Chapter 41 - Stewed Onions
Chapter 41: Stewed Onions
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Cai Lan was sincerely asking Xu Le for guidance.
Although he was already a world-renowned gourmet, no one dared to say that they knew everything about gourmet food.
Just like physics and mathematics, to him, food was also a subject to be learnt.
Everyone was exploring this field, so he knew that there was no end to learning.
Perhaps it was because of this humble attitude that Cai Lan had become the true leader of the food industry.
“Master Chef, what kind of dish do you think will suit the theme of this episode?”
Xu Le looked through the raw ingredients brought by the production team.
Finally, he gave an answer—
“Stewed onions!”
“Stewed onions?”
After the dish was named, all the staff members of the production team, including Cai Lan, were all stunned.
Many of them had never even heard of such a dish.
Onions? It could even be used as the main ingredient to make a dish?
However, as a gourmet, Mr. Cai Lan was no stranger to this dish.
“Stewed onions – this dish was first recorded in an essay by Mr. Wang Cengqi.”
“Mr. Wang said that among all the scholars, Mr. Wang Shixiang from Beijing was the best at cooking.”
“When the group of friends had a meal together, each of them would prepare a dish. And Mr. Wang Shixiang brought a bundle of onions and made a dish called [Stewed Onions], beating all the dishes on the spot!”
When it came to the stories about culture and gourmet food, Cai Lan naturally spoke with confidence and assurance.
“In Beijing in the last century, this dish was very famous. Many people from the literary field would specially travel to Mr. Wang Shixiang’s house to try this dish. Unfortunately, Mr. Wang passed away in 2009, so this dish couldn’t be passed down…”
“Otherwise, this dish [Stewed onion] is still very compatible with the theme of this episode. It’s a pity…”
Master Cai Lan sighed, his aged face filled with regret and loneliness.
“I can’t believe the little Master Chef also knows about this history. Looks like his research into delicious food is indeed not shallow!”
Cai Lan exclaimed.
Stewed onions was a dish that was only recorded in the writings of many scholars. It could not be considered a proper dish.
Only those who had a deep understanding of food would know a little about it.
The fact that Xu Le suddenly mentioned [Stewed Onion] made Cai Lan surprised and happy.
“I don’t just know this dish,” Xu Le said with a youthful smile.
“Could it be—”
A look of shock appeared on Cai Lan’s aged face.
“Could it be that the little Master Chef can cook this long-lost [Stewed Onion]?”
At this point, Cai Lan suddenly stood up from the table in excitement.
For a gourmet like him who had immersed himself in delicacies for many years, he had long regarded food as the most important part of his life.
Cai Lan had studied the meaning of life for most of his life, and only later did he discover that the real answer was to eat and drink.
What was the meaning of life?
Some people said that it was fame and fortune, and having the smell of money. Only by enjoying luxury could one not let down one’s life.
There were also people who said that it was all about living a peaceful and simple life, enjoying time slowly in happiness. It would be great if there were loved ones accompanying throughout one’s life as one peacefully spends his lifetime.
However, in Cai Lan’s eyes, he already had very simple pursuits in life.
All he wanted was to eat better, sleep better, play more, not envy others, not be restrained by others and save more money for emergencies.
He could die without regrets in such a life.
At this moment, when Cai Lan suddenly heard that Xu Le was going to make this long-lost [Stewed onion], he felt that this was a pleasant surprise.
He had no other pursuits in life. He just wanted to experience all the delicacies in the world before he died.
At that moment, the [Stewed Onions] appeared in his life.
“You know how to cook this dish?” Cai Lan’s murky eyes lit up as he held Xu Le’s body excitedly, asking with a trembling voice.
“I know.”
Xu Le nodded obediently.
“Can you make it now?”
“Sure.”
While Xu Le was pondering, he had already entered the System Shop to check. There was indeed a recipe for [Stewed Onion] in the System Shop. That was why he had said it so confidently.
“Quickly get ready for the shoot!”
Master Cai Lan immediately turned around and shouted at the videography team behind him.
These professional videographers immediately took action and set up the lights and cameras in the restaurant. In total, there were six cameras aimed at Xu Le.
A tender smile appeared on Xu Le’s face as he took the bundle of green onions from the staff members.
As he prepared the ingredients, Xu Le was sharing all sorts of information about the stewed onions.
Whatever he said, Master Cai Lan could add into the show.
After all, the program “Taste of China” not only had to record the production process of delicacies, it also had to describe the geographical and cultural characteristics of a dish, as well as the story behind it.
“There is only one main ingredient for this dish, onions.”
“Actually, the reason why Mr. Wang Shixiang made this dish is very simple. This dish is actually shrimps fried with onion.”
“There is a very famous dish in Chinese cuisine called [Boiled Sea Cucumber with Onion], which is loved by many customers. They liked this taste a lot, but they also felt that sea cucumbers were too expensive. Thus, Mr. Wang Shixiang came up with a new approach to cook it.”
“That is to give up on the sea cucumber in the [Boiled Sea Cucumber with Onion]. In order to make the taste of the sea cucumber, he chose to use the small shrimps.”
“Small shrimps share a similar fragrance to sea cucumbers, just that the texture is different. However, after blending the shrimps into this dish, they are found to be especially compatible! The fresh fragrance of seafood and the fragrance of onions are completely fused together. This is also the unique flavor of this [Stewed Onion]!”
Master Cai Lan’s eyes lit up when he heard this.
There were many stories about [Stewed Onion] that even he did not know.
“I wonder where the little Master Chef heard all this from—”
Cai Lan was curious about this, but he suppressed his curiosity and didn’t ask.
After all, the public was speculating that Xu Le had a very capable chef as his master. Otherwise, it was impossible for him to have such superb culinary skills at such a young age.
There were also various speculations on the Internet. For example, some people guessed that Xu Le’s culinary skills were taught by the imperial chefs of the Qing Dynasty.
There were too many guesses.
Master Cai Lan also felt that this was very possible, but he had lived for so long and had long lost his strong curiosity.
Since Xu Le did not mention this matter, he would not be a busybody and ask about it himself.
Everyone had their own secrets.
It was better not to ask too much.