AGN -Chapter 145 The Young Master’s Dream

What Qin Huai didn’t know was that the “Three-Layer Duck” was merely the appetizer for tonight.

Although Three-Layer Duck was difficult to prepare and impressive in skill, it wasn’t actually the dish Huang Shengli was best at. His true specialties were “Sizzling Oil Eel Shreds,” followed by “Deboned and Braised Silver Carp Head.”

“Deboned and Braised Silver Carp Head,” like Three-Layer Duck, is theoretically a type of soup dish. The common feature of soup dishes is that they take a very long time to prepare, unlike Sizzling Oil Eel Shreds, which can be quickly stir-fried and served with a sharp sizzle once it hits the pan.

Huang Shengli was essentially operating on two fronts. While the Three-Layer Duck was just going into the pot, the carp head dish was already being prepared for steaming.

Huang Anyao acted as a competent commentator.

“Deboned and Braised Silver Carp Head is also one of my dad’s specialties. The fish head has to weigh about three jin (roughly 1.5 kg). Too large and the meat won’t be tender enough; too small and there are too many bones and too little meat, making it troublesome to debone and not satisfying to eat.”

“The key to this dish is freshness. Don’t think that steaming the fish head with some scallion, ginger, and garlic is nothing special—that’s actually the most crucial step for locking in freshness.”

“After the fish head is steamed, you remove the bones, heat pork lard in a wok, and without frying, add sliced shiitake mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, ham, and the steaming broth from earlier. ‘Original soup with original ingredients.’ Then add the fish head back in and simmer.”

“The pork lard and fish broth are the most important parts. Pork lard makes the soup rich and silky. Don’t worry about any fishy smell from the carp head broth—when combined with the pork lard and other ingredients, it brings out the essence of the fish’s flavor.”

“Oh right, and dried scallops too. See that small bowl over there? The scallops have been soaked in advance, and the soaking liquid has to be added as well.”

“When river flavors, seafood flavors, mountain delicacies, and land ingredients all come together… that taste—”

Even though the fish head was still steaming, both Huang Anyao and Qin Huai smacked their lips at the same time.

“Sizzling Oil Eel Shreds goes without saying—that’s my dad’s signature dish!”

“You’ve come at a bit of an unfortunate time; it’s already autumn. Eel is best in spring and summer. Spring eel is the most tender, while summer eel is fattier, with fewer bones and more meat. Personally, I prefer summer eel.”

“With so many dishes today, Sizzling Oil Eel Shreds will definitely be the last one. When you see it later, you’ll understand—some dishes simply need pork lard to bring out their fragrance.”

“Look over there—see that prepared eel? Later, the half jin or so of eel meat will be blanched first, cooked to about 80% doneness, then seasoned with soy sauce and light soy sauce for color and flavor. The middle process is actually quite simple, like ordinary stir-frying—no tossing the wok, no complex heat control. The most important part is the final two steps.”

“Two steps?” Qin Huai was fully attentive.

“Do you know why it’s called ‘sizzling oil’? The soul of this dish is, after thickening and plating, pouring boiling hot oil over the eel shreds twice—three times is fine too. You’ll hear a sizzling sound. Once the sizzling is done, it’s ready to serve.”

“When the dish is brought to the table, the hot oil is still dancing on the eel shreds. The whole dish looks glossy, with a beautiful sauce color. But it’s not greasy at all, and you don’t have to worry about it being too hot. At that moment, you can pick it up with chopsticks, mix it slightly, and eat it—the temperature and flavor are at their best.”

“That taste—fresh, slightly sweet, with a lingering aftertaste. If you’ve never had it, you might think it’s a bit sweet, but in my opinion, the sweetness is what makes Sizzling Oil Eel Shreds the best. The lingering aftertaste is the soul of the dish! I haven’t had it for several months already.”

Qin Huai: “……”

Wait—what exactly have you been eating these past few months as the young master of Huangji Restaurant? How come every dish you mention, you haven’t had in months?

Qin Huai kept looking at Huang Anyao, to the point where Huang Anyao felt a bit uneasy.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I feel like… you really know how to eat,” Qin Huai said, unsure how to phrase it.

He had heard some gossip about Huang Anyao from Dong Shi, mostly about poor marketing ideas. In reality, Qin Huai didn’t know him well. He only knew that although Huang Anyao was the only son of Huang Shengli, he had no interest in learning cooking or taking over the restaurant business.

Or rather, not entirely no interest—more like no ability.

Although he studied finance and management in university, he clearly hadn’t mastered it. According to Dong Shi, he was a decent person with a good personality, but essentially a homebody who didn’t like going out or socializing.

Interacting with customers and communicating with suppliers felt like something he forced himself to do.

