Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 52 Noodle Toppings? Turtle Broth? You've come full circle and you're selling fast food?
Overlord Turtle Chicken, a Zhejiang dish that originated in Ningbo and has become popular in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hunan, is now widely enjoyed.

The main ingredients are chicken and turtle, stewed or braised with a secret blend of spices.

The result is a melt-in-your-mouth texture where the turtle's gelatinous substance blends with the chicken, making each bite chewy, soft, and smooth.

This dish is commonly found in restaurants that serve seafood, but it's rarely seen on food streets. The reason is simple: the cost is too high and it's difficult to sell.

In comparison, "braised pig's trotters," which have a similar taste, are a common sight on the food street. From the perspective of most diners' acceptance, pig's trotters are also less of a burden to eat.

However, turtles are known as "men's supply station," and this reputation is not undeserved. It's just that wild turtles are more effective, while greenhouse-raised turtles are basically just for psychological comfort.

Shuai Xiaojian definitely didn't believe that Xia Ming would sell "Overlord Turtle Chicken" directly. Not to mention how much of this thing could be sold, the price was also hard to determine.

"Could it be a topping? A topping for noodles or rice noodles would be quite feasible."

He understood that the competition was taking place in Changsha, and compared to the handmade noodles in Daqin District and the alkaline hot dry noodles in Hubei District, rice noodles would sell better in Changsha.

After all, Xiangqu is a typical hometown of rice noodles, and its rice noodle diversity is among the best in the country.

Just take "Tangdong Rice Noodles" as an example, there are eight or nine different meat toppings, such as "Stir-fried Pork with Chili", "Steamed Pork with Rice Flour", "Spicy Beef Tripe", "Pork with Wood Ear Mushrooms", and "Braised Pork".

Not to mention the fish noodles that people in Hunan love to eat. They have a fish broth base, which is clear and flavorful, and you can add various different flavors later.

The dish "Overlord Turtle Chicken" is quite popular in Hunan province. Adding some quail eggs as a topping would make it a unique specialty.

Just as Xia Ming was processing the chicken, the bald cook from Team One looked at the list Xia Ming had given him yesterday with a troubled expression.

The list of spices required was clear, but since it was just for preparing the dish, Xia Ming didn't write down the proportions at all.

Xiaohua was going to tell him to just give up on the list and make another version of the chili oil according to her ideas, but the bald guy just got stubborn at this point.

He believed that Xia Ming must have had his reasons for writing this order. Xia Ming had also been involved in the entire process of preparing the ingredients yesterday. Based on his understanding of Xia Ming, this order was very likely made on the spot.

"I think the chef must have modified the proportions based on the characteristics of the skewers."

Xiaohua is getting a little angry.

"But you don't know the proportions now. Even if the ingredients are placed in front of you, can you say you can reverse-engineer the recipe?"

The bald man was silent for a moment, then nodded.

Even if it doesn't work, we have to try!

Xiao Hua was completely stunned. She couldn't understand how the bald cook, with his temperament, had been chosen by the Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef team.

It's a good thing he didn't join my team, otherwise I would have been furious.

It's impossible that they actually knew from the beginning that they would be kicked out and then deliberately set a trap.

The graduate students at the banquet nearby were also quite troubled by the scene and quickly came over to dissuade them.

"Alright, let's all keep quiet. Cook, I know what you're thinking, but the budget is fixed right now. If you buy according to the original order, we won't be able to allocate the necessary resources, which would be a waste."

"How about this, you take a small portion, about 1/15 of the original order, to experiment first. If the experiment fails, at least the loss will still be within a controllable range."

After calming down the bald cook, the graduate student at the banquet pulled Xiaohua aside.

“Xiaohua, as you know, this team was initially brought together by the magic chef. The cook looks fierce, but he is actually quite loyal.”

"Yes, the Magic Chef has been kicked out by the rules, and I agree that you should take the helm. But the cook is young and doesn't respond well to force. Just let him try. If it doesn't work, we can find another one. It won't cost much money."

"Besides, someone like the Magic Chef left the seasoning to the cook in the last round, which at least proves that he has a talent for this. Who knows, he might just succeed?"

Just as the graduate students at the banquet were trying to comfort Xiaohua, the area of ​​Team Four attracted the attention of the host.

Because Lolo, who was preparing the ingredients, kept humming and took out ten black beetles from the food. "Excuse me, Lolo, what are these...?"

