The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 211 A Clash Using Scent as Weapon!
Lu Suzhi's gasp of surprise was precisely captured by the recording equipment and reached the ears of every audience member in the venue. In an instant, gasps of surprise rose and fell, and countless people looked at the rice in Qin Lang's hand that looked as smooth and flawless as jade beads, their eyes filled with shock.

"What? It's actually a rare variety of rice?"

The host's voice rose again, clearly showing signs of cracking, "It seems that Qin Lang has once again brought us a surprise!"

"In this rice-themed competition, Qin Lang brought out premium-grade rice. In terms of ingredient quality, Du Ziyan seems to be slightly inferior. How will he make up for it?"

"let us wait and see!"

As the host's voice echoed through the venue, Du Ziyan's gaze toward Qin Lang became more serious.

Rare rice…

He really didn't expect that Qin Lang would be able to bring out something like this.

In order to secure an indisputable victory in the final, he even resorted to using a powerful weapon like the rare sea bass. However, he still fell short in the selection of ingredients, allowing Qin Lang to gain the upper hand.

but…

"This is what makes a competition interesting!" With a burning fighting spirit surging in his eyes, Du Ziyan's expression returned to seriousness.

After all the ingredients were displayed, his hands began to skillfully process the different ingredients, his smooth and flowing steps were a pleasure to watch.

"It's time for us to get going too." Seeing Du Ziyan's serious expression, Qin Lang's smile faded, his eyes also filled with fighting spirit.

Although the premium rice gave him a certain advantage, as he once said, cooking competitions are not just about comparing the quality of ingredients. When faced with top-notch culinary skills, the difference in ingredients will be greatly reduced.

However, Qin Lang had absolute confidence in the dish he was going to make today.

Yangzhou fried rice, a seriously underrated delicacy.

In most people's minds, it seems to be just egg fried rice with various other ingredients added, and there is even a saying that "the rice fried by Yangzhou people is called Yangzhou fried rice".

Qin Lang in his previous life initially thought so too, but after consulting a master who specialized in Yangzhou fried rice, his opinion on Yangzhou fried rice completely changed.

This dish, which can be named after a place and become a local icon, is not simple to make authentically.

First, Qin Lang rinsed the premium rice and put it into the rice cooker. While waiting for the rice to cook, he began to prepare other ingredients.

After washing the premium dried scallops, soak them in warm water and add a few drops of white vinegar to remove any odor.

Debone the chicken thighs and keep the meat, then put them in a pot with diced chicken gizzards and simmer.

Slice the ham, arrange it on a plate, and then steam it.

After finishing all this, Qin Lang calmly washed, diced, and categorized the sea cucumber, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms, and set them aside for later use.

Although it was just the most basic operation, Qin Lang cut the ingredients into perfect cubes, which looked exceptionally pleasing to the eye.

However, Danbao, watching Qin Lang's smooth and effortless movements, couldn't help but look puzzled.

"Gulu?"

Why didn't you let me use my food skills?

"Of course there's a place for you to use your culinary skills." Qin Lang smiled, took out a bunch of scallions and handed them to Danbao. "Here you go."

Yangzhou fried rice is all about "three applications of scallions," meaning that scallions are used in three separate steps during the cooking process. These small scallions are the soul of the dish. While Danbao was diligently blowing on the scallions, Qin Lang glanced at Du Ziyan on the other side.

The other party had already prepared the other ingredients and was now processing the prized sea bass.

Seemingly noticing Qin Lang's gaze, Du Ziyan looked up and met Qin Lang's eyes for a moment before continuing with his work.

Like freshwater bass, sea bass has few intramuscular bones and mainly large bones, but compared to freshwater bass, it has a higher fat content and a stronger fishy smell.

Of course, considering that this is a delicacy, there is probably no fishy smell. Judging from the shape of that sea bass, its fat content is even higher than that of a normal sea bass.

Under Du Ziyan's skillful handling, the whole sea bass has been scaled, deboned, and cut in half.

After adding a thin layer of oil to the wok, Du Ziyan carefully placed the two halves of the sea bass into the wok with the skin side down.

"Bah-"

With a sharp sizzle, the fat under the fish skin burst open instantly as the hot oil activated it, and an indescribable fishy aroma swept across the entire stage like a whirlwind, rushing towards Qin Lang.

The host, who was positioned between the two standard cooking segments, also smelled the same aroma. He couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, then his face showed an expression of astonishment, "My God, what is this smell?"

"The aroma from just the initial frying gives me the illusion of being in the ocean, surrounded by countless schools of fish. That wonderfully unique aroma truly befits a premium sea bass!"

As they watched the fish skin gradually turn golden brown and the oil oozing out on the big screen, and listened to the host's exaggerated exclamations, many audience members couldn't help but swallow hard, secretly resolving to eat sea bass when they got home that day.

"This flavor is really strong."

Qin Lang shook his head, both amused and exasperated. He turned up the range hood to reduce the impact on himself, then took the prepared scallions from Danbao and chopped them separately, separating the white and green parts.

Then, he slowly opened the lid of the pot containing the simmering chicken drumsticks and gizzards.

"It's rude to come and not reciprocate."

In an instant, the rich aroma of the chicken soup, which had been sealed by the pot lid, surged outwards with the burst of steam.

This umami flavor isn't as intense as fried food, but it has an extremely strong penetrating ability; by the time you realize it, you're already completely immersed in it.

Du Ziyan, who had already rendered all the fat from the sea bass and was adding water to cover the fish in preparation for making fish soup, was suddenly stunned by the rich aroma of the chicken soup. By the time he came to his senses, he had already added too much water.

His expression darkened, and his gaze towards Qin Lang held a hint of displeasure.

Fortunately, this problem is not serious, and it can't even be considered a mistake. It can be solved by simply increasing the stewing time slightly.

"Wow!!!" The host exclaimed dramatically, wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth. He looked at the ingredients Qin Lang had scooped out of the pot, his eyes practically glowing with envy. "This aroma... if contestant Qin Lang doesn't need the soup, please be sure to save it for me!"

"Sorry, the soup is still useful."

Qin Lang smiled and declined the host's offer. He then took out the steamed ham, leaving the broth, and cut the ham slices into diced pieces.

After completing the pre-processing of the ingredients, Qin Lang took a deep breath.

Heat oil in a wok.

The formal cooking of Yangzhou fried rice begins now!
(End of this chapter)