Huayu Chef

004 Be a duck

Zhang Jinxuan stared in astonishment at the furious Boss Lai, thinking to himself, "Is the roast duck oven your lifeline? What did I do to you? You get all angry over a single word. You're not even following the script anymore."

"Boss, what's going on?" Zhang Jinxuan asked, puzzled.

The owner forced a smile and said, "It cost a lot of money to build this roast duck oven back then, but the roast ducks I made always felt were lacking."

Zhang Jinxuan suddenly realized that the target wasn't him after all. He then switched to reasoning mode, pointing to the oven and saying, "Hanging oven roast duck is cooked using heat reflection, so the top can't be too high."

"Boss, the oven chamber of your roast duck oven is a bit too high. The heat can't be reflected down properly, so making a good roast duck requires a lot of skill. It's normal for things to go wrong."

"And this wall is poorly constructed, and its location is wrong..."

Zhang Jinxuan launched into a long explanation of several issues, which made the shop owner's face turn as black as the bottom of a pot. He jumped up and cursed, "That bastard! He used to brag to me about how good his stove-building skills were, saying that even Quanjude (a famous Peking duck restaurant chain) hired him. I believed him and wasted a lot of money. No way, I'm going to settle accounts with him..."

"Boss, come on, boss!" Zhang Jinxuan quickly stopped him, reassuring him, "Civilization benefits everyone, and happiness is for every family. Boss, please calm down. It's not entirely his fault that the roast duck oven is poorly constructed."

"Hey, how can he not be held responsible for building the stove?"

"Does a stove builder even know how to make roast duck?"

The boss was taken aback; it seemed to make sense.

"Wait a minute, Xiao Zhang, you know how to make roast duck, and you also know about roast duck ovens..."

Zhang Jinxuan interrupted, "Boss, you overestimate me. Just because I know how to watch the furnace doesn't mean I know how to build it. If you trust me, I'll modify it for you, and I guarantee it'll be even worse than the original."

"Haha." The boss couldn't help but burst into laughter, his anger instantly vanished, and he hurriedly asked, "Can this oven still be used to make roast duck?"

Zhang Jinxuan hesitated for a moment before replying, "I should be able to do it, but I can't guarantee the quality. I'll try my best to avoid any mishaps."

"Xiao Zhang, you do have talent."

"Boss, don't praise me too soon." Zhang Jinxuan took out his phone to check the time and said, "It's almost eleven o'clock, let's get started, otherwise we'll miss the roast duck dinner. Boss, could you please find me some fruitwood and duck fat?"

"What do you need this for?"

"Your roast duck oven has been idle for too long. It's like a newly built oven. You need to burn some duck fat and fruit wood to enhance the aroma of the fruit wood and duck. This will make the roasted duck taste better. This step is called warming the cavity."

The shopkeeper gave a thumbs-up, "Impressive. Wait here, I'll get it for you."

As noon approached and the weather warmed up, Zhang Jinxuan took off his trench coat, revealing his muscular upper body covered by a turtleneck sweater.

With broad shoulders and thick arms, and the outline of his pectoral muscles faintly visible, he exudes both allure and power. Many female fans would probably drool over this sight.

Zhuangzhuang teased, "Brother Xuan, if you're going to be a gigolo, why are you taking off your clothes?"

"Do you want to die?"

Zhuangzhuang said, feeling wronged, "What did I say wrong?"

"Would you like to have roast duck again tonight?"

"Of course I want to eat it, after all, it's the duck that you made, Brother Xuan..."

Zhang Jinxuan tapped Zhuangzhuang and chuckled, "You little rascal, you're not that old, but your head is full of rubbish."

Zhuangzhuang smiled and asked seriously, "Brother Xuan, is it really okay to cook with this stove?"

"The duck carcass is the foundation of roast duck. If the duck carcass is well prepared, minor problems during roasting will not affect the taste. At most, the skin will not be crispy and the meat will be slightly sticky and greasy."

