Chapter 16

(Seeking recommendation votes!)

Under Shi Qing's nervous gaze, Zhou Xian opened the lid, revealing a whole plate of steamed mackerel.

The mackerel was sliced into pieces, neatly arranged in a circle, like a peacock spreading its feathers, with green vegetables as a contrast, making it look quite presentable.

Zhou Xian picked up a piece of mackerel and put it in his mouth, chewing it.

"Hmm?" Suddenly, Zhou Xian's eyes widened, and he almost stood up, supporting himself on the table with both hands.

"Mr. Zhou, please don't be angry. This isn't a big hotel, just a small seafood restaurant. And this mackerel isn't high-end seafood. Please bear with it. After all, mackerel is quite nutritious and beneficial to your health," Shi Qing tried to persuade him.

"How did you make this steamed mackerel?" Zhou Xian ignored Shi Qing and looked at Su Jing with a shocked expression.

"Huh?" Seeing Zhou Xian's reaction, Shi Qing was taken aback. How did it seem like Zhou Xian wasn't angry? Instead, he looked excited, as if he had found a treasure. Was it just her imagination?

Ma Teng and Lin Cai'er, who knew Zhou Xian very well, glanced at the unremarkable plate of mackerel with shock, wondering what kind of taste could make their master show such rare excitement.

"Don't tell me yet, let me guess," Zhou Xian suddenly interrupted Su Jing, who was about to speak. He picked up a second piece of mackerel and put it in his mouth, then a third. He seemed unable to stop and quickly finished the entire plate of steamed mackerel.

This left Shi Qing, Ma Teng, and Lin Cai'er speechless, especially Ma Teng and Lin Cai'er. They knew that their master, due to his picky eating habits, had almost reached the point of anorexia, only eating a little bit at each meal. It had been a long time since he had eaten with such enthusiasm.

"Shouldn't this be called a 'peacock mackerel'?" After finishing, Zhou Xian slowly said, "The method is simple: first, scale and clean the mackerel, cut a slice at the head and tail, and remove the internal organs from the side. Cut the middle section into slices. Place the fish skin in a large bowl, add ginger slices, salt, white pepper, cooking wine, and vinegar, and marinate for 5-10 minutes. Place the fish head facing up on the plate, arrange the fish slices in a fan shape to resemble a peacock spreading its feathers, and sprinkle with ginger and garlic. Steam in a steamer for 8-10 minutes after the water has come to a boil. Cut the red chili peppers into rings and the scallions into pieces. Decorate the tail with red chili rings and sprinkle with scallion pieces, then drizzle with steamed fish sauce and sesame oil."

"However, the same method can yield very different results depending on who makes it. There are a few key points to making steamed fish delicious: 1. The fish must be fresh and lively; steamed live fish is the best, emphasizing the original flavor and freshness; 2. Don't marinate the fish for too long before steaming, 10 minutes is ideal, as salt can penetrate and solidify proteins, making the meat tough if left too long; 3. Steaming should be done in one go, with three taboos: don't put the fish in before the water boils, don't open the lid halfway, and don't keep the fish in the steamer for too long after it's cooked."

"This steamed mackerel clearly excels in all steps and key points, achieving perfection with a skill that can be described as divine. It elevates the simplest dish to the highest level, demonstrating top-notch culinary expertise."

Shi Qing was stunned. How could Zhou Xian be full of praise? Was this the same harsh food critic?

"..." Su Jing was also stunned, thinking that there were so many details to making steamed fish. He realized he still had a lot to learn. However, seeing Zhou Xian so confidently talking, he couldn't help but find it a bit amusing, thinking how the old man would react if he knew that Su Jing's method was simply: slicing the fish, marinating, steaming in a hot shell, and adding seasonings.

"Mr. Zhou is truly remarkable. As you said, this dish was made exactly like that," Su Jing coughed slightly and said with a bit of bravado.

"Who is your chef? Can we meet him?" Zhou Xian asked. Ma Teng and Lin Cai'er were also curious. What kind of chef could make such a simple steamed mackerel to the satisfaction of their master? They were also quite hungry, as they hadn't had a single piece of the fish. Shi Qing glanced towards the kitchen, guessing that it was Su Jing's uncle, who she had heard was a good cook, but she didn't expect him to be so skilled that even Zhou Xian was impressed.

"Ha ha, this young man here is the chef of the steamed mackerel," Zhao Mengxiang, who happened to be passing by, pointed at Su Jing.

"Him?" Shi Qing, Zhou Xian, Ma Teng, and Lin Cai'er all asked in disbelief. Zhou Xian and his disciples thought Su Jing was too young to have such culinary skills, which required a long time to develop. Shi Qing, who had tasted Su Jing's cooking before, found it much worse than her own, so how could he have made a steamed mackerel that satisfied Zhou Xian?

"Mr. Zhou, all the signature dishes here are made by this young man," one of the guests who recognized Zhou Xian said. He had ordered several signature dishes, and his wife thought he was wasting money, but now that even Zhou Xian liked them, he felt more confident.

"I'll order another steamed mackerel, a steamed lobster, and a steamed crab," Zhou Xian squinted and sized up Su Jing for a while, not sure if he believed that Su Jing had made the dish, but he ordered more food anyway.

"Sure, please wait a moment." Su Jing ran home to prepare the dishes. Running back and forth was quite tiring, and in the past, he would have been exhausted, but thanks to the monster meat, he didn't feel tired and even felt a sense of satisfaction from the physical exertion.

After a while, Su Jing brought the dishes on a tray and served the three dishes Zhou Xian had ordered. Zhou Xian, Ma Teng, and Lin Cai'er started eating enthusiastically, especially Lin Cai'er, who completely forgot about her image, eating with her mouth full and even picking up a lobster claw with her hand.

Su Jing placed an extra plate of lobster in front of Shi Qing.

"I didn't order anything," Shi Qing looked at Su Jing.

"I'm treating you, as an apology," Su Jing smiled. He still didn't know why Shi Qing was angry with him, but a good man doesn't argue with a woman, so he apologized first to make her forgive him.

"Hmph, one lobster isn't enough to make up for it," Shi Qing shot a glance at Su Jing, but a sweet smile appeared on her lips. She eagerly tore off a piece of lobster and put it in her mouth, immediately feeling its deliciousness, and saliva uncontrollably flowed out, which she quickly wiped away.

Seeing her embarrassed state, Su Jing couldn't help but laugh. She blushed and glared at him, then continued eating the lobster. Her opinion of Su Jing's culinary skills had completely changed, and she was now deeply impressed. She felt that this lobster was the best food she had ever tasted.

By the time Shi Qing came to her senses, the entire lobster was already in her stomach. She felt both love and hate for Su Jing. Eating such delicious food was a great pleasure, but now she would probably gain weight.

After eating to his heart's content, Zhou Xian posted an article on Weibo, highly praising the Zhenhong Seafood Restaurant. This quickly spread, and Zhou Xian, who had a high reputation in the food industry, hadn't given a positive review in a long time. Suddenly praising a small seafood restaurant made people very curious.

(ps: Thank you to a bunch of fools, Shanbian Kuzhu for the 100 rewards, and 0 Dataming Guoxingye 0 for the 10 rewards. Also, thank you for your votes and collections. This week, the book was initially in the top twelve of the urban new book list, but it dropped in the afternoon. I urgently need recommendation votes and collections to get back to the top twelve. The book is already signed, and I will speed up the updates, with at least two updates per day this week. If it can make it to the homepage new book list, I will do three updates per day.)

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