The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 546 The First Diner's Request
After a satisfying meal, Du Ziyan and Dai Lan did not linger and took their leave.

Tomorrow is the start of the food marathon, and the entire city of Guanling is watching. Countless foodies are already considering what challenges they will present to test the participants, and for each participant, the sense of urgency is growing stronger.

Even Cao Dongdong and Zhao Qian, after asking Qin Lang some cooking questions after dinner, returned to their own rooms to prepare for the culinary marathon.

After practicing his skills in various cuisines in the kitchen, Qin Lang didn't stay up too late and put the two little ones to bed early.

When I woke up, it was already the next day.

The food marathon has begun.

This food marathon starts at 10 a.m. and continues until 8 p.m., lasting for several days until the top 100 are determined.

This is destined to be a tough battle.

When Qin Lang and his two companions, who had arrived at the venue early, entered the venue through the contestant entrance, the area outside was already packed with people.

As the marathon starting bell rang, the doors to the diners' passage opened, and diners who had been waiting for who knows how long pushed and shoved their way into the venue.

Qin Lang, who happened to be not far from the entrance of the passage, saw this scene and suddenly felt like he was watching a zombie movie.

Most of the diners were not first-timers at the food festival, so once they entered the venue, they scattered to find their favorite chefs and wait in line. Within minutes, long queues formed in front of all the chefs.

Looking at the long line of over fifty people in front of him, Qin Lang's lips twitched slightly.

Is this too difficult for you, given that it's only just begun?
After regaining his composure, Qin Lang turned his gaze to the man at the very front of the line.

He was a middle-aged man who wore glasses and looked very refined. His slightly narrow eyes, hidden behind the glasses, occasionally flashed with a shrewd light.

While Qin Lang was observing him, the man was also observing Qin Lang, seemingly considering what kind of demands he could use to stump the young contestant in front of him.

He quickly came up with an idea.

After glancing at Qin Lang's sign and confirming that there was no text on it, the man coughed lightly and said, "I'd like a sweet and spicy dish."

"Sweet and spicy flavor?" Qin Lang blinked.

“Yes.” The man nodded firmly. “It’s the kind of dish that’s both sweet and spicy, and both flavors have to be prominent enough.”

After stating his requirements, a hint of smugness flashed in the man's eyes.

At last year's food festival, he stumped several contestants with this very requirement.

Sweetness and spiciness are inherently contradictory, so making a dish that is both sweet and spicy is obviously not a simple task.

The contestant in front of me is so young, his cooking skills are probably just so-so.

If nothing unexpected happens, he will probably refuse...

"OK, wait."

Qin Lang's calm answer surprised the man.

Then he saw the young contestant turn around and start cooking immediately, as if he already knew what kind of dish he wanted to make.

"this…"

The man was somewhat incredulous.

Did his questions not stump the boy at all?
It shouldn't be...

On the other hand, Qin Lang ignored the bespectacled man's complex inner thoughts.

Almost as soon as he confirmed the other party's request, he had already thought of the corresponding dishes.

They only requested a sweet and spicy flavor, nothing else.

What's the difference between this and an easy question?
Selecting a live duck weighing about three pounds and a section of lotus root from the ingredients provided by the authorities, Qin Lang began to slaughter and pluck the duck as quickly as possible. Seeing these two ingredients and the keywords "sweet and spicy," the dish he was going to make became obvious: a black duck stew originating from Hubei province.

Wash the lotus root and cut it into chunks to help it absorb flavor, then set it aside.

After slaughtering and plucking the feathers of the live duck, bleed it and remove the internal organs. Wash the duck meat, cut it into pieces, add cornstarch and white wine, mix well, and then wash and drain the water.

Next comes the preparation of the black duck sauce.

Heat oil in a pan, add rock sugar and stir-fry over low heat until melted. Add appropriate amounts of spare rib sauce, seafood sauce, sweet bean sauce and oyster sauce, stir-fry quickly, then add a bowl of water and stir-fry until the sauce becomes thick and turns an appealing brownish-black color. Set aside.

Heat oil in a wok, add a small piece of lard for aroma, and add ginger slices. Once the lard has melted, add the duck meat and stir-fry.

Stir-fry until the oil becomes clear, add a little white wine to enhance the aroma and remove the fishy smell, add bay leaves, millet peppers, star anise and other seasonings, and finally add lotus root to stir-fry together until the surface of the duck meat turns a slightly browned color and the aroma gradually becomes rich. Add the previously prepared black duck sauce and stir-fry quickly.

Add an appropriate amount of Sichuan peppercorn powder and chili powder, stir-fry until the surface of the duck meat turns a glossy dark brown color, then pour in two cans of beer, bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and reduce to low heat.

"Next." After doing all this, Qin Lang looked past the middle-aged man and at the next customer behind him.

"Wait, I haven't finished cooking yet!" the middle-aged man couldn't help but say. "Are you going to refuse my request?"

"No, not at all." Qin Lang smiled and shook his head, pointing to the braised black duck stew that was being simmered with the lid closed. "This dish will take half an hour to cook."

"For efficiency reasons, I plan to cook the next dish at the same time."

"Such arrogance," the middle-aged man muttered under his breath.

Other contestants wished they could cook slower in this round, since serving diners slower meant being eliminated later.

But the boy in front of me actually thought that waiting half an hour was too inefficient.

"Then I'll wait half an hour and see what you can make."

As he spoke, the man stepped aside, gesturing for the next customer to come forward.

"Is it my turn?"

The next customer was a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She was dressed in a youthful and vibrant style and had a lively personality. She walked up to him with a smile, glanced at Qin Lang's sign, and then said, "Little brother, my request is not that simple!"

Qin Lang made a "please speak" gesture, smiling as he waited for the other party to pose a question.

“Hmm…” The pretty girl thought for a moment, “I have a rather special hobby, which is that I really like to eat fish scales.”

As she said this, a hint of cunning appeared in her eyes.

"Can we make a delicious dish using fish scales?"

Before Qin Lang could even speak upon hearing this request, the middle-aged man watching the scene couldn't help but gasp.

Fish scales!

Who in their right mind would eat this?
If diners find fish scales that haven't been cleaned properly in their fish at restaurants or similar places, they'll definitely complain!

I never expected that this seemingly ordinary girl would set such a tricky question.

At this moment, he couldn't help but look at Qin Lang with a gloating expression.

You got too cocky, kid. Now you're going to crash and burn, aren't you?

However, even when faced with such a request, Qin Lang remained unmoved.

"OK, wait."

After saying that, he turned around and started working.

(End of this chapter)