The Gourmet Customizer

Chapter 270: Chapter 131: New-Style Crispy Dish, and the Wild Blade Technique

’It’s a shame I met Boss Su so late,’ she thought. ’Otherwise, I would have definitely taken him on as my Closed-door Disciple.’

’But things are good now, too. We’ve become like brother and sister, so it’ll be wonderful for us to help each other out in the future.’

The large pot was first slowly heated over a low flame.

Su Chen fired up another stove.

But he wasn’t in a hurry to start just yet.

The key to SS Level stir-fried noodles was the noodles themselves. "Which of you good brothers knows how to make dough?" Su Chen asked. "I’m really not very good at it."

The disciples exchanged glances for a moment, but no one dared to speak.

’What if Boss Su is just testing us? Wouldn’t that mean humiliating ourselves in front of everyone?’

Finally, an exasperated Cui Yufen called someone out. "Old Ba, you do it. Aren’t you the pastry chef at Shunxiang Restaurant? Why are you staying silent at a time like this?"

Eighth Disciple silently stepped forward.

He was about six-foot-one, with a pair of strong, thick arms. "Master, it’s not that," he said. "I just didn’t want to make a fool of myself in front of Boss Su. I was afraid of embarrassing you."

"As if you haven’t embarrassed me enough already? Just do it." Cui Yufen looked away, her expression instantly shifting to a smile as she turned to Su Chen. "Fifth Brother, if there’s anything Old Ba does wrong, please give him some pointers."

Su Chen quickly shook his head. "I really don’t know how to make dough. It’s nothing complicated, just a standard dough for hand-rolled noodles. Just make enough for everyone."

Old Ba nodded.

’If it’s just dough for hand-rolled noodles, then it really isn’t difficult at all.’

He had been the pastry chef at Shunxiang Restaurant for over twenty years, single-handedly turning the noodles at a Lu Cuisine restaurant into a must-order dish. You couldn’t pull that off without some serious skill. As long as no one asked him to make Western-style desserts, he could handle anything.

"Alright, my brothers, sound off with your orders!" Old Ba boomed.

Wang Peixing was the first to shout his order. "I’ll have three big bowls! You know, *that* kind of bowl! Three bowls, half noodles, half broth!"

He pointed at a massive bowl.

That was indeed the kind of bowl used for stir-fried pot noodles.

Su Chen was secretly alarmed. ’Is Wang Peixing still hurting from spending that eight thousand yuan this morning? Is this some kind of revenge eating?’

’Good thing I found an excuse to have someone else make the dough. Otherwise, with this many people, I’d have worked myself to death just kneading!’

Besides, Su Chen had a small ulterior motive.

As his Level approached its cap, he still hadn’t activated the [Dough Kneading] Skill.

He wasn’t sure if it was because [Dough Kneading] didn’t fall under the category of cooking Skills.

This meant that Su Chen’s current dough-making technique was actually quite average—on par with Aunt Fang’s at best.

Compared to a top pastry chef like Old Ba, who came from a time-honored restaurant, the gap in their skills was enormous.

’You have to admit when you’re outmatched. I’ll just have to study hard and try to catch up!’

So, by letting Old Ba make the dough, Su Chen not only saved himself time and effort but could also secretly learn a thing or two. It was the perfect solution, killing two birds with one stone.

After Wang Peixing called out his order, his good buddy Shi Qi, not to be outdone, shouted, "Three big bowls for me, too!"

"Two bowls for me."

"Three bowls!"

Lu Yongliang and his group listened to the orders being called out, completely shocked.

"Old San, how many bowls of these noodles did we eat that day?"

Jiang Wusheng pondered for a moment. "We only had one bowl, but we had those steamed buns that day, too."

Old Lu shook his head in disbelief. "I think something bad will happen if I eat that many noodles for lunch after all those buns this morning. I’m just going to have a little."

Jiang Wusheng nodded in firm agreement. "That’s right. At our age, our digestive systems can’t keep up with theirs. I’ll eat a little less, too."

Jiang Wensheng asked curiously, "So how much are you two actually having?"

Lu Yongliang thought for a moment. "I guess I’ll just have four bowls."

Cui Yufen was speechless.

’That’s what you call "a little less"?’

’Why is this old man so shameless?’

