"Boss Li, don't be impatient. Although the servants in our Jixianlou are a bit clumsy, their skills in cleaning fish and slaughtering chickens are still passable. They will surely clean it up neatly for you," the shopkeeper "kindly" comforted. But how could Li Ying really feel at ease?
Not long after, the old woman really brought back the gutted carp. Ruyi quickly reached out to take it. Fortunately, it was indeed the same carp that Li Ying had chosen before.
Before she could let out a sigh of relief, Li Ying frowned tightly and looked at the shopkeeper of Jixianlou with a displeased expression.
"Shopkeeper, what do you mean by this?"
The fish had indeed had its gills and internal organs removed, but there was still a thick layer of fish scales on it.
This wasn't really a difficult problem. They could just clean it again. But the old woman who cleaned the fish had taken the liberty of coating the fish with a thick layer of cornstarch and even deep - fried it in clear oil!
The shopkeeper of Jixianlou had a calm smile on his face that wouldn't be ruffled by anything. He slowly explained to Li Ying, "Boss Li, calm down. Why are you so angry?"
"All fish dishes are prepared in ways like steaming, braising, frying, or stir - frying. I thought that this competition between you and me today is of great importance, and you, Boss Li, would surely go all out. I assumed you wouldn't serve a rough home - cooked dish like 'Steamed Carp'. For other cooking methods, the fish usually needs to be deep - fried in clear oil first. I thought that Lord Xu has been urging us. You, Boss Li, are short on time and manpower. So I kindly helped you with the pre - treatment."
"Boss Li, I really mean well. You can't take my kindness for a bad turn, can you?"
The shopkeeper of Jixianlou grinned shamelessly. His brazen look really disgusted Li Ying.
She suppressed the anger of wanting to slap that fat and bloated face and coldly questioned, "What a great kindness! If you really meant well, why didn't you clean the fish scales before deep - frying?"
"You didn't even know what dish I was going to prepare, yet you took such actions without asking. I think your so - called helping is just an excuse to trip me up, right?"
She spoke very bluntly. Then the shopkeeper of Jixianlou simply stopped pretending. He sneered and retorted, "Even if it is so, what can you do?"
"Are you going to cry and complain to Lord Xu? Boss Li, this is not the Dali Temple. No one will testify for you! Who knows whether I tampered with your fish or you just messed up the dish and then blamed it on me?"
Ruyi was so angry at his unreasonable words that her little face turned red. She shouted, "You... you!"
The shopkeeper of Jixianlou sneered contemptuously, "Little girl, what? Do you want to fight me? Lord Xu has been waiting in the front hall for a long time. I kindly advise you that if you don't want to lose too badly, you'd better start preparing quickly! If you can't even serve a decent dish and end up with a blank, it will be even more embarrassing!"
Ruyi was still brooding, but Li Ying quickly calmed down. She examined the fish and then said, "Ruyi, we are humans. Why should we argue with a barking mad dog?"
It was obvious that this Lord Xu was a man with many rules. Keeping him waiting for a long time would indeed be impolite.
There was no other fish in the kitchen for her to use at the moment, and the young servant who was in charge of serving the food had come to urge them several times. Li Ying took a deep breath and finally calmly picked up the deep - fried carp.
"Sister Ying, this fish's scales haven't even been scraped clean. How can it be eaten? Using it to cook a dish, we are bound to lose!"
Li Ying just smiled slightly, rolled up her sleeves, started the stove, and heated the oil. Her eyes sparkled like morning stars.
"Ruyi, do you trust me? The outcome is still uncertain. I may not necessarily be at a disadvantage."
The shopkeeper of Jixianlou rolled his eyes disdainfully at her confident look.
"You're still being stubborn when you're about to die. You really won't shed a tear until you see the coffin. I'd like to see how you can turn the situation around!"
Li Ying ignored his sarcasm. Fortunately, the internal organs of the carp had indeed been well - cleaned, and even the thin black film in the belly had been scraped clean.
An idea came to her mind. She calmly made eighteen cuts inside the fish, but the outside of the fish still looked intact.
When the oil in the pot was hot, she took a colander, bent the fish into an arc with its tail high up, and repeatedly poured the boiling oil on the fish until the fish meat was completely set.
The fried fish looked as if it was struggling to jump out of the fishing net. Its curved tail seemed to be still swinging vigorously. The fish scales were separated from the fish skin, and each scale was curled up. It looked extremely vivid and lifelike.
"Sister Ying! Even a carp leaping over the dragon gate can't compare to this! You're really skillful!"
Ruyi's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands and cheered. The fish in front of her didn't look the least bit as miserable as when it was first brought up.
But when she thought of the thick layer of fish scales, she couldn't help but be secretly surprised.
Who in the world eats fish scales! Sister Ying's dish, it can't just look good but taste bad, can it?
Li Ying saw her concern. While deep - frying the carp again to ensure that every bone was crispy and fragrant, she gently explained to her, "The dish I'm going to make now is called 'Zengbeng Carp'. The most special thing about it is that it must be fried with the fish scales on. Otherwise, the taste won't be crispy enough."
She had many carp recipes in mind and was still hesitating about which one to choose to surely defeat Jixianlou.
But Jixianlou's self - righteous act of bringing up this "carp with scales" incident had actually helped her make a decision by accident.
When the fish was thoroughly fried, Li Ying's sauce was also ready.
She mixed yellow rice wine, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and cornstarch evenly. After stir - frying scallions and ginger until fragrant, she poured the sweet and sour sauce into it, boiled it until thick, and then added a spoonful of clear oil.
When the thick sauce met the boiling oil, it immediately boiled, making a "gurgling" sound. This was the so - called "living sauce".
Ruyi had already placed the fried carp on a porcelain plate. She had learned her lesson and didn't let anyone from Jixianlou touch Sister Ying's fish. She carefully carried the plate and served it to Lord Xu.
The shopkeeper of Jixianlou still didn't know the real deal. He casually sneered, "Boss Li has gone to so much trouble. Could it be that you've just made this ordinary fried fish?"
Lord Xu had already tasted his "Thousand - thread Winding Silver Needle" dish, and the extremely delicious taste had won his praise. Now seeing Li Ying only bring out an ordinary - looking fish, a hint of disappointment flashed across his eyes.
Li Ying smiled sweetly and said loudly, "My lord, please take a look."