Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 239 Yuanbei Shaomai Skin, Zheng Zeqian, whose tricks were seen through, you want to use a pig (First Update)
[Second Round of Final Selection for "Hua 5 Level"]

[64 to 48]

[Competition Theme: "Shumai" "Non-Shumai"]

[Competition Interval (Creative Time): 1 hour]

[Ingredient selection time: 10 minutes]

[Shumai preparation time: 1 hour]

On the large screen in the food inventory area, the schedule of themes and times keeps scrolling.

But Kang Xincheng, standing in the shellfish section, didn't pay any attention to these things.

At this moment, his eyes were fixed on the "large scallops" in the cabinet, trying to identify which scallops had plump meat.

Contrary to what netizens might think, Kang Xincheng didn't intend to make "seafood shumai" in the conventional sense.

He chose scallops because he wanted to use the characteristics of their meat to make a seafood-flavored shumai wrapper.

Actually, it involves selecting whole scallops with their shells on, removing the scallop meat, gently flattening it, and then placing the filling directly in the center of the scallop meat, pinching the edges together.

In this way, the addition of shellfish makes the shumai incredibly flavorful.

However, this also carries high risks, as shellfish sometimes have a fishy smell, and it takes some skill to flatten and expand the scallop meat to a certain size.

However, this was not too difficult for Kang Xincheng.

He quickly scooped out more than a dozen large scallops from the pool, and after checking their quality, kept seven of them before turning and heading towards the pork section.

As soon as he entered, he noticed that Xia Ming was selecting something in the "offal and scraps" pile in the far corner of the pork section.

I glanced over curiously and noticed that Xia Ming seemed to be selecting pork kidneys.
Kang Xincheng narrowed his eyes upon seeing this.

"So you're planning to use pig offal as the filling?"

Just as he stopped, Xia Ming happened to look up at Kang Xincheng beside him.

The two exchanged glances for a moment, then Kang Xincheng smiled and nodded before going inside to compete with the others for fresh pork.

Xia Ming glanced at the seashells in his basket and then revealed a knowing look.

"That's interesting. Using thin, naturally formed shellfish patties as shumai wrappers? That's a pretty good choice!"

After thinking it over, Xia Ming continued to slowly select items from the pile of waste.

He picked up this and looked at this, and unlike the others who were scrambling for it, there were really not many people on his side.

Xia Ming was not surprised at all by this.

"In the eyes of most chefs, the compatibility between offal and shumai filling is actually not very high."

"Even if you want to use the large intestine to make shumai wrappers, you have to consider whether you can control the gamey smell."

The organizers gave the contestants 2 hours and 10 minutes, but in reality, they only had 1 hour to prepare the video.

Because regardless of whether the dishes were planned or not, everyone had to stay in the break room.

Similarly, even if you select your ingredients in the food preparation room within the first minute, you still have to stay for a full 10 minutes before you can leave.

Of course, there is still some room for maneuver.

For example, the chefs in the vegetable section are now peeling vegetables by hand.

One hour is more than enough for simple shumai, but it's not enough for dishes that are more difficult to make.

Therefore, being able to complete the initial selection in the food preparation area may also free up a few minutes of preparation time.

However, for Xia Ming, one hour was more than enough.

His main purpose in staying in the sewer area was to "kill time".

"Although no one will fight over the main ingredient, there are many experienced chefs present. If I take this in front of them, they will definitely be a little wary."

Xia Ming smiled and glanced around.

Pork kidneys were not his real purpose; what he wanted to use is rarely seen in modern cuisine.

It's mainly due to the actions of various so-called experts that this high-quality and beautiful ingredient has become so cheap that no one cares about it anymore.

Looking at the lean meat, glutinous rice, whole ham, and other ingredients in his basket.
Xia Ming revealed a barely perceptible smile.

Just as he continued to fish in the "underwater area," Zheng Zeqian circled around and walked over to Xia Ming's side.

"Xia Ming, what are you planning to do? Give me a hint so I can hide it." Seeing Zheng Zeqian's still casual demeanor, Xia Ming replied with a smile.

