Everyday Life Starting with Food Wars

It wasn't just because of the dishes on his table; Chen Yuxing was also quite handsome, and since he was alone, his chef-like demeanor stood out compared to other ordinary tourists.

"That handsome guy over there looks like he's traveling alone. Let's go ask him," the female host said to the camera, and then quickly walked over with the cameraman.

"Hello handsome, excuse me for bothering you."

Just as Chen Yuxing was about to pick up his chopsticks, the female host walked up to him.

"We are Lin Xingyun, a reporter from the 'Food in Guangzhou' program on Guangzhou TV. We are currently filming a special program about time-honored restaurants in Guangzhou. Are you here to eat, or are you a tourist who came specifically to check out Jumanlou?"

Chen Yuxing looked up at the microphone Lin Xingyun handed him and nodded. "Yeah, I saw that the ratings and reviews on the review app were pretty good, so I thought I'd come and try it out."

"That's great! Would you mind if we interviewed you?" Lin Xingyun's eyes lit up as she looked at the freshly cooked dishes on the table. "Your dishes are all served now. These are all signature dishes of Jumanlou. Could you taste them in front of the camera and tell the viewers watching on TV what they taste like?"

Since they had already put it that way, Chen Yuxing was too lazy to refuse. He picked up his chopsticks and first took a piece of sweet and sour pork with pineapple. The piece of pork was bright in color and coated with a thick sauce, so it looked pretty good.

He put the meat in his mouth, chewed it a few times expressionlessly, and then swallowed it.

"How is it? Isn't the meat crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and the pineapple sweet and sour and appetizing? Is it delicious?" Lin Xingyun looked at him expectantly.

"Do you want me to tell the truth?" Chen Yuxing put down his chopsticks, took a tissue to wipe his mouth, and said, "It's a bit disappointing."

Lin Xingyun's smile froze instantly.

The cameraman carrying the equipment next to them also trembled, almost shaking the lens out of place. After all, this was a restaurant review program that their station had collaborated on with Jumanlou. They were originally hoping to record some positive reviews to broadcast, but who knew that just asking a random passerby for a review would cause such a disaster.

"Uh... well, maybe everyone has different taste preferences, right?" Lin Xingyun reacted quickly, trying to find a way to smooth things over.

"It probably has little to do with taste preferences; I feel the chef's skills are still a bit lacking." Chen Yuxing didn't take her word for it at all.

He picked up his chopsticks again, pointed to a piece of meat on the plate, and said, "Let's talk about the batter first. The ratio of batter to meat is a bit off, too much water was added, it was fried for too long during the second frying, and the oil control was not good. It doesn't have that crispy texture when you eat it; instead, it feels very oily."

Lin Xingyun was completely dumbfounded. She originally thought this was just an ordinary tourist, but she didn't expect the review to be so professional.

Chen Yuxing ignored her and pointed to the sauce at the bottom of the plate with his chopsticks: "This sauce is not bad. The ratio of tomato sauce, sugar, white vinegar and soy sauce is quite good. It's just a little too sour. I feel that the amount of vinegar could be reduced a little. But overall, this sauce is definitely acceptable."

He picked up another piece of pineapple: "This pineapple is very juicy, and it was put into the pot a little too early. All the water from the fruit went into the pot, causing the sauce that should have been thick and coated on the meat to become a bit thin. If I were to rate this dish, I would only give it a 3.5 out of 10."

This review completely dissected the dish.

The customers at the tables around him who were still eating all stopped eating and turned to look at him when they heard what Chen Yuxing said. Some of them even lowered their heads and started picking at the sweet and sour pork on their plates to see if what Chen Yuxing said was true.

Lin Xingyun's forehead was already beaded with cold sweat. She gave a dry laugh: "Ha...haha, this handsome guy's requirements are really strict..."

Chen Yuxing picked up a piece of stir-fried beef noodles from the side and took a bite.

"The stir-fried beef noodles were quite good; the noodles were separate and the surface was very crispy, with a strong wok hei (wok aroma). The beef was also quite tender. However, there was too much oil. Perhaps they were worried the noodles would stick to the bottom of the pan, so they added a little too much oil." He used his chopsticks to separate the noodles, and the remaining oil at the bottom of the plate was very obvious. "This does make the noodles smoother, but the greasiness after eating is also very noticeable. You have to drink several sips of tea to get rid of the greasiness."

