Chapter 126: The First Dish I Ever Made for You

Under the gentle gaze of Krystal, Chen Zhe felt rather uncomfortable. He shifted his body with a hint of awkwardness, though he said nothing and continued to prepare the ingredients.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Krystal? Is there something on my face?"

After being stared at for a while, Chen Zhe, feeling increasingly uneasy, finally couldn't hold back. He turned his head toward Krystal again, asking with a tone of helplessness.

"Oh, um, Zhe, is it difficult and uncomfortable to chop the onions?"

Startled by Chen Zhe’s sudden question, Krystal had much she wanted to say, but her thoughts became muddled, and she couldn't remember what she had intended to express. In the end, she could only ask, somewhat incoherently, if he found chopping onions unpleasant.

"It's alright. Why don't you go sit at the bar counter? I'm about to start the final steps, and I don't want you to get teary-eyed."

Though he didn't understand why Krystal had asked such a random question, Chen Zhe didn't overthink it and answered directly. He gently nudged her arm, urging her to go sit at the bar, as the upcoming process might be pungent, and he didn't want her standing there.

"Okay." With her mind still in a flurry, Krystal drifted along with his suggestion, grabbed some tissues, and obediently ran back to her seat.

Once Krystal was settled, Chen Zhe quickly gathered the onion rings into a glass bowl, rinsed them under the tap a few times, and set them aside for later use.

Next, Chen Zhe prepared to process the shrimp paste. He found a large flat plate, placed the minced shrimp into it, and added a gram of salt, a gram of white pepper, and two grams of cornstarch for seasoning.

After seasoning, Chen Zhe used his hand to knead the shrimp paste in circular motions around the plate. Once the ingredients were evenly mixed, he grabbed the paste and repeatedly slapped it against the plate to give it texture and elasticity. This trick for preparing shrimp paste was something Bai Fan had taught him; the more the paste is worked and slapped, the bouncier and smoother the final shrimp cakes will be.

Once the shrimp paste was ready, Chen Zhe took another large plate and brushed a layer of corn oil over the bottom to ensure it wouldn't stick. Bringing the prepared plate to the side, he grabbed a portion of the shrimp paste with his left hand, squeezing it into a ball shape using the web of his thumb and forefinger. He repeated this motion several times to make the shrimp balls rounder and firmer, then placed each finished ball onto the oiled plate.

With all the shrimp paste shaped into balls, Chen Zhe moved to the next step. He placed an onion ring over each shrimp ball. He then took the cucumber root he had prepared earlier, brushed it with a bit of oil, and used it to press down on the shrimp balls, shaping them into round, flat cakes. Once they were set, he removed the onion rings.

Having pressed all the shrimp balls into cakes with the cucumber root, Chen Zhe began the final step: pan-searing. He took a non-stick skillet and used a brush to apply a light coating of oil. Since the shrimp cakes were already well-oiled, he was careful not to use too much.

Once the pan was hot, Chen Zhe placed the shrimp cakes inside, turned the heat down to low, and seared both sides until they turned golden brown. During the process, he flipped the cakes occasionally to prevent them from burning, using chopsticks to press down on them now and then to check if they were cooked through. Once the shrimp cakes felt firm yet retained a bit of springiness, they were ready to be plated.

He arranged the shrimp cakes on a large white porcelain plate, creating an attractive presentation, and added a decorative kitchen flower as a garnish.

"The pan-seared shrimp cakes are ready. Please, Krystal, try them while they're hot and give me your advice to guide this novice cook."

After finishing the plating and decoration, Chen Zhe held the plate with both hands and gently set it down on the bar counter, a gentle smile on his face. Seeing that Krystal was still in a daze, he softly called her name. When she snapped out of it and looked at him, he gestured toward the dish, inviting her to taste it.

"Do you want me to eat them with my hands? Don't I need any cutlery?"

While she had been lost in thought, Krystal had managed to clear her mind. She looked at the enticing, golden-hued shrimp cakes before her, the aroma wafting up and making her swallow reflexively. Just as she was about to start eating, she suddenly realized there was no cutlery on the counter. Eager to taste the dish Chen Zhe had worked so hard to prepare for her, she quickly looked up at him, her eyes filled with a hint of confusion.