Food Stall: Customers Chase Me across the Country

Chapter 443 - 441: Deep-Fried Giant Squid

As soon as the lively squid is hammered to death, it turns white—a healthy white, indicating it’s fresh squid. If left for too long, the color will turn yellow or red.

Fresh squid has a very short shelf life, and unscrupulous vendors will soak squid in formaldehyde, making it look either very pale or very rosy.

Formaldehyde is a slow-acting poison. Long-term exposure can lead to chronic respiratory diseases, menstrual disorders, weakened newborns, and even nasopharyngeal cancer.

Moreover, it is harmful to the nervous system, immune system, liver, etc. So while it’s fine to eat from street stalls occasionally, eating regularly is self-destructive. After all, you can’t expect all street vendors to use fresh ingredients like Boss Wang, as the cost is quite high.

These squid have already been processed, but Wang Fan insists on processing each squid again, scraping everything clean from the belly.

Wipe the surface moisture with absorbent paper, and a gentle rub creates a slit in the membrane on the squid’s body. With a pull, clean squid meat is ready.

A single squid can make two batches of exploded squid. A total of 200 large squids were bought, so the quantity is tightly controlled.

All the squid are cleaned, and Zhuo Qianqian has prepared the marinating ingredients, where knife skills aren’t essential. Even if cut inconsistently, Zhuo Qianqian naturally excels at this work.

pieces of large squid together create quite a spectacle, but fortunately, Wang Fan’s marinating barrels are big enough.

Without rushing to put the squid in, Wang Fan first took out five packs of salt, tearing them open and pouring them into the barrel. After mixing thoroughly with the sliced marinating ingredients, he added the squid and continued mixing.

Salt naturally can’t draw out water from squid meat, but it can extract juice from fresh ingredients, enhancing the flavor while providing a subtle base taste to the squid.

Despite living in the ocean, squid meat itself doesn’t have much saltiness.

The crispy shell for the giant squid shouldn’t be too thick, and the batter used for crusted potatoes before works just right.

Once preparations were done, he checked the medal count on his phone.

Just then, Zhuo Qianqian suddenly approached Wang Fan with her phone and said, "Boss, take a look at this."

Curious, Wang Fan looked over and found out it was his Weibo, showing a private message.

"Hello, Boss Wang, I am a zoo director. First, I am not your fan. Secondly, I really hope you can help us. Due to the pandemic, we haven’t paid employee salaries for half a year to maintain the animals’ food supply.

Our animals here differ from other zoos. They don’t perform nor have working hours. I want to create a zoo where animals coexist harmoniously with nature. Below are our zoo’s details. Please take a look when convenient.

We desperately need exposure, and for the animals’ sake, sincerely request you visit us."

With nothing to do, Wang Fan casually clicked the attachment. He was instantly fascinated by the information inside.

This director indeed spoke no lies or empty words!

From the images and video materials, the animals in this zoo have the highest freedom levels, apart from smaller territories and food and shelter management. The environment closely resembles the wild.

"Seems nice, are you interested in going?"

"If the boss wants to go, I’d like to go too. We have vacation left, and we can visit after returning home. I haven’t seen such an ecological zoo before."

Wang Fan nodded, also quite interested. "Alright, reply to them when you have the time, saying we’ll visit after returning home."

After speaking, he checked the time and realized the marinating process had already taken an hour. Wang Fan quickly put down his phone and washed his hands.

He took the marinated squid, grabbed one end, and squeezed from top to bottom, extracting a lot of juice.

The juice primarily comes from the vegetables and fruits. Fresh squid itself doesn’t release much water.

After squeezing and thoroughly drying with absorbent paper, he coated it in batter.

The giant fryer was slightly releasing heat. Picking up a skewered squid, he shook off excess batter and slid it right into the fryer.

"Sizzle..."

As light oil bubbles sounded, a rich seafood aroma began spreading in the kitchen.

Chen Menglong sniffed and laughed, "Oh boy, they’ve made giant squid. Seems today’s meal will have smaller portions, haha."

The snack is likely irresistible to few, naturally reducing meal portions with such a large squid.

Master Liu nodded, "80% is enough. The giant squid doesn’t take up much stomach space, one skewer each, and it’s gone."

Wang Fan’s fryer is very large, allowing him to fry more squid at the same time. The thin batter is exceptionally even and light, making the whole squid appear not much inflated.

But with the crispy coating, the overall color looks exceptionally appealing.

Paired with large cut sides, it’s even more enticing.

As the first batch was almost done, athletes who finished their training had arrived at the restaurant. Upon entering, they couldn’t help but deeply inhale the strong seafood scent.

The aroma naturally spreads strongly; Wang Fan fried a few dozen of them, intensifying the flavor. After draining the squid of oil, once the temperature rose, he refried them for thirty seconds before placing them on front platters.

There were various pre-prepared ketchup and chili powder available for customizing flavors.

Undoubtedly, the giant squid was enticing. Stepping in and catching that unique savory scent instantly whetted everyone’s appetite.

No one even considered their preferred dish first; everyone headed straight to Wang Fan’s snack section.

Early in line, some lucked out with a crispy golden squid skewer.

The giant squid changed little shape after decorative cuts and frying. The slice cuts resembled blossoming petals, squid tentacles fried crisp and slightly curled, beckoning people to hasten and taste.

This delicacy is particularly popular in many Northeast regions, with some Northeast athletes almost drooling.

The team leader eagerly picked up a skewer and took a bite.

"Crunch..."

"Wow, Brother Wang truly masters crispy coatings. Can exploded giant squid really be this crunchy?"

The crispy texture felt incredibly satisfying, and the team leader couldn’t resist taking another big bite.

"Crunch..."

The same texture, yet with more squid meat, made the squid’s sweet freshness evident.

Above all, this squid is unbelievably crunchy and chewy, isn’t it?!