"Right. Four bowls should be enough for me, too," Jiang Wusheng said, seeing no problem with the amount.

He had tasted the stir-fried pot noodles made by Boss Su’s own hands before. If he weren’t afraid of getting a stomachache, four bowls wouldn’t even be enough, assuming he wasn’t eating anything else.

Jiang Wensheng jumped in. "I’ll have four bowls, too!"

For a moment, Cui Yufen was at a loss.

’Those bowls are massive. With her appetite, she’d struggle to finish even half a bowl.’

Since everyone else was going all out, Cui Yufen steeled herself. "I’ll have one bowl!"

’That’s enough. One bowl is definitely more than enough.’

’It’s a massive bowl, after all!’

’Back when she was young and doing manual labor in the countryside, she could only manage one bowl that size.’

After tallying up everyone’s orders, Old Ba did a quick mental calculation and grumbled, "You all can seriously pack it away!"

He heaved a bag that was more than half full of white flour and dropped it onto the workstation.

He placed a huge mixing bowl in front of him and, not even bothering with a scoop, lifted the bag and poured the flour straight in.

"This is the first time I’ve ever had to make this much dough. Are you all pigs?"

He quickly added, "Master, I’m not talking about you. I mean my fellow disciples. Who the hell eats like this?"

The disciples all pretended not to hear his grumbling.

Su Chen, meanwhile, carefully observed Old Ba’s technique from the side.

With a great SPLASH, two large bowls of water were poured into the basin. Su Chen noticed that Old Ba’s movements were incredibly crisp and efficient.

With each turn, a large amount of flour combined with the water, yet from start to finish, his hands remained coated in only a light dusting of dry flour.

’Damn, he’s incredible... When will I ever be this good?’

Twenty years of daily work as a pastry chef had honed Old Ba’s dough-making skills to perfection. The flour was gradually kneaded into a single mass.

As Old Ba kneaded with his right hand, the dough gradually grew smooth and delicate. The originally white flour, now formed into a dough, even took on a faint yellowish hue.

’What’s the principle behind that?’

Su Chen was amazed; he had never been able to achieve such an effect himself.

Moreover, with the help of Peak of Flavor, Su Chen could even detect the faint aroma of wheat—something he’d never experienced when making dough himself.

’If I can, I absolutely have to keep Old Ba here!’

’I gotta say, with skills like that, he could definitely anchor the entire kitchen operations for the company.’

Before long, a huge ball of dough sat in the mixing bowl.

Even Old Ba was a little out of breath. "Boss Su, should I go ahead and roll out the noodles, too?"

"Sure."

Su Chen didn’t refuse his kind offer.

Rolling and cutting the dough—there was nothing magical about the process. Anyone would do it the same way. Besides, Old Ba’s pastry skills were the real deal.

Sprinkling a layer of dry flour on the counter, Old Ba divided the dough into two and began to roll them out.

As the long rolling pin pressed down on the dough, it occasionally let out a creaking sound.

"Old Ba’s skills have improved again," Cui Yufen remarked, giving her disciple an appreciative look. "If it makes that sound when he’s rolling it, that means the dough was kneaded perfectly."

’Among all her disciples, Old Ba was the only one who hadn’t brought her shame.’

As Su Chen nodded, he felt a pang of envy.

’Of course, I could also improve by endlessly practicing in the training room, relying on the principle of ’practice makes perfect’.’

But Su Chen was simply too busy.

Even now, he was spending most of his energy every day in the training room and simply couldn’t find the time to practice his dough-kneading skills.

’I’ll just have to worry about it later.’

Old Ba was extremely fast, and in no time, he had rolled the dough into thin sheets. "Boss Su, what about cutting them?"

"I’ll do the cutting."

Originally, Su Chen had planned to let Old Ba do it.

But the ball of dough had been massive, and now that it was rolled out and folded into several layers, the sheet was enormous!

’If Old Ba cut all this, it would take him until the cows come home.’

He silently pinned the [Precise Strike] badge to his chest.

Su Chen took Old Ba’s place, picked up the cleaver, bent his knees slightly, and placed one hand behind his back.

"Everyone, you might want to stand back a little."

’What’s going on?’

Most of the crowd was confused, but Lu Yongliang and the Jiang Brothers knew exactly what was about to happen.

’Boss Su was about to show off!’

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