Chapter 1296: This Is A Rejected ItemTranslator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The most important aspect of making a pot of scrumptious broth was the heat and timing. They had to get the bone fragrance out, but the broth couldn"t be too thick.
This wasn"t simply an issue of timing; experience was equally important.
Rena stood at the side and watched Mag process the bones. She memorized when to add in the necessary spices at the appropriate time.
What was beyond her expectations was that apart from a dash of cooking wine and raw ginger, Mag didn"t add in too many spices and condiments, and the bones weren"t broken. He used complete bones.
“The simpler the bone broth, the better. This would decide the most basic flavor of your hot pot, and using whole bones is to make sure that there are no chipped bones in the broth. Now, cover the pot and simmer it for four hours, and the broth will be done.” Mag covered the big pot before getting a small pot from the side, and placed it on the stove. Then, he took a few small bones out from the fridge, and asked Rena, “Do you want to try?”
“Now?” Rena was taken aback. She had only watched Mag do it once, and Mag was going to let her do it right away?
“I think you will be able to do a good job.” Mag nodded and gave her the s.p.a.ce to work at the stove.
Looking at Mag"s trusting gaze, Rena hesitated for a moment before she took a few steps forward. She closed her eyes as she recapped what Mag was doing earlier, and merged it with her own understanding. She quickly opened her eyes and picked up a bone.
Although this was only a single bone, it was much thicker than those pork bones that she saw usually. There were some shreds of pinkish red meat attached to the porcelain white bone.
Although the meat was raw, it didn"t have the smelly raw meat scent. Instead, it had a hint of light fragrance.
What a unique bone. What kind of pig did this bone come from? Rena thought curiously. She seldom bought meat. She would only go to the market in the evening to get a bone to cook broth for her mother, and those bones didn"t have any meat on them at all. After the boss got familiar with her, he always gave her the bones for free or at a very low price.
Wash and clean the bone and marinate it simply. Pour cold water into the pot and boil it with high heat…
She followed every single step exactly. She treated this big kitchen as if it was her small kitchen, and endeavored to do her very best.
Mag, who was standing at the side, nodded. Just as he expected, Rena wasn"t a newbie at cooking, and her ability to learn was very strong.
What was even more precious was that she didn"t learn everything mechanically without giving it a thought. She would input some of her own habits and thinking into some of the operations.
These details were the habits obtained from having to cook for a long time. This was what made a chef different from other chefs.
“The meat shreds should be even more thoroughly removed. The customers" hot pot shouldn"t have other types of meat that they didn"t order. Even though it seems to be an extra nicety, it would actually cause some customers trouble.
“And the broth"s sc.u.m should be even more thoroughly removed. The broth"s controllable loss is to obtain a more intricate and rich broth, and the floating sc.u.m would result in the texture of broth failing my expectations,” Mag said to Rena.
“But, isn"t this too wasteful?” Rena said hesitantly.
Mag looked at the meat that he had sc.r.a.ped off from the bone earlier and shook his head. “As a chef, it is not a good thing if we get caught trying to use every bit and part of the ingredients in the same dish. Different parts of the ingredients should be used in different dishes. Smart pairings and choices would result in the clash of delicious flavors, but putting everything in together to stew is the lowest form of cooking.”
“Pairings and choices…” Rena was thoughtful. She felt as if a door was opened in her mind, and her imagination which was restricted by her poverty had been let out of the cage and flew to a higher and better place.
“Let the suitable ingredients appear in the suitable areas. This is what an excellent chef should do.” Mag smiled at Rena. “Don"t worry. You will get that slowly.”
“Yes. I understand.” Rena nodded before looking at her little pot. “Then, this pot of broth…”
“Throw it away and start all over again.” Mag had already taken out a few bones, and placed them on the chopping board.
“Throw it away?” Rena felt a chill. All these were the best grade bones which she had never seen in the market before, and they were going to be wasted now because of her mistakes.
“Yes.” Mag nodded without any room for negotiation.
Rena turned off the fire stiffly, and carried the soup pot to the dishwas.h.i.+ng sink. Although she had only cooked it for a moment, there was already a meat aroma coming from the white soup. It would be a pot of scrumptious broth if it was simmered for a few more hours.
And because of her mistake, a precious bone broth was going to be poured away. Rena"s eyes were full of heartache.
After she got to the sink, Rena held the pot for a long time. She couldn"t pour it into the sink.
Mag watched Rena quietly. Rena did indeed have very good cooking basics. Although she didn"t have proper training, she could be trained formally very quickly with some guidance.
Compared to her operations, the biggest problem with Rena was her thinking, or perhaps the thinking of the majority of the housewives in this world. Appropriate give-and-take was the foundation of cooking delicious food. She would never be a proper chef if she couldn"t turn this thinking around.
He would apply the same standards on Rena, just like the System"s requirements of him. This was the basic respect for their customers.
He wanted to see Rena make her own judgement.
Rena, who was deliberating for a long time before the sink, turned around and earnestly said to Mag, “Boss, I know my problem already, but it"s really very wasteful to simply throw this pot of broth away. Can I bring it home, please?”
“This is a rejected item, and I never allow any rejected items to exit my kitchen.” Mag shook his head, feeling rather disappointed.
“But, it is me who made the mistake, and the broth is not wrong. Instead of pouring it into the sink, why don"t we let it achieve what it"s supposed to?” Rena looked at Mag perplexedly with reddened eyes.
“Rena, failure is not a scary thing as long as you know where you fail, and then pick yourself up and continue on. However, there is always a price to pay when you fail, right?” Mag frowned slightly. This maiden seemed to be more stubborn than he thought.
“If there is a need, can I change it to another form of punishment? Since I was young, my mother had told me to never waste food, so I have always been respectful toward food. I cannot accept wasting such precious food and pouring it down the drain because of my subpar cooking skills.” Rena shook her head. Tears were already gathering in her eyes. She pursed her lips as she tried to keep her emotions under control.