"I'm going to use pork kidneys and pork liver as filling. What do you think? Any good ideas?"

Hearing Xia Ming's words, Zheng Zeqian casually waved his hand.

"If it were anyone else, I would have taken that as a joke, but with you, all I can say is 'awesome!'"

"Anyway, I can't incorporate those two ingredients into shumai. If you can, remember to show me the recipe next time. I'd like to learn any secret techniques you might have~"

Xia Ming's lips curled into a slight smile; that was one of the good things about chatting with Zheng Zeqian.

When he jokes, his tone will clearly tell you that he's just kidding.

For example, right now, any secret recipe or anything like that is pure nonsense.
Xia Ming now strongly suspects that Zheng Zeqian, like him, has his eye on a certain ingredient from the pig offal area, but perhaps its characteristics are quite obvious, so he also chose to come here to mix in first.

Zheng Zeqian raised an eyebrow as he watched Xia Ming touching and looking at things.

"So Xia Ming and I are waiting for most people to leave the pork section before we get our ingredients."

"But I need to cover this ingredient up like this because as soon as I take it out, most local Cantonese chefs can tell what I'm doing."

"But Xia Ming shouldn't care about these things."

Zheng Zeqian didn't think he knew Xia Ming very well, but after meeting him several times, he naturally had his own conclusions.

If it were just something like "pig lungs," "pig kidneys," or "large intestines," Xia Ming would probably have taken it and left immediately.

But if you've been hanging around here, you're probably looking for an ingredient that's "not commonly eaten" and has "distinctive characteristics."

"And this ingredient is definitely the main ingredient, and it is very likely that it is used to replace the shumai wrapper, or it is an ingredient that can support its core flavor."

Thinking of this, Zheng Zeqian glanced to the side.

Sure enough, from a great distance, many contestants kept their eyes fixed on Xia Ming.

Clearly, they belong to the classic "anti-Xia Ming faction," or more precisely, a group of people who use targeting Xia Ming to increase their domestic fame.

"Xia Ming must have realized that many people were watching him, so he did this on purpose."

Zheng Zeqian felt he could help Xia Ming.

Because of the layout of the venue, Xia Ming's position can only be seen from half of the angles inside. He only needs to stand next to Xia Ming to block the view of half of the people.

As a member of the "New Chef Competition" trio, Zheng Zeqian hinted to Xia Ming that he could block some of the attacks.

Having understood Zheng Zeqian's implication, Xia Ming waved his hand dismissively.

"There's no need. Some people are just clowns after all. Instead of focusing their energy on my ingredients, they should be thinking about how to get into the next round."

"As for you, Zheng Zeqian, you've been looking at my hand the whole time. You must want this, right?"

As he spoke, Xia Ming took a pig liver from the side and handed it to Zheng Zeqian.

"Take it, this is the best quality piece here."

Zheng Zeqian looked at the pig liver handed to him, then glanced at Xia Ming, who was smiling.

"Holy crap, how did you figure that out?!"

Xia Ming smiled and waved his hand.

"The ingredients in your basket don't give you much of a reason to come to this sewer area."

"Based on the exam questions, there are basically only a few possible combinations, but if you keep looking in my direction, it's easy to eliminate other options."

"While 'pork liver shumai' is challenging to prepare, a well-made one will definitely receive a high score."

Seeing that he had been seen through, Zheng Zeqian casually put the pig liver that Xia Ming handed over into the basket.

Anyway, he would accept whatever Xia Ming dared to give him, and he would make his own judgment as to whether Xia Ming would tamper with it.

"Alright, I've made my choice, and time's almost up. So, what do you want?"

Xia Ming glanced at the time and found that there were indeed only a few dozen seconds left, so he stopped hiding and directly took the ingredients he had been eyeing from the side.

Zheng Zeqian's pupils contracted slightly as he watched Xia Ming take the ball of white grease.

"You want to use 'pig caul fat'?"

(End of this chapter)