through and eventually chose one from over a dozen sauces.

Improving the sauce doesn’t necessarily mean changing the flavor completely; it’s about balancing flavor and quantity through additions and reductions.

What Fu Yu thought of was finding the areas in the classic sauce recipes that some customers might not like and making subtle adjustments with small cooking techniques.

Classic sauces have plenty of cumin and sesame seeds. The traditional recipe’s portions are acceptable to average diners, but for those with picky tastes, the hardness of cumin peel and the texture of sesame seeds may be slightly off-putting.

And this is where improvements can be made.

Finer adjustments during the grilling process that aren’t explained explicitly are not apparent to others.

Pixian bean paste must be finely chopped, the finer, the better.

When making garlic water, it must be filtered until there are no garlic residues.

Cumin and sesame seeds must be thoroughly washed clean.

When frying cumin and sesame, they must be done on low heat, preferably a gentle flame.

Lemongrass soaking temperature should be controlled at 80°C±5°C, and time should not be too short.

Crushed roasted peanuts can be fried in blended oil in advance; when stir-frying the barbecue sauce, it must be stirred continuously.

This treatment not only makes the sauce texture more delicate but also reduces the inconvenience of applying it during the grilling process.

The rich flavor of ingredients wrapped in sauce grilled to aroma will taste even better.

Having figured out the specific improvements for the sauce.

Fu Yu began to make adjustments.

The tools in the grilling area were not complete, so Fu Yu went directly to the Red Case District.

Zhao Meng and Sun Qingning were busy at the kitchen counter, one stir-frying and the other plating.

Seeing Fu Yu coming over, Zhao Meng was quite surprised.

"Are all the orders completed?"

Fu Yu approached, "No, I need to use the pot."

Zhao Meng knew that the order Fu Yu took was very important, so he immediately surrendered his kitchen counter without saying anything, "Go ahead and use this."

Fu Yu didn’t stand on ceremony.

He turned and instructed the kitchen assistants to help prep the ingredients and started processing the cumin and sesame seeds himself.

He washed and drained high-quality peeled cumin and sesame seeds, setting them aside for use.

He heated up the clean pot, added cumin and white sesame seeds, and stir-fried over low heat until aromatic, then crushed them by hand.

In another pot, he heated up blended oil and immediately added chili powder, cooked beef tallow, and chicken fat, simmering on low heat until the oil slightly bubbled.

He added red fermented bean curd soup, chili sauce, rock sugar, and Pixian red oil bean paste, cooking on low heat until it slightly boiled.

Add cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorn, star anise, galangal, and lemongrass to a pot with water, bring to a boil over medium heat.

Add yellow bean paste, aged vinegar, soy sauce, sesame paste, garlic water, ginger juice, and crushed peanuts, then bring to a boil over medium heat.

Add the pre-fried cumin and sesame seeds, bring to a boil over medium heat, then simmer on low heat.

Finally, add sesame oil, bring to a boil over medium heat.

In the kitchen, several stoves were fired up simultaneously, frying, stir-frying, simmering, and deep-frying, with various fragrances wafting around.

Yet amidst these rich culinary scents, an extraordinarily unique aroma stood out.

It wasn’t very strong, but it surpassed the other scents, standing out uniquely, making it hard to ignore.

Zhao Meng leaned in closer, taking a whiff of the aroma.

"What kind of sauce is this you’re making? It smells really nice!"

Fu Yu turned off the stove and poured the sauce into a bowl, "This is my improved classic sauce. I’ll let you taste it once the grilling is done."

Zhao Meng was taken aback.

Improved classic sauce?

This guy!

Since when has he been researching sauce improvements?

But it truly does smell quite good!

The previous seafood had been used almost completely, and Zhang Jinyu had gone to prepare more supplies but hadn’t returned yet.

Fu Yu simply picked up the leftover squid to grill.

The squid had already been pre-marinated and placed in the fridge overnight.

He cut the marinated squid into spread-open pieces and skewered them, keeping in mind the balance for easy turning while grilling.

The appearance was pleasing to the eye, enhancing the appetite.

He placed the skewered squid on the grill to cook.

When it was nine-tenths cooked, he cut several slits along the sides.

Just as Fu Yu started applying the sauce, Zhang Jinyu returned with the prepared ingredients.

"Wow! What’s that smell? It’s really fragrant!"

It wasn’t that rich salty aroma; it smelled very light, combined with the fresh aroma unique to grilled squid, utterly delightful.

Just after Fu Yu finished brushing the sauce, he smiled and said, "Isn’t it fragrant? It’s my newly mixed sauce; it will be perfect to test the flavor once it’s grilled."

If it was earlier, Zhang Jinyu would definitely have been eagerly waiting to taste it.

But now...

Zhang Jinyu couldn’t help but advise, "Chef Fu, maybe you shouldn’t taste it; Chef Yao was just urging us to grill it quickly for delivery!"

Fu Yu waved his hand, "No rush, squid grills quickly."

But even quickly, doesn’t it still take time?

Zhang Jinyu was filled with hesitation, but when Fu Yu cut a piece of the grilled squid and handed it over, he still opened his mouth in cooperation.

Despite inwardly despising his own lack of resolve, he chewed on the squid contentedly.

The sauce was rich and flavorful, salty and savory with a hint of sweetness.

The squid flesh was tender and palatable.

The aroma of the sauce mixed with the distinctive fresh fragrance of the squid, the taste was very special, nothing like the grilled squid he’d tried before, where the savory-spicy flavor of the sauce completely masked the squid’s own taste.

Finishing a skewer of squid, it just felt delicious, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what kind of flavor it was.

But the grilled squid he was eating now, with just one bite, made him smack his lips, feeling the squid was really fresh, blended with the sauce grilling, offering a unique flavor.

Delicious, the squid was delicious, it was top-quality wild squid, not the farmed kind, offering a better texture.

This time, before Fu Yu even asked, Zhang Jinyu voluntarily said, "Chef Fu, this grilled squid is so good, really surprising. The sauce is rich, yet you can still taste the squid’s own flavor."

Fu Yu himself cut another piece to taste.

This was the taste!

He had always thought something was missing before, but now it finally met his expectations.

The rest of the squid, Fu Yu cut up and sent directly to the Red Case District, letting Zhao Meng and Sun Qingning have a taste.

The response was very positive.

Fu Yu was completely at ease.

"Oh no! Chef Fu, the livestream has already started the review, and we haven’t even grilled yet, what do we do?"

Zhang Jinyu, staring at the phone, anxiously asked.

Fu Yu didn’t speak; he silently chose to return to the starting point.

The next second, the scene before his eyes didn’t change, but Zhang Jinyu, who was standing in front of him with an anxious expression, was no longer there.

In front of him was a new grill set up.

Time had rewound, everything began again.