The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 193 Qiu Lei's Strength

Using ice water to mix the beef will help it absorb water better.

Qin Lang skipped this detail when cooking beef before because the difference wasn't significant, but now, in an open cooking environment, every detail will be seen by the seven judges, so it must be done to perfection.

Add 4 ounces of scallion and ginger water to one pound of beef, mix until no water is visible in the bowl, then add appropriate amounts of baking soda, salt, sugar, and white pepper powder and mix again.

Beef is acidic, which is why you can sometimes taste a sour flavor when you eat beef. A small amount of baking soda can neutralize the slight sourness in beef, while the bitterness of baking soda can be neutralized by sugar.

Mix until the surface is slightly sticky and feels a little sticky to the touch. Then add dark soy sauce, egg white, and sweet potato starch water and mix for the final time.

After being thoroughly mixed, the deep red beef has turned a reddish-brown color, and its surface shows a crystal-clear luster under the light.

After sealing the surface of the marinated beef with oil and refrigerating it, Qin Lang began processing the other ingredients.

On the judging panel, Lu Suzhi turned off his microphone and looked at Pang Ju, the recommender of the beast's food, next to him, "Old Pang, what's the story behind Qin Lang's methods?"

There are so many different versions of the story.

Pang Ju chuckled, "Just by watching the processing, I can already roughly imagine how tender the final beef will be."

Upon hearing this, the others all turned their gazes toward Pang Ju.

"By mixing and stirring, the beef can fully absorb the water, which will make it more tender and smooth during cooking. This is a fairly common way to process beef, but Qin Lang has many details."

As Pang Ju spoke, he couldn't help but sigh, "There are some details that I need to think about for a while before I can understand their meaning."

"I, as a judge, have actually learned something from the contestants. It's really something." Pang Ju said, both amused and exasperated.

At that moment, gasps of surprise rang out from the audience.

The seven food critics looked up at the big screen, where the close-up had switched to Qiu Lei.

While Qin Lang was mixing the beef, Qiu Lei was preparing other ingredients. Only now did he begin to work on the beef.

What's most eye-catching is the knife in his hand!

It was a clear, transparent ice blade, emanating a faint chill!

Although they are ice skates, the extremely low temperature gives them incredible hardness. Even when they are sharpened to be incredibly sharp and thin, they do not break or melt when cutting beef.

Such an ice skate is also very difficult to control. At this moment, Qiu Lei is wearing a glove to insulate himself from the cold of the ice skate. Otherwise, his hands would definitely be frostbitten.

"Ultra-low temperature ice blades." Pang Ju clicked his tongue. "This method of processing is somewhat beyond my expectations."

"Senior Pang Ju, please explain in detail," Song Changtian, the food recommender from the mountains, couldn't help but ask, "What's the explanation behind this method?"

"Let me ask you first, is it easier to cut frozen meat or thawed meat?" Pang Ju asked with a smile.

“This… is naturally frozen meat.” Song Changtian quickly said, “Frozen meat is a whole piece, so you can cut it from any angle, but to cut thawed meat properly, you can only cut it along the grain.”

“Not bad.” Pang Ju nodded slightly. “Ultra-low temperature ice cutters can achieve the same effect as cutting frozen meat when cutting fresh meat.”

“In this way, even if you don’t cut along the grain, you can still make the cut surface of the meat perfectly smooth. The reason Qiu Lei made this choice is…” Pang Ju paused slightly, “because he cuts the beef perpendicular to the grain.”

“Beef cut this way has less connective tissue between the muscles, making it easy to fall apart during cooking, turning the meat into minced meat.” Pang Ju looked at Qiu Lei with a deep sense of inquiry in his eyes.

"I'm a little curious now, what kind of dish is he going to cook?"

Upon hearing Pang Ju's analysis, the other six food recommenders each showed thoughtful expressions.

Besides the seven food recommenders, there were naturally many experts present, especially the other contestants watching from the stage. Seeing the two people's drastically different treatments of the beef, thoughtful expressions appeared in their eyes as they couldn't help but compare how they would have handled the situation if they were on stage at that moment.

“That Qin Lang…” Luo Mi sat on the spectator stand with her arms crossed, watching Qin Lang’s smooth cooking process on the screen, and snorted, “This time he didn’t show any high-level skills.”

"So, is he going to lose?" Liu Chuang, who had also come to the scene in disguise, couldn't help but ask.

“That’s possible,” Lomi glanced at Qiu Lei on the other side. “His opponent is no pushover either.”

"It's really hard to say who will win or lose."

“Alright.” Liu Chuang nodded, then suddenly asked, “According to the competition rules, the winner of this match will face you in the semifinals, right?”

"Does that mean you won't be able to fight Qin Lang?"

This was the last match of the quarterfinals, and Luo Mi had already defeated her opponent ahead of Qin Lang, advancing to the semifinals.

Upon hearing this, Lomi was startled and quickly stood up, cupping her cheeks with her hands and shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Qin Lang, cheer me on!"

The spectators in the stands all turned to look, and when they recognized that the one who spoke was Ellie, the winner of the previous round, they all showed strange expressions.

Liu Chuang felt a chill run down his spine and quickly grabbed Luo Mi.

"Hey! Keep your voice down, or you'll be recognized!"

"Tsk!" Lomi sat back down unhappily, staring intently at Qin Lang in the arena. "You kid, you better not lose here."

"I've been looking forward to crushing you head-on for a long time!"
-

"Ding--"

A crisp bell rang throughout the room.

The entire room fell silent, and countless eyes quickly turned to Qiu Lei, who was pushing a food cart out of the cooking unit.

After a race against time to cook, he was the first to serve the meal.

"This guy, so fast?" Qin Lang, who had just taken the beef out of the refrigerator, immediately showed a strange expression.

After some experimentation by Cao Dongdong and his two companions, Qin Lang finally decided on boiled beef as the dish for this quarterfinals.

He thought the dish wouldn't take long to prepare and that he could get there first, but he ended up falling behind his opponent again.

In culinary competitions, going first gives you a significant advantage.

With that thought in mind, Qin Lang took a deep breath and refocused his attention on cooking.

Meanwhile, Qiu Lei's dishes have entered the display stage.

On the plate, the beef, glistening with oil and browned from being grilled over the flames, is piled into a cube shape. With appropriate garnishes and plating, it looks exquisite, elegant, and tempting.

Amidst the expectant gazes of the entire audience, Qiu Lei slowly began to speak.

"Roasted Beef Cube, please enjoy."

(End of this chapter)