Chapter 15 - The Best Seasoning (2/2)

During this second process, Yu Xiaocao added some sugar, cooking wine, and some other seasonings while the sauce simmered on low heat. Time passed as she let the ingredients cook and meld together. It was almost lunchtime before she finally declared that it was ready!

The finished oyster sauce was dark in color and had a glossy sheen. The whole kitchen was filled with its savory fragrance. Head Chef Wang impatiently sampled a taste of the sauce and his eyes opened wide in shock. “This is incredible! How could something have such a dense yet savory taste? It is so full of flavor but it doesn’t seem overwhelming!”

Yu Xiaocao also took a taste before smiling. “It still lacks a couple of key ingredients that would make it more delicious. Still, this sauce is still pretty good, it retains the original flavor from the oysters.”

Zhou Zixu and Manager Jiang followed in trying the sauce out. “What kind of sauce is this? Can it be added to cooked meats and vegetables?”

Yu Xiaocao nodded in assent. “This is called ‘oyster sauce’. Oyster sauce is also known as the ‘essence of the sea’. Using it while cooking can increase the overall savoriness and tastiness of a dish.”

She looked around the kitchen and then pointed at a bunch of green leafed vegetables. “Let me make some simmered green vegetables [1] with this. This is one of my specialties!”

Head Chef Wang enthusiastically started washing the vegetables himself. In the meantime, Yu Xiaocao set another pot full of water on the fire and let it come to a boil. After quickly blanching the cleaned greens in the water, she set the cooked vegetables onto a serving plate and drizzled some oyster sauce and sesame oil on top. The dish was finished! She glanced up at everyone in the kitchen and hinted at them to take a taste.

“Is this already finished?” asked someone incredulously. The rest of the people in the room looked at her in dismay. Wasn’t this just boiled green vegetables?

On the other hand, Head Chef Wang had a thoughtful expression on his face. From his culinary experience, he knew that the more simple a dish was, the more it tested a chef’s capabilities. He grabbed a pair of chopsticks and used them to bring a single stem to his mouth. The taste of the savory oyster sauce and fresh flavor of the vegetable melded perfectly together. It was something that he had never tasted before but it was divine to his senses.

The blissful expression on Head Chef Wang’s face elicited Zhou Zixu’s curiosity. How could someone like the head chef, who had likely eaten many delicious dishes, be so infatuated with something like this? It was just some steamed vegetables with some sauce on top...

After contemplating for another second, the young master finally decided to try it himself. He also picked up one stalk and carefully placed it into his mouth. As someone who grew up in a rich family, he naturally loved to eat meat more than plain vegetables. His mother had gone through a lot of effort throughout the years to get him to eat some vegetables at his meals.

The chef of his family had a practiced hand in cooking vegetables. In fact, many of the nobles and aristocrats had asked one time or another for his family to sell this chef to them. All of the offers had been gracefully declined.

However, all of those exquisite dishes made by high class cooks could not even be compared to this simple dish made by this little girl. The secret ingredient was obvious in this case!

Zhou Zixu and Head Chef Wang looked at each other. Their thoughts and hearts were linked as one in what their next step to be. The light of greed started to shine in their eyes.

“Young miss from the Yu Family, do you... do you plan on selling your method?” Third Young Master Zhou and Head Chef Wang asked at same time.

“Are you two asking about the recipe for the oyster sauce? What do you mean by ‘selling it’? I didn’t hide anything when I made it earlier. If there are any parts that are confusing, feel free to ask me!” Yu Xiaocao had never intended to sell her recipe for money. It was more important for her to build some good karma and connections.

Zhou Zixu not only was the true owner of the best restaurant in Tanggu Town but was also the young master of one of the four great merchant families of the country, the Zhou Family! In the future, it was likely she would need a couple of favors from him. It was better to leave a good impression now than to be greedy! The more friends she had, the more options she had in the future!