Traveling through time and space to become a child, supporting the family by catching fish and shrim

"Was it done by a competitor?" Chen Lang asked.

The waiter said, "Not very good. A new restaurant opened in Xifang City and they paid a lot of money to poach our chef. And it just so happens that a distinguished guest came today and specifically asked for shrimp."

"Except for the previous chef, no other chef knows how to cook shrimp. The owner is looking for a chef all over the county."

"But I think it's pretty bad."

After hearing this, Chen Lang realized that this seemed like an opportunity to make a fortune.

"Little Brother, please tell the shopkeeper that I can do it."

The waiter's hand holding the crab suddenly stopped in mid-air, and he looked up at Chen Lang in surprise, "You... Ouch... it hurts..."

Looking down, he saw the crab's front claws clamped around his thumb.

Chen Lang hurried to help and opened the crab's front claws.

The waiter put his finger into his mouth and sucked it twice, then said with a grin, "Brother Chen, this kind of thing is not something you can joke about."

Chen Lang said, "I'm serious. Please tell the shopkeeper."

The waiter thought to himself that since he couldn't find a chef now, he might as well give it a try.

"Okay, wait, I'll go call the shopkeeper."

A moment later, the shopkeeper came rushing over and said, "Brother Chen, the waiter said you can cook shrimp? Is that true?"

Chen Lang said, "Scholars don't tell lies."

The shopkeeper was stunned: "Isn't he a monk?"

Chen Lang smiled and said, "Same idea."

"Boss, it's easy to cook shrimp. I can make it in about two quarters of an hour. You can try it first and then serve it to our distinguished guests."

"If it doesn't fit, I'll compensate you for the raw materials."

The shopkeeper pondered for a moment and said, "Okay, let's give it a try. I can't find a cook anyway."

"All of you, cooperate with Brother Chen with all your strength. His words are my words. Do you understand?"

In fact, several chef apprentices in the kitchen were a little indignant. Chen Lang, a scholar, came to cook shrimps. This was really unreasonable!

But they couldn't refute it because they really didn't know how to cook shrimp.

Therefore, a vicious thought emerged in the minds of many chefs, which was to hope that Chen Lang would fail.

Only in this way can their dignity be preserved!

After putting on an apron, Chen Lang began to count the seasonings on the stove.

After discovering that a few items were missing, he immediately ordered someone to buy them.

After hearing the seasoning Chen Lang wanted to buy, the people who were asked to buy it turned green in the face.

"Brother Chen, we are cooking, not making medicine."

"Why did you ask me to buy herbs?"

"Don't you understand that medicine is poisonous? If your distinguished guest gets sick from the food, who will be held responsible?"

Chen Lang glanced at him and said, "If anything goes wrong with the food, I will be responsible. Even if it means death, I won't blink an eye."

"You just need to go buy what I want, why are you nagging?"

The apprentice stamped his feet and turned away.

Chen Lang fished out about two pounds of river shrimp, called others over to help clean them, and taught them how to handle the shrimp threads.

"Just like that, grab the middle part of the tail, turn it in a circle and gently pull it outwards, and the shrimp thread will come out."

The apprentices were surprised and delighted.

You should know that in the ancient "master-apprentice" system, these little tricks in handling food ingredients can be called the teacher's "untold secret", and only the apprentice who is most favored by the teacher can master this skill.

However, Chen Lang had no intention of keeping anything to himself and told them the handling techniques openly.

I used to have some complaints about Chen Lang, but now I am only grateful.

After cleaning, Chen Lang marinated about half a pound of river shrimp with salt, rice wine, and onion and ginger water.

He plans to cook three dishes today, and this is just the first one.

Then take out half a pound of river shrimp, fry them in hot oil first, take them out and drain them, then put the dogwood into the oil pan to make it fragrant, pour the drained shrimp in and stir-fry, after stir-frying more than ten times, sprinkle appropriate amount of soy sauce, vinegar and rice wine along the edge of the pan, and this spicy pepper salt shrimp is considered a success.

Next, Chen Lang picked up two crucian carps, scraped off the scales and made cuts on them, smeared salt and scallion and ginger water on the surface, coated them with flour and fried them in a pan.

"Huh? Aren't we cooking shrimps? Why are we frying fish?" an apprentice asked his companion in a low voice.

The person next to him shook his head: "Who knows."

Someone else said, "Shh, keep your voice down and just watch."

"This gentleman is an expert. Look at how he handled the fish just now. He's even more skillful than our teacher."

The apprentice at the beginning said, "He's not only a master, but also very selfless. He didn't shy away from us the entire time he was cooking. He really isn't afraid of us learning his skills at all."

"You can't say he's a scholar, he has such a broad mind."

After the fish is fried thoroughly on both sides, take it out and set aside. Put the small ingredients into the pot and simmer until fragrant, then pour in hot water and add the river shrimp to cook together.

At this time, the apprentice who went out to purchase "medicinal materials" also came back, and Chen Lang began to prepare the first dish.

A person who knows how to cook is very good at making use of the time between dishes.

After about a quarter of an hour, the three shrimp-related dishes were ready.

An apprentice attentively handed over a hot towel and said with a flattering smile, "Mr. Chen, please wipe your hands."

Chen Lang nodded in thanks and said, "Who will go and invite the shopkeeper?"

"No need to invite me, I'm here." The shopkeeper strode into the kitchen and was immediately mesmerized by the aroma here.

The chef in the past could never make food so delicious!

Looking at the three dishes on the table, they also look very beautiful.

It has color, fragrance, and the only thing missing is the taste.

But judging by the appearance and aroma, the taste is probably not bad!

The shopkeeper picked up his chopsticks and took a small bite of each dish.

Then he would start to cry.

Today, I was finally able to overcome this hurdle smoothly.

"Hurry up and serve the dishes to our distinguished guest." The shopkeeper said, and he also brought a plate of dishes. "Brother Chen, please wait here for a moment. I have something to tell you."

Chen Lang smiled: "No problem, I'm not in a hurry, you go ahead and do your work."

"Let's go!" The shopkeeper called the waiter and hurried away with the dishes.

After waiting for about a cup of tea, the shopkeeper returned to the kitchen with a rosy face. He immediately grabbed Chen Lang's hand and shook it vigorously: "Brother Chen, you are really my second parent!"

"If it weren't for you today, I'm afraid this store wouldn't be able to stay open."

After saying that, he took out a big red envelope and stuffed it into Chen Lang's hand: "It's just a little gift from me, you must accept it!"

The red envelope contained banknotes, which were quite thick when held, so there must be a lot of money in it.

Chen Lang said, "Boss, I actually have an idea. I'd like to share it with you to see if it's feasible."

The shopkeeper nodded: "Brother Chen, just tell me what you want to say."

"I have a few more dishes related to fish, shrimp and crabs. I can teach them to the chef in your restaurant for free." Chen Lang said.

The shopkeeper's mouth opened in astonishment.

For a chef, recipes are top secret. If he doesn’t meet a disciple he likes, he might even end up in his coffin.

He would cook his own specialties on weekdays and would drive all other apprentices out of the kitchen to prevent them from learning from him.

But the chef in the restaurant just said that Chen Lang did not avoid them at all when he was cooking, and they could completely replicate those three dishes.

So when the shopkeeper gave the red envelope, he also included the money for the recipe.

However, what was unexpected was that Chen Lang was actually willing to give away the recipe for free!

"Brother Chen, the recipe is an extremely precious thing. I feel uneasy if you teach me for free. I must pay you." said the shopkeeper.

Chen Lang smiled and said, "Boss, you really don't have to pay for the recipe. What I want is a long-term supply contract."