Chapter 36: Losing Face

Shopkeeper Xu picked up the money and threw it back, his face ashen as he said, “Fang Wuqiong, did you deliberately come here to cause trouble?”

“What? Shopkeeper Xu, I’m tired of the food at home, am I not allowed to change my taste?”

Fang Wuqiong, with a rascal look, raised his voice when he saw the diners looking their way and said even more provocatively, “You guys don’t want to do it, could it be that you can’t make ‘West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy’?”

Shopkeeper Xu was so angry that he wanted to kick him out, but Su Wan stopped him. She saw the hat on Fang Wuqiong’s head embroidered with the words “Fengwei Pavilion” and felt that the opportunity to bring down Fengwei Pavilion had come.

“Who pushes business away when it comes to the door?”

Su Wan tapped her finger on the table, her eyes turned cold and intimidating as she said, “Shopkeeper Xu, you go prepare a stove, a pot, and a table, set them up at the entrance. I will cook in front of him, so that Master Fang will be convinced.”

If even the chefs of Fengwei Pavilion feel inferior to them, this news will directly explode the business of Zuixiang Pavilion!

She was just worried about not being famous enough, and Fang Wuqiong came to the door!

Shopkeeper Xu was momentarily confused about Su Wan’s intentions, but he had confidence in her cooking skills and immediately went to make the preparations.

Fang Wuqiong looked at Su Wan, who had a confident expression, and sneered in his heart, “Empty boasts!”

Cooking in front of a crowd would be the best way to make Su Wan lose face.

This was exactly what Fang Wuqiong wanted!

“I’m looking forward to it.” Fang Wuqiong was the first to walk out of the restaurant.

Shopkeeper Xu, the waiters, and Jiang Baiwei prepared everything and placed them at the entrance of the restaurant.

Pedestrians who didn’t know the truth all stopped to watch the excitement.

Su Wan carried out a basin of fish from Fang Wuqiong, placed it on the table, picked up the grass carp, and raised her eyebrows, “Master Fang, you are the head chef of Fengwei Pavilion, right?”

Fang Wuqiong said proudly, “What? Want to back out? It’s not impossible, your restaurant can close down…”

Su Wan interrupted him, and sneered, “I just want to remind you, when making ‘West Lake Fish in Vinegar Gravy’, it’s best to choose a grass carp of one and a half catty^[1]斤(jīn) = catty, 1 catty equal to 500 g. The fish meat will be more tender, while larger fish will have a rough texture.”

Fang Wuqiong was stunned.

Su Wan suddenly realized, “You don’t even understand this basic principle, no wonder you say that the fish at Fengwei Pavilion is not delicious, so you specifically came to Zuixiang Pavilion to eat fish!”

“You…” Fang Wuqiong’s anger surged. And he convinced that she was afraid of him ruining her reputation, so she deliberately angered him to leave.

Fang Wuqiong suppressed his anger, waiting to see Su Wan make a fool of herself. He sneered, and said, “Whether the fish at Zuixiang Pavilion is good or not, we’ll see soon!”

Su Wan didn’t say much, she skillfully killed the fish, then cut it into two pieces from the tail.

The top piece is the male fillet, and the bottom piece is the female fillet. She knocked off the teeth on the fish fillet, made peony flower cuts^[2]Peony flower knife technique, the purpose of using this knife technique is just to make the fish taste better, and the secondary function is to make it look good and appealing. The method is to cut a … Continue reading on the fish’s back, then cut off the fish’s body in front of the fin on the male fillet to create a beautiful presentation. Then put it in boiling water and cook it over low heat.

When large bubbles appeared around the pot lid, the fresh aroma of the fish spread out.

Su Wan opened the lid to skim off the foam, added a little clear water. When it was almost three minutes, she poured out some of the water used to boil the fish, prepared rice wine and soy sauce then pour it on the fish to give it the base color, then used a ladle to scoop up the fish and placed it on a plate.

The fish should not be cooked for more than three minutes. This way, the fish meat remains tender and intact, preserving its original shape. Moreover, boiling in boiling water results in a smoother and more delicate texture compared to steaming, and it helps to thoroughly remove any fishy smell.

Su Wan used the remaining broth in the pot to make a sweet and sour sauce. When the sauce thickened and became smooth, she scooped it out with a spoon and poured it over the fish.

The sweet and sour aroma instantly filled the air, and spreading fragrance for miles.

Everyone’s mouth was watering.

And Su Wan sprinkled some ginger on top, then placed it on the table, “Master Fang, please start eating.”