Gourmet: The Master Chef Just Wants to Leisurely Set Up a Stall - Chapter 58

Before dawn, Zhao Xiaojing turned off her alarm after just two rings and checked her phone.

As expected, the group had grown rapidly overnight.

Before going to bed, she had noticed parents posting photos of the fried skewers on their Moments, so this result didn’t surprise her.

Zhao Xiaojing closed the relay orders at four o’clock in the morning, which was also the time she woke up each day.

Today’s special was chicken cartilage skewers, and by the time the relay closed, a total of 62 people had placed orders, amounting to a whopping 150 pounds of skewers.

Even though she had witnessed the parents’ strong purchasing power before, seeing today’s numbers still left Zhao Xiaojing a bit stunned.

However, after a night of reflection, her excitement had calmed down. While the order volume was growing steadily, she knew that if this continued unchecked, she would need to impose purchase limits.

Although she could hire part-time help for laborious tasks like cleaning squid, the core frying process was something she had to do herself. If the orders increased too much, it would become impossible for her to keep up.

Sure, the profits were all hers, but there was only so much she could manage alone.

After getting out of bed, she headed straight to the poultry wholesale market. The shop owner, seeing the large quantity she needed, gave her another discount, making Zhao Xiaojing feel like the world was full of sunshine once more.

Her morale soared as she prepared food in the morning; by nine o’clock, she had everything prepped. She made two cups of strong tea—one for Chef Sun and one for herself.

At first, Zhao Xiaojing drank tea solely to stay awake and avoid drowsiness. But after drinking with Sun Dehai over time, she got used to the increasingly strong brews and even began to enjoy the bitter taste.

“Morning, Chef Sun! I just brewed some tea for us.”

Seeing Sun Dehai enter, Zhao Xiaojing greeted him cheerfully. Her personal knowledge bank had arrived.

“Morning, Xiao Zhao. You’re always so diligent—you spoil me with all this good stuff.”

“Hehe, not at all! Your lessons are priceless. I’m just doing small things in return.”

Sun Dehai chuckled at her flattery.

“Haha, you sure know how to sweet-talk. Alright then, since you enjoy listening, what would you like to ask today?”

“Well, since you insist… I won’t hold back!” Zhao Xiaojing grinned mischievously and asked about something she’d been curious about. “Chef Sun, yesterday I noticed you changed the ingredients when making braised chicken. Last time, you didn’t use dried tangerine peel, and you swapped white cardamom for black cardamom, right?”

“Oh, that? Xiao Zhao, I owe those changes to you!” Chef Sun smiled warmly.

“Me? How come?”

“I’ve been a chef for years, sticking to the same seasoning combinations for different dishes. But after watching how you season your fried foods, I realized I might have been too rigid in my thinking.”

“My seasoning? What do you mean?” Zhao Xiaojing was confused.

“It’s not that your seasonings were wrong—it’s just that in all my years of cooking, I’d never seen anything quite like it. Each time you fry something, you adjust the seasonings slightly—whether it’s changing the ingredients or the proportions.”

“The adjustments you make are subtle but perfect. They bring out the best flavor from the ingredients you’re frying—and the way they harmonize with the ingredients is astounding.”

Sun Dehai recalled the moment he first observed her methodical adjustments. Even now, he hadn’t fully recovered from the shock it gave him as a seasoned chef.

“That day, I started questioning myself. Have I been cooking on autopilot all these years? When I was learning to cook, they taught us to use certain ingredients—so I’ve always stuck to those without adding any personal interpretation.”

“Recently, I’ve had the idea to experiment—like switching out white cardamom for black cardamom and adding dried tangerine peel. If I want more depth in the aftertaste rather than just focusing on the freshness of the chicken’s flavor, why not try these alternatives?”

Zhao Xiaojing nodded thoughtfully, impressed by his innovation. “Chef Sun, those ideas sound really advanced!”

“When learning from Sister Geng and Sister Hou these past few days, I noticed something similar. We use the same seasonings when making buns and rice cakes, but the final flavors are completely different.” Zhao Xiaojing paused, deep in thought. “Why is that?”

“That comes down to the proportions and dosages of the seasonings, as well as individual cooking habits. All of these factors affect the final flavor.”

Chef Sun took a sip of tea and pondered for a moment before continuing.

“Let me give you an example. When we cook, we always add salt. There’s a saying: ‘Salt enhances all flavors.’ But whether you add a little or a lot makes a difference—too much and it’s salty, too little and it’s bland. That’s dosage.”

“Now, let’s say you want some acidity along with the salt—you’d add vinegar.”

“If you add just a bit of vinegar to a dish already salted properly, the salty flavor becomes more pronounced. But if you add a lot of vinegar, the saltiness diminishes.”

“On the flip side, if you add a pinch of salt to vinegar, the acidity intensifies. But if you add too much salt, the sourness weakens. That’s proportion.”

“Does that make sense?”

Chef Sun didn’t bother quoting culinary theory. He figured practical examples would be easier for Zhao Xiaojing to understand.

And indeed, with the concrete example, Zhao Xiaojing suddenly felt enlightened.

“I get it now! That example was brilliant!”

“I’m glad you understand,” Chef Sun chuckled. “All those technical terms from textbooks? I’ve forgotten most of them myself!”

“As for using black cardamom instead of white, or choosing one ingredient over another—that’s where experience comes in. It’s about familiarity with different spices and seasonings.”

“You need to know what kind of flavor each spice brings out and how much to use to achieve the desired effect. And you also need to understand how different ingredients interact with each other. That’s something you can only learn over time.”

“Ah, so that’s where experience plays a role.”

Zhao Xiaojing nodded eagerly, realizing just how long the road ahead was in her culinary journey.

Seeing how serious she looked in thought, Sun Dehai decided to continue.

“Let me give you another example. Take cinnamon and cassia bark—they both come from the same tree but are used differently.”

“Though their aromas are similar, cinnamon has a sweeter, richer flavor while cassia bark is more bitter and sharp.”

“That’s why cassia is typically used for soups, porridge, or stews—it helps remove any gamey smells and adds fragrance.”

“Cinnamon, on the other hand, is often used in desserts or teas because of its smooth sweetness. Some people use it in meat stews too, but cinnamon alone doesn’t work—you need to add cassia twigs alongside it to fully bring out its aroma and create that delicious flavor in the meat.”

“And as you mentioned earlier—white cardamom versus black cardamom—they also…”

Sun Dehai continued explaining various spices and seasonings while Zhao Xiaojing diligently absorbed everything.

Although some of it went over her head, she mentally noted down every detail.

She remembered that last time Chef Sun had used cinnamon when making braised pork and had indeed added cassia twigs.

Even when preparing skewers, some varieties required a bit of cinnamon powder mixed into the seasoning blend… which also included cassia twigs…

Sister Geng’s tea egg recipe used cinnamon too—but no cassia twigs?

Suddenly, everything clicked for Zhao Xiaojing.