Chapter Eighty-four Erlang Steams Fish

  Wang Kuang himself didn't move, but instead said to Sun Jiajing: "Old Second, you try some." Sun Jiajing was also the second son, and by rights should have been called Sun Erlang, but since Sun Mingqian himself was the third son and was called Sun Sanlang, therefore Sun Jiajing and his brother listened to Mr. Liu's words, out of respect for their father, and avoided using the name, calling them Old First and Old Second instead.

  Sun Jia Ying, like his brother Sun Jia Han, was a seasoned veteran. Normally, he wasn't afraid of anything except for his father, so he didn't feel nervous at this gathering either. He picked up his chopsticks and first took a piece of fish meat from the area between the head and back of the fish, then took the fish eye, belly, and tail. One by one, he dipped them in the sauce on the plate and sent them to his mouth. After finishing, he nodded at Wang Kuang and said: "The firework is okay, but the flavor hasn't been brought out." In these two years, following Wang Kuang, he had also learned a lot and had a good understanding of cooking. He often tried to make things on his own, although they were mostly failures, which was already quite impressive.

  Wang Juan looked down on those chefs who followed the rules and regulations, making a dish that was exactly the same as what their master or recipe said, without any variation. If you were a beginner, it might be excusable, but if you had already mastered the dish and still didn't think of changing it, then this chef basically had no future. Now, there are many judges in cooking competitions who, when evaluating a dish, would say things like "Hmm, if you leave out one ingredient, it's not this dish anymore. If you skip one step, it's not authentic." They speak as if they were the most knowledgeable person about that particular dish in the world. This kind of person is what Wang Juan looked down on the most. On the other hand, it was actually those amateur judges who truly evaluated dishes based on their color, aroma, flavor, and shape. In their eyes, they didn't care how the dish was made; they only cared about whether it looked good, tasted good, smelled good, and was appetizing - these were the most basic things.

  The four words "殊途同归" are, in Wang's opinion, most suitable for use in cooking. Therefore, when teaching Sun Jiaoying and Kuang Dawang, he would not tell them how much of this seasoning to add or how much of that ingredient to put in. He would generally only do it once or twice, telling them the purpose of adding this or that seasoning, and if they could find other ways to substitute for it, Wang would be very happy. Apart from some basic things that must be followed, he would emphasize a bit more, but the rest would let them understand on their own, as everyone has their own understanding, so everyone's dishes are not exactly the same. Wang thinks this is the way cooking should go. Just like tofu, northern tofu uses brine to set, while southern tofu uses gypsum. Can it be said that northern tofu becomes something else when it reaches the south? How ridiculous!

  Wang Kuang knew what Sun Jia Ying meant by "ti wei", ordinary people don't usually add wine when cooking, even if they do use wine, it's very simple and casual, just adding a bit here and there, no one is as meticulous as Wang Kuang. So for this fat chef to not bring out the flavor on his first try was normal, if he had managed to bring out the flavor that would be abnormal. Wang Kuang didn't believe that at this time there could be anyone who understood the method of bringing out flavors better than him.

  Of course, the flavor enhancer is not necessarily used with wine. There are many methods for enhancing flavors in later generations. At this time, many chefs would secretly carry a small package with them, containing grayish-white powder to sprinkle on dishes while cooking. Wang Kuang knew that it was either mushroom powder or kelp powder, but he had never used these things to enhance flavor before and wasn't accustomed to using them. For him, having wine was enough. However, he still told Sun Jia Ying and the others about this method, and after they tried it a few times, they still preferred using wine. Wang Kuang once saw a famous chef on a cooking show who used very simple seasonings, just oil, salt, sugar, ginger, garlic, wine, and soy sauce - no MSG or high broth, just ordinary chicken or bone soup. However, the way he used wine was truly amazing. Sometimes he would use only one or two drops, sometimes an entire bowl of rice wine would be poured in, sometimes warm wine was used, and sometimes the wine had to be iced. It can be said that Wang Kuang's method of using wine was largely learned from him (Grey Sparrow won't mention which show it was to avoid suspicion of advertising, but cooking enthusiasts who have seen it will definitely remember).

  Seeing Wang Kuang and the person who seemed to be the boss staring at him, Wang Kuang also took a piece of fish meat and tasted it. The flavor was slightly bitter, which only Wang Kuang could detect. This was the unique taste of the mushroom and sauce mixture: "Not bad, much better than someone else. Someone's first time cooking fish couldn't even achieve one-tenth of this." Fat Chef heard this and his eyes narrowed into a slit.

  "But," Wang Kuang's tone suddenly changed, and the fat chef's eyes narrowed again: "It's over, it's over, still can't get into the master's eyes."

  Seeing Pao Da Jian's face fall, Wang Kuang smiled: "Don't be nervous, it's not a big deal, just not familiar with the hand, the temperature of the wine is not well controlled, think about it a few more times and it will be fine. The first time you can steam it like this, it's already very rare."

