Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Braised Sea Cucumber with Green Onions, Booming Business!
Scallion-Braised Sea Cucumber is one of the finest dishes served at state banquets.
Sea cucumbers are known for their expensive price and high nutritional value. Otherwise, the national football team wouldn’t eat them every day. Unfortunately, this quality ingredient has also become a punchline for jokes about the national football team. But the flavor of this dish is beyond doubt.
Similarly, preparing Scallion-Braised Sea Cucumber is a true test of a chef’s skills. Take, for example, rehydrating the sea cucumbers—that alone is a troublesome affair. This step isn’t difficult in itself; the challenge lies in understanding the state of the sea cucumbers. Consequently, it’s hard for ordinary people to do this dish justice.
Lately, Jiang Feng had been instructing the two chefs responsible for ’working the cutting board’ at the restaurant on how to rehydrate sea cucumbers.
First step: soak them in water for 24 hours until the sea cucumbers become somewhat firm.
Second step: boil them in pure water, cook the sea cucumbers once, let the temperature cool, and then soak them in the refrigerator for 48 hours. After this step, the sea cucumbers become springy to the touch and can be wiggled in your hand. Next, they need to be slit open from end to end to remove the sand mouth inside.
Third step: same as before—boil, cool, and then soak in the refrigerator’s storage compartment for 48 hours.
During the rehydration process, the state of each sea cucumber will vary. Without experience, one simply cannot handle this ingredient properly. Luckily, Jiang Feng had obtained relevant recipes and handled the sea cucumbers expertly. This time, the cost of just preparing the sea cucumbers exceeded 100,000 yuan. Since he hadn’t yet found a reliable supplier who could provide properly rehydrated sea cucumbers directly, he had to do it himself this time. In the future, he might purchase directly rehydrated sea cucumbers, which would be more convenient.
Next, Jiang Feng fried scallions, star anise, cinnamon, ginger slices, green onion leaves, and bay leaves to make scallion oil. Then he combined the scallion oil with caramelized sugar, soy sauce, red wine, and a bowl of rich broth to simmer a scallion oil sauce. The scallion oil and the fried aromatics were then sealed with plastic wrap and steamed in a pot.
This dish is quite a hassle to make. Jiang Feng worked methodically.
Then came the final step: braising the sea cucumbers. He added the scallion oil sauce to the wok, placed the rehydrated sea cucumbers inside, and as they simmered over medium heat, the sea cucumbers plumped up while the sauce reduced in the wok. Once the sea cucumbers were thoroughly cooked, he added starch to thicken the sauce. Only when the sea cucumbers were enveloped in the viscous sauce did he finish the dish with a final spoonful of scallion oil. The aroma of the scallions intensified, and the sauce became even more vibrant in color.
Jiang Feng’s technique for thickening the sauce and finishing the dish was superb. There was no visible excess oil, yet the sea cucumbers looked exceptionally glossy.
After finishing, all he needed to do was transfer the sea cucumbers to a platter, surrounded by garnishes like broccoli and simmered scallions, and it was ready to be served. Plating was the responsibility of the pantry chef. Jiang Feng didn’t need to worry about it. He cooked a large quantity at once, producing several plates each time.
The back kitchen was truly bustling. With orders pouring in, Jiang Feng had to speed up his cooking. Since all the ingredients were ready, he continued making Scallion-Braised Sea Cucumber. The signature tofu dish would have to wait.
「Jiangyue Terrace, Second Floor, Grain Rain Hall Private Room.」
The eagerly anticipated Scallion-Braised Sea Cucumber was finally served. Portion sizes for large tables, especially in private rooms, were more generous than for small tables. As the Scallion-Braised Sea Cucumber was placed on the glass Lazy Susan, everyone’s gaze immediately locked onto it.
The server introduced,
"This dish is the Scallion-Braised Sea Cucumber personally prepared by Boss Jiang."
"Please enjoy."
As she finished speaking, Zhang Dashan excitedly invited everyone,
"Come, everyone, try it; this is the dish we’ve all come for!"
"Boss Jiang must come from an authentic Shandong Cuisine lineage; his Shandong Cuisine is truly exceptional."
"Mr. Li, please."
Zhang Dashan gestured for Mr. Li, the guest of honor, to eat first.
Mr. Li picked up a piece of sea cucumber. The sea cucumber, coated in a viscous sauce, gleamed enticingly. When he picked it up, the sea cucumber still quivered elastically. Sea cucumbers are a prized delicacy and a genuine health tonic. Even before tasting it, a strong scent of scallions wafted through the air. This aroma, carrying a hint of meatiness, was not at all greasy and greatly stimulated the appetite.
Mr. Li bit into the sea cucumber. His first sensation was its soft, glutinous texture. The sea cucumber was exceptionally tender and smooth, bouncing gently in his mouth. As he chewed, the flavor burst forth time after time.
Mr. Li had eaten sea cucumber before; it’s a dish that needs to be eaten with its sauce. Because sea cucumbers are notoriously difficult to imbue with flavor, it’s challenging to make the inside savory. However, this Scallion-Braised Sea Cucumber was fragrant through and through. The taste was simply exquisite.
