Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 27

Chapter 37 This is how I learned to make cucumber salad.

Zhang Yong's jumping around was seen by the other chefs. Master Hong Henian, who was busy with his own work, pouted and said to his apprentice next to him, "Go and see what kind of trouble this time."

Ye Xiangqun put down the plate in his hand and walked over. He was startled when he heard Zhang Yong's last two sentences and hurriedly asked, "What happened?"

Zhang Yong sneered, "Go ask He Yuzhu what good deeds he's done?"

Ye Xiangqun turned to He Yuzhu, his face full of concern.

He Yuzhu quickly said, "I just made hawthorn honey sauce and poured it on the cucumbers."

I didn't think much about it when I made it. The main purpose of smashed cucumber is to make it refreshing and cool, with a sour, spicy, and sweet flavor.

According to He Yuzhu's understanding, adding hawthorn honey was just an upgrade to the seasoning; it was still a cucumber salad.

Then he expressed his doubts, and Ye Xiangqun didn't offer much comment, only asking:

"Is there any more? I want to try it and see what it's like."

Strictly speaking, they are actually two dishes. The key to smashing cucumber is cutting the cucumber in half and then smashing it with a knife.

The seasonings used include hemp seed oil, minced garlic, cooking wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, cilantro, chili, and aged vinegar.

The preparation method is indeed different from that of hawthorn and honey-glazed cucumber.

However, both are cold dishes made with cucumber salad. To say that the two dishes are the same is to argue that they are the same dish.

After all, there is no single standard for cooking. Even if a dish has the same name, chefs in different regions will cook it differently.

There is no standard manufacturing process for this.

Ye Xiangqun immediately thought of a way to decline. He Yuzhu could simply say that he had learned it and that's how cucumber salad is made.

With this explanation, no one could say much, since He Yuzhu had only officially started working in the cold dish section today.

"There's more." He Yuzhu quickly prepared another serving of cucumbers. Ye Xiangqun didn't even pick up chopsticks; he simply reached in, grabbed a cucumber, and tasted it.

It's definitely different from ordinary smashed cucumbers; it's crunchy, sweet, and has that hawthorn-like sourness.

Overall, it tastes better than smashed cucumber and suits the tastes of Beijingers.

He nodded in agreement: "Not bad."

Zhang Yong was a little angry, thinking that Ye Xiangqun said this on purpose to reduce He Yuzhu's punishment.

"Stop trying to be nice to him. What good is a delicious cucumber?"

Zhang Yong said, "The customer ordered smashed cucumber, but what was served was cucumber strips. It's obviously different. Isn't this unauthorized substitution of dishes?"

The two dishes look different. Everyone has seen smashed cucumber, and it's a dish that families often make at home in the summer.

Yam and honey cucumber is made by cutting cucumbers into sections, then slicing them into strips, arranging them neatly, and then drizzling them with hawthorn honey.

The two dishes looked completely different, which is why Zhang Yong felt he had evidence.

He Yuzhu suddenly said, "Then why don't I just smash the cucumbers first and then pour the sauce over them?"

After speaking, He Yuzhu took a cucumber, smashed it in a couple of blows, put it on a plate, and then poured the prepared hawthorn honey sauce over it.

A fresh plate of hawthorn and honey-glazed cucumber was ready in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Yong was dumbfounded. Now it seemed that the cucumber had been smashed. Although it was drizzled with hawthorn honey, it wouldn't be wrong to call this dish smashed cucumber.

I could only bite the bullet and say, "This isn't cucumber salad."

He Yuzhu wasn't stupid either, and said, "That's how I learned to make cucumber salad."

Ye Xiangqun nodded: "Yes, this is also a way of making cucumber salad. You can't say that this isn't cucumber salad."

"You...you..."

Zhang Yong was so angry that he couldn't speak. The two of them were clearly just being unreasonable.

At this moment, Zhang Zusheng hurriedly arrived.

Now Zhang Yong seemed to have found his pillar of support and said happily, "He Yuzhu, I told you you were going to be in trouble."

He Yuzhu felt a little uneasy, because preparing cold dishes was actually a good way for him to gain experience.

I never thought I'd be fired after just two days. If I try to find another restaurant, I might not be able to get the job. Am I supposed to set up a stall and sell cold dishes?

As Zhang Zusheng drew closer, his expression remained unchanged, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Zhang Zusheng approached and asked, "He Yuzhu, why didn't you tell me beforehand that you wanted to change the dishes?"

Ye Xiangqun had just given him a wink and mouthed something, so he understood what Ye Xiangqun meant.

"Master Zhang, this is how I learned to make cucumber salad."

