The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 215 The Champion

The steaming hot fried rice filled Lu Suzhi's mouth with a complex aroma of various ingredients, making his eyes light up.

As he slowly chewed the rice in his mouth, the true flavor of Yangzhou fried rice burst forth completely.

The bouncy texture of sea cucumber, the chewy bite of ham, the tenderness of chicken thigh meat, the crispness of chicken gizzard, the soft and glutinous texture of shiitake mushrooms, the crispness of winter bamboo shoots…

The different ingredients have different textures, and a bite of fried rice gave Lu Suzhi the illusion of tasting a feast.

What made this food critic even happier was the rice itself, which is the main ingredient and core of Yangzhou fried rice.

Before taking this bite, Lu Suzhi imagined many possible textures and flavors of rice in Yangzhou fried rice.

And now, he has the answer.

The rich aroma of rice and eggs intertwines to create the uniquely warm and chewy texture of Yangzhou fried rice. Even with repeated additions of broth and stir-frying until the rice is dry, it does not suffer any flaws in appearance. Instead, it retains both stickiness and chewiness, gradually releasing the absorbed broth as you chew.

Finally, as Lu Suzhi swallowed a mouthful of Yangzhou fried rice, the lingering taste on his lips and teeth left him with only one word in mind.

fresh!
It wasn't just the freshness of one particular ingredient. Even though Qin Lang used premium-grade chicken in the cooking process, the chicken's freshness never overpowered the other ingredients. It blended perfectly with the freshness of the other ingredients, creating a beautiful picture of umami.

This painting contains delicacies from the mountains (winter mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots) and seafood (scallops, sea cucumbers), as if it were the essence of a grand feast, all gathered together in a single dish of Yangzhou fried rice.

Lu Suzhi let out a soft sigh, suppressing the shock in his heart, and then scooped up a second spoonful of Yangzhou fried rice with a spoon.

This time, he paid attention to more details.

The scallions, when chewed, have three distinct flavors.

The third dish of scallions is crisp and refreshing, with the aroma of scallions, like the vigor of a young man.

The scallion smell dissipated most of its aftertaste during the second stir-fry, resulting in a more mellow and milder flavor. It lost some of its crispness but gained more harmony, much like a person in middle age.

The first scallion added to the broth absorbs the essence of all the ingredients, thoroughly distilling its flavor, much like the composure of an aging person.

With another bite, Lu Suzhi could taste the differences between "crescent moon white", "broken gold" and "gold wrapped silver".

The crescent-shaped white is delicate and moist, while the broken gold is rich and delicious. Both have absorbed a lot of soup, yet still retain a rich egg flavor.

Even a simple egg can be transformed into many different creations in Qin Lang's hands.

Lu Su savored the Yangzhou fried rice in his bowl, bite after bite. At this moment, the Yangzhou fried rice was no longer a picture in his eyes, but a treasure trove containing endless surprises, with each bite bringing a new experience.

"Sha—"

The sound of a spoon scraping against the bottom of a bowl brought Lu Suzhi back to reality from his immersion in the delicious food.

Looking at the empty bowl, now devoid of even a single grain of rice, he sighed sadly, rinsed his mouth, and picked up Du Ziyan's dish, White Jade Pearl.

As Lu Suzhi scooped up a mouthful and put it in his mouth, a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.

Lu Suzhi did not approve of Du Ziyan's cooking process. After all, according to common sense, Du Ziyan compressed such a rich broth into the rice to such an extreme degree that the rice itself almost lost its flavor.

But once he truly tasted this pearl of white jade, Lu Suzhi realized that he had ultimately made the mistake of relying on empiricism.

Because Du Ziyan also takes into account the main role of rice in the process of concentrating the soup, as you chew, the essence of the glaze melts and forms fish soup and the melt-in-your-mouth rice paste, which are intertwined, fresh and lively.

Such a delicacy, no matter when or where, would be enough to impress Lu Suzhi.

Unfortunately... Du Ziyan encountered Qin Lang.

A white jade pearl met Yangzhou fried rice.
Lu Suzhi scooped up the second spoonful of white jade pearls and put it in his mouth, followed by the third and fourth spoonfuls.

The more he tasted it, the stronger his regret became.

Soon, the seven food critics finished their tastings. Their expressions varied, but they clearly already had their answers.

"Now, please have the seven food recommenders vote on the two dishes!" The host's voice echoed, and the entire venue instantly fell silent.

Countless eyes were fixed on the seven food recommenders, each hoping the recommender would cast their vote for their favorite contestant.

In the tense atmosphere, Pang Ju, the food recommender, spoke first, "This time, I choose Qin Lang's Yangzhou fried rice."

"This dish truly amazed me. I won't say more. Right now, all I want to ask is contestant Qin Lang, how can I have another bowl?"

Upon hearing Pang Ju's words, good-natured laughter erupted in the room.

Clearly, everyone saw Pang Ju's behavior and his attempts to break the rules and make a deal with Bao Heng.

It seems this food critic has been completely won over by Yangzhou fried rice.

"I choose Yangzhou fried rice." Vegetarian food recommender Ye Ting spoke slowly. Her voice, which had always seemed aloof, was now filled with many different emotions. "I will never forget this dish in my life."

Upon hearing this, a murmur of surprise rippled through the room.

Qin Lang, two votes!
Du Ziyan, who had crushed his opponents all the way and won many times with an absolute score of 7:0, has surprisingly fallen into a huge disadvantage from the start this time!

Du Ziyan himself was clearly not prepared for this situation either. For the first time, a look of astonishment appeared on his face as he stared intently at Qin Lang beside him, his eyes filled with inquiry and confusion.

Qin Lang smiled slightly and bowed slightly, as if thanking Pang Ju for Ms. Ye Ting's vote.

"My vote is also for Qin Lang." Fruit Recommender Cao Feng adjusted his glasses. "Du Ziyan's 'White Jade Pearl' dish utterly amazed me; it was arguably the second most stunning dish in this competition, but unfortunately..."

"It's only second."

Qin Lang, three votes!
The entire main stadium erupted in chaos, with countless spectators staring in disbelief at the food recommenders who unequivocally cast their votes for Qin Lang.

The difference between the two…

Has it reached that level already?
Du Ziyan stood silently in place, but Qin Lang, who stood beside him, could sense that the former was like a volcano about to erupt.

Clearly, he absolutely could not accept such a voting result.

“My vote…” Song Changtian, the food recommender from the mountain, sighed, “Although it’s a bit cruel, I still choose Qin Lang.”

"I can't describe the feeling after tasting Yangzhou fried rice. It's not just a dish, but also contains a profound meaning."

Qin Lang, four votes!
The room suddenly fell silent.

All eyes turned to Qin Lang.

Although the seven food recommenders have only cast a small portion of the votes, the champion's throne is already firmly in their hands.

Qin Lang is the champion of this competition!
(End of this chapter)