I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 738 - 329: Pigeon Squab is Truly Delicious! Dad, You Qualify to Take Over a Stall at Our School! [Seeking Monthly Ticket]_3

Chapter 738: Chapter 329: Pigeon Squab is Truly Delicious! Dad, You Qualify to Take Over a Stall at Our School! [Seeking Monthly Ticket]_3

The more high-end the chef, the more they like to pursue the natural taste of the ingredients, striving for a light and fresh flavor.

That was the case with Xie Baomin.

But now, for the sake of his children, he had begun to make the heavy-tasting dishes that he had previously been reluctant to cook.

These spicy, fragrant, and rich-in-fat dishes were all characteristic of rustic, hearty cuisine—generous with ingredients and unconstrained in technique, every detail exuding a bold robustness.

"Wait till Yu Fei and Yu Hang try it, and they’ll definitely change their opinion of you," Lin Xu offered a word of comfort to his senior brother. As a chef who had switched careers midway, he didn’t have any particular taste prejudices.

As long as someone enjoyed eating it, then it was good food.

Otherwise, no matter what was said, dishes that were meant to be lost would still be lost.

Speaking of which, he himself still had mastery over a lost recipe for Silver Shrimp Soup.

Last night, after Lin Xu returned and finished his nightly routine, he lay in bed playing with his phone. He searched for Silver Shrimp Soup and discovered it was a rather famous ancient soup.

It appeared in many poems and vernacular novels.

The so-called Fish, as he now understood it, originally referred to preserved fish. However, it later came to encompass all kinds of pickled ingredients. Before the Song Dynasty, this Fish was actually a high-end dish. Even during the Song Dynasty, the word for Fish could be found in poems by the likes of Lu You, with many verses lavishing praise upon it. It wasn’t until the Ming Dynasty that Fish became a common dish in ordinary people’s homes.

Originally, he thought this Fish referred to what is now known as salted fish. But after accessing the system’s experience, he realized that this item was actually made by wrapping a fish in glutinous rice and allowing it to ferment. It was somewhat like stinky Gu fish, but different. Stinky Gu fish smells bad, but this Fish is delicious. Moreover, after being cured, the Fish flesh becomes firm and dense. After removing the Fish skin and bones and slicing the flesh into thin shreds, it was cooked with stock to complete the Silver Shrimp Soup. In the past, soup made from this Fish had always played the role of a hangover cure because of its exceptional deliciousness. He decided that when he got the right kind of fish, he would wrap it in glutinous rice and try making some Fish to see if this fermented fish really tasted better than fresh fish.

As he was thinking, Old Master Zhou and Auntie Liang came into the shop.

"Xiao Lin, is it appropriate for us to come and eat like this?" Auntie Liang had always strictly adhered to the role of a customer, and now she felt somewhat embarrassed to suddenly eat the staff meal.

Lin Xu said with a smile, "Whenever you feel like eating, just come by. And in the morning, if you ever don’t feel like preparing breakfast, just come by during your walk and eat here. Old Master Yu next door has gotten addicted to the breakfasts now."

"If you say that, your Uncle Zhou and I really should come and try it tomorrow morning."

When the children weren’t at home, they were too lazy to cook in the morning, usually getting breakfast on the way during their morning walk. Now that Lin Ji’s Food also offered breakfast, they might as well eat there. They would pay whatever it cost, not wanting to shortchange Xiao Lin, and they could also get a proper breakfast.

Auntie Liang planned to try it out the next morning.

In the kitchen, the pigeon meat had been simmering for fifteen minutes. The stock in the pot, which had initially been level with the meat, had vanished, leaving just a little broth at the bottom.

Xie Baomin poured the cut sections of green and red peppers into the pot. He turned up the heat to stir-fry them, allowing the peppers to disperse and the broth at the bottom to become even richer.

He sprinkled two small spoonfuls of salt into the pot, then added a bit of flavor-enhancing oyster sauce.

