I Am A Gourmet: Just Eight And You Want Me To Start A Roadside Stall Novel! - Chapter 51
Chapter 51: Longjing Shrimp
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“What?” Zhang Heng’s pupils constricted as he repeated in disbelief, “Are you sure?”
His reaction was within Xu Le’s expectations. “Yes.”
Seeing that he was still in a daze, Xu Le repeated his request. “After the imitation crab is mass-produced, it can be packaged in vacuum and the texture can be preserved for two to three days. This way, it can be sold online.”
Zhang Heng’s eyes dimmed as he stared at the child in front of him. He suddenly felt that he couldn’t treat Xu Le as a normal child. Not only was his culinary skills superb, he was also very smart.
He deliberated for a moment and said, “Giant Crab does not do online sales, but this is a good suggestion. We can discuss it in private.”
Zhang Heng knew very well that brand marketing was very important. Once he was negligent in that, it would definitely cause huge losses.
In the past few years, as the media industry developed, the livestreamer’s ability to advertise and sell goods had improved. Xu Le also had his own considerations when he stated this request.
Zhang Heng could not bear to give up such a good recipe and new business avenue. After hesitating for a moment, he decided on a plan with Xu Le.
While teaching the chefs the recipe and mass-produce the crabs, he would also allow Xu Le to start his live-stream to test the waters.
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow at 10pm.”
Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows. He had thought that Xu Le would agree to take some time off to teach the chefs. But at the thought that he was going to teach them only after his business was closed, he was slightly surprised.
However, the man was already used to chefs with different temperaments. He said habitually, “Alright, then I’ll bring the people over tomorrow night?”
“Yes.”
Xu Le had just opened his store, so of course he had to spend a lot of effort to manage it. When he reached home at night, it was already past midnight. Xu Tian had already gone to bed early.
Looking at his sister sleeping soundly, he muttered in his heart, “She’s still so young, and she’s still growing. I’m not afraid of exhaustion, but I can’t let her run around with me.”
Xu Le wanted to hire a nanny. He had enough money in his bank account to pay off the mortgage and it was more than enough to hire a nanny for his sister. However, it was hard to read a person’s mind. What if the nanny did not treat Xu Tian well?
After one night’s sleep, Xu Le decided to still bring her along first. He braided Xu Tian’s hair in a daze and patted her back. “Go wash up and come over for breakfast later.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Xu Tian answered with her cutish voice. It was indescribable how well-behaved she was.
Xu Le felt that he should eat lighter food in the morning. He casually fried some eggs and bacon. After heating up the milk, he actually found a box of tea leaves at the top of the cupboard.
He opened it and smelled it. It was refreshing and well preserved. One look and he could tell that it was his father’s favorite.
He grabbed it without any hesitation and soaked it in water.
Xu Le entered the system space and spent some points to buy the recipe for “Longjing Shrimp”. Then, he focused on practicing.
A refreshing and delicious cuisine was Xu Tian’s favorite.
The moment Xu Le picked up the knife, he was completely focused. It was as if the entire world was only left with the tender shrimp in front of him. He swiftly removed the shrimp skin and sliced open the back…
“Whoosh”. Xu Tian had already finished washing her face in the bathroom. Within that three mintues, Xu Le had already practised more than 100 times in the system space.
Xu Tian shouted at the top of her voice, “Brother! When are we going to eat?”
“Right away.”
Xu Le replied and took out the live prawns stored in the vacuum box in the fridge. He did the same as he had practised hundreds of times.
He skillfully removed the skin, sliced open the back, and spread the prawns. Then, je placed the prawns on the kitchen towels to absorb the water.
This way, when marinating later, it would be more flavorful.
He poured a suitable amount of salt, chicken powder, salad oil, an egg white, two spoonfuls of raw powder, and some sugar.
Then, he poured the brewed Longjing tea into the cup and placed it aside.
At this moment, Xu Le cracked open an egg with one hand, leaving only a small gap for the egg white to slip into the bowl. Two pieces of egg white plus 100 grams of milk, then he added salt, chicken powder, and water for making the gravy.
He stirred the mixture evenly with his chopsticks before starting the fire. After heating the pot, he didn’t pour the oil, but instead started the smallest fire and poured the mixture of milk and egg white inside.
Using the wooden spatula, he carefully slid it. This way, the pure white “lotus” was produced.
The rich taste of the milk and the bitter fragrance of the tea leaves permeated the kitchen. Xu Tian stuck her head out and said, “Brother?”
“Don’t rush me, it’s ready soon.” Xu Le looked at her with a slightly annoyed gaze. He was amused by Xu Tian’s expectant gaze. “Little gluttony cat!”
“Hmph, it’s all your fault for cooking so well! I’m not a glutton!”
Xu Le couldn’t help but laugh. He scooped out the “lotus” that was cooked on a small fire. Under normal circumstances, the clear soup for the Longjing Shrimp was usually prepared beforehand by stewing with shellfish and lean meat. However, his own kitchen didn’t lack clear soup.
He took out the remaining soup that was left over from a few days ago. He simmered it slowly and gradually boiled it.
Xu Le washed away the starch on the marinated prawn and poured it into the hot pot to stir-fry with the tea leaves. This step was crucial. The peeled prawn was tender and would lose its elasticity once it was heated.
Xu Le gathered his concentration. The moment the prawns were cooked, it was ready to be served.
He added a small amount of salt to the soup that he had just boiled…
The dish of Longjing Prawns was very light, so there was no need for too many complicated seasonings. Only the chef’s control of fire was very important.
The soup was poured into the pot with wolfberries and tea leaves. After it was completely boiled, it was sprinkled with powder to produce the gravy. Then, the prawns were poured into the pot and stir-fried quickly. After four seconds, it was ready.
In less than ten minutes, a fresh and tender dish of Longjing Shrimp was served on the dining table. Xu Tian had long been drooling over it. She licked her lips and put one into her mouth.
The meat was fragrant, sweet, and firm. When she bit down on it, the juices flowed out and it was exceptionally chewy.
Xu Tian clapped excitedly. “Brother, you’re the best! This prawn is really delicious. Try it too!”
As she spoke, she got up to help him with the food.
The two of them were happily eating breakfast when the doorbell suddenly rang. Xu Tian ran to open the door and called out, “Ms. Li.”
When Teacher Li saw the smile on Xu Le’s face, she felt a little embarrassed. After all, this child was already a famous “Internet celebrity”.
She said, “Coincidentally, our houses are very close to each other. I wanted to wait for Xu Tian at the door since I was free, so that we can go together. I saw that she didn’t come even after a long time and was afraid that she had woken up late, so I came to take a look.”
“Thank you, Ms. Li. Let’s have breakfast together.”
“No…”
Ms. Li was about to reject him. After all, she had already eaten breakfast. However, when her gaze fell on the plate of prawns on the table, she recalled Xu Le’s skills and secretly drooled.
She simply sat down and started eating.
She reacted just as Xu Le had expected. As soon as the prawns entered her mouth, she beamed with joy.
“Gosh, what’s in there? It’s so fresh that my eyebrows are going to drop!”
“It’s just an ordinary Longjing shrimp.”
Xu Le was modest on the surface, but in reality, he was striving for perfection in his culinary skills.. There was no other Longjing prawn in this world that was better than this.
