I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 403: Chapter 356: That’s Not Fish in the Pond, That’s Money (Part 2)

’Could this be in preparation for *that* dish?’

’Good, good. Very good.’

Li You’s eyes lit up. He was quite excited and full of anticipation.

He opened the Spatial Fish Pond. 5,000 grass carp were densely packed in a corner of the pond, a very pleasing sight.

After watching them for a while, Li You closed the Spatial Fish Pond and opened the lottery interface.

This time, in addition to the 5,000 grass carp, the reward included a lottery chance.

’I’ll use it now.’

It wasn’t easy to get another lottery chance, and Li You had no intention of saving it.

There were the familiar four sections: ”Recipes,” ”Ingredients,” ”Cookware,” and ”Other.”

The wheel spun rapidly before coming to a stop, the pointer landing on the ”Recipes” section.

’A recipe?’

’Could it be *that* dish? Is it coming this soon?’

Li You’s anticipation grew even stronger!

Amidst a flurry of colorful ribbons, a gift box slowly opened.

”Recipe: Wensi Tofu!”

’Huh? It’s not that dish.’ Li You had thought it would be.

But it wasn’t.

However, Wensi Tofu was a pleasant surprise all the same.

It was a very distinctive dish.

The finished tofu wasn’t in blocks or strips, but in threads.

Each thread of tofu was as fine as a strand of hair.

This was a dish that demanded extremely high-level knife skills.

The tofu had to be cut entirely into fine threads.

So fine they could be threaded through a needle.

This level of knife skill was daunting enough to make many chefs shrink back in fear.

But for some reason, Li You was thrilled.

Because his masterful, god-tier knife skills finally had a chance to shine.

None of the previous dishes had required such high-level knife skills. Shredded potatoes were the closest, but even they only required a little.

And it was just a little. Anyone with decent knife skills could cut potatoes into good shreds.

Li You’s own skills had never been fully utilized.

Now, they finally could be.

’This dish is amazing, absolutely fantastic.’

This dish belongs to Huaiyang Cuisine and is one of its most famous traditional dishes.

It was created by Monk Wensi, a monk from Yangzhou during the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty.

The Qing Dynasty scholar Yu Yue recorded in his *Cha Xiang Shi Cong Chao*: ”Wensi, courtesy name Xifu, was a skilled poet who also excelled at making tofu soup and sweet congee. Those who emulated his technique called their creation Wensi Tofu.”

Monk Wensi was skilled at creating dishes with tofu. One of his signature dishes involved slicing tofu into fine threads and simmering it with ingredients like daylily buds, shredded bamboo shoots, and shredded shiitake mushrooms.

It was not only delicious but also visually stunning, earning praise from countless people.

Legend has it that when the Qianlong Emperor was touring Jiangnan, he happened to pass through Yangzhou and taste this dish. He was so impressed that he not only added it to the imperial menu but also bestowed upon it the name ”Wensi Tofu.”

And so, the dish has been passed down to this day.

Its texture is soft, tender, and light, with a mellow flavor. The fine tofu threads melt in your mouth, leaving an unforgettable aftertaste.

Furthermore, since it is prepared with a variety of ingredients like shiitake mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, ham, chicken breast, and lettuce, it is also highly nutritious.

During preparation, all these ingredients—the shiitake mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, ham, chicken breast, and lettuce—must also be shredded finely enough to pass through the eye of a needle.

Huaiyang Cuisine is one of China’s Four Great Traditional Cuisines, originating in the cities of Yangzhou and Huai’an.

The ”Huai” refers to the cuisine of the Huai River Basin, centered around Huai’an.

The ”Yang” refers to the cuisine of the Yangtze River Basin, centered around Yangzhou.

Huaiyang Cuisine is known for its rigorous selection of ingredients and emphasis on knife skills. Its dishes are exquisitely shaped and elegant in style.

Its flavors aim to highlight the natural taste of the ingredients—light, fresh, and mellow. It is the cuisine with the most dishes selected for national state banquets.

Lion’s Head Meatballs, Braised Shredded Dried Tofu, Wensi Tofu, Three-Layer Duck, Sautéed Eel, Crystal Pork Aspic, Sweet and Sour Mandarin Fish, and Liangxi Crispy Eel are all some of its most representative dishes.

Wensi Tofu was the first Huaiyang Cuisine recipe Li You had obtained.

’This is great. When should I introduce it?’

To make this dish, he would need to get shiitake mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, ham, chicken breast, and lettuce.

Some of these ingredients were easy to find, but others might take a bit of effort.

Pondering this, Li You slowly walked back to the front of his restaurant.

’I’ll rest for a bit first.’

...

「The time soon reached 11:00 AM.」

The first group of customers arrived. They immediately went to the edge of the fish pond to take a look inside.

The owner had told them yesterday that they would be able to see fish in the pond when they came for lunch today.

They were quite excited about it.

The moment they looked into the pond, they nearly cried out in astonishment.

They saw two enormous, blood-red, and stunningly beautiful fish.

The fish’s heads were tilted upward, and their forms were vaguely reminiscent of the dragons of legend.

They swam slowly through the water, looking like kings who had just arrived.

’What kind of fish are these? They’re so beautiful and majestic!’

The customers were all buzzing with excitement!

None of them had ever seen this kind of fish before, but they knew these two were something special.

They knew the owner would probably get some good-looking, perhaps even valuable, ornamental fish.

But they had never imagined they would see two fish as extraordinary as these.

’Even his ornamental fish are on another level. This owner is just too incredible, isn’t he?’

The customers were once again filled with awe.

So, what on earth were these fish?

The customers were all eager to know.

’Where’s the owner? Let’s get him over here and ask.’

Just as the customers were about to call Li You over, they saw someone walking toward them.

It was Wang Ge Fei, the owner of a fish shop in town. He was also the champion of the last *King of Fighters ’97* tournament.

It was Boss Wang.

Since Boss Wang was in the fish business, he surely knew a lot about fish. It was very likely he would recognize this species.