The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 243: The octopus hides a sheep in its belly!

"call--"

As Qin Lang cleanly and deftly removed the entire fish bone from the fish's mouth and placed it aside, heavy breathing immediately filled the air around them.

When Qin Lang started processing the fish bones, everyone was completely dumbfounded. They didn't even dare to breathe loudly, for fear that their breathing would affect Qin Lang's performance and cause the thin knife to pierce the fish meat.

Only after the process was over did they seem to suddenly remember that they could breathe, and they took deep breaths.

After they recovered, enthusiastic applause rang out in the arena.

"To debone a whole fish, that's a skill that doesn't come easily." Zhuo Hong clicked his tongue in amazement. "This young man's culinary skills are far beyond what one would expect for his age."

"You have to admit, there really are geniuses in this world." Li Yuantu crossed his arms and looked at Qin Lang's actions, his eyes full of pride.

These are teenagers from Dongxia City!

"What's there to be so proud of?" Zhuo Hong rolled his eyes at Li Yuantu. "If I remember correctly, you're not a local from Dongxia City, are you?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuantu's expression darkened. "Go away!"

This guy is so annoying!
While a Level 2 Food Recommender and a former Level 2 Food Recommender were bickering, Qin Lang continued cooking.

Once the most difficult step of stuffing lamb into the fish's belly is completed, the remaining cooking steps become easier.

After the main bone was removed, the carp's body inevitably collapsed a bit, like a deflated tire. However, as Qin Lang stuffed large pieces of scallions and ginger into the fish's belly, the carp's body swelled up slightly again.

Next, rub the fish with cooking wine to remove the fishy smell.

With the fish preparation complete, Qin Lang neatly arranged the carp on a plate and set it aside. He then turned and took the prepared bamboo shoots, mutton, and soaked shiitake mushrooms from the two food spirits.

"Tuk-tuk-tuk-"

With a series of crisp knife cuts, the three ingredients were quickly diced and set aside.

Heat oil in a wok, add scallions, ginger, and dried shrimp and stir-fry until fragrant. Then add diced shiitake mushrooms and bamboo shoots and stir-fry.

The aroma of shiitake mushrooms and the fragrance of bamboo shoots quickly diffused from within the hot oil, intertwining rapidly under the rising steam to create a bright and unique fragrance that quickly filled the space.

After finishing their work, Danbao and Lala came over together, their faces showing drooling as they smelled the fragrant aroma of the mountain delicacies.

The club members around them were completely captivated, enveloped in the fragrance as if they were in a primeval forest.

Zhuo Hong and Li Yuantu nodded almost imperceptibly at the same time.

Although it was just a routine stir-frying process, it revealed Qin Lang's impeccable basic skills.

After stir-frying the diced shiitake mushrooms and bamboo shoots until fragrant, pour the whole plate of diced lamb into the pot and stir-fry quickly until it is separated.

For the lamb, Qin Lang chose the fattest and most tender part, the upper sirloin. This part is rich in fat, but it is not greasy. It has a marbled pattern similar to beef, making it look particularly appetizing.

The abundant fat contracts rapidly under the heat, and the mutton fat inside seeps out little by little, evenly coating the mutton that is gradually turning light brown. Under the light, it glistens with an enticing luster and bursts with the rich aroma unique to mutton.

The pure and rich aroma of meat is intertwined with the perfect amount of muttony smell, blending with the aroma of diced shiitake mushrooms and bamboo shoots, making the rich fragrance in the space vibrant and layered.

At that moment, the sound of people quietly swallowing their saliva could be heard.

Looking at the ingredients being stir-fried in the pot, everyone couldn't help but feel the urge to sneak a bite.

Once the three ingredients are cooked to perfection, add salt and cooking wine to taste, then serve. Qin Lang then begins the next steps.

Stuffing. The term "stuffing mutton into the belly of a fish" refers to stuffing mutton into the belly of a fish before cooking it together.

This type of dish is called a set meal.

The deboned carp was like a sealed bag; all Qin Lang had to do now was stuff it with the stir-fried diced vegetables.

After removing the scallions and ginger that had been stuffed in during the marinating process, Qin Lang patiently began stuffing the filling with a small spoon.

Although it is called the belly of a fish, there are still gaps in the spine and back of the carp after the main bone is removed, and the actual space that can be filled is larger than you might imagine.

As the carp's body gradually swells, the stir-fried diced vegetables completely fill the gaps inside.

No wonder it's called "the fish hides the sheep in its belly".

One of the club members couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Everyone present was a master chef, and upon seeing this step, they understood the true meaning of the dish.

The mountain delicacies are stir-fried with mutton, and then stuffed into the belly of a fish for further cooking, combining the umami flavors of different ingredients into one.

Just watching Qin Lang's cooking process brought new inspiration to many of the Spirit Chefs present, because this approach can be applied to many situations.

While they may not have Qin Lang's skill in removing fish bones without causing injury, could they use other, easier-to-handle ingredients instead?
For a moment, many people on the field showed thoughtful expressions.

"He's a good kid," Zhuo Hong suddenly said out of the blue.

Only Li Yuantu, standing to the side, understood what the other party meant, and his gaze toward Qin Lang became increasingly satisfied.

With Qin Lang's culinary skills, he could clearly have prepared simpler dishes to complete this competition, which was a foregone conclusion for him.

However, he still brought out a dish with a lot of innovation and inspiration in the way of stuffing lamb into fish belly, and didn't mind others learning it at all.

Such a mindset and attitude are truly rare.

Completely unaware that her unintentional choice had earned her another wave of goodwill from Li Yuantu, Qin Lang skillfully wrapped the entire carp tightly with pig caul fat after filling it with the filling.

The pork caul fat serves two purposes: it helps to shape the fish and it melts during the subsequent baking process, allowing the fat to seep into the fish and add new flavors, further enhancing the dish's deliciousness.

After wrapping the carp in the pork caul fat, Qin Lang wrapped it again in tin foil and put it in the oven.

190 degrees, for half an hour.

After setting the time, Qin Lang smiled helplessly at the crowd still staring at him, "Once it's baked, there's nothing else to see."

Even so, none of them intended to leave.

Having finally squeezed into this spot, if I leave now, will I still be able to eat the final product Qin Lang prepared?
Seeing that the crowd was not leaving, Qin Lang said nothing more.

Half an hour passed quickly in quiet waiting.

As Qin Lang opened the oven again, a rich aroma, which even layers of tin foil couldn't block, wafted out from inside the oven.

The aroma combines the richness of lard with the freshness of fish, subtly hinting at the unique flavor of mutton and the vibrancy of mushrooms and bamboo shoots.

Cut open the tin foil, and the carp's surface was already golden yellow.

The fish hides a sheep, all done!
(End of this chapter)