> > Strange World Little Cooking Saint – Chapter 19
Chapter 19: Kung Pao Chicken
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This is an early release of this chapter as translator-san is still a bit weak and drowsy from the medicine and could not wait until midnight to release it.
Enjoy
With the encouragement of silver, the chefs are more cooperative. No matter who they have disagreements with, all of them have no disagreements with money.
Therefore, they are most willing to demonstrate their cooking skills.
The stove was heated up as the chefs get busy cooking their specialities. In a short while, the delectable fragrance of various dishes whiffed out, overwhelming the smell of the smelly tofu. The smell is very tempting.
All of the chefs are quite skilled, and every one of them is quite good in cooking. After trying the dishes, Shiyu nodded her head and retained them. Then she set a new rule: if a chef knows one speciality dishes, they will get 10 taels of silver of a month. If they know how to cook 2 speciality dishes, they will get 20 taels of silver a month, and so on.
The chefs are very happy, but they were also worried, and discussed among themselves, "This month, our salary is already a few hundred taels of silver. Can she pay so much? Will the business remains this good?"
"Who gives a damn? As long as we can earn the money, it is good. If they could not pay us, we can always leave."
This statement won everyone's approval.
Shiyu had guessed what they were thinking. They were intending to scrimp on the job! To ensure that they will do their best for each and every dish, she made a new rule, if a chef dishes is rejected by the guests for more than 5 times, the chef will be fired. This is to avoid them not doing their best after taking the money.
After they have signed the employment agreement, Shiyu decided to cook the dish, "Kung Pao Chicken" in front of them. This is to make them submit to her authority as the lead chef.
"Xiao Wu, watch carefully." Shiyu did not forget to coach Xiao Wu. She wanted to guide him. Xiao Wu is too young, and unless he is the reincarnation of cooking master boy [1], he could not master the dishes immediately. Therefore, she must train him at every opportunity she has.
The chefs also stayed back to watch the show. When they saw that Shiyu used the chicken breast, they shook their head.
Everyone knows that other than the chicken head and buttocks, the part that is the least popular is the chicken breast. The meat there is loose and does not have much taste. It is easy to get stuck in the teeth. Compare to the drumsticks and wings, this part is a lot less popular.
Therefore, as soon as they saw the ingredients, they lost interest in Shiyu's cooking. At first, they were thinking the reason Shiyu is so confident is that she had an ace up her sleeve. But they were sorely disappointed just by seeing the ingredients.
"Forget it, you continue to watch. I will first go out for some fresh air." 2 of the chefs had left the kitchen, and the rest of the chefs were mulling if they should go or stay.
Shiyu placed the chicken breast on the chopping block, and use the back of the cleaver to beat the meat.
Seeing this, everyone laughed. They could not understand what she was trying to do. Does she expect to knock some taste into the meat?
When she judged that the chicken breast is more or less ready, Shiyu cut the chicken breasts into small cubes. Then she placed all the chicken cubes into a deep bowl. She added some sesame oil, salt, flour and some cooking wine. Then she added a bit of chilli oil. After mixing it carefully, she let it sit there to marinate.
The chefs felt that this method of cooking is quite new and become a bit interested.
Although the chicken cubes are the main ingredient, there is one more main ingredient as well. That is the commonly seen peanuts.
"Lao Er, where are the peanuts that we had shelled? Please bring them to me."
Very quick, a bowl of white colour peanuts are brought to her. Shiyu added some oil, and wait until the oil is hot. Then she fried the peanuts. After frying it for a while, the peanut colour deepens and Shiyu took them out.
"Aiya! It is too soon to take the peanuts out. It is not even cooked yet!" Someone cried out. He was wondering if Shiyu knows how to cook. How could she served half-cooked peanuts.
Shiyu just glanced at him, and placed the bowl of peanuts in front of him, "Try it first and talk after you have tried."
The chef was unwilling, but Shiyu is his employer after all. He should give her some face. Therefore, he placed a peanut into his mouth.
"Ge" everyone could hear the crunchy sound of the peanut, and was surprised. That chef widened his eyes in surprise, "How… how could this be?"
Shiyu smiled, "You are wondering why is it so crunchy right? It is not ready yet when I lift it out from the wok, and it should be soft instead. But the peanut is so small, and it had some heat contained within it. If you wait until the peanut had changed colour before you take it out, it will surely become overcooked."
"Oh, so it is like this." that chef nodded his head, and picked up another peanut.
Shiyu kept the peanuts at one side. Then she cut the onions and dry chilli. In a small bowl, Shiyu mixed some vinegar, sugar and cooking wine. As well, she squeezed some ginger juice and added a spoonful of ginger juice into the bowl.
The chicken should be marinated by now. She added some cooking oil and waited for the oil to heat up. Then Shiyu added the chicken cubes into the oil, and stir-fry it. The chicken slowly becomes white in colour. Then she added the dry chilli and onions into the wok, and very quickly, a mouth-watering fragrant flowed out.
The chefs are tempted by the mouth-watering scent and could not help watching the wok. They were surprised to see the 'loose' meat of the chicken breast become tender and ready for consumption. When Shiyu added the bowl of sauce into the wok, the chicken cubes become a very appetising colour.
She added the chicken cubes to a plate and added some peanuts to it. All right, the Kung Pao chicken is ready!
Shiyu did not even need to call out, and the chefs had already picked up a pair of chopsticks and try the dish.
As soon as they tried a piece of chicken cube, they could not help looking at one another in amazement.
This taste…. Is it still chicken breast?
The soft and tender chicken cubes, when combined with the peanuts, had a mild spicy taste. It goes well with rice and taste so delicious.
Xiao Wu and Xiao Qi had been waiting for some time. But they were much smaller than the adults and they could not out grab the adults. Now that the adults have temporarily stopped, they immediately grabbed the plate instead. It was pure chaos.
When the last of the chicken was gone, Shiyu smiled, "How is it? Good enough for our shop speciality?"
"Of course!" The chefs all agreed in unison.
"This dish is really tasty. I am sure that the entire Qing Shan City does not have a dish like this!"
"If I could eat this dish every day, I am willing to accept a lower pay." Another chef joined in.
Shiyu waved her hands, indicating that they should quiet down. "Frankly speaking, there is another reason why I cooked it in front of you. Whoever managed to cook this dish to my standard will get a pay raise to 100 taels of silver."
Notes[1] Cooking master boy - popular manga about a Chinese chef who rose to become a royal chef.
It becomes an anime and a drama.
If you want to watch the anime (eng sub), click
For the drama, click here (chinese sub), click here.
Food porn for those who does not like drama or animes. DisclaimerThe works translated here are works of fans of the novels, and are not in anyway associated with the authors of the novels, Qidian and Qidian International. Readers are encouraged to support the author of the novels using the links in the novel page.
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