THIS LOVE DOESN'T HAVE LONG BEANS(ENG)

Chapter 21

"You need to manage your time well for everything."

Kluea started his frying lesson by answering the questions first: why isn't the pork cooked when I stir fry it myself? Kluea simply replied that he had misjudged the timing. If the garlic is left in the hot oil for too long, it will burn and the pork won't have time to cook.

"I think you should stick to a simple stir-fried basil and take your time practising frying fried eggs"

His roommate concluded while demonstrating how to make it for him. Stir frying basil isn't that difficult. Heat a frying pan, add a little oil, then fry the chopped garlic and chili. Wait a minute, then add the pork and stir-fry until about 80% cooked. Season with sauce, add basil, and turn off heat before basil dries up.

"What ingredients do I need to make stir-fry?"

"Whatever you like," explained Kluea.

He says there is no fixed recipe and taste for stir fried basil. As the chef said, there's nothing wrong with adding yardlong beans, just make sure they taste good. Of course, if you can't even enjoy it, no one else should try.

"Actually, just fish sauce and seasoning sauce is enough," said Kluea, pointing to the seasoning bottle. "But now it depends on you. You can add sugar or oyster sauce if you want. If it's delicious, you have to try it and find your own preferences." Plawan nodded, trying to figure out what flavor he liked.

"Try another pan," Kluea said.

The young man nodded without hesitation, took the used pot to the sink, then took out a new pot and placed it on the stove. He waited until it was hot and added oil, and repeated everything from start to finish. This time he tried to remember the taste he liked and decided to add a little fish sauce, seasoning sauce and a little sugar. Personally, Plawan feels the sweetness helps balance the overall taste of the dish.

"Not bad,"

Kluea said after taking a bite of stir-fried basil. He pursed his lips and nodded as if considering the mixed flavors blending in his mouth, and took another bite of white rice.

"Not bad means not good, right?"

Plawan answered while frowning. From his expression it seems like his work is not good. Kluea was silent for a moment before nodding without hiding anything and taking another bite.

"To be honest, it's edible, but not delicious yet."

Plawan took his own spoon and took a bite of his own creation. Hmm, it seems like what Kluea said is true. He could feel it too.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"The garlic was overcooked and it seems to have a little less oil. More importantly, I thought the seasoning was lacking. The taste was too bland to be used in the stir-fried basil that Thai people usually eat. It would be more delicious if it was sprinkled with chili and fish sauce on top."

Plawan nodded while listening. He had no reason to argue. He knew it wasn't very good yet, but he couldn't explain exactly what was wrong with it.

"Can I try again on another pan?"

"You can try as many times as you want," Kluea said with a laugh. "But am tired of training you, I'm bored. But you'd better take the time to practice making fried eggs too. You only have one night left, so manage your time well."

He turned to smile broadly at his only close friend at work. Plawan went to wash the pot after using all three, just in case there wasn't enough and he could use it again immediately so he didn't have to wait long.

"So, if you get this restaurant, what will you do next?"

Plawan asked his clever friend, who was sitting not far away washing dishes. Kluea turned slightly to look at the person who asked, as if to make sure that he wasn't asking himself.

"You're asking me?"

"Yeah, if I didn't ask you, I would probably ask the ghost in the restaurant. It's just the two of us here."

He said jokingly. The more he tried to cook for real, the more he realized that his cooking skills were still far behind that of Kluea, this man. It is very difficult to defeat him easily.

"You might win," Kluea argued.

"Win against ghosts? Look at my skills first."

Plawan said without much thought. In fact, he didn't have  that much hope of becoming the successor at the moment. He only hoped for 5-10%, so he wouldn't be too disappointed.

"I don't know," Kluea said. "But definitely, I don't really want to do fine dining. I think it's hard for people to access it. I'll probably go back to the way it used to be at these restaurants, like izakayas, selling cheap food, focusing on students and workers, easy to access. But I might save the main dish as various types of fried basil."

Plawan listened and thought about it. If Kluea did that, he would definitely come back here often. Sounds great, very affordable price. He wondered what Chef Aob did to open an expensive restaurant like this. Maybe the chef was in a hurry to find money to pay off his debt?

"I will come to visit you."

"Don't talk too much,what about you, what will you do if you get it?

Kluea asked back. He fell silent, not knowing what to say. Should he reply that he would sell the restaurant and land to the Methas Group for demolition? In the end, the young man just sighed.

"Don't want to talk about it, it's too far-fetched. Let's just pass the first round first."

Plawan answered as he lifted the pan over the fire and prepared to stir-fry again. Suddenly, the image of that domineering chef appeared in his head. What is he doing here?

Does he want that million dollars?

At this point, he felt like everything was out of his reach. The chances of winning and becoming the successor are so small. But if that was the case, why didn't he just resign and get it done?

Does he want to eat stir-fried basil pork every day?

Anyway, in just a week, he was starting to get bored with the  stir-fried basil pork. No matter how much he liked it, eating it every day was too much.

Or is it because of the chef?

His hand stumbled and Kluea looked at him in surprise. The chef's shadow floated in the air in front of him. Why did he suddenly feel that the chef's eyes were his driving force?

He sprinkled basil leaves into the pan.

He wanted to hear the arrogant man's opinion. He wanted to hear him admit that the food tasted good, so good that even Chef Aob had to admit it. After almost two weeks, he felt like his mission was slipping away. All that remained was his goal of Chef Aob, and he still felt determined to pursue it.

He wanted to hear the word 'Delicious!' from the chef's mouth, loud and clear.