After this period of delay, He Yuzhu also figured it out. Normally, when ordering food, one should say, "Give me a cucumber salad."

Some restaurants might simply write "smashed cucumber" on their menus, but Taifenglou uses the name "cold cucumber salad."

Normally, this name wouldn't be considered inappropriate.

But now He Yuzhu is making a fuss about the name. His cucumbers weren't smashed, but cut into long strips. But what does it matter? After all, the menu says cucumber salad. If that's the case, he hasn't done anything wrong at all.

Ye Xiangqun secretly gave He Yuzhu a thumbs up.

This reason is truly unbeatable; no one can find fault with it.

Zhang Yong was dumbfounded, then jumped out and accused, "You're just being unreasonable. What they want is cucumber salad."

"This is how I learned to make smashed cucumbers."

"You didn't even take a picture? What kind of cucumber salad is this?"

"Does wife cake contain a wife? Does husband and wife lung slice contain a husband and wife?" He Yuzhu asked rhetorically.

"You..." Zhang Yong was speechless again. Could a chef really say something like that?

"Okay, okay, stop arguing."

Zhang Zusheng said, "I just went to the front and asked, and no one complained that the dish was bad. Since the customers approve, let's just let it go."

"Uncle, shouldn't we have fired him?" Zhang Yong jumped out anxiously and asked.

This is not the result I expected.

"What dismissal? Our restaurant has never paid much attention to cold dishes. He Yuzhu is very good at making cold dishes. This is a good thing."

The main reason was that I asked a few familiar customers beforehand, and they all said that today's cold dishes tasted good, with a sweet and sour flavor that was quite appetizing.

As he spoke, he gestured to stop Zhang Yong from continuing, then criticized him, saying, "But next time if you want to change the dishes, just tell me. You can't do things on your own like this."

"Yes, I understand. I was unaware of the restaurant's rules this time. I promise I won't do it again next time."

He Yuzhu doesn't care if he gets criticized, as long as he's not kicked out.

After all, the cold dish chef position can gain one or two hundred experience points a day.

This is the position with the most experience right now, and He Yuzhu doesn't plan to leave it unless absolutely necessary.

Even if I were to become the second chef, I wouldn't gain as much experience as I would in preparing cold dishes.

Chapter 38 Rainwater, who told you to work?

Zhang Zusheng nodded: "Ignorance is no excuse. If you have any other dishes, just tell me. I've already added them to the menu for you this time. From now on, smashed cucumber will be smashed cucumber, and hawthorn honey cucumber will be a separate dish."

"Ok, I see."

Zhang Yong was furious when he saw this, as He Yuzhu had passed the test so easily.

He was so angry that he left and went back to his seat to chop vegetables.

Zhang Zusheng then asked, "I checked the cold dishes you made earlier, and the taste is different from others. They are both sour and sweet. Do you have a special recipe?"

He Yuzhu nodded: "Yes, my father and grandfather were both chefs, so it's a family tradition. Today, I added a sweet and sour sauce to the dish."

"I see. Besides sweet and sour sauce, do you have any other recipes?"

"Yes, there are also more than ten kinds of sauces such as sesame oil sauce, chili oil sauce, five-spice sauce, garlic sauce, eggplant sauce, ginger sauce, and sweet and sour sauce."

Some of these are general guidelines, while others are only applicable to two or three types of cold dishes. However, these guidelines can be said to cover all cold dishes.

Zhang Zusheng nodded, said "okay," and then said, "If you have any special needs, just tell me, and I'll arrange for someone to make the purchase."

Every chef's style has its own characteristics, and different people even have different secret recipes, resulting in different flavors.

Since it was a chef's skill passed down through three generations, they believed He Yuzhu's words.

"Call me when you've finished cooking so I can taste it and confirm before serving it to the customers."

He Yuzhu quickly nodded in agreement.

Seeing that the matter was over, Ye Xiangqun said goodbye after He Yuzhu had only been reprimanded and went back to work.

There was a backlog of cold dishes that hadn't been made yet, but He Yuzhu managed to make some in his spare time. Under Zhang Zusheng's supervision, He Yuzhu quickly made the backlog of cold dishes.

The dressing for cold dishes is very easy to make. Just mix it in an empty bowl, stir it well, and then pour it over the cold dishes.

He Yuzhu cooked several dishes and had Zhang Zusheng taste them. Zhang Zusheng felt that they tasted even better than those prepared by others. After confirming that there were no problems, Zhang Zusheng let He Yuzhu boldly make improvements.

Of course, if too many recipe changes are needed, head chef Zhang Zusheng should be notified.

Finally, Zhang Zusheng asked, "You're still an apprentice, right?"