"And this poached chicken, the skin is golden, and the knife skills are not bad either." He picked up a piece of chicken, dipped it in the sauce dish, and put it in his mouth. "The chicken is quite tender, but I feel that the flavor of the chicken itself dissipates a bit too quickly. It should be that the broth for soaking the chicken was not fully prepared, so only the surface of the chicken was cooked when it was soaked, but the inside was not good enough."

After Chen Yuxing finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent.

The once bustling restaurant was now filled only with the whirring of fans, and everyone was staring intently at Chen Yuxing, listening carefully to his evaluation.

"Where did this young man come from, talking so arrogantly!"

Just then, a voice suddenly called out.

A middle-aged man dressed in a white chef's uniform and wearing a chef's hat strode over.

"I am Su Youfu, the head chef of Jumanlou Restaurant. I made all these dishes."

He walked to Chen Yuxing's table, glanced at the remaining dishes on his table, and looked up to stare directly at Chen Yuxing.

“These dishes have been made since the restaurant opened thirty years ago. The head chef has changed a few times, but the recipes have never changed. These dishes are more famous in Guangzhou than you are. You are a young man from out of town. What makes you think there is something wrong with the dishes I make?”

When the surrounding guests saw that the head chef had come out in person, they all shrank back, afraid of getting into trouble.

Lin Xingyun quickly gave the cameraman a few winks, trying to get him to turn off the camera immediately.

Chen Yuxing stood up and met Su Youfu's eyes.

"As a chef myself, and someone who is also an experienced Cantonese chef, you should know whether what I said is right or not. I didn't completely deny your dishes, did I? I just pointed out the problems with your dishes."

"I..." Actually, Su Youfu knew that he had slightly simplified the steps to speed up the serving, but normal diners wouldn't be able to tell the difference. He didn't expect to run into someone who knew what he was talking about today.

With so many diners and television cameras in front of him, he couldn't possibly admit it outright.

“Young man, the kitchen is right there. Since you’re so knowledgeable, you should be able to cook these dishes too. I’m not asking for much. Go in and make a sweet and sour pork with pineapple. If you can cook it better than me, I’ll bow and apologize to you in front of the TV station and all these diners. If you can’t cook it, you apologize to me, how about that?”

Su Youfu pointed to the kitchen door and said to Chen Yuxing.

Chapter 42 Crystal Sweet and Sour Pork

"Go inside and make a sweet and sour pork with pineapple. If you can make it better than me, I'll bow and apologize to you in front of everyone. If you can't make it, take back what you said and apologize to me."

Su Youfu regretted his words as soon as he finished speaking. After all, the other party was a guest, and it was really awkward for him, as the head chef, to do this. But since he had already said it, he could only grit his teeth and continue.

Upon hearing Su Youfu's words, the surrounding diners put down their chopsticks and looked over. This was much more exciting than any TV drama they had seen; it was a live challenge!

Lin Xingyun, who was standing to the side, wanted to say something to smooth things over, but the cameraman next to her didn't think that much and simply picked up the camera again and pointed it at Su Youfu and Chen Yuxing.

Although this program is a collaboration with Jumanlou, they can't care about anything else with such a big program hype. As long as the ratings go up, the station won't blame them.

Chen Yuxing didn't say much in the face of Su Youfu's provocation, but just sighed helplessly and stood up.

"Sure." He took a napkin and wiped his hands. "Since Chef Su has said so, I'll show off a little."

Su Youfu raised an eyebrow at Chen Yuxing's posture, wondering if this kid really had something up his sleeve, but now he was in a difficult position.

"Come with me." Su Youfu turned around and pushed open the kitchen door.

Chen Yuxing followed him inside, and Lin Xingyun and the cameraman quickly followed as well.

In the hall, a few daring diners even held teacups and peered into the direction of the kitchen.

The kitchen of Jumanlou is quite large, with eight stoves arranged in a row. The water station, cutting board and preparation area are clearly separated, and all kinds of ingredients and seasoning bottles can be seen at a glance.

