I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 662 - 305: A Supreme Delicacy Made of Stone - Stone Cooked Chrysanthemum! [Subscribe Please]

Chapter 662: Chapter 305: A Supreme Delicacy Made of Stone - Stone Cooked Chrysanthemum! [Subscribe Please]

"Cooking with pebbles? Could they explode?"

In the kitchen, Zhuang Yizhou and others gathered around the stones, occasionally fiddling with them, their eyes filled with curiosity.

It wasn’t that no one had seen food cooked with stones before. The stone-cooked bread common in many Northern regions was made by baking dough on heated pebbles.

There were also sugar-roasted chestnuts, which were cooked by baking them amidst hot pebbles.

Additionally, dishes like stone pot rice and stone-slab grilled meat were also closely related to stones.

But in all these cases, the stones were used as tools or containers, not directly as an ingredient to cook a dish.

Yet, when Head Chef Xie had come earlier, he explicitly said these pebbles would be heated and used for cooking.

What if these heated pebbles shattered?

During the summer heat, you often hear about rocks in some places cracking from the sun. So, if you heat these pebbles directly, wouldn’t the chances of them shattering be even higher?

Lin Xu also found it rather surprising.

Logically, as the head chef of Fishing Platform, my senior brother wouldn’t stoop to such gimmicks. What’s gotten into him today?

Just moments ago, Xie Baomin had come over with a bag of pebbles. He mentioned they were for cooking lunch and then left in a hurry, instantly piquing everyone’s curiosity.

"Boss, where did Head Chef Xie go?"

"He went to his child’s boarding school to deliver some clothes. As for how these stones will specifically be used, we’ll find out when he arrives at noon. Che Zai, wash the stones later. We’ll discuss the cooking once my senior brother gets here."

They were serving fried noodles today, so it was going to be busy.

Since last night, the company had been rolling out a widespread promotional campaign.

After all, they needed to sell one thousand portions in three days. Furthermore, at least three hundred customers had to choose fried noodles for two consecutive meals. This requirement made Lin Xu pay extra attention to the lunchtime preparation for the fried noodles.

The pastry department had even cleared a workstation specifically for making hand-pulled noodles, where Niu Chuan and two other chefs were continuously rolling out dough.

Meanwhile, in the stir-frying area, several burners had been specially set aside for the fried noodles.

This time, for the fried noodles, Lin Xu planned to challenge himself by managing four burners single-handedly.

Yes, previously, when making hand-pulled noodles, he could prepare dough for over a dozen bowls at a time. After rolling them out, he would cook them directly. The high sales when the restaurant first opened were due to the advantage of batch production.

This time, with the fried noodles, to avoid the system flagging it as cheating, I plan to make them all myself and push my physical limits.

I’ve been sidetracked with various things lately, not focusing on my main work. It’s time to re-experience that feeling from when the restaurant first opened, when I was so busy I barely had a moment’s rest.

To save time on making the fried noodles, Lin Xu had the kitchen assistants start preparing the sliced meat and side vegetables for them.

The plan was to stir-fry the ingredients and prepare the sauce first.

This way, when it was time to actually make the fried noodles, he could focus solely on pan-frying the noodles themselves.

This would save the time usually spent on stir-frying the aromatics, cooking the other ingredients, and preparing the sauce—effectively cutting the total preparation time by about half.

And during the actual cooking process, Lin Xu could also manage his time efficiently.

For instance, once the noodles were pan-fried and the sauce and other ingredients were added, he could hand them over to the kitchen assistants to manage. Whether it was simmering or plating, Lin Xu wouldn’t need to be involved further.

Using this method, Lin Xu felt that managing four burners would be perfectly fine.

Actually, for a dish like freshly stir-fried noodles, the main difficulties lay in controlling the heat when pan-frying the noodles and judging the right amount of sauce to add. If these two points were handled well, the noodles wouldn’t turn out badly.

Lin Xu would handle the key steps, leaving the rest to the kitchen assistants. This would not only increase the output of fried noodles but also maximize the utilization of kitchen manpower.

As he was making arrangements, Wei Qian came over.

"Can you handle it all by yourself? Don’t overwork yourself, or the boss lady will be upset."

Lin Xu replied with a smile, "It’s fine. I haven’t been very busy since before the Mid-Autumn Festival. It’s time to get moving, so I don’t get rusty."

"Will you be able to manage during peak hours?"

"I should be able to. One wok can make four or five servings of fried noodles. With four burners going at full tilt, I estimate I can keep up with customer demand."

Seeing Lin Xu wasn’t joking, Wei Qian told the kitchen assistants, "The boss is planning to go all out today! Everyone, be sharp and learn well by watching him."

In the past, in restaurant kitchens, only apprentices had the privilege of assisting the chefs closely. Kitchen assistants couldn’t even dream of getting near.

Some large restaurants still follow this rule today.

However, Lin Ji wasn’t so rigid or dogmatic. As long as you were eager to work hard and improve, the chefs in the kitchen, including Lin Xu himself, would enthusiastically explain the essentials and techniques of cooking, holding nothing back.

Once all the ingredients were ready, Lin Xu set up a large wok and began to stir-fry the sliced meat, preparing the side vegetables and sauce needed for the fried noodles ahead of time.

While he was busy, Wei Qian and Zhu Yong also started making the hot and sour soup, which would accompany the fried noodles, in a large stockpot.

Based on feedback from the previous night’s customers, eating fried noodles without any soup felt a bit dry and could get a little rich towards the end.

Therefore, a bowl of hot and sour soup was needed to cut through the richness and stimulate the appetite.

Because the hot and sour soup contained vinegar and pepper, it not only cut through richness but also acted as an appetizer, making it the perfect accompaniment for dishes like fried noodles and fried pancakes.

By ten-thirty in the morning, Lin Xu had already prepared the ingredients and sauce for two hundred servings of fried noodles.

He had originally planned for only one hundred servings, but after seeing the online comments and activity, he felt that one hundred might not be enough.

The customers’ enthusiasm was simply overwhelming.

Some had called in sick, others had lied about meeting clients, and some had even dragged their company leaders along for the ride.