The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 419 Boiled Cabbage

So-so...

Hearing the old man's comments, Qin Lang showed a helpless expression.

This judge has some really discerning tastes.

However, it was precisely this that fueled his fighting spirit.

How long has it been since he received such praise?

Since his scrambled eggs and beef tenderloin dish only received so-so reviews, he'll now bring out a dish he's more skilled at.

At this moment, Qin Lang understood Yang Hua's earlier thoughts: when facing a judge like this, the opponent really doesn't matter.

Winning him over seems more challenging than defeating an opponent.

"Unfortunately, champion Yang Hua has failed to defend his title and, according to the rules, must leave the arena and cannot challenge again."

"Now let's give a warm round of applause to Chef Qin Lang for successfully challenging the champion and becoming the new champion of the free arena!"

The host announced the final result of the competition in an excited voice, and Yang Hua walked off the stage somewhat dejectedly.

After defeating Wang Man, who ranked fourth in the previous Mingjing State Youth Cooking Competition, he thought the free arena would be the beginning of his meteoric rise to fame.

But unexpectedly, it ended before it even began.

The staff quickly cleaned up and restored Yang Hua's standard cooking unit to its original state. When it was announced that the host's challenge would begin again, a girl who had been eager to try rushed onto the stage.

"My name is Cui Zi!" The girl's face was full of fighting spirit, but she didn't look at Qin Lang at all. Instead, she stared intently at the white-haired old man.

"My cooking skills will definitely earn you endless praise!"

Qin Lang: “…”

For some reason, he always felt that the division of the free arena seemed to have been inexplicably distorted because of the white-haired old man's sharp tongue.

Oh well, that's his goal anyway.

After the host announced the start of another duel, Qin Lang strode into his standard cooking unit and opened the lid of the soup pot on the stove.

Before leaving the cooking unit last time, Lala had already used cooking speed-up to accelerate the soup in the pot. Combined with the time consumed during the review process, the soup has now fully absorbed the essence of the ingredients.

"Not bad." Qin Lang nodded in satisfaction. "Perfect, let's use this soup to make the next dish."

"Gurgle?" Egg Baby looked curious.

"The dish I'm going to make this time is no simple matter." Qin Lang paused, then suddenly remembered something, and his smile deepened.

"When the first Food Spirit was created, I thought about using it, but I was short of money at the time and was deterred by the price of ingredients."

"It's a good thing you were asked to leave, otherwise you wouldn't be here today."

"Gurgle?!" Egg Baby's expression instantly turned terrified.

Without it?
That won't work!

In an instant, the way Danbao looked at the soup in the pot changed.

Spicy, standing to the side, had a look of utter astonishment on her face, realizing that such a thing had happened before she was even born.

"Just kidding." Qin Lang smiled and shook his head, then started cooking.

After removing the ingredients and filtering out the impurities, Qin Lang returned the cloudy, light yellow broth to the soup pot. He then slid red sauce (chicken breast paste mixed with cold chicken broth) into the pot to clear the broth until it became clear.

Take a small spoonful and put it in your mouth; an intensely rich and delicious flavor will instantly fill your mouth.

After adding a little salt for seasoning, Qin Lang glanced at the time.

"Just in time."

Select a few high-quality cabbages, trim them to their desired shape, submerge them in broth, and steam them over high heat for twenty minutes.

After cooking, place the cabbage on a plate, stand it upright, and pour over it a clear, light yellow broth. This allows each trimmed leaf to slowly unfurl, like a jade lotus in full bloom—elegant in color and profound in meaning. The famous dish from state banquets, Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth, is ready!
As Qin Lang loaded the dishes of boiled cabbage into the food cart, a hint of anticipation flickered across his lips.

"I wonder what kind of evaluation the old gentleman will give this time."
-
"Both chefs have finished their dishes!"

The host's excited voice echoed around the arena, "Will Qin Lang, who defeated Yang Hua to become the champion, be able to successfully defend his title, or will the newly debuted Cui Zi be able to sit on the champion's throne?"

"The answer will be revealed soon."

"But before that, let's give a warm round of applause to the audience members who hold license plate numbers 16, 19, 28... and above."

"You will be the lucky audience members for this show!"

Amidst the excited or regretful voices from the audience, ten figures stepped forward. Qin Lang glanced at them casually, and when he saw one of the guys with a shiny forehead, his expression immediately turned strange.

"Du Ziyan?"

"Why did you get a number plate too?"

"I just picked it up on a whim," Du Ziyan laughed.

"After defending the title, you can only stay in the ring obediently, which means you miss a lot of opportunities to learn in other rings."

“However, I didn’t expect to be so lucky.” Du Ziyan said, his expression expectant. “Then before the official competition, let me see how your cooking skills have improved recently!”

"random."

Qin Lang chuckled and his gaze fell on the large display screen.

The champion's dishes will be displayed first, so the first dish to be displayed is his boiled cabbage in clear broth.

When the dishes were presented to the audience, gasps of surprise suddenly erupted from the seats.

"What is this? A bowl of cabbage soup?"

"It looks very appealing, but even the most beautiful cabbage soup is still just cabbage soup, isn't it?"

"I really liked the scrambled eggs and beef tenderloin that Qin Lang made before. The lucky audience members who tasted it said it was especially tender and delicious. But this cabbage soup... I just don't understand it."

"I don't understand +1".

Whispers rippled through the audience, with even the lucky spectators expressing some disappointment with the dish. One of them muttered a complaint, "The last batch had beef, but we only got cabbage soup?"

Only Du Ziyan showed no disappointment. Instead, he patted Du Ziyan's bald head with interest. "Cabbage soup?"

He instantly thought of the lobster in broth that Qin Lang had cooked during his last duel with him.

The soup from that dish left a deep impression on him.

Could it be that this dish is also...

"Please enjoy the boiled cabbage in clear broth," Qin Lang said calmly.

"Your dish is really too vegetarian," Cui Zi couldn't help but complain. "It's such a stark contrast to the dishes I make."

She had barely finished speaking when it was time to demonstrate her dishes.

When Cui Zi's dishes were presented to the audience, a heated discussion broke out again in the audience.

As Cui Zi said, the two dishes are like two extremes.

Qin Lang's dish looked incredibly bland, with not a single speck of meat in sight, while Cui Zi's dish was a mountain of meatballs, rich in oil and sauce, making it look incredibly appetizing.

"Oolong meatballs, please enjoy!"

Cui Zi raised her head and spoke, then whispered to Qin Lang.

"I will definitely win!"

(End of this chapter)