The ham was chopped finely, the broth carefully prepared, and the eggs cracked and set aside.
Before the pork rinds were delivered, Fu Yu quickly cooked the deboned and braised silver carp head.
When the fish head was cooked until the bones and flesh separated, Fu Yu fished it out, preparing to debone it.
Deboning a fish is a skilled job, with a complex process.
If it weren’t for this process, the deboned and braised silver carp head wouldn’t have made it onto the featured recipes list at Qianlima.
The essence of deboned and braised silver carp head lies in "deboning completely without losing its shape."
Therefore, the first step of skill is embodied in the word "debone."
Fu Yu, with advanced splitting skills, found deboning a fish head not too difficult.
He transferred the cooked fish head to ice water and began to debone it.
While deboning, Fu Yu made sure the fish was face down, gently feeling with his hand and deboning along the direction of the fish bones.
The removed bones were kept aside for later use.
Fu Yu’s actions were smooth and effortless.
This deboning step sounds simple, but to completely remove the bones from a fish head and keep its shape largely intact requires decades of experience if attempted by an ordinary person.
If the deboned fish head is left aside, it can easily become fishy, so once the fish meat is deboned, it needs to be steamed.
To ensure the gelatinous texture of the silver carp head, the "braising" step is crucial.
The bones removed from the fish head were put into a pot to be fried until crispy.
Fu Yu had just started frying when Sun Qingning jogged over from the restaurant.
It’s said that Sun Qingning fared well under Zhao Meng’s supervision, mainly because he was perceptive and knew how to act accordingly.
Although Zhao Meng had a bad temper, he took good care of his staff.
During the afternoon break, whenever a customer unexpectedly came in to eat, as long as it wasn’t a big banquet with many orders, Zhao Meng would stay in the kitchen himself, letting others go eat first.
This alone made everyone in the kitchen feel very grateful.
Sun Qingning hurriedly swallowed a bite of food and rushed back to help Zhao Meng.
He learned this from Fu Yu. Previously, as he worked daily under Zhao Meng, being scolded constantly made him somewhat fearful.
He was often timid and hesitant when interacting.
With the current situation, if Zhao Meng had asked him to leave, he would have gladly stayed away, not daring to step forward voluntarily.
However, growing closer to Fu Yu, Sun Qingning increasingly admired him.
By observing carefully, he noticed that Fu Yu and Zhao Meng’s interaction was actually very harmonious and relaxed.
Fu Yu’s concern for Zhao Meng was heartfelt, shown through meticulous attention to detail in daily interactions.
Zhao Meng was clearly someone who reciprocated kindness.
Fu Yu was considerate and warm, and Zhao Meng equally cared for and supported Fu Yu.
Over time, their work relationship developed into a bond akin to mentor and apprentice or even father and son.
Sun Qingning was smart yet grounded, understanding his limits.
Knowing he couldn’t outcook Fu Yu, he still tried to emulate how Fu Yu pleased Zhao Meng.
After all, a smiling face always gets better treatment, and hearts are made of flesh and blood.
His genuine regard for Zhao Meng surely didn’t go unnoticed by the astute chef.
As Sun Qingning entered the kitchen, he saw Fu Yu managing the cooking and quickly jogged over.
Upon approaching, he was hit by an intense fish aroma.
"Wow! Chef Fu, what are you making? It smells amazing!"
Fu Yu, ready to retrieve the fried fish bones, saw Sun Qingning return and quickly instructed him, "You’re just in time. Help me take out the fish bones first."
Although Sun Qingning had taken charge of the stove himself for some time, his previous role as Fu Yu’s assistant had equipped them with a strong rapport.
He agreed and reached over to help take out the fish bones.
Fu Yu grabbed another pot, added cold water, and placed in the fish bones, sprinkled some seasonings to mix and bring to a boil, using high heat to slowly reduce the sauce, achieving maximum emulsification of the broth.
Sun Qingning then realized that Fu Yu was making deboned and braised silver carp head.
He couldn’t help but feel a little regretful.
What a pity!
He had missed out on the deboning process.
