Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 696 - 357: Do I Really Have a Talent for Being a Master?

Since we’re going to practice Crab Yellow Sauce, naturally we have to use Cao Guixiang’s most skilled thickening technique.

Zang Liang secretly gave this thickening technique a name, called "Big Circle Thickening," meaning that the technique is very flamboyant, requiring a big circle motion to thicken.

Qin Huai understood Zang Liang’s intention and kindly expressed to him that the name was good but let’s not use it again. Let’s just forget about "Big Circle Thickening."

At this point, someone might ask, hasn’t Qin Huai been stir-frying yam at Cao Guixiang’s house for many days? Did he practice Cao Guixiang’s unique thickening method?

Yes, he did.

These days, it seemed like Qin Huai was stir-frying yam and brushing up on his knife skills and fire control skill level. Of course, he was indeed doing those things, but essentially, he was still learning and practicing thickening.

Thickening is not knife skills or fire control; this basic skill of thickening is a technique.

Cao Guixiang had said at the very beginning that although Qin Huai had never learned thickening, he learned by imitation. Following Cao Guixiang’s style, he actually managed to learn a bit.

Initially, he might have only scored 2~3 points, pretty much just mimicking. Under Cao Guixiang’s guidance, similar to how she taught Qin Huai to hold a knife, she taught him the basic techniques of thickening, breaking it down step by step, explaining the purpose and desired outcomes, when to thicken, for which dishes and ingredients, and the appropriate thickening method. By then, Qin Huai had learned up to 5 points. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Is 5 points enough?

It’s enough to teach Zang Liang.

Qin Huai didn’t really intend to be Zang Liang’s master, but he just wanted to pass on Cao Guixiang’s thickening skills and techniques to Zang Liang. Even if Qin Huai wasn’t proficient, he could still teach because Cao Guixiang had told him that if he taught something wrong, he could seek video assistance on the spot.

Qin Huai began his teaching.

Starting directly with cooking Crab Yellow Sauce.

In these days when Qin Huai wasn’t around, Zang Liang practiced cooking Crab Yellow Sauce like crazy every day. As the direct disciple of Huaiyang cuisine master Zang Mu, at this stage, the most devoted follower of the feeling faction led by Qin Huai, a red-plate chef who really grasped the essence of what Qin Huai meant by feeling, Zang Liang’s talent was undeniable.

Definitely far above Tan Wei’an.

As a direct disciple of a master, Zang Liang’s ability to endure hardship was also beyond doubt.

The apprentices at Zhiwei Restaurant were known for their intense work ethic, practicing for more than ten hours a day without rest. But in the culinary world, it wasn’t just the apprentices at Zhiwei Restaurant who worked hard; any disciple of a master, be it direct or registered, worked tirelessly.

Especially during the initial stages of learning the craft, Zang Liang, when first learning to cook, would cry and scream about wanting to go back to school, showcasing the degree of hardship endured.

Zang Liang had also lived through tough times; even at a few years old or in his teens, he practiced chopping vegetables and flipping pans until he cried, practicing through tears. He’d have nightmares at night about practicing basic skills, waking up scared, only to find that the nightmare was reality, as he really had to practice basic skills after waking.

When a hardship-enduring person like Zang Liang wanted to find the feel of Crab Yellow Sauce, he genuinely practiced diligently.

Because Qin Huai wasn’t around the past few days, the apprentices at Zhiwei Restaurant couldn’t hand-pull noodles to the standard of Qin Huai, making it unsuitable to sell Crab Yellow Noodles, so Yunzhong Restaurant switched to selling Crab Yellow Sauce directly.

Compared to Crab Yellow Noodles, Crab Yellow Sauce was more cost-effective. Huang Xi believed that Crab Yellow Sauce was a limited-time product produced in large quantities during Zheng Siyuan and Zang Liang’s research on Double Crab Bun, not meant for long-term sale, thus inevitably becoming a rarity, so the pricing was set just at cost without a profit motive.

Once Crab Yellow Sauce was launched, it was snatched up by new and old diners alike. Although Yunzhong Restaurant’s snacks were renowned before, there really wasn’t anything worth gifting—there wasn’t even enough for personal consumption.

Let alone the short shelf life of the snacks, if you didn’t eat the ones bought that day by the next day, the taste would be much worse, so hardly anyone bought Yunzhong Restaurant’s snacks as gifts.

Once, Chen Huihong’s brother, Chen Yingjun, ordered a batch of dumpling gift boxes from Qin Huai, but that happened only once, and many customers didn’t even know such gift boxes ever existed. As Yunzhong Restaurant’s business prospered, Chen Yingjun never brought up similar matters again, knowing well that with Qin Huai’s current reputation and popularity, it would be hard to ask him to make snack gift boxes again.

Unless he had his sister, Chen Huihong, request it, but he’d rather use that favor for something more essential, like getting some good food.

For most customers, the emergence of Crab Yellow Sauce signified Yunzhong Restaurant was finally launching peripheral products.

Yes, customers treated Crab Yellow Sauce as a peripheral product, and their buying enthusiasm skyrocketed.

You buy two jars, I buy three—one for the parents, one for the partner, one for the boss. The culinary skills of Zang Liang were well acknowledged, and Huang Xi’s pricing didn’t hurt the wallet, making it hard not to be popular.

Crab Yellow Sauce could be said to be the most cost-effective product in Yunzhong Restaurant apart from Qin Congwen’s buns.

Qin Huai asked Zang Liang to start by cooking Crab Yellow Sauce.

Zang Liang did as instructed.

His movements were very skilled.

Qin Huai could tell that Zang Liang had already grasped a bit of the feel for Crab Yellow Sauce, or more accurately, for the Double Crab Bun.

Finding this feel was rather quick, considering Zang Liang wasn’t a professional pastry chef. Qin Huai thought Zang Liang would need more time to find the feeling.

Watching Zang Liang cook Crab Yellow Sauce, Qin Huai asked, "Did Zheng Siyuan make Double Crab Bun?"