Next, he picked out the star anise and bay leaves that had been added when browning the meat chunks.

Waiting for the broth in the pot to reduce a bit more, he then drizzled in a little sesame oil to fully bring out the pigeon’s aroma before dishing it out.

On the nearby workbench, several dry pots lined with shredded onions were already in place.

Since it was a rustic, hearty style of cooking, it was served directly in the dry pot, which also looked more impressive.

All the pigeon was served in the dry pots, and dinner began.

Tonight’s meal was relatively lavish. There was pigeon steamed in a pot, stir-fried pigeon prepared by his senior brother, and Wei Qian’s stir-fried cabbage with vermicelli and salt-fried pork.

After the dishes were brought to the table, Lin Xu carried over the small steam pot specially prepared for Auntie Liang. "Auntie, this is for you. It has some Ephedra in it, which is good for inducing sweat and alleviating surface syndromes. Please give it a try."

"Oh, thank you so much, Xiao Lin! Old Zhou, don’t forget to pay downstairs on our way out, alright? It’s already great that we get to taste Xiao Lin’s cooking; we can’t just eat and drink for free."

Old Master Zhou, holding a wine cup filled by Xie Baomin, said, "I know, I know, I’ve got it in mind. Come on, Professor Cui, even though we’re not from the same school, everyone at Beijing University knows of your reputation. We were even thinking of convincing Beijing University to compete for Lele—such a talent—but since she’s with you, I didn’t mention it to the university."

These top-ranked domestic universities all had genius classes similar to ’Smart’ and ’Yao’ classes.

But in terms of achievements, Tsinghua University still led, with richer experience and a more established system.

Old Master Zhou believed that with Lele joining the Smart Class under Cui Qingyuan, the girl’s talent wouldn’t be wasted.

Cui Qingyuan replied with a smile, "Director Zhou, you’re too kind. We didn’t have a good chance to chat during Lele’s school admission celebration dinner last time. Today, we must have a few more drinks."

For others, festivals meant reunion and relaxation, a time to play and unwind. But Cui Qingyuan was alone in Beijing. If it weren’t for Lin Ji’s Food, he would probably spend the entire week hunched over his computer, tinkering with artificial intelligence projects. Then, on the first day of the new term, he would come down hard on the students who had relaxed all week.

Now, feasting on meat and drinking with a few congenial people, casually chatting about everyday matters, this giant in the field of artificial intelligence was experiencing the joys of an ordinary person’s life.

"Wow, this soup is really fresh and delicious!"

"It’s so tasty! I feel like I could drink three big bowls in one go."

"When it comes to soup, the steam pot method is the best! This broth is just incredibly delicious."

"Xubao, are we going to add this soup to the menu at our restaurant?"

"Yes, we’ll arrange it immediately! Sister Jing, did you place the order for that dedicated steam cabinet for the steam pots I sent you this morning? Have them deliver and install it as soon as possible. We’ll start serving this pot-steamed pigeon as soon as it’s installed!"

While they were discussing this, Xie Baomin watched his two sons devouring the stir-fried pigeon, their mouths glistening with oil. With a hopeful expression, he asked, "Well, sons, Dad’s cooking is pretty good, right?"

The savory, spicy, and fragrant pigeon meat made Xie Yufei very happy. Spitting out a bone, he said, "Delicious, so delicious! Dad, your cooking skills are exceptional! I thought you only excelled at those light dishes; I didn’t expect you to be so good at spicy ones too."

Xie Yuhang simply gave a thumbs-up. "It’s amazing! I could eat this for a whole year and not get tired of it."

Upon hearing this, Xie Baomin momentarily forgot about his drink and eagerly asked, "So, how does it compare to the chefs at your school?"

"It’s just a tiny bit worse than Window No. 7. Dad, you’re qualified to contract a stall in our school cafeteria!"

Xie Baomin was left speechless.