The dozen or so apprentices and sous chefs who were still cooking in the kitchen stopped what they were doing and looked over when they saw Su Youfu walk in with several strangers.

"Stop yelling and make some room." Su Youfu waved his hand and pointed to one of the stoves. "Young man, all the tools are here. Use the ingredients and seasonings as you like."

Chen Yuxing didn't respond to him. He went straight to the place where aprons were hanging, took a clean apron, and then went to the sink to wash his hands carefully.

When he walked to the stove and took a kitchen knife, his whole demeanor underwent a dramatic transformation.

His previous lazy tourist demeanor vanished, replaced by the air of a master chef who was extremely skilled in the kitchen. The pressure emanating from him even made a few apprentices who were standing close to him subconsciously swallow and take a few steps back.

Su Youfu, who had initially been looking forward to a good show, was now starting to feel uneasy.

As the saying goes, a true expert's skill is immediately apparent.

Judging from the young man's demeanor, he was definitely not an amateur.

Chen Yuxing walked to the food safe and opened it, inside which various ingredients were neatly arranged.

“The traditional Cantonese dish of sweet and sour pork with pineapple is best made with skinless pork belly.” Chen Yuxing glanced at the pork belly in the ingredient cabinet, then turned to the half-pig hanging on the other side, cut off a large piece of meat from it and placed it on the cutting board. “But pork belly has more fat, so if it’s not fried properly, it can be greasy. That’s why I decided to use this piece of meat.”

Lin Xingyun quickly held up the microphone: "Hey handsome, what kind of meat is this?"

"Pork shoulder." Chen Yuxing picked up the kitchen knife: "Pork shoulder is the shoulder meat of a pig. It has a higher lean meat ratio, the meat is tender and smooth, and the taste is more delicious and less greasy than pork belly."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Yuxing started to move.

Knock knock knock knock!

The sound of the knife blade hitting the cutting board was very dense, like drumming.

The cameraman immediately gave him a close-up of his meat-cutting action, and Lin Xingyun, who was watching from the side, was also dumbfounded: "The meat is cut... to almost the same size!"

"It's best to cut the meat into cubes the size of dice." Chen Yuxing put the cut meat cubes into a bowl and then explained, "If you cut them too big, the outside might be cooked but the inside won't be; if you cut them too small, the moisture will evaporate quickly after frying, and they might turn into meat scraps."

Su Youfu stood to the side, looking at the almost identical pieces of meat in the bowl, his forehead already breaking out in a cold sweat. Such knife skills could not be achieved without more than ten years of hard practice; Chen Yuxing's level could be seen just from these few cuts.

"Next is the marinating of the meat."

Chen Yuxing picked up a bottle of cooking wine from the spice rack. "First, pour a little cooking wine around to remove the fishy smell, then add a pinch of salt and a spoonful of light soy sauce to enhance the flavor, and mix for a while. Sweet and sour pork is mainly about the sauce on the outside, so the base flavor of the meat shouldn't be too strong."

His fingers moved quickly in the bowl, stirring the meat to ensure it fully absorbed the seasonings.

"After marinating the meat, it's time to coat it with batter."

Chen Yuxing took another large bowl from the side, then cracked an egg into it, added an appropriate amount of flour and starch in a ratio of about 1:1, and finally added two spoonfuls of drinking water. He then picked up chopsticks and stirred it quickly in one direction.

When the batter makes a bubbling sound in the bowl and a layer of bubbles rises to the surface, and when you pick it up with chopsticks, a thin thread can be pulled out and hang from it, then the batter is ready.

"This is 'egg foam batter.' It's simple to make; just follow the proportions. This batter can be paired with all kinds of dishes, so it's also called 'all-purpose batter.'" Chen Yuxing poured all the marinated meat into the batter and coated it with his hands. "You have to make sure that every piece of meat is coated with batter. If it's too thin, it won't stick, and the skin will peel off after frying. If it's too thick, it will taste like doughy lumps, so you have to get it just right."

The apprentices nearby listened in a daze, feeling as if they were listening to a master giving a lecture.

Heat the oil in a wok.

