Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 63

He Yuzhu asked, "You want to learn the recipes for cold dishes and braised dishes?"

Xu Huizhen nodded shyly: "Yes, I want to open a braised food shop in the future, and then sell Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor)."

Then he asked, "Can you teach me the recipe?"

"This is not a good idea. You should know that the recipe for this cold dish is a family heirloom, passed down only to sons. You still want to learn it?"

When Xu Huizhen heard the saying that the knowledge could be passed down to sons but not daughters, her cheeks flushed. This meant that the knowledge could be passed down to sons and daughters-in-law, but not even to one's own daughter.

If I want to learn, do I have to become Brother Zhu's wife?

She glanced at He Yuzhu, who was staring at her, and her cheeks turned even redder.

He Yuzhu looks older than his actual age, but he has a kind and honest face.

What's even more remarkable is that he also has exceptional skills, including family-inherited culinary techniques, making him adept at everything from cold dishes and braised dishes to stir-fries.

If I were to date him, I don't think my family would object.

Xu Huizhen said shyly, "I'm still young, my mother won't allow it."

He Yuzhu actually just wanted to refuse Xu Huizhen's request. Although he had his eye on Xu Huizhen, they were both still young and it wasn't the right time for them to be in a relationship.

If I just give her the formula, I'll definitely get yelled at.

Right now, all I have to do is prepare the seasonings for Xu Huizhen every day, and she can just take them directly without needing to know the recipe.

Unless the two of them can clearly establish a relationship and she becomes a daughter-in-law of the He family, only then can he teach her some exclusive recipes.

It's too early to talk about that now, after all, she's still just a young girl.

I never expected Xu Huizhen to say that. Could it be...?

He Yuzhu shook his head, not thinking much about it, and said, "You should practice your knife skills first. Don't worry about the seasonings for now, we can talk about it later."

Xu Huizhen lowered her head, gave a soft "hmm," and then went to get busy.

He Yuzhu brought up the system panel, first upgrading Sichuan cuisine to level 6, and then upgrading cooking skills to level 6 as well, which used up all the accumulated experience points.

He Yuzhu's cooking was already good when he was at level 5 in Sichuan cuisine, but in order to be on the safe side and build his reputation, he upgraded his level again.

You don't need to control the heat when you cook occasionally, but if you want to cook at the stove regularly, you need to increase the heat.

In the evening, Manager Hu came over and announced that Ye Xiangqun would guard one of the stoves, and He Yuzhu would cook with Hong Henian.

Zhang Zusheng's apprentices were all very angry, but they couldn't say much. After all, the kitchen was short-staffed, and Ye Xiangqun and He Yuzhu's skills were obvious to all, making them more than qualified for the job.

Despite being called the second cook, Hong Henian simply stood by with his hands behind his back, letting He Yuzhu cook all the dishes.

He Yuzhu took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and then quickly started working.

It's already very hot in Beijing in June, especially in the kitchens where everything is charcoal-fired; you're drenched in sweat just standing by the stove.

However, He Yuzhu was not affected by the high temperature at all. His cooking movements were smooth, unhurried, and natural.

Every movement is extremely precise; no matter what kind of seasoning it is, it can be scooped out accurately with a large spoon without any unnecessary movements.

The stir-fried dishes were cooked to perfection, just like a seasoned veteran.

Hong Henian tasted each dish and handed it to the waiter only after confirming that everything was correct.

"Zhu Zi, do you know what's most important when cooking?"

"The heat control?" He Yuzhu asked, somewhat incredulously.

"No, it's the taste. So we must taste every dish ourselves to make sure there's nothing wrong with it before we can serve it. Do you understand?"

Seeing how serious Hong Henian was, He Yuzhu nodded in confusion.

With my system skills, I can guarantee that I won't cook any dish wrong, even with my eyes closed, and the taste will never be wrong. I would never put salt in instead of sugar.

Hong Henian could tell from He Yuzhu's expression that he didn't understand what he meant, after all, today was the first day he was cooking.

"Are you stupid? Do you think our daily work meals only have a little bit of meat? Aren't we just looking for vegetables to eat?"

Hong Henian could only directly remind the honest and simple-minded He Yuzhu.

The only meal we can have is a stir-fried meat dish, and it has to be shared by two or three people.

Restaurants and ordinary families have different standards for cooking. When you cook a meat dish at home, you can put in two ounces or half a pound of meat.

But restaurants are different. A serving of stir-fried shredded pork is three ounces of raw meat, a plate of braised pork is four ounces of cooked meat, and a serving of braised pork knuckle is half a pound of cooked meat.

Even for work meals, chefs cannot add too much meat; they must adhere to the standard.

As the saying goes, "A cook who doesn't steal grains won't have a good harvest," and there has never been a cook who starved to death since ancient times.

Why are all the cooks so big and burly?

It's because every chef has to taste the dish. When it's almost done cooking, only by actually tasting it can they confirm how the dish tastes, how well it's cooked, whether the various seasonings are properly combined, and if there are any problems.

