Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle

Chapter 341: Expectations (Part 3)


"I'm saying these things as a preamble, so that what I'm about to do doesn't seem so outrageous."

Cao Guixiang took out her phone and sent a file to Qin Huai.

A very plain and simple text file, without even a table, because she didn't know how to make one.

Qin Huai opened the file and widened his eyes after clearly seeing the first line.

This is... the same Treasure Bag as Tan Wei'an's.

It's all recipes.

Various kinds, cold dishes, hot dishes, drinks, snacks. Qin Huai saw some he recognized, like braised shark fin, clear soup bird's nest, oyster sauce abalone. And many he didn't know, like white fungus stew, clear soup willow leaf bird's nest, or three slivers of shark fin.

There were obviously expensive grand dishes, as well as everyday home-cooked dishes, even recipes for tomato scrambled eggs and garlic stir-fried water spinach were included.

"Many of the recipes in the beginning are from our Tan Family Cuisine. Simply giving you the recipes, there's a good chance you wouldn't be able to make them, but these are all very good formulas. You don't need to master them, but you can learn a lot of cooking techniques from these recipes, especially the technique of preparing broth. I recall you need high-quality broth for making snacks."

"The recipes towards the end are experiences I've gathered over the years of cooking. In fact, the difficulty of cooking everyday home-cooked dishes is no less than that of top-notch grand dishes. These grand dishes are just expensive and complicated, with many having rich flavors from luxurious ingredients piled up. But often, simple home-cooked dishes are the best way to test a cook's skill. Many cooking techniques come from practicing with these everyday dishes."

"You must not share the Tan Family Cuisine recipes. They aren't my recipes; they've been passed down through meticulous study by my master, my grandmaster, and even earlier predecessors. These recipes aren't mine; I just happened to learn them."

"However, the recipes and some techniques I've summarized later on can be taught to others, whether it's the employees in your cafeteria or friends you're close to, like Xiao Tan, Little Zheng, or Little Zang. Chefs need to learn from each other, but often you can't wait for others to take the initiative; you have to start first for them to feel your sincerity."

"I know that according to TV dramas and traditional understanding, things that seem so secretive should be written on letter paper or kept in a private little notebook. But from my years of experience as a chef, those paper things are easily damaged. It's better to write it all into a document and send it to you. Storing it on your cloud drive is more reliable."

"So, how about it, do you think my preamble was okay? Don't you feel that this document I've given you isn't so outrageous anymore?" Cao Guixiang said with a smile.

For a moment, Qin Huai didn't know what to say.

This is a more valuable Treasure Bag than Tan Wei'an's, but his is a family heirloom passed down from his grandfather. His Treasure Bag fell from the sky, given to him out of the blue by Master Cao, whom he had only known for a few months.

Qin Huai could only give a smile that was somewhere between a wry smile and a helpless grin, his lips moved, unable to organize any words, and after staring at the document for a long time, he slowly said:

"Master Cao, I really want to apprentice under you now."

Cao Guixiang shook her head, "Please don't, I have no intention of becoming what I hate most - a master who forces their student to do things they don't want to do."

"But," Cao Guixiang paused, "You can call me Master without formal apprenticeship."

"There are many kinds of apprentices, and many kinds of masters too. An informal master is still a master."

"Alright, Master," Qin Huai said loudly, "Master, I don't know why, but I really want to learn thickening techniques now!"

"That's normal, I know you're eager to learn, but don't think about that yet. Your immediate task is to cut another 200 pounds of radish to solidify your status from last night."

"The radishes are in the kitchen, Grandpa Zhang has washed them for you, you can start cutting after you eat."

"Alright, Master!"

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