In fact, the most challenging part of this dish was deboning the fish.
Despite his long experience with the wok, Sun Qingning had only assisted Zhao Meng with this dish before.
Zhao Meng had taught him the deboning process, but it was so quick; while he understood the theory, putting it into practice was challenging.
Moreover, the kitchen work was so busy that he barely found time to practice cooking skills outside of work.
Come night, he was so exhausted that he could hardly resist falling directly into bed, let alone finding energy to practice more.
It was an unavoidable reality.
With the fish broth simmering, Fu Yu, having just finished, saw the delivery from Shangshi Private Kitchen arrive.
Fu Yu received a call and quickly instructed Sun Qingning to watch the pot while he jogged to the back door.
The delivery was made by a purchaser from Shangshi Private Kitchen.
Upon meeting, the purchaser handed Fu Yu a small storage box.
Fu Yu accepted it, feeling its hefty weight in his hands.
After thanking him, he carried the box back to the kitchen.
Opening the lid, he found half the box filled with clear water, with pork rinds soaked inside, visibly softened.
Sun Qingning peeked in and casually asked, "Taken from the storeroom?"
Fu Yu ambiguously replied, "Yes, it’s already softened, so you can take it out."
Sun Qingning quickly offered, "Let me do it."
Fu Yu took a clean large basin, prepared the warm water as Liu Yunong instructed and added some baking soda.
He washed the soaked fried pork rinds in the warm water and let them soak for a while.
After soaking, they were placed in boiling water to cook.
Once done, he removed the pork rinds, drained them, and set them aside to cool.
The pork rinds used by Shangshi Private Kitchen were carefully selected, precisely three inches wide from the pig’s back.
Fu Yu examined them carefully and, to be honest, couldn’t see what was so special about them.
Perhaps only true culinary connoisseurs could tell the difference.
However, Shangshi Private Kitchen clearly used selected pigskin, proving their use of real, quality ingredients.
It was a well-practiced business philosophy.
Fu Yu admired his mentor wholeheartedly for it.
Taking advantage of the cooling time for the pork rinds, Fu Yu went to the restaurant, hastily took a bite of food, and prepared a bowl for Zhao Meng.
At that time, Zhao Meng had just finished plating a dish.
Fu Yu immediately tore down the remaining dish from the wall and posted it on his side.
"Chef Zhao, please eat first; I’ll take care of the rest."
Sun Qingning glanced at Zhao Meng, whose face showed contentment, and secretly sighed.
Such depth of feeling couldn’t be faked.
Look at how naturally he brought over a bowl of food.
While he hesitated for fear of rejection, only daring to come over to help.
That was the difference!
Zhao Meng sat down nearby with his bowl, resting his feet while he ate.
Fu Yu took over the remaining dishes.
Sun Qingning eagerly joined, assisting while making a silent resolution to treat people with sincerity in the future.
Genuine sincerity begets sincerity, and human connections are always mutual.
Fu Yu first cut the cooled pork rinds into chunks, then soaked them in cold water.
Then he checked the fish broth in the pot.
The collagen from the fish bones had entirely melted into the soup, making it richer and more gelatinous.
He retrieved the steamed fish head.
He heated a pot over high heat, ladled in some cooked lard, and, when it was fifty percent hot, added scallion sections and ginger slices to lightly fry.
Once the aroma was released, he removed the scallions and ginger, added shrimp and crab meat for a quick stir fry.
Then he added cooking wine, chicken broth, refined salt, and sugar, followed by bamboo shoot slices, mushroom slices, chicken slices, chicken gizzard slices, and fish head meat, covering it to stew.
Fu Yu’s entire sequence of actions was smooth and fluid, leaving Sun Qingning at a loss for where to assist.
Though called an assistant, he stood by merely admiring Fu Yu’s cooking.
However, in the short span of just over ten minutes that the stew was cooking, Fu Yu swiftly completed another dish.
Seeing Fu Yu finish plating, Sun Qingning quickly helped to place the dish on the service counter.
Honestly, even assisting the pros now required one to seize the opportunity to keep busy.
It’s too competitive!