"It’s incredibly flavorful! Truly the work of a master chef!"
"This skill is impeccable," Mr. Li praised.
Zhang Dashan also tried a piece of sea cucumber, picking it up with his chopsticks and putting the whole thing into his mouth. Sea cucumber, a rare ingredient, naturally has a unique texture. It’s highly nutritious. If flavored well, it becomes an unparalleled delicacy.
Zhang Dashan ate quickly. He chewed a few times, and all he could sense was the exquisite flavor of the sea cucumber on his tongue. No matter how thoroughly he chewed, the aroma continued to stimulate his taste buds. It was perfectly integrated. The rich sauce mingled with his saliva, leaving a delightful aftertaste. The glutinous aroma, the meaty aroma, the hint of wine—these flavors melded together, and after swallowing, the aftertaste was endless.
In such a wonderful moment, having a drink was even more satisfying. Mr. Li’s hand was already on his glass, and Zhang Dashan immediately raised his, "Come, let’s have a round!"
Everyone raised their small cups and drained the white liquor in one gulp. TSK. The spicy white liquor settled in their stomachs, bringing an even greater sense of comfort. His entire body felt refreshed.
Zhang Xinya didn’t drink white liquor; after eating a piece of sea cucumber, she had a small cup of a soft drink. Satisfaction was written all over her face. The taste of the sea cucumber was too good. Such deliciousness was usually hard to come by. The rarer it was, the more precious it seemed. No matter how tasty a dish is, eating it every day would eventually lead to palate fatigue. To occasionally eat an uncommon delicacy like sea cucumber, especially one so well-prepared, naturally brought a sense of pleasure.
"So delicious!"
"It’s rare to find sea cucumber this flavorful! I wonder how he does it!"
"This is truly the work of a master chef!"
Everyone was full of praise.
Jiang Feng was a brand in himself. Many people came here to dine specifically for his reputation. So, while enjoying the sea cucumber, the conversation naturally turned to Jiang Feng.
「In the main hall.」
The diners were also eating happily. They discovered that not only was the Scallion-Braised Sea Cucumber delicious, but other Shandong Cuisine dishes were also very authentic and exceptionally tasty.
Jiang Feng personally oversaw ’quality control.’ He personally reviewed every dish, refining the cooking methods. Furthermore, he had firm control over the kitchen staff; his word was law, and no one in the kitchen would dare to disregard it. As a result, every dish was improved. Although the dishes couldn’t reach the perfection of those Jiang Feng cooked himself, even being somewhat similar made them far superior to the Shandong Cuisine found in ordinary restaurants.
In the main hall, beautifully prepared Scallion-Braised Sea Cucumber was served at the tables.
"Try it quickly, this is made by Executive Chef Jiang himself!"
"Been waiting for this dish!"
"I see it’s ordered at every table!"
"Of course!"
Everyone was very excited.
The guests picked up the sea cucumber and placed it in their mouths. Many were trying sea cucumber for the first time. Before tasting it, they didn’t know what to expect, but afterward, they found it soft, glutinous, and delicious. The flavor of the sauce was also rich. The sea cucumber slowly melted in the mouth, then smoothly went down the throat. The sensation was incredibly wonderful.
"It’s really delicious!"
"My first time eating this! Wow, it tastes amazing!"
"It’s half-priced; let’s order another serving!"
"The first serving is half-priced, but if we order a second one, we’ll have to pay full price. It seems like there are too many customers, and the sea cucumbers are in short supply!"
"Then I want to order another serving too!"
The dish was unexpectedly delicious. More flavorful than meat, yet the texture was tender and springy. Everyone ate with great delight.
The main hall was already packed. All the restaurant’s private rooms were full too, and some people were even trying to book rooms for after two o’clock.
Outside the restaurant, many people were queuing with number tickets in their hands. At this rate, the wait to get in was over an hour. However, nowadays, people could join the queue online and check their phones to see how much longer they had to wait. This meant they could grab a milk tea or wander around nearby during the wait.
The restaurant’s business was surprisingly good.
A couple approached the front desk to inquire.
"Hello, could we find out how many tables are ahead of us?"
The front desk staff glanced at the computer and replied courteously,
"There are 28 tables ahead of you; it will take at least an hour and a half."
Hearing that the wait was so long, the couple was momentarily taken aback.
"Alright, we’ll take a number."
They decided to take a number anyway, figuring they would decide later if they would wait.
The queue was long. Some who knew about the restaurant were not in a hurry to come today. After all, they could always come and eat another day.
The business was extraordinarily good on the opening day. People mainly came because of Jiang Feng’s reputation on the first day. And Jiang Feng was dedicated to building a reputation for word-of-mouth delicacies, striving to make Jiangyue Terrace Shandong Cuisine Restaurant a flagship Shandong Cuisine restaurant. Every dish of Shandong Cuisine was delightful. Hence, it was destined that the restaurant’s business would not fare poorly in the future.