Once all the ingredients were prepped and stir-fried, they were thickened and set aside.
This time, Liu Yunong learned from experience and, following Fu Yu’s cooking method, casually placed the cutting board closer to the wok.
She also changed the cooking steps from yesterday, starting with heating the oil before gutting the fish.
Even amidst his busyness, Wang Yulong reminded her, "Boss, you can’t open the chest cavity of the fish. If the heart is not visible when wrapping, try opening the lower abdomen a bit wider for a better view..."
However, it was still difficult to be precise. Although opening the chest cavity wider made it easier to wrap the diaphragm around the heart, it risked damaging the heart when frying later on.
Wang Yulong was genuinely worried.
But Liu Yunong only gave a slight smile in response!
Regarding the diaphragm issue, she had just discussed it in detail with Fu Yu yesterday.
Fu Yu had carefully taught her how to accurately locate the diaphragm with her hand and how to use medical cotton for wrapping.
She had learned very seriously and practiced diligently today.
She hadn’t expected to apply it so soon!
Thinking of this, Liu Yunong picked up the knife and began to gut the fish.
Scaling it, cutting open the lower abdomen, removing the innards, and cleaning it thoroughly.
She placed the carp on the cutting board, scoring both sides with a corrugated knife pattern and an "X" pattern at the tail.
Then, grabbing the medical cotton, she reached into the fish’s belly, intending to wrap the diaphragm of the carp’s heart with it.
This probing action caused both Wang Yulong and Liu Zhangpeng, who were observing, to frown slightly.
Was she using the medical cotton without first locating the diaphragm? Wasn’t that a bit too reckless?
Watching Liu Yunong proficiently reach into the fish belly, Liu Zhangpeng, standing nearby, leaned in to observe more closely.
Wang Yulong couldn’t stand idly by either. He quickly put down his work and went closer to watch.
Through the fish’s belly, they could only see the arc where Liu Yunong’s hand pushed against the fish, without seeing what was happening inside.
However, Liu Yunong’s expression remained calm, completely unlike her panic and nervousness from yesterday.
Wang Yulong furrowed his brows as he watched Liu Yunong operate.
Seeing Liu Yunong reach into the fish belly, then pull her hand out without much movement, the speed was much faster than yesterday. It seemed she scarcely groped before implementing her skill.
Yet when Liu Yunong withdrew her hand, her expression was relaxed.
After observing Liu Yunong’s reaction, Wang Yulong was suddenly dumbfounded!
Was it really... completed?
After all, Liu Yunong had swiftly moved to wrap the fish head with white gauze, preparing to season it with salt and fine starch for frying.
Still, Wang Yulong didn’t inquiry aloud.
Instead, he focused on the details of Liu Yunong’s actions.
Wang Yulong was surprised to notice that she placed the cutting board next to the wok, and her technique of wrapping the fish head was noticeably different from yesterday.
Typically, when wrapping fish heads with gauze, the common method is to use a circular wrapping technique. First, diagonally place the gauze over the fish head, press with your hand, and wrap the gauze around the fish head in a circle.
The first protruding gauze flap is then folded back and pressed into the loop, after which wrapping continues.
Yet, at this moment, Wang Yulong astonishingly noticed that Liu Yunong switched to a different wrapping method.
Liu Yunong clearly started by securing a circled wrap at the center of the fish head, then looped a round down, then one up, repeating three times.
To ensure a secure wrap, she repeated wrapping over the arch of the fish head.
This technique...
As he pondered over Liu Yunong’s wrapping manipulation, he suddenly noticed that the knot on top of the fish head could conveniently hang from a finger.
This meant when frying, one could lift the fish head by the knotted loop, avoiding the risk of hot oil burns.
But that wasn’t the main thing.
The most crucial detail was!
This wrapping method was clearly much more sophisticated than the previous circular wrapping, not only more robust and less prone to falling apart but also allowing the fish head to pivot, adjusting angles during frying as needed.
This was remarkable!
The more Wang Yulong pondered this method, the more he marveled at its brilliance!
Nevertheless, this method, while seemingly simple, wasn’t common in everyday cooking practices.
After thinking back carefully, he couldn’t recall seeing such a technique anywhere before.
Wang Yulong, in the realm of culinary operations, would always speak his mind.
Thus, he couldn’t help but ask, "Boss, where did this wrapping method come from..."
Liu Yunong, holding one hand on the white gauze knot on the fish head and the other gripping the tail, lowered the carp into hot oil to fry.
While frying the fish body first, then the tail, she casually replied, "Oh, it’s a newly improved technique."
Those words left Wang Yulong stunned.
Even Liu Zhangpeng, who had been paying attention to the surroundings, was taken aback.
The boss had directly improved the method of wrapping ingredients, and this method... seemed truly ingenious.
Wang Yulong couldn’t help but feel excited, while next to him, even Liu Zhangpeng could not restrain his amazement.
No wonder their boss was so incredible!
Everyone knows that in wrapping techniques, there aren’t more than a few methods when chopped and changed.
The primary purpose is either for decoration or securing.
As long as the ultimate goal is achieved, any method would suffice.
However, Liu Yunong’s seemingly simple improvement could be leveraged for other future fried items.
It’s often said that chefs aren’t afraid of heat, but it’s common for oil splatters to occur during frying, causing brown spots on hands and faces.
Are chefs truly unafraid of burns?
They are human, flesh and blood.
Though they are accustomed to it and have a higher pain tolerance than ordinary people.
Who would willingly get injured if it can be avoided?
...
Meanwhile, in Qianlima’s kitchen, everyone was incredibly busy.
Fu Yu had finished dealing with several old customer orders in the baking section and then switched with Sun Qingning, returning himself to the Red Case District to take charge.
Ever since moving into the new baking section, Fu Yu had naturally become the person in charge of it.
All major and minor matters were directly managed and allocated by him.
Besides the existing customers’ orders, other requests were distributed to Sun Qingning and Yao Yihang according to the situation.
Grilling, like other culinary practices, is a skill honed with experience.
Fu Yu found it tiring to handle everything himself, so he provided Sun Qingning and Yao Yihang with grilling opportunities, allowing the three of them to share orders.
As seasoned partners who had worked together for a long time, having Fu Yu around to assist felt notably easing for Zhao Meng.
Their coordination was seamless, many issues were resolved with merely a glance or a gesture, and the other would understand right away.
Fu Yu was handling four clay pots simultaneously on the stove, cooking seafood porridge.
On Zhao Meng’s side, he prepared stewed dishes in two pots, baked lobster in another, and in his frying pan, he was sliding spicy crayfish into a large, wide plate to be taken away by the server.
After a busy morning, they finally found a spare moment.
Amidst the hot oil’s presence, Zhao Meng remembered something and turned to Fu Yu, saying, "Just because of something you mentioned this morning, I went to look it up online this afternoon. You wouldn’t believe it, but this dish is truly amazing!"
Fu Yu had just completed cooking live-Cooked carp yesterday, marveling at its fascinating nature, so he casually mentioned it to Zhao Meng.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Meng became very interested in it, and after detailed discussions at the time, even went online to find relevant information.
Regarding this matter, Zhao Meng couldn’t help but exclaim, "I had heard about this dish before, but no one around here had ever made it, so upon hearing about it I didn’t pay it much mind."
"But after seeing it, wow! This dish is really something! Who invented it? So creative! This cooking method is amazing, though it may not be very practical since the taste might not be the best. Still, for the sake of novelty, it’s indeed a rare dish!"