The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Fu Yu took a deep breath and started tying a knot with both ends of the hawthorn fruit leather.

With just one knot, Fu Yu understood why Yao Shi had tried so many times but never succeeded!

Because once the hawthorn fruit leather got wet, it started melting.

Tying it like this, without even applying much force, it was already on the verge of breaking.

Thread it through!

Fu Yu held his breath, stretched the hawthorn fruit leather with both hands, carefully threading one side through the small hole, then cautiously pulling to tighten the wobbly slipknot little by little.

Fu Yu’s technique was remarkably steady; whether it was wielding a knife or doing intricate tasks, it was always like this.

As the slipknot tightened slowly, Fu Yu didn’t dare let his guard down.

He could already feel the hawthorn fruit leather thinning, a slight misstep, and it would break.

Fu Yu began to ease the pressure in his hands, watching the slipknot turn into a tight knot before finally letting go.

Watching the two copper coin apple slices finally linked together, Yao Shi took a deep breath, feeling a tightness in his chest, suddenly realizing he had been holding his breath all this time.

With the previous experience, the next two bows were tied smoothly.

Six exquisite copper coin apple slices were beautifully connected by bows, forming the money apple string in the second set of Three-Transformation Banquet.

But it wasn’t over yet.

Fu Yu had already taken over, so he decided to finish it.

He added a little water and rock sugar to the pot.

After boiling it into syrup, he thickened it with starch to make a sauce.

Then poured it over the arranged apple string.

A dish of artistically styled money apple string was completed.

Yao Shi was relieved, it turned out well!

Great!

Meanwhile, Sun Qingning had finished the second round of deep-frying the other dish.

”Chef Yao, what’s next?”

Yao Shi glanced at the order sheet on the kitchen wall, frowning again.

The next dish should be Beauty Fish Aspic, but there is simply not enough time.

As a substitute...

How about replacing it with Pig Skin Aspic?

The difference is quite significant, and the pig skin aspic in the restaurant is usually solidified in rectangular molds, while the beauty fish aspic is plated in a bowl shape.

But other than this, it would have to be replaced with fruit jelly, which would turn the dish into a dessert.

After thinking for a bit and realizing there was no better option, Yao Shi said, ”Go bring over a piece of pig skin aspic.”

If nothing else, we’ll have to use this as a substitute.

Fu Yu saw this and asked, ”Chef Yao, isn’t there no pig skin aspic in the Three-Transformation Banquet?”

Yao Shi replied helplessly, ”There isn’t, but this beauty fish aspic can’t be made in less than three hours; we just don’t have the time, so we can only temporarily replace it with pig skin aspic.”

Fu Yu stayed silent, quickly and discreetly flipping through the specialty home banquet cookbook.

He was completely trying his luck in searching for a replacement for the beauty fish aspic.

Unexpectedly, a suggested substitute dish appeared.

Fu Yu took a closer look, stunned.

Bowl Stuffing?

What’s this?

”Chef Yao, the pig skin aspic is back!”

Sun Qingning swiftly cut a large piece of pig skin aspic and brought it back, enough for whatever serving style Yao Shi decided.

Seeing Yao Shi getting ready to slice it, Fu Yu, unable to look closely at the bowl stuffing method, hurriedly said, ”Chef Yao, the pig skin aspic is really far from the beauty fish aspic. Can we use bowl stuffing as a substitute dish?”

Yao Shi paused his knife action and turned to Fu Yu, ”Bowl stuffing?”

Fu Yu confidently made it up, ”Yes, bowl stuffing is very similar to fish aspic in shape and serving method and is straightforward and convenient to prepare, making it an ideal substitute dish.”

Yao Shi, intrigued, asked, ”Really?”

He then quickly searched for information on bowl stuffing on his phone.

Indeed, aside from the color being slightly off, the shape and way of eating were very similar, and most importantly, bowl stuffing is not common and is a relatively distinctive dish.

Fu Yu continued, ”Chef Yao, I know how to make bowl stuffing, leave this dish to me.”

Even though he hadn’t had the chance to look closely at the bowl stuffing recipe, Fu Yu was confident in himself.

Yao Shi couldn’t help but sigh in relief, agreeing, ”Alright, it’s up to you then.”

As he said this, not only did others feel surprised, but even Yao Shi was taken aback.

The instinctive belief that Fu Yu could do it the moment he said he could, had unknowingly become particularly convincing.

Sun Qingning and Zhang Jinyu were shocked that Fu Yu could make this bowl stuffing.

Since they hadn’t even heard of it before.

Yao Shi, on the other hand, realized the genuine confidence and approval he felt for Fu Yu’s culinary skills, which left him with mixed emotions.

Feeling both gratified and amazed at Fu Yu’s rapid progress.

Upon reflection, almost all recent emergencies had Fu Yu coming to the rescue.

The once mere kitchen helper bustling around Zhao Meng had unknowingly grown capable of standing on his own as a chef.

Yao Shi thought in a daze, his gaze following Fu Yu.

Fu Yu, while flipping through the specialty home banquet cookbook, began deftly preparing the bowl stuffing.

As Zhang Jinyu went to the cold station to retrieve buckwheat flour, Fu Yu first prepared the dipping sauce.

The main ingredients were mashed garlic, chili, and vinegar, complemented with minced ginger and sesame oil.

Heated the chili with sesame oil, added a little onion, and when the onion turned yellow, added the chili powder, stirring with an iron spoon.

More oil and less chili, mixed into a thick paste.

He had just finished preparing the dipping sauce when Zhang Jinyu returned with the buckwheat flour.

Fu Yu began making the bowl stuffing.

Added salt and five-spice powder to the buckwheat flour.

Kneaded the dough with cold water.

During the process, Fu Yu noticeably felt the dough softening from its initial hard state.

After kneading, slowly diluted the dough with cold water.

The specialty home banquet cookbook specifically noted that it needs to be diluted to form a liquid batter that can be lifted with chopsticks without breaking.

As Fu Yu just finished mixing the batter, the act of diluting the dough caught the attention of Zhang Jinyu, who was assisting on the side, causing him to furrow his eyebrows.

Always straightforward and quick to speak, he couldn’t understand and simply asked directly, ”Chef Fu! You’ve just mixed the dough, why dilute it? If that’s the case, you might as well just mix it straight to a batter and skip the kneading step, it’s simpler!”

Fu Yu responded offhandedly, ”Not kneading the dough and mixing straight to a batter makes the bowl stuffing less chewy.”

Zhang Jinyu realized, so that’s how it was.

”Chef Fu, how do you know everything!”

Zhang Jinyu said this with genuine admiration, truly impressed by Fu Yu’s capabilities.

Fu Yu chuckled, ”It’s not like I know everything, just happened to know this one.”

Zhang Jinyu immediately said, ”If this were an exam, and nobody else knew how to do this but you, that’s already impressive!”

Fu Yu: ”...”

Though meant as a compliment, why did it sound a bit odd?

Fu Yu blinked, unsure how to respond, so he continued with his work, avoiding the topic altogether.