Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

Chapter 566: Chapter 478: What Is Wok Hei? Time to Give the Foreigners a Test

Daniel was chewing the fish slices vigorously, without worrying about any fish bones poking out.

He had just stuffed a piece into his mouth, and immediately picked up a second slice for a big bite. He then gently sipped a little fish soup from a small bowl, ate a couple of bites of rice, and enjoyed it thoroughly.

After downing four or five pieces of fish, he directly mixed the rice into the fish soup, stirred it a bit, and continued eating eagerly from the bowl.

Seeing him enjoy the food so much, Lin gradually relaxed her tightly clenched hands, and her face also showed a happy smile.

With Daniel taking the lead, the other servers who had just served themselves some food also began tasting it with confidence.

"Hoo~ Hoo~ It’s hot, hot."

"Oh? The taste is quite good! Surprisingly, it’s almost like what the Head Chef makes. Impressive!"

Seeing that everyone was quite satisfied, Chris also breathed a sigh of relief and winked at Lin with a ’see, I was right’ expression.

Hearing the enthusiastic eating sounds from the group, Lucas, who was observing from the sidelines, couldn’t resist his own craving.

He took a couple of steps forward and saw that there was still some fish soup left in the pot, so he scooped a spoonful to taste.

The unique fermented sourness of the pickled vegetables burst as soon as it hit the tongue, but it wasn’t sharp at all. Instead, it was a flavor that lingered pleasantly.

The amount of white vinegar was perfectly controlled, seamlessly blending into the sourness of the pickled vegetables, making it almost impossible to taste any vinegar in the soup.

Additionally, the spicy and salty tastes were also adjusted just right, neither too mild nor overwhelming.

Plus, since it was the leftover soup at the bottom of the bowl, there was relatively more garlic paste, allowing a noticeable garlic flavor to come through. It had no harsh raw garlic taste and was sweet and easy to eat.

"Not bad, there’s something here."

He nodded with satisfaction and gave the two women a thumbs up in praise.

If he hadn’t seen them cook it with his own eyes, based solely on the taste, he might have thought this pickled fish dish was made by some Chinese chef. The flavor was indeed very authentic.

However, complimenting aside, Lucas also understood that the similar taste was mainly due to the use of the same type of ingredients. Otherwise, the resulting flavor would be vastly different.

"Well, I have a question."

Chris was straightforward, immediately voicing her doubt, "Why do I feel like what I made is still different from what that chef makes? It always seems like it’s missing some flavor, but I can’t pinpoint what exactly."

"Good question!"

"The flavor you’re talking about is something we in Great Xia call ’wok hei.’

"Wok hei?"

Chris and Lin looked at each other, murmuring the unfamiliar term, waiting quietly for Lucas’s explanation.

"It might be hard for you to conceptualize ’wok hei’ if I just describe it, so let me give you an example."

Lucas seemed prepared and started speaking.

"If there’s an electric grill and a charcoal grill, can you taste the difference in the meat cooked by these two methods?"

"Of course."

Chris nodded instinctively, "Meat grilled with charcoal has a certain... Ah! I get it!"

"Wok hei is a similar kind of flavor, right?"

"Wait, but that doesn’t make sense. We’re using a gas stove, so there’s fundamentally no difference. Is wok hei the taste of gas? Wouldn’t that be toxic?"

"Yes and no."

Lucas shook his head with a smile, his face full of pride. If it weren’t for his head of blonde hair and distinctive Western facial features, one might have mistaken him for someone from Great Xia.

"How should I describe what wok hei is... Hmm, for instance, when you stir-fry food until it’s slightly burnt, even if you haven’t added any seasoning, the food will develop a charred flavor, right?"

"Simply put, different cooking methods and cooking durations can create different flavors in food."

"Wok hei is a special aroma produced by quickly stir-frying at very high temperatures, allowing the oil in the wok to come into contact with the flame and burn slightly."

"If the heat isn’t strong enough, the flames can’t reach over the edge of the wok, and naturally, they can’t make contact with the oil inside, so it can’t burn, and wok hei can’t be produced. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?"

Chris, after all, was an experienced cook, and even though she was a pastry chef, she had been exposed to enough in the kitchen to quickly understand the true meaning of what Lucas was trying to convey.

In essence, it was just as she had initially guessed—the heat wasn’t strong enough.

The difference, though, was that the flame needed to ignite the oil in the wok, not just increase the heat.

"Then, if I use a blowtorch to spray into the wok while stir-frying, would that create the appearance of a flame?"

"Uh?"

Lucas was taken aback, completely unprepared for such a question.

After a moment of contemplation, he responded uncertainly, "In theory, it should work, but practically speaking, at least I’ve never heard of anyone in Great Xia using this method."

"After all, there isn’t much oil in the wok, and even if you ignite it with a blowtorch, it might only last for a few seconds because the oil is mostly adhered to the surface of the food, and once burnt, it’s gone."

"Meanwhile, the oil accumulated at the bottom of the wok can’t catch fire because the food compresses it, limiting the airflow."

"Flipping the wok has dual purposes: ensuring that the food is evenly heated to prevent scorching and creating air pockets between the food to provide optimal conditions for the oil to ignite."

"If you can master the skill of flipping the wok, using a blowtorch to ignite it should be possible. It would just be slightly more complicated, with an additional step, and the visual impact might not be as strong as using a high flame."

Having explained it to Chris and Lin, Lucas was somewhat surprised at how clearly and thoroughly he had explained the concept of wok hei.

But upon reflection, the chefs present were of similar skill levels, with some even having more experience. Explaining to each of them one by one would be exhausting!

With this in mind, he quickly picked up his bowl and walked over to the food cart. He then took out his phone and recorded what he’d just explained, planning to organize it later that night.

"What are you writing?"

Seeing him furiously typing away on his screen after returning, Zhao Shun curiously leaned over to peek at the content and looked up in surprise.

"An annotation on wok hei? Wow, you know about this too?"

"Tch! Who do you think you’re underestimating?" Lucas scrunched his nose and rolled his eyes. "I happen to be a promoter of Great Xia’s culinary culture, okay? I have to research every day!"

"I suddenly thought of a good idea. Aren’t these chefs unfamiliar with Great Xia’s culinary culture? Then I can create some basic instructional videos, then give them quizzes."

"Exams?!"

"Good, good, that’s great!"

"Even professional Chinese chefs have to pass exams. Both theory and practice are tested. Even though I’m a pastry chef, I can help with the questions!"