The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 184 She's Got It!

It must be said that cooking under the watchful eyes of countless people is a considerable challenge for the chef.

In his previous life, Qin Lang also had experience in public competitions.

But this time it is on a larger scale than in the previous life.

Qin Lang looked around at the densely packed audience seats filled with tens of thousands of people and inexplicably laughed.

In my past life, being a chef wasn't such a high-profile profession.

A surge of excitement welled up inside Qin Lang, and he grabbed the dough that had already been kneaded on the table.

"boom--"

With a heavy thud, he slammed the dough onto the work surface with all his might, and then kneaded it vigorously once more.

Then came the second and third sounds.

The loud noise made Pang Xin, who was standing nearby, turn her head, but after seeing Qin Lang's actions, she quickly looked away.

How can you increase the uniformity of dough by slapping and kneading it repeatedly?
This method is indeed useful, but no matter what, it's impossible to achieve the effect of "perfect mixing" in terms of uniformity!
Qin Lang had already fallen behind her at the very first step, and she would only take an even bigger lead in the upcoming cooking sessions!
What's so great about finishing third in the second qualifying round?

If she had some knowledge of sweet and sour dishes, she definitely wouldn't have gotten this ranking in the second round!
With this thought in mind, a determined look appeared in Pang Xin's eyes. She stopped paying attention to Qin Lang's movements and continued cooking.

Setting the dough aside for the time being, she chopped a whole chicken into large pieces and put it into the pressure cooker, while methodically preparing the other ingredients.

"boom--"

Another dull thud echoed as Qin Lang, panting heavily, wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at the dough in front of him with satisfaction.

After so many slapping and kneading, the surface of the dough has become so smooth that it is almost reflective. This uniform texture means that the water and starch have reached a very high degree of uniformity, to the point that there are no longer any small particles.

Only dough made this way can be stretched into hair-thin strands without breaking.

That's right, what Qin Lang is going to do this time is to make dragon beard noodles, a dish that showcases incredible skills from the cooking process to the final product.

"It should be ready soon if it wakes up a little more." Muttering to himself, Qin Lang wrapped the dough in plastic wrap and set it aside, then brought out another ingredient.

pumpkin.

"Why is it a pumpkin?" Cao Dongdong couldn't help but ask from the stands.

"What's wrong with Pumpkin?" Yu Zaozao asked Cao Dongdong curiously.

Zhao Qian had already returned to the hotel, but she remained in the stands the entire time, faithfully recording Qin Lang's match with the live stream camera.

“Of course there’s a problem.” Cao Dongdong sighed. “Although I don’t know what kind of pasta Qin Lang is going to make, he didn’t use any pumpkin at all when he was practicing cooking last night.”

“…Huh?” Yu Zaozao blinked and was immediately stunned.

Without a doubt, Qin Lang's cooking practice was in preparation for today's noodle competition.

How could an ingredient that wasn't used during practice appear?

"This guy is so mysterious." Cao Dongdong sighed. "In previous competitions, he would let us try the food first, but this time he said that it wouldn't be fun if we tried it beforehand. I don't know what he means."

"Now, even my best buddy has no idea what he's up to."

Hearing Cao Dongdong's words, Yu Zaozao was also a little unsure.

Watching Qin Lang peel and cut the pumpkin into large chunks, then gesture for a long time without making any other moves, she couldn't help but look puzzled.

At that moment, Qin Lang suddenly raised his head and looked in a certain direction.

"What's over there?"

Yu Zaozao followed Qin Lang's gaze and saw Du Ziyan sitting imposingly with his arms crossed in the stands not far away. Qin Lang's expression was clearly visible in the close-up shot on the big screen.

He raised an eyebrow at Du Ziyan, as if to say…

"Watch closely, you're not the only one who can show off your skills."

The next instant, Qin Lang moved!

He put down the kitchen knife, and with a flash of silver light, a small chisel appeared in his hand. With a rapid flick of his wrist, he left marks on the pumpkin that had already been peeled and cut into large pieces.

As more and more carving marks appeared, the object Qin Lang wanted to carve gradually became clearer.

It was a dragon head with wildly dancing hair and beard, looking fierce and menacing.

With the help of high-definition close-ups, every hair on the dragon's head is clear and natural, as if a real ferocious beast is roaring.

Exclamations of surprise echoed throughout the venue.

Next to reveal their shapes are the dragon's tail and body.

The dragon's head, body, and tail are each carved from three large pieces of pumpkin, with the body piece being the largest. It coils like a long snake, naturally forming a concave area in its exquisite design.

When Qin Lang pieced them together, a long dragon with a coiled body and bared claws appeared in the frame.

This is a dragon bowl made entirely of pumpkins!
Its exquisiteness is in no way inferior to the plating of Du Ziyan's previous two matches, and it is even more refined in the details!
In the stands, Du Ziyan's expression was calm, but his hands, hidden in his sleeves, clenched tightly.

This is…

Declare war on yourself?
Does this guy think that just because his plating is fancy enough, he can fight me?
If that's the case, then it's absolutely ridiculous.

After all, plating is just the most insignificant part of his dishes.

As if he had guessed Du Ziyan's thoughts, Qin Lang smiled slightly on the competition field, and then suddenly grabbed the dough that had finished proofing.

The carving of the entire dragon took half an hour.

After half an hour of proofing, the water and starch in the dough have now been completely and evenly mixed.

Remove the plastic wrap, roll the dough into a long strip on the work surface, hold both ends of the dough and stretch it evenly, then put the ends together.

With Qin Lang's light and agile wrist movements, the dough, stretched into a long strip, was quickly rotated in the middle, forming a spiral shape like a braid.

Grasp both ends of the dough again, pull and fold, and the dough will quickly reverse in the other direction, turning the original single-layer spiral into a double-layer spiral.

This step is called "slipping".

It is the last preparatory step before the dragon beard noodles are officially stretched. Through horizontal twisting, each strand of the thin dragon beard noodle actually has countless spirals, making each strand of the dragon beard noodle distinct and incredibly smooth.

Qin Lang does not possess the culinary skill "Perfect Mixing," but the wisdom of his ancestors has endowed him with techniques comparable to culinary arts.

"Ding--"

A clear, crisp bell rang out throughout the venue.

That was the meal bell. While Qin Lang was still preparing, Pang Xin on the other side had already finished cooking the dishes.

She turned her head and glanced at Qin Lang, who was still processing noodles, her eyes gleaming.

Although the dragon-shaped artifacts are stunning, the focus of the cooking competition is always on the preparation of the food.

Qin Lang is still working on the dough.

She wins!

(End of this chapter)