When you want to taste something, do you scoop out a piece of meat or a vegetable?

There's no need to even consider this question; anyone would choose to eat a piece of meat.

You can't just pick out the meat and weigh it again before serving it.

Besides, you only need to eat one piece of meat from each dish; no chef would be foolish enough to only eat one dish.

Hearing Hong Henian's words of enlightenment, He Yuzhu finally understood what his master meant.

Regardless of how well one's business is doing, tasting a bite of each dish is a necessary procedure.

This also prevents the dish from being made incorrectly.

If you discover the error beforehand, you can make another one on the spot. You can't just serve it to the customer and have them point out the mistake, and then have to redo it.

"Understood, Master." He Yuzhu smiled and scooped a piece of meat out of the pot with a spoon.

Then, using a skill every chef must have, he sucked the meat slices onto the spoon without letting his lips touch the spoon.

I glanced at him and saw Manager Hu standing at the entrance to the kitchen.

"Master, how do you like my stir-fried pork slices?"

Hong Henian also saw it, and after He Yuzhu served the food, he picked up a small piece with his chopsticks:

"Not bad, the taste is just right, but it's a little undercooked. Pay more attention to the heat next time. Let me tell you how it should be done..."

Hong Henian started teaching mode, and he will cook the next batch of braised pork slices himself.

That's the good thing about being a chef; you can eat openly and honestly without the boss saying anything.

However, this can only be eaten on the spot and cannot be taken away without permission. Like Sha Zhu, who chopped up a chicken in half and put it in his lunchbox before the dishes were even served, this is definitely against the rules.

Every chef ate to their heart's content, which only made them grow bigger and fatter.

He Yuzhu cooked more than 100 dishes in one night. The amount of experience points he gained varied depending on the difficulty of the dishes. Ordinary stir-fries only gave him one point of experience, while stews gave him more, some giving him two points and some three. He gained more than 200 experience points in one night, and more than 300 points including cold dishes.

After finishing work, the three of them rode their two bicycles back to the alley next to Shichahai. He Yuzhu took some rainwater with him, and as he left, Hong Henian said:

"Zhu Zi, the day after tomorrow is an auspicious day. I will invite the patriarch to formally accept you as his disciple."

Chapter 74: Granny Zhang Wants to Seize Qian Datong's House?

"Thank you, Master," He Yuzhu said happily.

Although you have your own system and can level up by adding points, it's still necessary to find a mentor. No one exists in isolation in society; everyone needs help from family and friends.

Having an extra mentor allows you to improve your skills in the kitchen, and it's easier to establish yourself with a mentor's guidance.

At least He Yushui has his master's wife to take care of her, so I feel at ease. If I were to leave her to Aunt Yi, I don't know what kind of person she would be taught.

If it falls into the hands of the old lady, I don't know how much meat I'll have to lose.

Hong Henian said, "Yushui is also well-behaved. It will be easier to take care of Yushui after we recognize her as our godmother the day after tomorrow."

Hong Henian did not expect He Yuzhu to be so talented. Although he had some prior experience, he was still only a 16-year-old child.

She had only been working in the kitchen for less than three months, but her knife skills and her ability to cook cold and braised dishes were already quite good. Especially tonight, she cooked more than 100 different stir-fries and stews, and the taste and cooking time of each dish were impeccable.

Such a good apprentice should be taken in as soon as possible, lest someone else snatch him away.

He Yuzhu thanked her repeatedly and took He Yushui home.

"Rain, do you like your teacher's wife? Can you call her godmother from now on?"

"Yes, my godmother told me to call her 'Mom' from now on."

Since Yu Shui was willing, He Yuzhu didn't say much. Having another godmother would be beneficial to her growth and also to himself, so he was happy to see it happen.

On the second day of work, the kitchen staff kept calling him "Master He," and everyone became much more polite to He Yuzhu.

After all, the most important thing for a chef is to be able to stir-fry and stew dishes; that's the most direct and fundamental thing.

No matter how good the cold dishes taste, it doesn't really matter, since cold dishes aren't valued much these days. Many banquets only serve cold dishes as garnishes, and some don't even have any cold dishes at all.

But He Yuzhu was actually able to cook yesterday, which earned him the approval of the other chefs.

The kitchen is divided into three major cuisines: Beijing and Shandong cuisine led by Zhang Zongsheng, Sichuan cuisine by Hong Henian and his two apprentices, and Huaiyang cuisine by Miao Qishan, who is skilled in cooking with one apprentice.

Not many Huaiyang dishes were ordered, which meant that Miao Qishan didn't have much of a position in the kitchen.

He often has to cook simple stir-fries that others can't keep up with, so he's the kind of person who has to do everything.

He Yuzhu arrived at the kitchen early, made tea for his master, and then made a cup for Miao Qishan as well. He casually asked, "Why didn't Brother Hu come today?"