After a while, the boss brought over the duck fat and fruitwood. Zhang Jinxuan lit them to warm his chest, then borrowed the kitchen to boil a large pot of water and began to kill the duck and prepare the duck carcasses.

"quack……"

Six large, fat ducks were locked in a cage, quacking loudly at Zhang Jinxuan.

It's no use yelling, we're going to take you all today.

Zhang Jinxuan walked over, grabbed one, and used his left ring and index fingers to hold the base of the wings, his middle finger to hold the duck's neck, and his thumb to press down on the duck's head.

With his right hand, he plucked the feathers from the duck's neck, picked up a cleaver, and easily sliced ​​open the duck's trachea and arteries.

Press down, shake the leg, drain the duck's blood, toss it aside, and continue killing the second one.

A series of simple combos is smooth and fluid, a pleasure to watch.

The owner praised, "No wonder you run a restaurant; your duck-killing technique is clean and efficient."

Zhang Jinxuan casually replied, "Nothing special, just practice makes perfect. The more ducks you kill, the better you become."

The boss, Zhuangzhuang, grinned and rattled off a string of fancy words. "Trying to take the postgraduate entrance exam?"

After the six duck carcasses were prepared and hung up to dry, Zhang Jinxuan, Zhuangzhuang, and Boss Lai went to have lunch.

Thanks to the use of a high-tech electric fan, the duck carcass was thoroughly dried after five hours and was ready to be roasted in the oven.

During this segment, Zhang Jinxuan stayed close by, his expression focused, constantly turning the roast duck with his hands. He spoke noticeably less, not because he was deliberately creating tension, but because he was naturally nervous.

If there's a problem with the roast duck oven, carelessness can really lead to disaster.

Around 6 p.m., all the customers the boss had called arrived, and men, women, young and old crowded into the roast duck room to watch the excitement.

Zhang Jinxuan thought they were noisy, but he wasn't bothered by it.

At this point, the skin of the six roast ducks had changed from white to an enticing bright jujube red, their plump bodies and glassy texture making them look incredibly tempting.

"Wow, this duck is roasted perfectly."

"It's baked so beautifully."

"Smooth and glossy, it looks amazing..."

Zhang Jinxuan ordered, "Boss, bring over six trays. The roast duck is ready."

"Quick, quick, get the tray, the roast duck is ready."

Zhang Jinxuan used a long pole to lift a roast duck, placed it over a fire to singe the crotch, and only took it out of the oven and gently placed it on a tray when the crotch of the roast duck turned a dark red color.

A little girl tugged at the shop owner's sleeve, swallowing hard, and asked, "Uncle, can we eat the duck now?"

Zhang Jinxuan reminded, "When eating, first remove the sorghum stalks from the duck's rear end, and keep your distance to ensure safety, as the soup inside is extremely hot."

The owner smiled and said, "We Beijingers know everything about Peking duck. Everyone, please be careful. Take this one out and eat it first."

"Okay."

"Thank you for your hard work, Xiao Zhang."

"Let's go, let's go eat roast duck."

Zhang Jinxuan, Zhuangzhuang, and Boss Lai stayed until the end, singeing the crotch of the sixth roast duck and placing it on a tray.

Once baked, we're done.

call!

Zhang Jinxuan let out a long breath, moved his sore arms slightly, and a relaxed and comfortable smile appeared on his face.

What a delightful and satisfying food-making experience!

The whole process went very smoothly, and unexpectedly, there were no mishaps.

It was done in one go.

Zhang Jinxuan smiled at the camera and said, "From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., after eight hours of hard work, the authentic handmade Peking duck is finally ready."

"The process was a bit complicated and tiring, but the sense of satisfaction and fulfillment I felt when I saw the duck I roasted myself was indescribable."

"Alright, enough chit-chat, let's go get some roast duck."

After extinguishing the fire in the oven, Zhang Jinxuan, Zhuangzhuang, and Boss Lai couldn't wait to carry the roast duck out of the roast duck room, ready to enjoy the freshly roasted Peking duck.