The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 190 Qin Lang Shows Off His Skills
"Osmanthus pastry?"

Qin Lang's gaze immediately fell on the dessert made by Cao Dongdong.

Then, his expression quickly became quite interesting.

Because Cao Dongdong's osmanthus pastries have osmanthus patterns carved on the surface of the pastry, making them look incredibly exquisite.

This guy…

"This inspiration still came from you." Seeing Qin Lang's eyes, Cao Dongdong knew what Qin Lang wanted to say and chuckled.

“When you made dragon beard noodles before, you carved a dragon bowl out of pumpkin. I thought that desserts not only need to taste good, but also need to be beautiful.”

"So, I also want to practice my carving skills."

At this point, Cao Dongdong touched Tuan Tuan floating in the air beside him, "After all, I can't just leave my cooking skills unused all the time."

Tuan Tuan's cooking skill, [Blade Stabilization], greatly reduces irregular tremors when the Spirit Chef holds the knife to cook.

Such culinary skills are enough to elevate the knife skills of chefs specializing in red dishes to a higher level, but they are less applicable to chefs specializing in white dishes, only helping with carving and other shaping processes.

Clearly, it was this culinary skill that gave Cao Dongdong confidence.

Qin Lang subconsciously picked up a round osmanthus pastry and examined it.

The patterns on the surface are clearly carved, and the depth of the cuts is relatively consistent, generally around the third layer of puff pastry, but some imperfections can still be seen.

Aside from that, the design is a bit ugly.

Chefs also need a certain aesthetic foundation, and it seems that Cao Dongdong still needs to practice.

However, Qin Lang didn't say much, since it was Xu Yueran, the food recommender, who was now going to assess Cao Dongdong.

"Click——"

With a crisp sound, Xu Yueran took a small bite of the osmanthus pastry's crust, and the rich, crispy aroma burst forth instantly, revealing the osmanthus filling hidden beneath.

The fragrance of osmanthus grew stronger, and at the same time, another hidden fragrance was instantly activated and burst forth.

"This is...honey?" Xu Yueran's eyes showed surprise.

"Yes, but it's not just honey," Cao Dongdong explained with a smile. "Pure honey is too sweet, and it can be cloying when combined with osmanthus."

"So I mixed flour, lard, osmanthus and honey in a certain proportion, and finally figured out the right ratio."

"Not bad." Xu Yueran nodded in satisfaction. "The sweetness of the honey and the fragrance of the osmanthus complement each other perfectly."

"In addition, the rich texture and intense aroma of the flaky pastry."

"This is a very cleverly designed dessert."

Although Xu Yueran is not a dessert recommender, due to the nature of her assessment, most of the dessert recommenders who come to her for assessment are dessert enthusiasts.

This is the area that Xu Yueran is most familiar with.

Cao Dongdong's osmanthus pastry fully met the requirements of the Level 1 Food Recommender assessment.

"This badge represents my approval of you, please accept it."

Xu Yueran smiled and awarded the second badge to Cao Dongdong.

"I got my third badge!"

Cao Dongdong looked even more excited than Zhao Qian, raising his badge high above his head and shouting.

"You really are a bit of a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur) too." Yu Zaozao said seriously, taking a bite of the osmanthus pastry at the same time. "The osmanthus pastry is so delicious!"

"I'll teach you carving later." Qin Lang smiled, quickly finished the osmanthus pastry he was eating, and then casually handed one to Danbao. "Now, it's my turn to get ready."

"I bet you're going to come up with a new dessert this time, right?" Cao Dongdong's face couldn't help but show an expectant look.

Dessert?

"Just wait to eat." Qin Lang smiled mysteriously and strode into the kitchen.

"This guy is so secretive." Cao Dongdong couldn't help but shake his head. "Zhao Qian, this should be your seventh Level 1 Food Recommender badge, right?"

“That’s right.” Zhao Qian nodded. “I plan to go to the Spirit Chef Association later to activate my second star vein.”

As she said this, a look of anticipation appeared in her eyes.

We've finally reached this point!
but…

Zhao Qian then thought of something and looked towards the kitchen, "If Qin Lang passes the test, this will be his seventh Level 1 badge."

“I can’t compare to this freak.” Cao Dongdong shrugged. “I’d better think about where to get the fourth badge next.”

"More than anything, I'm curious to know what kind of food Qin Lang is going to make," Yu Zaozao said, reaching for the baking pan.

"You definitely don't want the last one, right?"

Zhao Qian: "?"

Cao Dongdong: "?"
-

"Gulu?"

Looking at the ingredients Qin Lang had laid out on the cutting board, Danbao looked puzzled.

Isn't this cooking style that uses flowers as ingredients?
Why are there so many other ingredients on the cutting board?
"Just showing off a little." Qin Lang smiled slightly and placed the whole old hen and soybeans in front of Danbao. "Full of freshness."

"Gulu~"

Egg Baby blew hard on the food, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Qin Lang said, "Show me your skills," so this dish must be pretty good!
want to eat!

Soon, Danbao finished processing the ingredients, and Qin Lang chopped the whole old hen into large pieces and put it into the pressure cooker along with the dried scallops and ham.

As Qin Lang slowly closed the lid of the stew pot, a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

This was the first time he had ever taken out broth since he came into this world.

Although it's just a basic version of chicken broth, it's enough for the next dish.

Remove the stamens and calyxes from the hibiscus, leaving only the petals. Wash them clean and place them in a stone mortar, then crush and grind them vigorously.

The crushed hibiscus petals gradually release mucus, becoming viscous, and the color changes from red to a more vibrant purplish-red.

This viscous substance is the essence of the hibiscus flower, and it has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, as well as beautifying the skin.

Once the hibiscus petals are completely crushed, put them into a pot and heat until cooked. After they start bubbling, remove them and set them aside for later use.

Then came the long wait.

The pressure cooker has a higher internal pressure, which raises the boiling point of water and allows the temperature of the soup to exceed 100 degrees Celsius. At a higher temperature, the essence of the ingredients will be more easily extracted into the soup.

After waiting for about an hour, when Qin Lang opened the lid of the stew pot, the soup inside had turned a murky yellow color, and a rich, savory aroma wafted out under the heat, instantly invigorating him.

Discard the meat and keep the broth. Strain the broth through cheesecloth and set it aside. Put the soybeans into a stone mill and grind them while adding chicken broth.

After grinding the soybeans, filter out the soybean pulp, and use gypsum to coagulate the soybeans into tofu. Then, chop the tofu into small pieces and put it into a pot, adding egg white, salt, and pepper to taste.

"Gulu?"

Danbao swallowed hard and asked nervously.

In its memory, this was probably the dish that Qin Lang had cooked for the longest time so far.

"Only one last step remains." Qin Lang smiled slightly and arranged the cooked chicken soup and tofu with the cooled hibiscus dew in a tai chi pattern on a plate.

The Imperial-made Snow-Clearing Soup is complete!

(End of this chapter)