Chen Yuxing turned the heat up to the maximum, and the oil quickly heated up in the pan.

He picked up his chopsticks and tested them on the oil to feel its temperature.

"When these tiny bubbles start to appear on the surface of the oil, the oil temperature is about 160-180°C, which is just right."

Chen Yuxing picked up the bowl and started putting the meat into the oil pan.

"Thorn-"

The hot oil instantly coated the meat pieces.

"After you put it in the pot, don't rush to stir it." Chen Yuxing stood by the stove, staring at the bubbling oil in the pot. "Let the meat set in the pot for thirty seconds. If you stir it too early, the batter on the outside will all fall to the bottom of the pot, and your meat will have to appear without any coating."

Thirty seconds later, Chen Yuxing picked up a large strainer and gently pushed it into the oil pan.

The pieces of meat that were originally stuck together quickly separated, and the surface of the meat had turned a light yellow color.

He picked up a slotted spoon and scooped out all the pieces of meat, placing them on a strainer to drain the oil. He then skimmed off the few bits of meat that remained in the oil.

"Is it... is it fried already?" Lin Xingyun asked in confusion.

"This is only the first time, it's called setting." Chen Yuxing turned the fire up to the maximum again, waiting for the oil to start bubbling again until it started to smoke.

"To make the outer shell crispy, it needs to be fried twice. After the oil temperature is raised, fry it again for 30 seconds."

Chen Yuxing poured the meat chunks back into the oil pan.

The extremely high oil temperature forced out the moisture from the meat chunks, and the batter on the surface quickly changed from its original light yellow color to a golden and crispy appearance under the high temperature.

"Crackling and popping—"

The strainer kept stirring the food in the pot, and just by listening to the sound, you could tell how crispy the outer shell was.

The apprentices nearby couldn't help but swallow hard as they looked at the pot of meat. The fried meat was golden, crispy, and plump; just thinking about it made their mouths water.

"Take it out and drain the oil."

Chen Yuxing poured the fried golden-brown meat chunks onto the strainer next to him, and then replaced them with a clean wok.

"Here comes the main event. The soul of this dish lies in this bowl of sweet and sour sauce."

Chen Yuxing added a little oil to the pot, scooped up a handful of tomato sauce with a spoon and put it into the pot, then turned on low heat and stir-fried it slowly. The red tomato sauce melted in the hot oil, and a layer of red oil floated on the surface.

"First, stir-fry the tomato sauce until the oil turns red; then add the sugar and stir-fry until it is completely melted and bubbly; finally, drizzle white vinegar along the edge of the pan. The ratio of tomato sauce, sugar, and white vinegar is two to one."

As Chen Yuxing spoke, he stirred the sauce in the wok rapidly, causing it to bubble and release a sweet and sour aroma.

The cameraman standing behind couldn't help but swallow several times, the sound of him swallowing clearly recorded by the microphone.

"Next is thickening. Add half a bowl of cornstarch water in two batches. Stop when the sauce becomes thick enough to cling to the back of a spoon without dripping."

Chen Yuxing turned off the stove fire.

"The final step is to quickly stir-fry."

He poured the chopped fresh pineapple chunks and green and red bell pepper chunks, along with the golden-brown fried meat chunks, into the boiling sauce.

"You don't need to turn on the fire here; you can use the residual heat in the pot. You need to control the heat well and not stir-fry for too long."

Chen Yuxing held the pot in his left hand and the spoon in his right, and began to tossing the pot, coating each piece of meat and pineapple with a layer of sauce.

Just when everyone thought the dish was ready to be served, Chen Yuxing suddenly did something that surprised everyone.

He took out a large basin of crushed ice that had been prepared in advance from the freezer next to him.

"What...what do you want to do?!" Su Youfu exclaimed, his eyes wide.

Chen Yuxing didn't answer. He directly poured the still steaming hot sweet and sour pork, along with the pineapple and bell peppers, into the bowl of crushed ice.

"Sizzle sizzle—!"

The scalding hot sweet and sour sauce reacted violently the moment it came into contact with the ice, and a large amount of white steam rose from the basin.

"Are you crazy! If you do that, the food will all get cold!" a kitchen helper exclaimed in surprise.