BXBX NOVEL Chapter 186 - 186: Eating Method
Despite making fun of the situation, Qin Lang paused his work temporariLy and covertly observed his competitor’s actions.
Slowly, he seemed to get the hang of it.
Each time Ji He struck the dough, it was not a simple act.
His forceful strikes penetrated the dough, making it quiver intensely. Through the quivering, he strategically placed small cavities within the inside of the dough that resembled air bubbles, keeping the pufferfish broth trapped within them.
He was performing a special step that usually requires leavening agents, solely using his hands.
Of course, being able to do this was inextricably linked to the different auxiliaries Ji He had added to the dough earlier. After his initial preparations, the structure of the dough had fundamentally changed, enabling his subsequent method to work effectively.
The initial auxiliary ratio and the subsequent knuckle method were both indispensable.
The result of such treatment was…
The pasta made from the dough into which pufferfish broth was added would end up having a certain burst of juiciness in its taste.
Interesting!
Qin Lang’s eyes brightened.
Without the Food Skill of Skillful Strength Support, it would take him at least ten years of hard training to achieve what Ji He was doing right now. However, there were some common elements in their techniques.
The dough processing technique Ji He showcased at this moment gave him quite a few new ideas.
Withdrawing his gaze, Qin Lang composed himself and placed the dough, which had been wrapped in cling film and leavened for a good while, in front of him.
Crab roe soup dumplings emphasized the filling, but the skin of the bun also required attention.
Unlike meat buns, during the process of making soup dumplings, you can’t add leavening agents like baking soda or yeast to the dough to increase its air pores. It needs to retain a compact structure to encase the soup inside so-called “dead dough”.
Traditional crab roe soup dumplings had to be large enough to fill a plate. To ensure that such a large soup dumpling doesn’t burst during cooking, yet still maintains a thin skin that doesn’t affect the taste, the skin must be rolled large and evenly.
It required not only experience and technique but also a sufficient proofing process to evenly distribute the moisture in the dough.
One dough skin after another took shape swiftly in Qin Lang’s hands. He then cautiously added the well-mixed filling, completing the process of wrapping the buns.
On the other side, Ji He’s technique was also fully presented.
After he had incorporated a small bowl of pufferfish broth entirely into the dough, Ji He scooped the dough, quickly picking little dough lumps and tossed them in a basket nearby.
The aftereffects of Skillful Strength Support were still in play. During the process of plucking the dough lumps, Ji He rapidly kneaded them a few times. Despite the efficiency not decreasing at all,
the shape of the gradually increasing dough lumps in the basket resembled a pufferfish to an extent.
After all the lumps were plucked, Ji He put the dough lumps from the basket into a pot, scooped them up after they were well-cooked, and put them into a bowl of fresh pufferfish broth that had already been served nearby.
“Ding— ”
The instant Ji He finished cooking, a light sound was heard from Qin Lang’s steamer, signalling the end of the preset steaming time.
The cooking of the competition on both sides was finished.
The audience surrounding the high platform suddenly erupted with cheers and heated discussions.
Although they might not necessarily know Qin Lang, anyone who understood cooking could tell how extraordinary his cooking skills were by watching his series of cooking processes.
The mysterious Spirit Chef, Qin Lang, against Ji He, the recent champion of Qingyang City’s City-Level Cooking Competition, was clearly an intriguing match.
Now, both of their dishes had finished cooking.
No one knew what verdict the five judges would give after tasting the dishes?
With such anticipation, all eyes turned to the five senior judges seated on the judging stand.
The judge seated in the center took the initiative to speak, “Both of you finished cooking almost at the same time, but Ji He was a bit quicker, so we will taste his dish first.”
Qin Lang nodded in understanding, turned on the insulation function of the steamer, and gestured for Ji He to proceed.
Ji He took a deep breath and served his Clear River Pufferfish Noodles to each of the judges.
“Clear River Pufferfish Noodles, please enjoy.”
After a brief introduction, Ji He stood silently in front of the judge’s stand.
The five senior judges exchanged glances, their eyes filled with anticipation.
The City-Level Cooking Competition’s final battle was not judged by these senior judges, but by the eleven First-Level Food Recommenders of Qingyang City.
Back then, they had been eager to taste this Clear River Pufferfish Noodles that had amazed the Food Recommenders one after another.
They did not expect that by accepting the invitation to this competition, they would get the chance to finally satisfy their curiosity.
After a moment of silence, the five judges picked up their soup spoons, scooped up a spoonful of lively noodles that resembled little fish staggering in the river along with the broth, and put them into their mouths…
Soon, the Clear River Pufferfish Noodles in front of the five judges were all eaten up, right down to the last drop of the soup.
Seeing their satisfied and blissful expressions, even the audience, who hadn’t tasted the exquisite dish, seemed to be able to imagine the wonderful taste of this Clear River Pufferfish Noodles.
“Now, let us taste the dish by contestant Qin Lang.” The five judges quickly adjusted and rinsed their mouths with special mouthwash to get rid of the lingering taste, then turned their gaze to Qin Lang.
Their eyes were still full of anticipation, not diminished by the delicious Clear River Pufferfish Noodles they had just tasted. Because they knew that like Ji He, Qin Lang too was a Spirit Chef who had won the City-Level Cooking Championship, and his culinary skills wouldn’t be much weaker than Ji He’s.
“It’s our turn now.”
Qin Lang looked at the two critters beside him.
In response, the two critters had confidence and determination in their eyes.
“Gululu!”
Dan Bao rumbled softly, a white halo swirling around it. The halo, transformed into an invisible force, opened the lid of the steamer, put the steamed crab roe soup dumplings into plates one by one, and then served them in front of the judges.
“Crab roe soup dumplings, please enjoy.”
Qin Lang quickly walked over to Ji He, smiling as he spoke.
“Crab roe soup dumplings…” Ji He murmured the name, curiously looking at the dumplings, which were so large that each one covered an entire plate, that were placed in front of the judges.
At their level of culinary expertise, just by seeing each other’s cooking process they could approximately predict the taste of each other’s dishes.
Using the deliciousness of crab roe and chicken soup to rival the deliciousness of pufferfish, huh…
Ji He suddenly felt that he might not necessarily win this battle.
Different from when they tasted Ji He’s dish earlier, the five judges were somewhat silent as they looked at the crab roe soup dumplings before them.
This was the first time they had ever seen such a peculiar type of dumplings.
One question popped up in each of their minds.
How do you eat these?
“Do we use the straw to suck?” One of the judges, noticing the accompanying straw, couldn’t help but speculate.
“Yes.” Qin Lang nodded with a smile.
“The most suitable way to eat crab roe soup dumplings is to use a straw to puncture the top of the dumpling skin, suck the soup inside first, and then taste the dumpling skin and the crab roe filling.”
The five judges exchanged glances and picked up their straws together.
Let’s dig in!
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