  "Did you add the yeast powder?" Wang Kuang nodded at the fish: "There's one thing to remember, after the yeast is stained with sauce, it has a bitter taste, although harmless, but also ruined the flavor. These two are best not mixed together. To enhance the flavor, either of them can be used."

  "Hey, you don't know? Erlang's most common phrase is that if you use good wine, you're a top-notch chef. Even I, an outsider, know this, so you guys should think about it carefully." Lin Xuanmu chimed in and then, imitating Wang Kuang's tone, looked at the owner of the wine house with narrowed eyes: "You must be the boss, right? Now that Erlang has passed on this skill to you, do you think we should get a free drink?"

  "Exempt, exempt. And previously this master said to reserve thirty ducks, that's also exempted. I'll instruct them to deliver the best ones to your mansion. From now on, as long as the master says a word, no matter how many ducks, our store will all be exempted and delivered to your mansion for free. Only..."

  "What's that?" Wang Kuang looked at the host who wanted to speak but hesitated, and after a moment of thought, he knew what he wanted to say: "Is it not about lacking some seasoning? Some seasonings will come naturally, you have to figure this out for yourselves. If everything is done according to rules, cooking would be meaningless, and there wouldn't be your own style. However, you can carefully ponder over this word." Wang Kuang said, then dipped his finger in wine and wrote a "fresh" character on the table.

  Looking at the character "fresh" on the table, the Dong family of the wine house was still unclear, but the fat chef seemed to be thinking deeply. Wang Kuang knew that he probably understood something, so he smiled and wiped it away. Because the Dong family was present, other colleagues who were watching the excitement did not dare to come too close, so they didn't see what Wang Kuang wrote clearly. Now seeing Wang Kuang wiping again, everyone was anxious and scratched their ears. It's not that Wang Kuang wanted to hide secrets, but since he came to this era, he had to follow the rules of this era. If all the cooking skills were passed on, everyone would go to become chefs, then what about these wine houses? So, passing on is necessary, but only within a small range.

  "May I ask where Master Wang resides? Someone has come to deliver a dish of steamed duck." The owner of the wine house asked hastily as he saw Wang and his companions preparing to leave.

  "Let's just send it to the nearby Huang Sibing government office, but we have to hurry. If we can't deliver it today, you'll have to send it all the way to Chang'an or Jian'an." Before Wang Kuang could respond, Lin Xuanmiao chimed in from beside him, beaming with delight at seeing Wang Kuang's face. Lin Xuanmiao was also thrilled to have come along and show his face, even if it wasn't at a poetry gathering.

  "Jian'an?" The owner of the wine house heard this word and thought of something, with a surprised face: "But isn't it Fula Inn?" In these two years, Jian'an's Fula Inn has been getting more and more famous. As an industry insider, how could he not know? The person in front of him made delicious food, and mentioned Jian'an, so he immediately thought of Fula Inn. If it wasn't someone from Fula Inn, how could they make such a delicious dish?

  "That's right, later we will send someone to Jinling to purchase food materials, and at that time, we can ask the master for help." Wang Kuang saw that the master had guessed his origin, so he didn't hide it. Anyway, his identity would probably be known by all the wine houses in the world after returning from Chang'an. At present, he had just passed on the skills of this wine house, and since he saw that the wine house was well-managed and treated guests with courtesy, he decided to establish a connection with them. In the future, if he came to Yangzhou to purchase things, he wouldn't have to wander around aimlessly.

  The Dong family immediately ordered the preparation of thirty fat and delicious ducks to be sent to Huang's residence, and another hundred ducks were prepared and delivered to Jian'an Fuli Inn the next day. Lin Xiang had just said that if they were late, they would have to send them to Chang'an or Jian'an, and he also guessed that Wang Kuang's group was heading to Chang'an. Therefore, these thirty ducks were meant to be taken to Chang'an, which is why another batch was prepared for delivery to Jian'an. However, he didn't tell Wang Kuang about the additional delivery to Jian'an. He had also noticed that Wang Kuang wasn't very particular about passing on his skills, and people like him might look down on gifts of gold or silver, but would appreciate food ingredients more. If Wang Kuang knew what Dong was thinking, he would definitely prefer gold or silver over food ingredients. Although Wang Kuang's intention in passing on his skills wasn't to gain wealth, if someone offered him something, he wouldn't refuse it either.

  In just a few days, the restaurant changed its name to Xingjun Restaurant, and its signature dish was called "Second Brother Steamed Fish". This was also changed by the owner of the restaurant to express his gratitude for Wang Kuang's kindness. He had heard that Wang Kuang was known as the Star Lord descending into the mortal world in Jian'an, so he took this name. However, Wang Kuang and his group had already set foot on their journey to Chang'an again, and they didn't know about these things. Within a few months, Xingjun Restaurant became famous, and from then on, Second Brother Steamed Fish gradually became a must-eat dish for people visiting Jinling.

  Division

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