The Female Supporting Role Shows Out

Lin Dan soaked another bowl of black fungi with coarse salt and asked the kitchen assistant to continue soaking the remaining dry goods according to her instructions. She then turned around to look at the young chef and said slowly, "Since you’ve apologized sincerely, I will teach you one signature dish."

"Huh, what did you just say?" The young chef looked at Lin Dan in astonishment and thought he must have heard it wrongly. He already felt very privileged when Manager Lin was willing to impart some secret techniques of handling food ingredients and wondered why she would teach him a signature dish. He thought a signature dish was the “secret weapon” of every chef which would not be easily revealed to others.

"You heard me right. I will teach you a signature dish. You’ll have to look at what I’m doing carefully." Lin Dan fished out a big carp from the bucket as she spoke and placed it on the chopping board before stunning the fish.

Tang Jiu glanced at her and at the silly young chef with a flash of interest appearing in his eyes.

"Manager Lin, wait! I'll get a paper and pen!" Seeing that Lin Dan did not seem to be joking, the young chef hurried to the front hall to get a stack of paper and a wolf hairbrush and scribbled: “Use one Yellow River big carp weighing three to four catties…”

"Are you done writing?" Lin Dan held a kitchen knife in one hand and a big carp in the other while waiting for the young chef with a smile. She enjoyed seeing people who were hardworking and studious and did not mind even if they were a little dense.

"Yes, yes. Please continue, Manager Lin!" The young chef nodded and bowed respectfully. The old manager was already looking at Lin Dan with admiration and was standing right beside Tang Jiu while looking at the cutting board eagerly.

Lin Dan continued, "I have tried the new Squirrel Mandarin Fish from Yan's restaurant before. It is a delicious dish with a sweet and sour taste with a soft and tender texture. But what I’m going to teach you now is better than theirs. It’s a dish that also tastes sweet and sour which is called the Golden Lion Fish."

The “squirrel” versus the “golden lion” – the young chef thought that the dish was obviously a challenge posed to Yan’s restaurant. He was still deep in thoughts when Lin Dan's extraordinary cutting technique soon made him forget everything. She removed the fish scales swiftly before slicing ​​the fish on both sides into thin slices, cutting from the tail to the head of the fish. She started making shallow cuts before ending with deep cuts on each side ​​eighteen times. With her smooth and consistent cuts, the big carp soon looked like a lotus bud. As she lifted the fishtail and shook, the pink “petals” bloomed and were aesthetically beautiful.

The young chef originally thought that her cutting technique was impressive enough, but he did not expect Lin Dan to use the scissors and cut the petal-like fish meat into six to seven strips before stacking on top of each other. The fishbone was covered with stripes of fish meat from head to tail, and this had already created a unique look. However, the young chef wondered how the fish could be cooked since it was cut into fine stripes and was worried that the meat would disintegrate once it came into contact with a spoon.

The young chef kept the questions in his mind as he scribbled away, but Lin Dan began to make a batter using six eggs, half a catty of water-based starch with a quarter catty of flour, before adding an appropriate amount of water to create a thick and golden paste. It was thick enough to hold the paste in one’s hands and stringy when pulled apart.

"When making the egg batter, only use egg yolk instead of egg white, so that it produces a nice color. As for the starch, you must use only water-based starch instead of dry starch, or there will be rough edges on the fish meat. Water-based starch will create a smoother texture." Lin Dan explained simply before holding the fish head with one hand and the tail with the other. She then put the flower-like fish into the egg batter and spread the batter on it evenly. When it was removed from the batter, all the strips were stuck together and dripping with egg liquid. The fish did not look aesthetically good for now, but it would look like a golden lion after being deep-fried in the wok, where all the strips would spread out nicely one by one.

As the young chef and the old manager marveled at Lin Dan’s culinary skill, she explained slowly, "When the fish strips are all immersed in the oil, you need to shake it hard thrice so that the strips will spread out one by one. Push the fish head down after the shaking and slightly lift up the tail, so that the strips would gather near its head to create the shape of a golden lion. This is key to the aesthetics of the dish. Oil temperature will naturally be lower after the fish is added to the wok, this is why you must fry it quickly when the fish is more than half cooked so that it can set the fish in shape. At this time, you can release the fish to fry its tail before flipping it using a colander. Continue frying it for a while before removing it from the wok to add the sauce on it."

Although Lin Dan made everything sound easy, it was actually very difficult to make the dish. It was already a test of cutting skills by cutting the fish meat into strips, not to mention the making of batter and deep-frying, which made seasoning the easiest step. When frying the fish, the chef’s hands had to hold the fish head and tail firmly while keeping the fish close to the surface of the boiling oil, so that all the tender fish meat was soaked in the hot oil. The high temperature of the oil may even burn a layer of skin if the chef was not careful, but the dish would be ruined if the whole fish was immersed in the boiling oil before the strips were well-fried.

The young chef took a close look at Manager Lin's hand and saw a thick layer of calluses on her fingertips. He knew this was the proof of hardship she had to endure while frying food on high-temperature countless times. She gently shook the fish strips with patience and full concentration, without showing any pain on her face.

After adding the entire fish into the wok, she took out a clean pot before pouring some vegetable oil. She instructed the young chef, "Remove the fish from the wok when it is fried to a golden brown. Put the fish on the plate with its belly down. I’ll make the sauce next.” As she spoke, the oil in the pot was already heated up. She crushed lime and persimmon with her hands and pressed it with a large spoon. Next, she added sugar, white vinegar, and water to create a thick sweet, and sour sauce. After thickening, she poured the sauce evenly on the fluffy and crispy fish strips. Finally, the Golden Lion Fish was ready.

