"If you just stuff the fish in there like that, won't it go bad? And if the fish inside spoils, are the pickled chilis still edible?"
Hearing the explanation, Alice Nakiri's expression filled with surprise. She looked at the jar before her as if it were some kind of dark cuisine, and her mood grew complicated.
"With ordinary pickling methods, putting a crucian carp directly into the jar like this does carry a high risk of spoilage. However, experienced chefs will usually add aged pickle brine. I'm not entirely sure of the principle behind it, but it effectively prevents the crucian carp from going bad.
Besides that, before adding the carp, we usually let it sit in clean water for a week to cleanse it. Then, we switch it to rice-washing water for an hour, adding a spoonful of salt in between to make it purge any remaining waste. Finally, it's kept in clean water for one more day before it can be placed in the pickling jar."
As Master Yang spoke, he took the fish chili out of the jar and then sealed it again.
The complexity of making fish chili surfaced in his mind, and he could understand why so many people gave up on it in favor of ordinary pickled chilis.
"Since you want to learn this dish, Fish-Fragrant Shredded Pork, come with me to the kitchen. I can teach you everything I know. How much you learn will be up to you."
With that, Master Yang picked up the small plate of fish chili and the other ingredients and headed into the kitchen.
Hearing his words, Okabe and Alice Nakiri exchanged a glance. Without any further hesitation, they both entered the kitchen.
The shop's kitchen was not large, less than half the size of the dining area, but though the sparrow is small, it has all its vital organs.
Two stoves, separate cutting boards for raw and cooked foods, seasonings on the right, utensils on the left, and pots and pans under the stove—that was the entire layout.
"Fish-Fragrant Shredded Pork is all about that 'fish fragrance.' This fragrance comes from the unique flavor born from the fusion of fish chili, scallion, ginger, and garlic as they sizzle in hot oil.
You chose autumn bamboo shoots—they're in season, succulent, and have a crisp, tender texture. A good choice. The wood ear mushrooms you picked are also right; they're thick and springy. The pork tenderloin is excellent as well.
I must say, you have a good eye for picking ingredients, kid. You must have a decent teacher."
After laying out the various ingredients on the cutting board, Master Yang couldn't help but offer praise. He then rolled up his sleeves, revealing his lean arms, and took a hanging kitchen knife to wash it.
"Do you need any help? My knife skills are pretty decent..."
Noticing that Master Yang's hand was trembling slightly as he grabbed the knife, Okabe couldn't help but speak up.
"No need. I may be an old man with shaky hands due to my age, but shredding some pork and handling some autumn bamboo shoots and wood ear mushrooms is still no problem."
Hearing Okabe, Master Yang shook his head slightly, declining his offer to help. As a restaurant chef, how could he let a customer help out?
He reached out for the piece of pork tenderloin with its clearly defined grain and held it steady on the cutting board. In his right hand, he held a heavy, square-bladed knife. Its wooden handle was polished smooth and glossy from use, and the blade glinted with a sharp, cold light, a clear sign it had been meticulously maintained.
And as his gaze fell upon the tenderloin, the trembling in his hand miraculously ceased.
His cuts were not fast; they even carried the unhurried composure unique to the elderly. Yet, each stroke of the knife was terrifyingly precise.
The blade slid into the tenderloin, following the fibers of the meat and making a very faint "hiss." It sounded less like cutting and more like a natural separation.
Under the knife, the block of meat was evenly thinned and spread out, transforming into slices of uniform thickness. Next, he neatly stacked the slices and began to shred them from one end.
In the blink of an eye, the entire piece of tenderloin had been turned into a pile of evenly shredded pork, as fine as bamboo skewers, resting quietly on the cutting board.
Next came the autumn bamboo shoots and wood ear mushrooms. Although the preparation steps were slightly different, all three types of shreds were nearly identical in thickness and were placed in three separate plates.
The shredded pork was mixed with pepper, yellow wine, soy sauce, salt, egg white, and dark soy sauce. Then, a pre-mixed cornstarch slurry was added and stirred in evenly before setting it aside.
"To get the fish-fragrant sauce right, you must first lay a foundation of minced scallion, ginger, and garlic. Add a large spoonful of sugar and vinegar—the amounts must be equal—then a bit of soy sauce and starch. Finally, thin it with water and taste for saltiness."
After mixing the fish-fragrant sauce, Master Yang dipped a finger in, tasted it, and then added a bit more vinegar to ensure the flavor was precise.
He brought a pot of water to a boil, added cooking wine and salt, and crisply blanched the shredded autumn bamboo shoots before setting them aside.
Meanwhile, the shredded wood ear mushrooms were tossed in seasoning to marinate. Compared to the bamboo shoots, the wood ear mushrooms absorb flavor more slowly, so marinating them beforehand helps to unify the taste.
