The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Once the chosen winter bamboo shoots were brought back.

Fu Yu glanced over them one by one and nodded in satisfaction.

Actually, if he had chosen the ingredients himself, it wouldn’t have been so troublesome.

He only needed to touch them with his hand to immediately judge the freshness and quality of the ingredients.

For ”Kou San Si,” not only are the ingredients selected with strictness, but the knife work is also essential, requiring precision and an aesthetically pleasing cut.

In addition to winter bamboo shoots, a small amount of pork is needed, particularly from the hip area.

Chicken breast meat, dried shiitake mushrooms, and ham.

The ham chosen by Qianlima is Jinhua ham, with a yellow-red skin color, rich fragrance, and excellent color, aroma, taste, and shape.

Fu Yu began cooking.

Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in warm water for 20 minutes until fully soaked, then cut off the stems.

Clean the pork, cook it, and trim off the fat.

Cut the lean and fat pork separately into thin strips, each 4.9 cm long.

Clean and cook the chicken breast meat.

Cut the cooked ham, chicken breast meat, and winter bamboo shoots into thin strips of the same length.

When Fu Yu sliced the ingredients, his knife movements were extremely swift.

Sun Qingning watched without blinking and gradually started to understand.

When Fu Yu sliced, his entire forearm remained still, while his left hand firmly gripped the ingredients, slightly bending his left middle finger, allowing the knife blade in his right hand to rest against the bend of his left middle finger, moving both hands backward at the same frequency.

However, because the movements were so fast, to Sun Qingning, it seemed as though Fu Yu’s left hand was completely motionless, as if the ingredients themselves grew legs and moved toward the knife blade.

The way these ingredients were sliced was simply incredible!

Fu Yu blanched the bamboo shoots in hot water.

Remove the stems of the soaked shiitake mushrooms, clean them, and place them with the cap facing down in the middle of a bowl.

Arrange the ham strips in three neat rows along the three corners of the bowl’s edge.

In the remaining three empty spaces on the bowl’s edge, place the chicken strips and bamboo shoots respectively.

Then loosen the lean meat strips and place them in the center of the bowl, pressing them down, and add the fat strips on top.

The cooking process proceeded methodically.

At this point, Fu Yu wasn’t in a hurry to add the meat broth.

Instead, he took some eggs, separating the yolks from the whites, and fried them into thin egg pancakes.

Then cut them into thin strips, 6 cm long.

The innovative dish that Fu Yu created was actually learned from a special family banquet recipe.

Without adding eggs, it was called ”Kou San Si.”

However, with the addition of eggs, it was called ”Gold and Silver Kou San Si.”

With just two more words, the presentation of the dish became even more beautiful.

Fu Yu decided to showcase this skill now because he heard that Zhao Meng suggested to the boss to promote innovative dishes.

If it was accepted, a bonus would be awarded by the shop.

If this dish could win the boss’s favor, he planned to send some money home during the Mid-Autumn Festival to show his respect to his parents.

Fu Yu’s mind was filled with calculations while his hands moved swiftly and skillfully.

Beside him, Sun Qingning watched in a daze!

Wait, wasn’t he making ”Kou San Si,” why suddenly fry up some egg pancakes?

He had no idea what Fu Yu was intending or the significance of this...

However, as Fu Yu added the egg strips into the bowl as well,

he also added refined salt, MSG, and meat broth.

After all the ingredients were placed correctly, they were steamed for 15 minutes over high heat, then inverted onto a large soup plate.

Seeing the cooking process fall back into place, Sun Qingning suddenly realized he might have misunderstood ”Kou San Si”...

Clearly, the way Fu Yu made ”Kou San Si,” in terms of ingredients, method, and even cooking process, was just like usual.

Except for adding the step of making egg pancakes... which seemed... quite beautiful!

But with this addition, can this dish still be called ”Kou San Si”?

That’s four ingredients now!

At this moment, Fu Yu picked up the bowl, revealing the molded ingredients inside.

Sun Qingning’s eyes suddenly lit up.

How is it, with the simple addition of egg strips, that this dish looks so stunning!

The golden color made the whole dish look even more festive.

And it wasn’t over yet.

Fu Yu sliced additional pork strips.

Placed the wok over high heat, added meat broth, and stirred in the raw pork strips, bringing them to a boil.

Once the pork strips floated to the surface of the broth, he scooped them out with a slotted spoon, reserving the meat strips for another use.

He skimmed the foam from the meat broth, added refined salt, MSG, and drizzled in cooked lard, pouring it over the three threads, and it was ready.

After blanching some pea shoots in water, Fu Yu sprinkled these green pea shoots around the dish for garnish, making the dish look neat and beautiful.

Moreover, the knife work was extremely meticulous, the broth was clear, and the color was very pleasant.

This time, Sun Qingning could no longer sit still.

He suddenly realized that Fu Yu had indeed innovated a new dish!

How did he come up with this?

This ”Kou San Si” in Bei’an has always been made in the traditional way.

With chicken, ham, and bamboo shoot strips, the old trio combining to form the dish.

How did Fu Yu think of adding eggs?

Just by adding an ingredient, he had managed to elevate the entire dish by several levels!

This gave Sun Qingning a sudden sense of enlightenment!

Previously unexplored ideas seemed to burst forth!

So innovation in dishes could be done this way...

The cooking of this dish didn’t take much time!

However, Sun Qingning stood in a daze for a long time, pondering many thoughts.

When Fu Yu completed the dish, he presented it like a treasure for Zhao Meng to admire.

After Zhao Meng looked at it, he was momentarily stunned, then frowned and said, ”The customer ordered ’Kou San Si,’ why are you doing any innovation?”

Fu Yu smiled and said, ”Just treat it as a trial dish; let the server explain later.”

Though Zhao Meng was amused internally, he still had to report this to Yao Shi.

While taking out his phone, Zhao Meng chastised Fu Yu, ”Don’t make decisions on your own. Next time something like this happens, talk to me first! You caught me completely off guard...”

Fu Yu listened earnestly to the reprimand.

Zhao Meng took a few photos of the ”Gold and Silver Kou San Si” and sent them to Yao Shi, then made a phone call.

They busied themselves with the call.

Meanwhile, Sun Qingning stood in place, replaying everything in his mind for a long time, but failed to snap out of it.

For a long time...

Sun Qingning suddenly remembered from his student days, when the teacher was introducing this ”Kou San Si” dish, he mentioned.

This dish is renowned for all you can eat.

Then he recalled a poem:

The slices like three threads enticing the heart, And there’s phoenix soup filled with golden spoon.

In the cold years I miss in my heart, That bowl back then was better than fine delicacy.

Sun Qingning muttered to himself, ”Should this ’Kou San Si’ be renamed ’Kou Si Si’ in the future?”

Unaware that his ”Gold and Silver Kou San Si” had been renamed to ”Kou Si Si,” Fu Yu was listening intently as Zhao Meng reported his new dish innovation to Yao Shi.

Zhao Meng, on the other end: ”Blah blah blah blah...”

Yao Shi responded: ”This, this... well, well...”

Zhao Meng nodded, hung up the phone, turned to Fu Yu, and said, ”Chef Yao said that if the customers are satisfied with this innovative dish, it will be reported to the boss, and we’ll apply for a bonus for you!”

Fu Yu thought happily to himself, Chef Yao really understands and supports him!