The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World
Chapter 474 - 467: Absolutely Perfect
Luo Rang instructed someone to serve a bowl of clear lamb spine soup.
The broth had been simmered to a milky white, exuding a rich aroma.
Fu Yu’s personal cooking skills were just at a medium level, and he wasn’t very good at making soups.
Primarily, whether at Qianlima or the music restaurant, he was always doing the stir-frying jobs; the only soup he was good at was seafood soup.
That was completely different from lamb soup.
While waiting for the soup to be served, Fu Yu quickly flipped through a classic old flavor recipe book.
To be honest, that middle-aged male customer really knew his stuff!
The recipe’s method for cooking lamb soup was quite similar to what the order-taker had described.
Classic old flavors are all about the authentic taste.
Thinking of it that way, the middle-aged customer’s demands for authentic lamb spine cooking weren’t unreasonable.
However, nowadays, restaurants often focus on the customers’ taste preferences, following popular cooking methods and ingredient flavors to make adjustments.
Just like Qianlima, even though it advertises itself as authentically old-flavored, it still encourages innovation and making more improved dishes.
The classic old flavor recipes described simple simmering methods for lamb soup.
The cooking process was simple, without complicated seasonings.
The lamb soup was already simmered; Fu Yu instructed the junior chefs to prepare the needed ingredients.
Once everything was ready, they started cooking.
The fresh lamb meat and cleaned lamb offal were sliced accordingly.
Fu Yu’s knife skills were impeccable; the lamb meat was evenly cut, as if measured with a ruler.
The lamb offal was almost perfectly sectioned, arranged neatly, creating a visually appealing effect.
The assistant chef looked at the scraps placed carelessly to the side and couldn’t help but marvel.
Wow!
This young chef had remarkable culinary skills.
The lamb offal, despite being oddly shaped, was skillfully trimmed to yield this neat effect once the edges were removed.
Simply astonishing!
Fu Yu placed the sliced lamb meat and offal into the broth to cook together.
Both were quick to cook.
Briefly immersed in boiling water and then poured into a soup bowl, he added the boiling, milky white lamb broth, sprinkled with vibrant green scallions, creating a steaming, aromatic lamb soup.
But that wasn’t all.
Fu Yu also followed the recipe to prepare a dipping sauce.
It contained only chili oil, Sichuan pepper powder, salt, and MSG.
The dipping sauce was served in a multi-compartment dish, with plenty of each seasoning but served separately.
Customers could mix and match according to their taste preferences.
Luo Rang watched Fu Yu finish making the soup and the dipping sauce, frowning in thought!
This method of simmering... he would have never thought of it!
But it was clearly a very simple cooking method.
In fact, most lamb soup restaurants did it this way.
A bowl of milky lamb soup with various lamb offal, a simple, authentic dish with just a few seasonings.
Usually, chefs would season it beforehand so it could be served directly.
However, Fu Yu’s method was more authentic.
Plus, he added a small piece of lamb fat.
This enhanced the broth’s aroma significantly.
Luo Rang’s eyes brightened; indeed, the soup looked quite good, just in time for a try. The middle-aged male customer might actually be pleased.
After all, so-called authentic cuisine usually comes down to the genuine taste.
With the roasted lamb spine already served, adding a bowl of lamb soup gave Luo Rang greater confidence.
It would be best if the customer was satisfied; if not, there was nothing more they could do.
They had done everything possible.
They had given it their best effort.
In the private dining room of the front hall.
The roasted lamb spines were delivered to the table by the servers.
The middle-aged man leaned forward for a glance, raising his eyebrows slightly, and said with a smile to his two companions, "Regardless of anything else, the roasting effect looks quite interesting."
The portion consisted of three skewers, each with three bone pieces filled with lamb meat.
Unlike the previous serving that had a dark color, this lamb was coated with a thick layer of sauce, making it appear appetizing.
This serving was very simple, just oily, pure skeleton, lighter in color, seemingly crispy on the outside and tender inside; it looked appetizing, though the taste remained to be discovered.
Accompanying it were two bowls of dipping sauces.
Upon seeing these, the middle-aged man casually picked up a dish, trying a bit of everything, and with his chopsticks, tasted it meticulously, his eyes lighting up.
"Hey! I must say, this sauce is quite authentic!"
"Especially this original dipping sauce; the chef’s knife skills are remarkable. Just look, it’s definitely not the result of a blender." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
One of the companions showed interest and said, "Is that so? Then I must taste it to see what’s different about this freshly roasted dish."
As he spoke, the middle-aged man had already taken apart a piece of the lamb spine and begun to taste it.
The outside of the lamb spine was golden and oily, cooked to the perfect degree.
The outer lamb layer was crispy and browned, while the meat between the bones was tender and juicy, releasing a strong aroma with each bite, making it quite tasty.
Even without any seasoning, it tasted very nice.
After taking a few bites of the lamb spine, the middle-aged man rotated the bone, drizzling some sauce onto the meaty part with a spoon.
This time, as he took a bite, his mouth was immediately filled with the rich aroma of mashed garlic mixed with a hint of ginger juice, followed by the unique lamb flavor blended with distinctive sesame oil aroma.
The slight oily taste from the earlier plain lamb flavor was instantly washed away.
One bite filled his mouth with lingering fragrance.
The middle-aged man, visibly pleased with the taste, couldn’t resist dipping more sauce.
He was an experienced eater with good teeth, biting into the lamb spine with force to pull the firm lamb off the bone frame, savoring it slowly.
The taste was beyond words!
As he finished, one lamb spine piece was already stripped bare.
He noticed another serving of sauce nearby.
So he fetched another lamb spine, and this time, the taste was a subtle blend of leek flowers with a faint Sichuan pepper oil aroma, gently flavored.
The chef had a way with proportions, balancing the condiments perfectly to complement the rich lamb flavor without being overpowering, allowing the lamb’s natural flavor to shine.
They complemented each other perfectly.
The middle-aged man found himself enjoying it immensely.
His earlier dissatisfaction from not tasting the desired flavors disappeared completely.
As he ate, he praised the dish to his two companions, "Not bad, this roasted lamb spine is authentic! The chef’s skills are excellent!"
The two companions also found the dish agreeable. However, the freshly roasted lamb spine, compared to the marinated version, was fragrant but required more effort to consume.
One of them laughed and said, "Delicious, indeed, but a bit tough on the teeth..."
Just as they spoke, a server came to the door, "Hello, the lamb soup is here!"
The middle-aged man was taken aback, "Lamb soup? We didn’t order that!"
The server grinned warmly, "Oh, this is a complimentary gift from our chef for you...