Chapter 58 - Famous Dish [Three Stir-fried Baldy]
Chapter 58: Famous Dish [Three Stir-fried Baldy]
“See, I told you, the hype won’t last long.”
“That’s for sure. He’s just a kid. He definitely has someone backing him. Otherwise, why would the internet be filled with Xu Le?”
“Come on, it’s not like you guys haven’t watched his live stream. Must you lie through your teeth?”
“Exactly, exactly. A bunch of green-eyed people.”
“They don’t even let a child off. How shameless.”
“If you don’t believe me, just wait and see. If he can still advance today, I’ll go eat sh*t.”
The comments in the live-stream were about to start fighting. In an instant, it had attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers.
At this juncture, the main director was clear that if he did not handle it well, it would cause public outburst on the Internet and affect the reputation of the competition.
He didn’t expect such a thing to happen at the beginning. Just as he was hesitating, an old and dignified voice sounded. “Just check the surveillance cameras. Start from this morning.”
The director turned around impatiently. When he saw who it was, he immediately said respectfully, “No problem.”
As time passed, the representatives from the dozens of restaurants and hotels nearby had already begun cooking. Each dish was more flashy than the previous, and some even sliced the tofu into smaller pieces than a strand of hair.
Xu Le stared at the minute hand on his watch. He had practiced enough and could reduce the production time for this dish from two hours to one hour. However, if he could not get a reply within this hour, it would affect his performance.
He knew that it was useless to be anxious, so he followed the production crew’s lead and went to the security room to check the surveillance cameras. The security guard on duty last night knew him, and when he heard about this, his hair stood on end as he cursed in his dialect.
“Damn those…”
Xu Le interrupted him. “It’s on live stream.”
The security guard changed the topic and said, “My legs are nimble… I found it and it’s on fast motion.”
Several pairs of eyes, as well as the four million people in the livestream room, stared at the screen. Ten minutes later, a figure appeared on the screen.
They paused, rewind and played in slow motion.
The chef who was complaining about Xu Le previously was seen to be passing by the vacuum preservation box where Xu Le’s ingredients were stored. He stuck his head out to take a look and then went back to discuss with his team.
Five minutes later, seeing that Xu Le had not turned up, he secretly replaced the items in the box. He was afraid that the truth would be exposed, so he stuffed the ingredients into the basin underneath. Even if they were suspected, they could still argue that Xu Le was the one who could not find the items and had blamed it on others.
Xu Le was silent for a while. This was the first time he felt the malice from his peers. However, this was within his expectations. After all, the world of adults was not as simple as he had imagined.
Millions of pairs of eyes in the livestream room saw the truth. Most of them were in support of Xu Le.
When the truth was out, Xu Le went back and looked at the time. Only half an hour had passed. It was better than he had imagined.
He found the ingredients that the production team had originally prepared for him from the basin below. The fat crabs and barbel fish were still fresh. He took out a footstool and stepped on it. He started to process the ingredients in the sink.
He cut open the back with the blade, removed the internal organs, and took out the fish liver.
The series of movements were as smooth as flowing water, making several judges who had studied abroad dumbfounded.
This was a knife skill that an eight-year-old had displayed.
Xu Le’s ease of handling a fish was a stark contrast to the team beside which had two or three people handling one fish.
The team beside him was preparing unagi rice. The head chef on the right side was cooking an innovative dish. He mixed all kinds of seasonings from Western and Chinese cuisines together. It looked mysterious and attracted a lot of attention.
Xu Le was someone who had seen much of the world. He calmly completed every step of his dish.
He took out the female crab roe, male crab paste, and fish liver. After he was done with all the ingredients, he heated the oil in the pot. He had specially replaced the olive oil to vegetable seed oil. This way, the taste would be more fragrant and mellow.
The seasoning used in the [Three Stir-fried Baldy] were very simple. What was important was the fire control in order to release the freshness, fragrance, and tender texture of the ingredients.
Lin Shuwei, who was at the judges’ table, looked at him for a while and suddenly realized what dish he was going to cook. He said happily, “It’s [Three Stir-fried Baldy]! It’s a dish that has been lost for a long time!”
With his previous experience of making “Stewed Onions”, the judges felt that he could possibly make another authentic lost dish!
At home, Lin Shuwei had also attempted to make this stir-fried dish that had originated from Suzhou. It seemed simple, but every time he cooked it, it would always be unsatisfactory. It had a mixture of several flavors, but not only was it not as fresh and delicious as it should have been, it also carried a stench.
He watched as Xu Le add a few drops of wine each time he stir-fried. A small amount would be poured on the edge and allowed to evaporate.
The dishes cooked in this way would not only retain its the original taste, but also remove the remaining fishy smell.
Lin Shuwei sat at the judges’ table and was enlightened. He didn’t expect to learn cooking skills from a child.
A judge beside him raised his doubts, “Is that child’s food too bland? It doesn’t look appetizing.”
Lin Shuwei suppressed the excitement in his throat and said, “No, you’ll know when you taste it later.”
“You really seem to admire him.”
“If you’ve tasted his cooking, you’ll understand how I feel.”
“Yeah.”
An elderly voice echoed from the side. The few of them looked at him with respect. “Old Master, you’re here?”
The old man with a head full of white hair leaned on his walking stick and walked to the seat in the middle with the help of everyone. He leaned back lazily and said, “There was a small incident just now. I went to discuss with the director to settle it. Looking at the time, the preliminary round is almost over.”
Xu Le was number 3. He took note of the time when the dishes were ready before serving them to the judges. This way, when he served the dishes to the judges, it was cool enough for them to eat yet not losing its warmth.
Finally, he put his plate on the tray. After the waitress carried it over, he breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the other participants’ dishes.
The chef who wanted to make things difficult for him and had hidden his ingredients had made unagi rice. However, it was too fishy and the sauce wasn’t mixed well. After the judges tasted it, they all frowned and picked on the problems.
However, there was an advancement system for the Food Expo competition, but there was no elimination system. Those who did not advance could still continue to compete until they had earned a ranking, so that they could redeem some dignity.
The team making unagi rice beside him cheered each other on. Just as they were saying that they still had a chance, the producer held up a sign and stood up.
“I’m sorry, but the number 2 team ‘Take It Slowly’ has broken the rules. The remaining 42 restaurants will advance to the top 20.”
The onlookers who did not know what was going on shouted.
“Why would they be eliminated? What rules did they break?”
“Is it against the rules if their food tastes bad?”
“If you want to eliminate someone, you have to give a reason.. You organizers can’t do whatever you want, otherwise how can you convince others?”