NOVPUBChapter 857: Chapter 857: I Can Do It Too_1
The sour and sweet plum sauce on the surface of the ribs tasted completely different from the sweet and sour sauce.
The sweet and sour taste with a hint of the fruit’s fragrance was very pleasant and refreshing.
Lyke Zhekova saw Third Old Master Zhekova enjoying the food so much that he didn’t even bother to comment anymore.
He did not wait for Third Old Master Zhekova’s evaluation either.
Lyke Zhekova also picked up a piece and took a bite, even hearing the subtle crunchy sound.
“It seems like there are small particles in the sauce, which give a chewy feeling,” Lyke Zhekova said.
...
“We don’t have Green Plums at home, so I used Green Plums as a substitute for the sauce. However, Green Plums are too sweet, and the resulting plum sauce is not sour enough, so I added crushed Dried Plum,” Cindy Clarke explained.
So, that’s how it is.
“Normally, you can’t eat too many ribs before getting tired of them, but with the plum sauce, the taste is completely different. It’s sour, sweet, refreshing and fruity, which neutralizes the grease of the ribs,” Lyke Zhekova said.
Chef Shane, the Housekeeper, and Third Old Master Zhekova’s caregiver ate in the kitchen.
They could also clearly hear the conversation in the restaurant.
Upon hearing Lyke Zhekova’s comments, Brenan couldn’t help but scoff.
It was not like he hadn’t seen the finished product Cindy Clarke had made.
It was just that; it was not as exaggerated as Lyke Zhekova described.
Seeing this, the Housekeeper chuckled and said softly, “We always eat the same food as the Old Master. The food on this table was just separated from the dishes recently served.”
Brenan usually made a little extra to leave for the people working in the family mansion.
“But Mrs. Clarke didn’t know about our custom, but did you notice? She also made a little extra and divided it,” the Housekeeper said.
Brenan looked down, and indeed, in addition to the dishes he cooked, there were also those three dishes made by Cindy Clarke.
“You can try it yourself to see how it tastes,” the Housekeeper said, and picked up a piece of ribs herself.
Just now, after hearing what Lyke Zhekova and the Old Master said, the Housekeeper was dying to taste the ribs.
Finally, she quickly took a bite.
Even though she had heard Lyke Zhekova’s description, she still had no guards up.
When she bit down, she first felt the crispy texture of the ribs’ surface along with the crispy flavor of being fried.
Then, there was the delicate texture of the meat connecting to the bone.
Finally, there was the flavor-packed juice of the meat seeping out from its fibers.
Three different textures, each following the other, attacked her.
Just when the Housekeeper thought it was the three layers of texture, unexpectedly, within the sauce, there were tiny little particles.
They had a strong sour taste and balanced the sweetness of the sauce.
“It’s delicious,” the Housekeeper exclaimed in surprise.
Brenan laughed. “Auntie, we follow the Old Master in our meals and eat the same dishes. You’ve eaten good food before. You’re making a fuss over a plate of ribs?”
“You should try it yourself,” the Housekeeper said, laughing. “You’ll know once you taste it.”
The caregiver also took a bite: “It’s really delicious. I’ve never had anything like this before.”
The caregiver usually ate the same meals made by Brenan.
What she said was the equivalent of slapping Brenan in the face.
She had never eaten anything like this before, isn’t it because Brenan hadn’t made it before?
To extend the meaning, it could be perceived that Brenan was inferior to Cindy Clarke.
After the caregiver finished speaking, she realized that she had misspoken.
It was because the food was so delicious.
The fragrant taste completely relaxed her, causing her to lose her rationality.
Now she wanted to explain, but she didn’t know how to explain it properly.
It seemed that no matter what she said, it just wouldn’t be appropriate.
But explanations were always better than staying silent.
The caregiver could only awkwardly say, “I’m not saying your dish is not delicious, it’s just that I’ve never eaten this way before.”
The Housekeeper couldn’t help but laugh.
This child, she was better off not saying anything.
She was too honest, she didn’t even know how to comfort others.
Brenan was not annoyed and did not take the caregiver’s words seriously.
He picked up a piece of ribs and tasted it.
Is it as delicious as they said? He would know after trying it himself.
After only one bite, Brenan was stunned.
His face froze, and he couldn’t speak.
“Is it very delicious?” the Housekeeper asked softly.
Brenan remained silent. Although he admitted it in his heart, he just couldn’t nod his head.
“I know you are not convinced. But you should also think about it. The ingredients at home are not as abundant as those in a restaurant or in a major competition’s food storage room,” the Housekeeper said.
“Just like what Cindy Clarke just said, there are no green plums at home, so she had to use Green Plums instead. This is not an excuse she made. There is no need for her to make excuses for such trivial matters.”
“Also, it’s not like the food doesn’t taste good, and she needs to make excuses to save face,” the Housekeeper persuaded. “You’ve seen it, it’s already very delicious. If there were sufficient ingredients, Cindy Clarke could definitely make it even tastier.”
“Can’t she prove her abilities by making excellent dishes with limited ingredients?” the Housekeeper said.
Brenan’s face was stiff, and he couldn’t speak.
In fact, he had already agreed in his heart. It was just that he couldn’t swallow his pride and say nice words.
If you asked the Housekeeper, she would say that Brenan had been a chef here for a long time already.
But he had never made such a dish before.
This indicated that Brenan’s imagination was lacking and not innovative enough.
What he knew was all from what he had learned at school.
And learned from the master chef after starting work.
He just followed what others had taught him step by step.
The food that Brenan cooked was not bad but lacked a lot of surprises.
That moment, they heard Lyke Zhekova and the others in the restaurant start eating another dish, the Golden Shrimp.
According to Lyke Zhekova, Shrimp Balls would be a more appropriate name.
The shrimp curled up naturally into a ball shape when heated in the pot.
It was coated in egg yolk, making it even more like a shrimp ball.
The shrimp entered the mouth, first tasting the salty aroma of the salted egg yolk and its sand-like texture.
The shrimp was coated in wet starch and fried, causing the starch to form a crispy shell around the shrimp.
The shrimp was marinated and didn’t have any fishy taste anymore.
The shrimp was juicy and crunchy, and it had a subtle sweet taste.
“Recently, food related to salted egg yolks has been popular,” Cindy Clarke said. “Salted egg yolk noodles, salted egg yolk biscuits, salted egg yolk ice cream. Speaking of which, I didn’t think of salted egg yolk ice cream.”
“I previously thought that the sweet taste wouldn’t match the salted egg yolk well,” Cindy Clarke said.
Salted egg yolk not only has a salty taste but also a slight aftertaste of the egg yolk and the taste from being fermented and marinated.
“Unexpectedly, it tastes quite good,” Cindy Clarke felt that she needed to expand her creative thinking in this aspect.
Brenan listened to the evaluations of the people in the restaurant while also picking up a piece of shrimp to taste.
“The cooking method is simple. I’ve watched Cindy Clarke cook, and I can also make it,” Brenan said.
“Yes,” the Housekeeper nodded, “I’ve also watched. The dishes that Mrs. Clarke made today are all simple home-cooked dishes.”
“Have you noticed? There are more expensive ingredients at home, but Mrs. Clarke didn’t use them,” the Housekeeper said.
