Chapter 40: A Real Expert at Removing Scales and Deboning

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

“Brother,” Jiang Xue said softly.

“Didn’t you say that you wanted to eat the roasted fish? I invited him here,” Jiang Feng said with a gentle smile.

Ning Fei was composed on the surface, but he was astonished deep inside.

Jiang Feng’s sister was really pretty.

He was surprised.

It was as though she had walked out from an ancient painting. She was so pure and innocent, and looked like a flower ready to bloom.

According to Jiang Feng, this girl was being plagued by an illness and might not be able to live long.

Without further consideration, he decided to focus his efforts on cooking the fish.

At this time, Ning Fei noticed a chef in white. He was also quick and observant enough to spot the golden label on his chest.

All professional chefs in China would go for tests to receive their certificates. These certifications were categorized by levels from Basic, Medium, High, Expert, to Advanced Expert.

Fang Hu was a well-known chef from the Culinary Association invited here by Jiang Feng. He was the one in charge of Jiang Feng’s meals and was very responsible.

When he heard that someone would be cooking for Jiang Xue, he had come for two purposes. The first was to inspect him, and the second was to supervise.

In fact, Fang Hu hadn’t believed that an outdoor webcaster would be able to whip up something decent. However, he respected Jiang Feng, and so, he didn’t say anything.

This was especially so when Fang Hu saw that Ning Fei was a young and good-looking man. In his heart, he was feeling slightly contemptuous.

All real chefs should be fat and strong.

This had some truth to it. Firstly, a chef needed strength in both his wrists and arms, and during their job, they would have to train their strength. Chefs also constantly tried and tasted new food, so naturally, they would gain weight.

Therefore, once an experienced chef had taken a look at another chef’s arms and wrist, he would be able to know how good he was.

Another glance at Ning Fei confirmed that he was merely a pretty vase. He was lean and trim and didn’t look strong at all.

Miss Jiang had probably taken a liking to his looks, and that was why she had invited him.

Fang Hu pressed his lips grimly at the thought.

Good-looking men wouldn’t know how to cook, and men who cooked weren’t good-looking.

That was what he believed.

Ning Fei had already begun.

The first thing he did was to wash the fish. Jiang Feng had selected fish of the highest quality, which seemed to be fed with a special diet.

“There you are.” Ning Fei chose a fish in the tank with a satisfied smile. “I didn’t think that you would be able to find a wild Split Belly Fish as it only grows in the icy rivers in the Qinghai plateau. Its flesh is sweet and tender, and a wild Split Belly Fish cost a fortune. Excellent.”

Normal people might not think much when they heard Ning Fei, but Fang Hu had widened his eyes at this.

Ning Fei was right as it was indeed a wild Split Belly Fish. A wild Split Belly Fish was smaller than those reared on a farm. It was also more agile and active, so their flesh was much better.

He hadn’t expected that Ning Fei would be able to recognize a Split Belly Fish, and he even knew that it was a wild one.

He did indeed possess some knowledge.

But perhaps, this was something he had seen before.

Next, Ning Fei scraped off the scales and cleaned the fish. His knife moved swiftly, and the onlookers were dazzled by his movements. That knife seemed to be dancing wildly in his hand.

Jiang Xue didn’t dare to watch Ning Fei killing the fish. She had turned around, while Jiang Feng continued watching, impressed with his skills.

Fang Hu had gone speechless as he widened his eyes.

“Was he… scraping the scales? He is actually scraping…”

He gasped aloud.

Usually, people merely scraped off some scales before cooking. Fish scales affected the taste of the fish and the texture of the flesh.

But Ning Fei’s skills had left Fang Hu dumbstruck.

He had used his knife to remove the scales by slicing a thin layer off. In that way, he had deftly removed all the scales cleanly.

Although that sounded simple, it was very hard to execute. One had to be precise with one’s strength, accuracy, and direction.

Not many chefs could remove fish scales in such a clean manner.

“Master Jiang, where did you find him? Who was his master?” Fang Hu couldn’t help but question Jiang Feng.

At this time, all traces of contempt had vanished. Instead, he looked excited. Even he could not display such excellent skills when removing a fish’s scales.

Jiang Feng chuckled and replied, “You can ask him later.”

Fang Hu nodded before reverting his attention back to Ning Fei.

At this time, Ning Fei had lightly waved his knife in a few motions before he deboned the entire fish as a single piece. He moved at lightning speed and left everyone speechless when the bone slid out from the stomach.

“Deboning?” Fang Hu’s jaws dropped, and his eyes were round and wide. Disbelief was etched on his face.

How could this man display this long lost skill of shaving a fish’s bones?

The traditional cooking skills had been passed down centuries ago. As time went by, many brilliant methods and skills had been lost in the process.

And the skill of deboning a fish using the shaving method had long been lost.

Fang Hu had heard from his master that there was once an expert who could slice a fish to remove the bones and leave the entire fish intact. By doing so, the aesthetic look of the fish would be presented perfectly.

He had assumed that it was some myth or story passed down from generation to generation. It was even likely that the story had been exaggerated.

However, now that he had witnessed it with his own eyes, he had gotten a huge shock.

This young man was such an expert!