Courtyard House: Passing through the Silly Pillar, Activating the Blessed Cave Heaven

50

Over the past year, Wu Baotian always had He Yuzhu watch him cook, explaining the cooking techniques to him in detail, but he never let him try it himself.

Today, He Yuzhu will independently prepare the dish of stir-fried fish and celery for the first time at Fengzeyuan.

He first cleaned the grass carp's scales, gills, and internal organs. Then, he used a flat knife to remove two pieces of fish meat along the spine. With the skin facing down, he made diagonal cuts 0.36 cm deep, then crossed them to create patterns. Finally, he cut the fish into diagonal pieces 1.5 cm wide and 3 cm long, and set them aside for later use.

Next, he soaked the chicken breast, removed the tendons and membranes, pounded it into a fine paste with the back of a knife, mixed it with minced fatty meat, added clear broth, egg white, cooking wine, MSG, cornstarch, and salt, and stirred it in one direction until well mixed to make chicken mince.

Then chop the ham, shiitake mushrooms, and celery into small pieces, mix them into the minced chicken, and then mix them together with the chopped fish pieces to make "Fish Celery".

In addition, he prepared a sauce by mixing clear broth, wet starch, cooking wine, and salt.

Heat the wok and pour in lard. When the oil reaches 60% of its maximum temperature, put the prepared fish celery into the oil and fry until cooked through. Remove and drain the oil, then put it back into the wok. Add minced scallions, ginger, and garlic and sauté until fragrant. Then pour in the fish celery and the prepared sauce, quickly toss to mix, and plate.

Although this was He Yuzhu's first time actually making this dish, he had already rehearsed it countless times in his mind and never missed a single detail of his master Wu Baotian's cooking process.

He brought the prepared dish to his master, handed him a pair of chopsticks, and waited expectantly for his master's evaluation.

While He Yuzhu was cooking, Wu Baotian stood by and observed his every move.

Although He Yuzhu's movements seemed a bit clumsy, he did each step just right.

Considering this was his first time cooking, his performance was not just acceptable, it was truly amazing.

Wu Baotian took the chopsticks handed to him by He Yuzhu, picked up a piece of fish and savored it carefully.

The fish is tender and smooth, with a subtle celery aroma.

He Yuzhu had captured the essence of stir-fried fish and celery on his first attempt at this dish. Wu Baotian secretly admired him: If he hadn't watched him grow up, it would have been hard to believe that this was the first time he had made this dish.

Even when his own son, Wu Youren, first took charge of cooking, his skill level was far inferior to He Yuzhu's—while Wu Youren had already been practicing on the stove for more than half a year.

All I can say is that this child's talent for cooking is truly astonishing; he's practically blessed with natural talent.

Despite being deeply shocked, Wu Baotian remained outwardly calm, simply saying to He Yuzhu, "Go and call your senior brother over."

He Yuzhu walked into the kitchen next door and said to Wu Youren, who was chopping vegetables, "Senior brother, Master wants you to come over." Wu Youren put down the knife and followed him to Wu Baotian.

"Father, is there something you need from me?" Wu Youren asked.

"Try this stir-fried fish and celery." Wu Baotian handed over a new pair of chopsticks.

Wu Youren took the chopsticks and carefully examined the fish in the plate. The fish was evenly sliced ​​and coated with finely chopped celery and mushrooms. When he put it in his mouth, he found it to be fresh, tender and fragrant.

"Don't rush to give your opinion." Wu Baotian interrupted him. "Zhuzi, you should try a bite too." After He Yuzhu finished tasting it, he gestured for Wu Youren to continue.