The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 520 Chrysanthemum and Water Snake Soup

After cleanly and efficiently slaughtering, bleeding, and removing the feathers and internal organs of a whole live premium chicken, Qin Lang put it into a pot along with a whole pig's tongue.

After blanching the snake with scallions, ginger, and cooking wine, he took it out and set it aside. Then he began to cook the beautiful purple sea snake.

In his previous handling of the snake, he had carefully removed the scales from the skin of the beautiful purple sea snake and separated it from the snake meat, and also removed the snake's internal organs.

At this moment, Qin Lang carefully skimmed off the scum from the water used to blanch the chicken and pig's tongue, and then cautiously put the whole snake meat into the pot.

With the lid off, Qin Lang watched intently as the snake meat in the pot simmered in the rising white steam.

As the slightly translucent snake meat gradually turned white and the incision on its abdomen became noticeably curled, Qin Lang scooped the snake meat out of the pot and picked it up after it cooled slightly.

Starting from the neck near the snake's head, Qin Lang carefully separated the snake meat from the bones little by little, and then tore it towards the other end. With just the right amount of heat, the snake meat was quickly and smoothly separated from the snake bones under Qin Lang's skillful hands.

Looking at the intact snake meat in his hand and the equally intact snake bones on the other side, with every rib clearly visible from top to bottom, Qin Lang breathed a sigh of relief.

Because it was his first time cooking the beautiful purple sea snake, he was a little worried that he might mess it up. Now it seems that his snake-killing skills, which he had practiced so hard back then, haven't deteriorated much.

After tying the snake skin, snake bones, and snake meat separately with clean, thin hemp rope, Qin Lang found a large soup pot specifically for making soup. He placed the blanched chicken and pig tongue whole into the pot, and then put the snake skin, snake bones, and snake meat on top.

The beautiful purple sea snake, as thick as an arm, was quite a large piece, and together with the rare chicken, which was several times larger than an ordinary chicken, the soup pot was almost completely full.

Add a few scallion segments and ginger slices, then add water to cover all the ingredients.

Turn the fire up high, and Qin Lang looked at Lala beside him.

"half an hour."

"Chapter!" Lala nodded in acceptance, and quickly enveloped the soup pot with the power of the [Cooking Acceleration] that had just cooled down after cooking the buns that morning.

In the blazing fire, the water in the soup pot boiled rapidly. As the protein continued to be incorporated, the soup changed from its initial clear and colorless state to a bright milky white.

Once the acceleration was over, Qin Lang put the lid on the pot, turned the heat to medium, and then signaled to Lala to use [Cooking Acceleration] again, "One and a half hours."

Lala quickly accepted the order and stepped forward.

Seeing Lala use [Cooking Acceleration] again, Qin Lang couldn't help but sigh once more. After upgrading to 2 stars, the added 3-minute interval of [Cooking Acceleration] made it so much more flexible to use than before.

An hour and a half of acceleration passed quickly. Qin Lang opened the soup pot, and an amazingly rich and fresh aroma wafted out, carried by the steam.

He took a deep, contented breath, his gaze falling on the soup in the pot.

After a total of two hours of simmering, the soup had transformed from clear water into a thicker, milky-white broth that looked incredibly delicious.

One by one, Qin Lang scooped the ingredients out of the pot and began to process them further.

Cut the pig's tongue diagonally into slices about five millimeters thick, then cut them into strips. Cut the snake meat into palm-length segments and then into strips, making it resemble tripe strips.

“Now, Zhao Qian definitely won’t be able to tell that this is snake meat.” Qin Lang smiled as he placed the shredded snake meat aside and cut the snake skin into strips of the same length.

Debone the whole chicken and cut the meat into pieces of similar size. Then add sliced ​​shiitake mushrooms and shredded bamboo shoots.

Remove the original broth from the soup pot, combine all the ingredients in one pot, and simmer over low heat until the broth thickens slightly. After about ten minutes, the broth will gradually reduce to a slightly viscous consistency.

All the flavors gradually become more harmonious in this process.

Just before taking it off the heat, add an appropriate amount of salt to bring out the umami flavor.

Finally, ladle the soup over a bowl and add the tenderest petals from the very center of a washed white chrysanthemum. This completes the preparation of the famous Shunde dish, Chrysanthemum and Water Snake Soup.

Qin Lang scooped up a little milky white soup and put it in his mouth, feeling the rich and fresh aroma spreading in his mouth and the fragrance of chrysanthemums perfectly intertwined. His eyes widened involuntarily.

He had made this dish many times in his previous life, but never before had it tasted so delicious, as if touching his soul. The fusion of the premium chicken and the exquisite purple sea snake of extremely high quality was even more perfect than he had imagined.

This made him even more determined to secure a supply of this type of snake.

"Let's go, let's let Mr. Jia Long have a taste."
-
When Qin Lang came out with two food spirits and pushed the food cart, the four people sitting at the table came into view.

Jia Long still had a faint smile on his face, as if he still had a lingering sense of nostalgia, while Cao Dongdong and the other two had tears in their eyes.

"What's going on here?" Qin Lang's expression immediately turned strange.

"It's nothing, just a casual chat about my past," Jia Long said with a smile, already smelling the faint aroma in the air. "Your snake dish is finished earlier than I expected."

"Because my food spirits have cooking speed-up abilities," Qin Lang explained.

"I see." Jia Long looked enlightened. "Come on, let me try your snake dish. I hope it won't disappoint me."

"I've done my best," Qin Lang said with a smile, bringing out a soup bowl.

"Chrysanthemum and water snake soup, please enjoy."

"Slurp~" Cao Dongdong sniffed, swallowing back the drool that was about to spill out. "Qin Lang, where are ours?"

"Yes, yes, we have everything." Qin Lang smiled and brought out three more soup bowls, then couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Mr. Jia Long's past is so touching?"

“That was incredibly touching.” Zhao Qian took out a tissue and wiped her eyes. “As a contestant from an unpopular field, Mr. Jia Long’s journey has been incredibly difficult.”

Seeing the two of them like this, even Tang Yu's eyes reddened a little, and Qin Lang's lips twitched slightly.

It seems I missed a really great story.

"Wonderful!"

Just then, a cry of surprise rang out.

That was Jia Long, who had already opened the soup bowl and taken a sip of soup.

At this moment, his eyes, which were slightly cloudy due to old age, gleamed with a sharp light, and his gaze contained a variety of complex emotions, including amazement, astonishment, and sudden realization.

"The deliciousness of snake and chicken blends perfectly in this small bowl of soup, while the fragrance of chrysanthemum becomes the most wonderful finishing touch, making the flavor even more delicate, as if a colorful painting has come to life."

"There is a great deal of knowledge in just this one sip of soup."

As he spoke, Jia Long picked up a piece of snake meat and put it in his mouth. He felt the originally tough snake meat become tender after stewing, and his face showed even more satisfaction.

"This dish is called Chrysanthemum Water Snake Soup?"

He sighed softly, savoring the lingering, savory flavor in his mouth, his face full of approval.

"This is truly an amazing dish."

(End of this chapter)