The host actually wanted to mention cockroaches, but because it was a live broadcast, he held back.

Lolo grunted and glanced at the host.

"Are you thinking this is a cockroach? No, wait, this is called a 'flower cicada'!"

Upon hearing "Osmanthus Cicada," the host paused, realizing the question was a bit beyond his comprehension.

However, Chen Xiaodong from Team Three frowned upon hearing "Osmanthus Cicada".

This is a local delicacy in the Guangzhou-Shenzhen area. Although it is called a cicada, it is not actually a cicada. It is called Osmanthus Cicada simply because its meat has a unique fragrance similar to osmanthus.

This thing is usually braised, and it's not cheap, costing around 7 to 9 yuan per piece. The only part you eat is the pure meat inside the shell, so it's definitely not something you'd find on a street food stall.

He guessed that Luo Luo was probably trying to use the characteristics of the "Osmanthus Cicada" to create a special braising liquid, so that the braising liquid would have a lingering fragrance unique to Osmanthus Cicada.

This means that their teams, Team 3 and Team 4, are using the same theme.

Because one of the dishes they plan to sell is braised pork trotter rice, even if Luo Luo grumbles and wants to make braised duck, that would still be a competitor.

Thinking of this, Chen Xiaodong glanced at Shuai Xiaojian, who was cutting and preparing food, and frowned slightly.

"This is a little troublesome."

Just as everyone was busy preparing the dishes, Xia Ming's turtle was also steamed. As the steamer was opened, a special aroma carrying the scents of plums and turtle spread throughout the competition venue.

Looking at the large bowl full of tea-colored broth, Xia Ming nodded slightly.

Next, he collected them all, removed the oil, filtered them three times, and obtained a large bucket of clear turtle soup.

After taking a sniff to make sure the earthy smell was completely gone, he added an appropriate amount of plum powder, white sugar, and white vinegar. Finally, once the flavor met his requirements, he took a bunch of ice cube trays.

Xia Ming poured the soup evenly into the ice cube tray, then flash-frozen it to set its shape. After taking it out, he added a small amount of diced strawberries, diced pineapple, and diced grapes to the center, and finally covered the top with the lid. He then used a syringe to fill the top with the soup.

After he finished, he put everything in the refrigerator.
By this time, the pig's blood had solidified. He divided it into cubes the size of a thumbnail, then mixed them with tofu of the same size and poured them all into a large pot.

While simmering the "Magic Pig Blood Tofu Soup", Xia Ming diced all the remaining turtle meat and mixed it with diced chicken, quail eggs, and dried tofu in a 1:2:1:1 ratio. He then added side dishes and spices and began to braise the soup.

While stewing, he also prepared the pork slices, half-tendon and half-meat (which had already been steamed for 1 hour), grass carp, dried tofu, and cabbage leaves that he had bought.

Finally, he filled a basket with fresh fruit, steamed a pot of glutinous rice, and used the remaining money to buy a bunch of good quality vermicelli. He then quickly processed two live ducks and, with one hour left before the preparation time ended, suddenly raised his hand.

"I've finished preparing the ingredients here, and I need you to head to the food street now."

Hearing Xia Ming's words, all the contestants were stunned. Several of them hadn't been able to prepare for four hours, and you only prepared for three hours and finished?
Putting aside the meaning of all these ingredients on your table, these two bowls of duck blood haven't even solidified yet. Why are you in such a hurry to go to the food street?

Once you get there, the environment won't be as good as the competition venue. More importantly, even if you go early, it won't open until 12 o'clock.

After the host confirmed several times that Xia Ming was ready, the production team finally sent someone to pack him and the raw materials and deliver them to the designated stall.

Upon arriving at the location, Xia Ming observed his surroundings and found that it was not much different from what he had expected. After properly processing all the raw materials, he took out a piece of red paper and wrote a few large characters with a black pen.

[Overlord Turtle Chicken Fast Food]

Eat your fill for 13.8 yuan, or have a great meal for 18.8 yuan!

Then he opened the large pot of stewing turtle and chicken next to him, and the aroma instantly spread from the food stall.

It was nearing noon, and some office workers had already quietly sneaked downstairs to get their lunch. Xia Ming's pot of braised turtle and chicken was so tempting that it attracted three or four young people shortly after it was opened.
(End of this chapter)