Though nominally the young master of Huangji Restaurant, he was essentially a symbolic figure. Everyone understood that the future of the restaurant would not fall to him. Huang Jia was the undisputed successor, the future leader of the business. Huang Anyao would likely just hold shares and collect dividends, at most participating in management.

In a typical wealthy family, such a succession situation would have led to intense internal conflict. After all, Huangji Restaurant was a well-known establishment in Suzhou with considerable value and strong revenue in previous years—more than enough to spark a dramatic power struggle.

But Huang Anyao accepted it calmly.

According to Dong Shi, no one really knew what Huang Anyao did every day. Ever since his last failed marketing attempt, he had become elusive—appearing only when there were good dishes to eat, and disappearing for days otherwise, rarely involved in the restaurant’s operations.

“I do think I’m quite good at eating,” Huang Anyao nodded. “Although I don’t like cooking, don’t have talent for it, and can’t endure the hardship, I’ve always loved the dishes my dad makes and the pastries my uncle makes.”

“Did Siyuan tell you? I live in the same neighborhood where he runs his pastry shop. Every morning I go there to buy snacks.”

Qin Huai: 6

“To be honest, I don’t want to manage the restaurant at all, nor do I want to further study management. I just want to work as a freelance writer for ‘Zhi Wei.’ My dream is to become someone like Mr. Xu—travel all over the world, taste local cuisines everywhere, and in my forties, start my own food magazine and become a renowned food critic,” Huang Anyao said with longing.

Qin Huai didn’t understand a word: “What is ‘Zhi Wei’? A food magazine? And who is Mr. Xu? A famous food critic?”

Huang Anyao: “?!”

“You don’t know ‘Zhi Wei’?!”

Qin Huai shook his head.

“You don’t know Xu Cheng?!”

Qin Huai shook his head again.

Huang Anyao was completely stunned. He never expected a chef—one whose pastry skills were so refined, capable of making fermented wine mantou, three-ingredient buns, five-ingredient buns, and that peculiar dried tangerine peel tea in the afternoon—to not even know who Xu Cheng was.

He had known Qin Huai was unconventional, but not to this extent.

No wonder his father had personally invited Qin Huai to Suzhou—to broaden his horizons.

Huang Anyao could only begin explaining the basics of the culinary world.

“Zhi Wei” is the most famous food magazine in the industry. It was first published monthly, and now releases an issue every two months.

Being featured in “Zhi Wei” is the dream of almost every chef, because it means recognition from the renowned food critic Xu Cheng. The magazine is distributed in multiple countries worldwide and carries enormous influence and authority.

No matter which country a chef comes from—even if it’s a small, obscure stall in a little-known country—once featured in “Zhi Wei,” they are immediately sought after by food lovers around the world. Dedicated fans of the magazine will not hesitate to book flights just to taste the food hidden in those local streets and alleys.

The reason Huangji Restaurant is so well-known locally is because Huang Shengli was featured in issue #7 of “Zhi Wei.” Although not on the cover, the article was written by Xu Cheng, giving it tremendous credibility.

In that article, Xu Cheng devoted extensive praise to Huang Shengli’s Three-Layer Duck and Sizzling Oil Eel Shreds, establishing them as the restaurant’s signature dishes. Even now, many diners, when mentioning Huangji Restaurant, immediately think:

“If you go to Huangji Restaurant, you must try Master Huang Shengli’s Three-Layer Duck and Sizzling Oil Eel Shreds—they were praised by Mr. Xu in ‘Zhi Wei.’”

This illustrates the magazine’s influence.

As for Xu Cheng himself, beyond being the founder of “Zhi Wei” and a renowned food critic, he is also a rather ordinary ultra-wealthy second-generation heir, managing both the magazine and his family’s vast inherited assets.

This shows that being a food critic and writer requires substantial financial backing.

After all, traveling the world to eat isn’t something you can do with just a pen and a backpack—you also need a limitless credit card.

After hearing all this, Qin Huai felt that Huang Anyao was someone with genuine dreams.

He had just looked up Xu Cheng’s net worth online. Compared to him, even Luo Jun would only be considered an ordinary figure.

“A food critic sounds nice, but Master Huang’s situation—”

Before Qin Huai could finish his sentence, he heard a sizzling sound.

Fragrant!

An overwhelming aroma burst forth!

Garlic aroma, oil aroma, winter bamboo shoots, and eel fragrance all blended together and rushed toward them.

Qin Huai no longer had the mind to continue chatting, because what followed was a cascade of aromas.

Meaty fragrance, fish fragrance, sweet aroma, savory aroma…

For the first time, Qin Huai understood what it meant for the brain to be unable to render imagery due to lack of prior experience.

Huang Shengli’s energetic voice rang out:

“Sizzling Oil Eel Shreds is ready! What time is it? Oh, it’s already 8:10. The dishes should all be done. Where are Xiao Qin and Anyao? Call them over—time to eat!”