The Gourmet Customizer

Chapter 274: Chapter 132: Jellied Tender Stew, What an Appetizer

"If all goes well, after another night of soaking and cooling... well, you can all just imagine."

He couldn’t really describe what came next.

Liu Fu furrowed his brow and drew in a sharp breath. "The next day, the melted pork skin will congeal with the broth to form a gelatin. That savory, springy gelatin will encase all the ingredients that have been stewed until they’re fall-apart tender, forming a solid pot of meat and... then what?"

Su Chen nodded. "Then you slice it and either eat it directly or serve it with a dipping sauce."

The words had barely left his mouth.

Su Chen could clearly hear several people swallowing hard.

"Just thinking about it, you know it’s got to be delicious!" Shi Qi imagined the cold platter in his mind.

Wang Peixing hadn’t eaten his fill to begin with, and after hearing all this, his stomach started growling uncontrollably. "So you’re saying... inside that gelatin, there’s all sorts of ingredients—wheat gluten puffs, chicken, pork knuckle, pork trotters, and fish... HISS!"

"Good lord!" Liu Fu exclaimed, utterly stunned. "If I took a bite of that, I can’t even imagine how happy I’d be!"

The others were just as shocked.

This Crispy Pot dish had been made in Lu Province for hundreds of years, yet they had never heard of it being eaten this way!

Boss Su was right. This was truly a new, experimental dish.

But no one knew what it would actually taste like.

In any case, just the thought of it made everyone agree: it had to be out-of-this-world delicious.

"I have to try this dish. Boss Su, if it’s good, would you mind if I promoted it back home?" Liu Fu asked seriously.

Su Chen shrugged. "I don’t mind. Good food is meant to be shared with the world. What’s the point of having something delicious if you just hide it away?"

That was one reason.

But there was another reason Su Chen didn’t voice.

This particular method required the chef to have an extraordinary mastery of three techniques: boiling, stewing, and simmering.

The slightest mistake in the process could easily ruin the entire pot.

The low heat at the beginning was especially crucial; its timing and intensity were the most difficult things to master.

One slip-up and the large bones at the bottom would scorch. Once the bottom layer burned, the acrid smell and taste would permeate the entire pot over time.

Pulling it off successfully was no easy feat.

So, even if Liu Fu learned the method, Su Chen wasn’t worried. Once a dish reached S Level, it was beyond what an ordinary person could truly comprehend.

But Su Chen’s reaction still moved Liu Fu to praise him with genuine admiration. "Boss Su, you’re truly magnanimous!"

With that, Liu Fu turned slightly to the fellow chefs behind him. "Anyone who needs to leave, go on ahead. I’m not going anywhere today. I’m staying to try Boss Su’s new Crispy Pot. I’ve never had it prepared like this before."

Old Ba was the first to agree. "I’m not leaving either! I haven’t had Crispy Pot in years. Now that I finally have the chance, there’s no way I’m leaving without trying it!"

For some of the older generation, eating Crispy Pot was nearly as important as celebrating the New Year itself.

Wang Peixing sounded a bit regretful. "The folks in the Capital City have been calling for me. I can’t stay, I have to go."

They were all middle-aged men, so after a bit more friendly chatter, those who had to leave departed, while those who wanted to stay for the Crispy Pot remained.

Among those who stayed, Su Chen paid special attention to Shi Qi. He remembered from their meal the day before that Shi Qi was a highly skilled chef whose signature dish was pot-roasted pork knuckle.

And then there was Old Ba.

This incredible pastry master was exactly the kind of talent Su Chen needed most right now.

’Whether he could be persuaded to stay for good was another question. For now, a few days would be better than nothing. If he really couldn’t keep him, he’d just have to figure something else out!’

Since that was the case, Su Chen said briskly, "The Crispy Pot won’t be ready until tomorrow morning at the earliest. Why don’t you all get some rest for now?"

With that, he headed back to his office.

The Crispy Pot needed to be checked on from time to time. For example, after a certain period, he would have to go and skim off the rendered fat that floated to the surface.

Otherwise, the fat would soak back into the meat, and the texture would be ruined.

He needed to contact Fang Chang about the sports meet; Ling Shuyu had already mentioned this in a message.

Back in his office, Su Chen immediately set about dealing with it.

Strangely, however, by evening, Fang Chang hadn’t replied to his WeChat messages or answered his calls.

’He must be busy with something.’

The cooking phase for the Crispy Pot in the kitchen was complete, and the results were exactly as Su Chen had anticipated.

After more than four hours on low heat, the large rock on top had sunk by nearly ten more centimeters. This meant the ingredients inside the pot were almost completely compressed.

Throughout the afternoon, Su Chen had gone to the kitchen periodically to skim the grease. The fat from the pork knuckle—the main source of oil—had been almost completely rendered out.

’Now I just have to see how it sets after soaking and cooling overnight!’

Su Chen had no doubt it would be a success—after all, he had made it exactly according to the method from his practice room.

The only shame was... with the limited time and vast array of ingredients, finding the secret to achieving SS Level was exceedingly difficult, even for Su Chen with his Peak of Flavor ability.

In the end, the dish only achieved S Level.

Utterly bored, Su Chen relaxed in his favorite recliner, intermittently entering his practice room to learn a few new dishes before returning to the real world to watch some videos on his phone.

After going back and forth like this several times, he eventually drifted off to sleep.

「The next morning.」

Su Chen woke up a little after five, as was his habit.

After washing up in his room, he prepared to head to the second floor to check on Zhang Heping’s progress.

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