The fragrant sweet and sour sauce filled everyone’s nose instantly and caused their mouths to water. This dish did not only have a strong aroma but also had a strong appearance. It looked like a lion with a messy mane, as though it was baring its teeth and showing its claws.

"Wow, it smells good!" The young chef swallowed his saliva.

"Can I try it?" Tang Jiu stared at Lin Dan eagerly. He had always been a reserved man but would show his desire and greed when it came to food.

"Sure." Lin Dan wiped away her sweat with a piece of cloth.

The young chef and Tang Jiu picked up the chopsticks immediately and were about to try the dish. At this moment, the old manager, who went out without anyone noticing, rushed into the kitchen and said and hurriedly, "No, you can't eat that! Prince Cheng is here, and he wants to eat the dish you just made! Hurry up, Xiaodouzi! Serve the dish now and don’t keep the prince waiting!"

The waiter got under Tang Jiu's arm and ran away after taking the dish. 

Lin Dan was so immersed in cooking that she did not know that the sauce she made had been sent out from the window to the street. Similar to the Duke of Yongding, this prince was a well-known food connoisseur in the capital. Food tasting was his greatest hobby and he was originally a frequent visitor to the Qiaoyuan Restaurant. However, he visited less when the young chef’s father passed away.

On this day, he wanted to go to Yan’s Restaurant for lunch. But when he passed by Qiaoyuan Restaurant, his long-term servant who accepted some rewards from the old manager casually said that Qiaoyuan Restaurant had imported a new batch of premium seafood and suggested the prince try it.

Prince Cheng had a close relationship with the young chef's father and thought he should give the restaurant a shot. However, there was another carriage that stopped right next to him. It was Prince Gong who appeared from the window and said while chuckling, "Brother, do not be fooled. I fell for it yesterday, but that young Qiu’s skills are still bad and I’m sure he won’t be able to make dishes with top-quality seafood. The food he made is far worse than Yan’s restaurant!"

Prince Cheng glanced at his servant and wanted to leave, but suddenly he smelled a unique sweet and sour aroma before the smell of the freshness of fish and the mellowness of fat came. It smelled delicious, he thought.

"What's that smell? Smell it, can you smell it?!" Prince Cheng got up immediately and stretched his neck out of the car window, sniffing around like a puppy.

Prince Gong who was giggling suddenly became speechless, he quickly closed his mouth and swallowed the saliva that was watering in his mouth.

The long-term servant who was disheartened and fearful quickly said, "Master, the smell came from Qiaoyuan Restaurant. I believe Chef Qiu is cooking."

"Let’s go in and take a look!" Prince Cheng could not hold himself back anymore. He immediately got out of the carriage and ran to the restaurant quickly. As he did not see the manager welcoming him, he shouted loudly, "Where are they? What kind of dishes are you making in the kitchen? Serve it to me right now!"

The waiter quickly seated the prince and ran to the kitchen to report the situation to the old manager. The old manager then saved the dish from the mouths of the young chef and Tang Jiu and hurriedly brought it to the front hall.

Prince Gong had already lost confidence in Qiu’s dishes. Originally, he had only planned to sit in the carriage and watch how things would unfold, but he could not hold himself back anymore once the dish was served. He quickly retracted his head from the window and left the carriage before running to the restaurant. He even hit his head on the roof of the car because he was in such a rush and was feeling dizzy. He held his head and finally rushed to the table, where he took a deep breath when he looked at the dish. Prince Cheng also stared in amazement with a look of astonishment.

They thought that the Squirrel Mandarin Fish at Yan's restaurant was already a masterpiece in terms of the cutting techniques, aesthetics, color, and seasoning, but when this dish came out, it had immediately shattered the legend of Yan's cuisine.

The dish had a beautiful and unique appearance with firm strips of the fish meat gathering towards the head of the fish. When the crispy skin of the fish was pierced by chopsticks, the pink and white meat underneath was revealed. By combining with the viscous soup, the fresh, tender, and crisp texture as well as the sour and sweet taste had exploded on the tip of the tongue. What a marvelous experience, they thought.

Prince Cheng carefully picked up a piece of "lion hair" and quickly stuffed it into his mouth. His eyes narrowed immediately, and the layers of wrinkles on his face unfolded at a speed visible to the naked eye as if he was several years younger.

"Does it taste good?" Prince Gong eagerly pulled up his sleeve.

Prince Cheng ignored him again and took another "lion hair" to taste it carefully. He kept shaking his head and smacking his lips with an annoying look on his face.

"Hey, speak up! I’m getting annoyed!" Prince Gong rolled up his sleeves and yelled, "Hey waiter, you are blind? Don't you see me here? Go and get me another set of utensils! Hurry up!" Otherwise, he was going to eat with his hands and ignore any table manners a royalty should have.

The waiter clambered to get another pair of chopsticks but saw that the two noble princes were almost fighting on the table. They were trying to push each other’s chopsticks back and none of them were willing to back down. Prince Cheng yelled, "Get the hell out of here! I was the one who ordered this, it’s not for you!”

"We are brothers after all! What's wrong with sharing food?"

"Why don’t you order one for yourself if you want to try it?!"

"I don’t want to wait for it to be made, I can't hold myself back anymore just with this smell!"

Seeing this situation, the waiter had to rush back to the kitchen and ask Manager Lin to make another golden lionfish, otherwise, the two princes would really break into a fight.

Lin Dan did not feel flattered or uneasy. She rolled up her sleeves slowly and said, "In that case, I shall offer you more help by making another dish.”