Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

Chapter 283 195: What Kind of Chicken Fillet Has Seven Flavors?

Seeing the fine, dense droplets silently forming on the surface of the fruit, he suddenly realized that this small detail could be the dividing line between success and failure.

When preparing in the back kitchen, the fruits are freshly taken out of the cold storage, and the restaurant is air-conditioned, so the fruits don't warm up much.

It's different here.

Here it's outdoors, in the summer, with temperatures above 25 degrees, and in a crowded event, the temperature would be even higher.

Not to mention the neighboring stalls are all frying and grilling, all high-temperature elements.

In such an environment, fruits taken out of the cold storage warm up rapidly, causing droplets to condense on their surfaces.

If there's water, the sugar will melt!

"So that's how it is!"

Slapping his thigh, he hurriedly grabbed some kitchen paper towels, picked up a bunch of green grapes, wiped the droplets dry, and rolled them in the syrup again, placing them flat on the parchment paper.

It didn't take long, just about ten seconds, for the syrup to start solidifying into a translucent crystalline shell, instead of dripping down messily as before.

"Just as I thought!"

To prove his guess was correct, he immediately bent down and took out a bunch of green grapes from the fridge below, rolled them in the syrup, and placed them beside.

Sure enough, this time it went smoothly, without any mishaps.

Subconsciously, he turned his head to look at Lin Chen, only to see him give a thumbs up.

This kid!

Intentionally not mentioning such details, wanting to see him make a fool of himself?!

Ha!

Marchello let out a long sigh, caught between laughter and tears.

After working in this industry for so many years, he almost stumbled over something so trivial.

Stretching his neck to look over at Nagishiro Sho on the other side, that guy's sugar balls seemed fine, apparently unaffected by such small factors.

Come to think of it, after stirring, the syrup solidifies into granules, and if it picks up moisture, it would stick even tighter.

Quickly preparing dozens of skewers of candied hawthorn, he used up one pot of syrup before starting to prepare the other two types of food.

Over at Nagishiro Sho's side, preparations were being conducted in an orderly and efficient manner, completely oblivious to the hiccup Marchello's side had almost encountered.

Lin Chen withdrew his gaze, glanced at the time, and figured it was about time to start making takoyaki and soka.

"Dong—"

When he placed the three sets of large takoyaki iron plate molds on the table, the loud noise caught the attention of the two chefs nearby.

Upon seeing the size, Nagishiro Sho's eyes widened, his mouth twitching uncontrollably before silently turning his head back.

Although it was a bit large, it was indeed a takoyaki mold, and the accompanying ingredients and sauces all seemed normal, with nothing to nitpick.

As Lin Chen started making the giant takoyaki, Chef Marchello began making taiyaki. The steps on both sides were similar: pour batter in, add the filling, then seal with more batter.

The difference lay in shape and flavor, one being sweet and savory, the other with red bean.

While flipping the takoyaki, Lin Chen glanced at Nagishiro Sho, noticing him continuously shaping something akin to a meat patty, coating it with egg wash and breadcrumbs before frying it in the oil.

That shape... could it be a korokke?

Isn't korokke usually made with mashed potatoes? He actually mixed in minced beef?

Beef-flavored korokke?

He had truly never heard of such a thing, unsure if it was a local Sakura flavor or a creation of Nagishiro Sho himself. Anyway, it looked indeed more delicious than the original version.

A meat-filled potato cake and a meatless one, obviously the one with meat would be tastier.

Looking at the remaining ingredients on the table, unsurprisingly, Soka seemed to be making sweet crêpes with fruit and ice cream.

That makes sense, as Western street food, crêpes are more suited to being sweet rather than savory, the latter being more typical in restaurants.

Next up, only Chef Marchello's dish remained to be revealed.

Each mold has twelve holes, three molds make thirty-six takoyaki.

Starting from the beginning to the end, essentially the first few pieces were ready to move on to the next step by the time he finished the round, leaving him little free time to concern himself with others.

A normal serving of takoyaki is six pieces, but his were large, could be sold individually, up to the customer's preference on how many to take.

After finishing a batch of takoyaki, the staff removed the entrance barriers.

The eager customers, unable to hold back any longer, swarmed in, flitting from stall to stall like in a kaleidoscope, picking their favorite foods.

Without hesitation, Lin Chen promptly began making soka.

Pouring a few circles of oil into the large skillet, heating it over high heat, he quickly stir-fried the minced beef and chopped onions, adding some minced garlic and ginger to enhance the aroma, then sprinkled a dense layer of fresh chopped green onions on top, finally ladling chickpea batter over it spoon by spoon.

The unique aroma of stir-fried beef with onions wafted out, immediately attracting many hungry diners.

"Chef Lin is here!!"

"Oh my God, finally found you!"

"What delicious thing is being made? The smell is just too good."

"Hold on, there's a menu here."

"Giant Takoyaki, Fragrant Green Beef Soka, Classic Great Xia Fried Chicken Fillet?"