"Actually, every chef has a different way of making Fish-Fragrant Shredded Pork. There's no absolute authenticity in the world. Everyone relies on their own experience to create a dish they believe is good. At the end of the day, as long as it's delicious, that's all that matters."
He coated the wok with a generous amount of oil. When it reached fifty percent heat, he added the marinated pork shreds, quickly separating them with a ladle. Once the surface turned a faint golden brown, he poured out the excess oil.
"Food is actually an incredibly inclusive thing. As long as the general direction is correct, the final flavor won't be bad.
The ratio of doubanjiang to fish chili is 3:1. This ratio can achieve a relatively perfect balance. Of course, the ratio might differ depending on the brand, but we generally don't get too hung up on it."
Master Yang placed the fish chili and doubanjiang in a bowl, ready to go, and cracked a joke.
Hot wok, cool oil. He first poured in the doubanjiang, frying it until fragrant, then added the fish chili. After briefly awakening its aroma, he turned up the heat to high and added the flash-fried pork shreds.
"Hah!"
With a soft shout, all the golden pork shreds flew into the air, mixing more thoroughly with the seasonings already in the wok.
Seeing this, Master Yang raised his hand and added the bamboo shoots, allowing them to integrate perfectly.
"The key to Fish-Fragrant Shredded Pork is the sauce. You need to remember one thing: the fish-fragrant sauce cannot be added all at once. It must be poured in three separate times.
This way, the pork, bamboo shoots, and wood ear mushrooms can be evenly coated in the sauce, ensuring the flavor is flawless!"
With a light tap of his ladle on the sauce bowl, he first let the marinated wood ear mushrooms fall into the wok, dancing up and down with the pork and bamboo shoots. Then he added a portion of the fish-fragrant sauce itself. He repeated this process three times, and the aroma in the air grew progressively richer and more mellow.
"Plating!"
A porcelain plate was set on the counter. Master Yang lifted the iron wok high and used a ladle to transfer the Fish-Fragrant Shredded Pork onto it.
The color was a vibrant, glossy red, with the sauce evenly coating every single strand of pork, bamboo, and mushroom, carrying an incredibly rich and complex aroma.
"Go on, have a taste. There isn't a huge difference between the fish chili version and the pickled chili version of Fish-Fragrant Shredded Pork, but someone who truly knows how to eat can tell the difference in a single bite."
Placing the iron wok back on the stove, Master Yang wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was hard to tell if it was from the heat or the strain of tossing the wok, but his face was wreathed in a smile, filled with the satisfaction of having completed a fine dish.
"Alright, let me try."
Looking at the visually stunning, aromatic, and delicious-looking Fish-Fragrant Shredded Pork, Okabe and Alice Nakiri glanced at each other, then both picked up their chopsticks, lifted some shreds to their mouths, and took a bite.
"A perfectly balanced spiciness, immediately followed by a distinct sourness that excites the taste buds. A sweetness then spreads out, blending perfectly with the sourness to create a sweet-and-sour flavor profile.
Beyond that, the saltiness serves as the indispensable foundation of the dish, firmly supporting all the other flavors, while the pungent fragrance of scallion, ginger, and garlic runs through it all."
The delicious taste on her tongue made Alice Nakiri tilt her head back slightly, her face a mask of pure bliss.
As a member of the Nakiri family, even though she didn't inherit the God's Tongue, her sense of taste was still far superior to that of an ordinary person, allowing her to clearly distinguish the various flavors in the dish.
"If I had to compare the two, I'd say the pickled chili version is more mellow and well-rounded.
The aroma of the fish chili is more lasting. It's not as direct and aggressive as the spiciness from the pickled chilis. In other words, it's a better match for the 'fish fragrance' profile of this dish."
As he savored the bite, a sliver of understanding dawned in Okabe's mind.
"That's right. The most important role of the fish chili in this dish is to act as the general on a battlefield, commanding the entire situation and uniting all the flavors into a single, cohesive force!"
Master Yang's voice rang out, explaining the essence of the fish chili.
At the same time, the system's notification sound also rang out.
[Detected that the host has observed Second-Grade Chef Master Yang prepare authentic Fish-Fragrant Shredded Pork. Recipe: Fish-Fragrant Shredded Pork (Blue) is now unlocked.]
[Fish-Fragrant Shredded Pork (Blue)]: A classic Sichuan dish with shredded pork tenderloin as the main ingredient, complemented by shredded autumn bamboo shoots and wood ear mushrooms. Built on a base flavor of fish chili and doubanjiang, it is aromatized with scallion, ginger, and garlic. A fish-fragrant sauce made from equal parts sugar and vinegar is added in three stages, ultimately creating a fusion of five flavors—salty, sweet, sour, spicy, and umami—with the pungency of scallion, ginger, and garlic running throughout.
[Proficiency]: Beginner (1/100)
[Note: Increasing recipe proficiency will raise the probability of creating a high-scoring dish.]
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