Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

Chapter 296 - 208: Three Ways with Blackfish, Spicy Garlic Crawfish

"Tomorrow it will still be here, but there will be a new menu."

Lin Chen casually replied with a couple of words, completely without hinting at any of the new dishes, making the curious diners itch with anticipation.

Most diners have never had Chinese food before, and those few who have never seen this kind, were incredibly curious.

It’s the same chicken fillet, so why does the Chinese Head Chef make it taste so much better than the fast food restaurant?

And that beef and green onion flavored Soka, it tastes far better than traditional Soka, and it doesn’t look complicated; why haven’t any local restaurants selling Soka made it like this?

Is it hard to think?

The diners are completely puzzled, and thus turn all this doubt into a strong anticipation, preparing to come again tomorrow to see what delicious foods this Head Chef will prepare.

Meanwhile, they’ve also developed a strong interest in Chinese cuisine, and plan to find a day to invite friends and family to a Chinese restaurant to try it out.

Besides people asking Lin Chen, there were also people questioning the other two chefs’ stalls if they’ll be open tomorrow, and after getting a positive reply, these diners all breathed a sigh of relief.

No unexpected issues occurred during the evening stall, selling off the remaining stock without the need to restock, allowing room for other vendors.

He also doesn’t want to exhaust himself, as there’s a battle to be fought tomorrow, he needs to start preparing tonight, and necessary rest is essential.

Around six o’clock, Lin Chen’s stall was the first to pack up. The chicken fillet had sold out more than half an hour earlier, leaving only Soka and octopus balls to be sold.

Through this stall experience, he once again deeply realized the importance of choosing the right products.

Previously, when setting up his stall, even though he received a few perfect reviews, the number of diners was relatively small, only a few hundred people. This time, it was a large-scale event with several thousand people.

As long as the stall’s dishes are food familiar to these foreigners, without any particularly intense flavors, it basically won’t go wrong.

Most importantly, he saw quite a few familiar faces but couldn’t call them by names; they should be loyal customers who had visited the buffet at the restaurant a few days ago.

These loyal customers returning and choosing his food again fully proves the strong inclusivity of Chinese cuisine, it’s transcending borders.

He couldn’t help but have some doubts.

Those who say online that foreigners don’t like eating Chinese food probably haven’t even left their own country, just reading a few news articles and guessing, as if they can’t stand their country’s culture going worldwide.

Even if a few have been abroad, how do they know foreigners don’t like eating Chinese food?

Did they ask at a Chinese restaurant, or at a Western restaurant, or randomly on the street?

He doesn’t understand.

Anyway, in all his years working abroad, whether cooking staff meals in the restaurant, or setting up stalls recently, or dining at Chinese restaurants, the conclusion is that Chinese food has a large audience abroad, and many foreigners like Chinese food.

Especially in Europe, people eat a lot of diverse dishes, offal cuisine is common, so they have a higher degree of acceptance of Chinese food.

Of course, there are also those who don’t like it, which is normal; foreigners have dishes in Western cuisine they can’t accept, so not accepting certain Chinese dishes isn’t a big deal; they don’t accept Southeast Asian or South American cuisine either, so why focus only on this point and claim they don’t love Chinese food?

Why not consider the possibility that the chosen dishes didn’t match their taste preferences?

They’re foreigners, not Great Xia People; how could they know which dishes are good or not, often blindly ordering, with translation not conveying the right feeling, nor knowing if they went to a restaurant making authentic Great Xia Cuisine.

Without an introduction by a Great Xia Person, trying to eat delicious Great Xia Cuisine relies entirely on luck, which is the main reason some foreign diners find Chinese food not tasty.

But among the eight major Chinese culinary styles and countless sub-styles, there will surely be one fitting for them.

Even domestic internet users debate heatedly over regional taste differences, let alone abroad.

Shaking his head, he clears the chaotic thoughts from his mind, as he prefers not to waste time pondering such trivialities; just analyze the main cause and avoid it himself.

Rather than thinking idly, it’s better to cook delicious dishes that satisfy diners.

Cleaning up the hygiene in the stall area, he drives the catering truck back to the restaurant to start handling the fresh crayfish and blackfish in the fridge for dinner.

Crayfish must be cooked in spicy garlic sauce; not only Lucas wants to eat it, but even Dais and Elsa, who’ve been joining him in the stall for so long, have gradually gotten used to Great Xia flavors, craving spicy flavors if not eaten for a few days.

The two Head Chefs will surely come to try, as for them, this authentic Great Xia flavor is undoubtedly better than the simplified version, more stimulating to their inspiration.

As for blackfish, there are many ways to cook it.

He hails from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region, where blackfish dishes have evolved in diverse ways.

Sour Fish, Scallion Oil Fish Slices, Pickled Fish Slices Stir Fry, Golden Soup Blackfish Slices, Blackfish Noodles, Fish Head Tofu Soup, among others, are quite renowned dishes.