"I know Takoyaki, but giant... oh, I see it, damn, it really is huge!"

"Is Soka being made now?? Soka with beef and so much onion? A modified version?"

"What's there to ask? Just trust Chef Lin's skill and eat up!"

"Are you buying or not? If not, move aside. I'll have one of everything!"

"I want some too, how much is a portion of chicken fillet? How big is a portion of Soka?"

Dais and Elsa immediately started busy drawing in customers, while Lucas took over the spatula, with the remaining steps for Soka left for him to finish.

To put it simply, it's cutting into pieces and then flipping them over.

Lin Chen himself went to the oil pan to start frying chicken fillets, taking the time to continue making Takoyaki as well.

The crowd at his stall kept growing, many of whom were tourists who had already arrived at the hotel yesterday and had enjoyed the delicious breakfast and lunch.

Compared to other unremarkable snack stalls, choosing Chef Lin's was more cost-effective.

"Sizzle"

The tender, powder-coated chicken fillet made a pleasant sound as soon as it hit the oil pan. Watching the oil surface boil and bubbles rise was enough to make the diners uncontrollably start swallowing their saliva.

Lin Chen abruptly changed his plan and didn't make them one by one but rather grabbed large handfuls to toss them directly into the oil pan.

Considering the number of diners in front of him, making them by portion was truly inefficient; it was faster to fry a batch and then sell them by weight.

While he was frying chicken fillets, Elsa took over the making of Takoyaki. With her Sakura lineage, she was quite familiar with this snack and operated almost as skillfully as a seasoned chef.

Lin Chen only took a brief glance at Elsa and Lucas and then looked away. It seemed there was nothing to worry about, as they were all familiar with their own national foods, and all the ingredients were prepared, so it couldn't go wrong, right?

Dais was in charge of packaging and selling, as well as greeting customers, with Elsa also taking time to help with packaging. The four had distinct roles, and soon they received their first batch of orders.

"Small fried chicken fillet is five euro for fifty grams, large is ten euro for one hundred grams, a single Takoyaki costs eight euro with a whole fresh octopus inside, and a slice of beef and onion Soka is five euro, palm-sized. Customers who are interested can place orders with me!"

The previously made Takoyaki was stacked in a transparent warming cabinet, visibly with many octopus tentacles exposed outside.

Lucas was busy cutting and flipping the Soka; the pan was quite large, almost comparable to the pans used for making fried dumplings back home, specially used for Soka here.

With such a large pancake filled with stuffing, it was obviously unrealistic to flip it by oneself, so it had to be pre-cut and then flipped piece by piece.

With high-heat frying, Soka's surface batter was quickly turned into a brown crust, clearly showing densely packed minced meat and fragrant onions, with the unique caramelized aroma of onions fully unleashed, just looking at it was appetizing.

The chicken fillet on Lin Chen's side was also quickly fried, golden yellow and crispy all over, making a charming 'crackling' sound when shaking to drain the oil.

"Gulp..."

Someone swallowed a mouthful of saliva, instantly triggering a chain reaction, with the sound of swallows resounding one after the other.

"As expected of Chef Lin, even such basic snacks can be made in such a variety, they look and smell amazing!"

"I've never seen such fine-cut chicken fillets, and frying them in such a short time must make them very tender, right?"

"I've eaten Soka for over twenty years and never thought about putting beef inside, along with this layer of dense green onions, my mouth's already watering!"

"Miss! Please give me two large orders of chicken fillets, two pieces of Takoyaki, and two slices of Soka!"

"Alright sir, what flavor would you like for the chicken fillet? Here we have special Great Xia seasoning powders, including spicy, savory, plum, cumin, tomato, seaweed, and cheese flavors."

"So many flavors???"

The first man in line was a bit dumbfounded, scratching the back of his head with choice paralysis setting in.

Western restaurant menus are extremely limited in choices, usually concise enough to fit on a single-sided sheet of paper, so comprehensive that if it were double-sided, it often includes beverages too.

It's surprising that a simple fried chicken fillet can have so many flavors, many he hadn't even heard of or imagined.

Not just him, every customer in front was somewhat stumped after hearing Dais's introduction, standing there pondering hard on what flavor to choose.

"Any recommended flavors? I've never tried many, so I have no idea."

This fellow quickly threw up his hands in surrender because he truly had no choice, having only ever tried cumin and spicy flavors in life, with the rest being beyond imaginable.

"Tomato and plum flavors are sweet and sour, the name itself gives a hint of the taste; cheese is savory, seaweed is refreshing, and if you can handle spice, I'd recommend mixing either spicy or savory with cumin, those are classic Great Xia flavors."

While she was giving her introduction, Lin Chen was carefully listening to the customers' questions. He promptly took some of the fried chicken fillets and placed them in another clean bowl. He sprinkled spicy powder while shaking them to ensure they were completely coated.

He made each flavor and cut the chicken fillets in half with scissors, offering them as samples for customers to try.