Though the blackfish head can be braised, due to its small size, it isn’t very popular among diners who tend to opt for larger fish heads.

He doesn’t expect foreigners to eat fish heads; it’s better to stew them into white broth, altering the form to prevent fragmented fish head pieces from appearing in diners’ bowls, lest it affects their appetite.

"Besides tofu, what other ingredients can be added into the soup?"

Staring at the massive black fish already frozen in the box, Lin Chen fell into deep thought.

If it were the traditional method, the fish head tofu soup would have nothing but the fish head and tofu.

Even if you add something, it usually would just be some fresh bamboo shoots, to fully retain the freshness of the fish soup itself.

But the problem is, there are no bamboo shoots in the kitchen.

"How about making red soup?"

Compared to the freshness of white soup, red soup is more of a hearty flavor.

It’s not the red oil kind of red, but an orange-red soup base made with doubanjiang, orange peel, and perilla, a specialty flavor around Qiandao Lake.

This kind of fish soup isn’t as spicy, perfect for soaking rice, one bite whets the appetite, two bites go straight to the head, easily letting you dig into two or three bowls of rice.

The rice used to soak in fish soup is also particular; it can’t be steamed in a rice cooker. It has to be wooden bucket rice, steamed soft and fluffy with the aroma of the wooden bucket.

Thinking about it, he decided to make red soup after all. Everyone’s hungry after a hard day’s work, so a tangy fish soup with rice would be the perfect ending.

As for the fish fillet, this fish seems to weigh over five pounds, which is considered quite large domestically, but it’s pretty ordinary abroad.

This kind of fish has no natural enemies in the wild abroad, eats anything, and can easily grow to seven or eight pounds.

Removing the fish head and bones, the remaining pure meat should weigh around four pounds.

Make a portion of pickled fish, and another with scallion oil, should be about right.

Also, put a few packets of instant noodles with the crayfish, toss in some hot pot rice cake sticks, and make an easy dinner.

"Oh right, almost forgot there’s a little treasure left in the fridge."

Just as he took out the crayfish and black fish, something came to his mind, and he ran back to the cold storage to retrieve a bag of round brown objects, which looked like a rolled-up rag.

At this time, Lucas, Dais, and Elsa walked in from outside, sipping on ice-filled soda, clearly quite thirsty.

Seeing the item in his hand, Lucas’ eyes lit up.

"Whoa?! You’ve still been hiding this treasure even two days later?"

"What’s that, is this something good?"

Although Dais and Elsa couldn’t understand Lucas and Lin’s cryptic dialogue, from his suddenly brightened expression, they quickly realized Lin might be making something delicious.

"Of course it’s good stuff. In Great Xia, this is a more precious ingredient than beef, and each cow only has one."

He casually placed the bag on the side and started pouring crayfish into the sink for cleaning, gesturing for the three to come over.

Footsteps sounded outside the kitchen as Chef Marchello and Chef Nagishiro Sho walked in one after the other, Jonathan and the other two following behind.

"Just in time, I’m getting dinner ready. This crayfish is one of tomorrow’s dishes. Would you like to take a look?"

Chef Marchello raised an eyebrow, "Is that even a question? Of course, we want to learn, but Lin, aren’t you tired? Not even taking a break, just diving right back into work?"

Nagishiro Sho didn’t say anything, silently nodded, and stood right by his side.

As for these two chefs from Asia, Marchello was genuinely impressed; they were like robots that didn’t need rest.

Just as he reached the sink, he saw the peculiar object inside the bag on the table.

Nagishiro Sho also noticed it, poked it with his hand, sniffed it up close, and exclaimed, "Cow stomach? I thought it had already been used in a dish a few days ago, didn’t expect it was still here."

Sakura’s organ dishes are also known for their strong flavor. This bold flavor refers not to the seasoning but to the way of eating.

Besides using typical teriyaki or miso soy sauce for grilling or oden, some Sakura Restaurants would even offer organ sashimi.

Like pig, cow, sheep, horse, and chicken, other countries’ food safety laws clearly require them to be fully cooked, but in Sakura, they can be eaten raw.

Hearts, livers, stomachs, kidneys, heart tubes, esophagus, intestines, almost no part can’t be eaten raw.

Some people can accept this heavy taste, but definitely not many. Not just anyone would have a sudden urge to eat this stuff, and even if a restaurant marks it as absolutely safe and hygienic, it’s still so.

As a head chef, Nagishiro Sho had certainly eaten cow stomach and even handled it himself, quickly realizing this was the third chamber of the cow’s stomach.

By contrast, Chef Marchello didn’t recognize which part it specifically was, only knowing it was one of the cow’s four stomachs.

"Yeah, this is really good stuff. In Great Xia, it’s one of the most common and tastiest ingredients, so much so that domestic production is not enough, and we have to import from abroad."

"Luckily, Western countries don’t eat it, so they just throw it away. We get it all cheap, haha."