NoveLight ™
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Next was the seasoning step. Xu Le, who skillfully cooked many dishes of the same cuisine, had an easy time seasoning.
He seemed to be casually sprinkling salt, but in reality, it was accurate to every milligram.
He added a suitable amount of dark soy sauce, then added light soy sauce to add saltiness and freshness to the taste. Finally, he added a spoonful of sugar.
In this way, the freshness of the meat could be thoroughly stimulated. It was the same principle as how some places liked to dip mango in soy sauce to produce the colliding flavors of sweetness and saltiness. As long as one could grasp the degree of savoriness well, the taste of the food could be raised to a whole new level.
He didn’t have much time to stew it, so he transferred it to the pressure cooker. At that moment, the rice beside him was almost done steaming. The steam was mixed with the fragrance of the rice.
The security guard at the entrance was almost mesmerized by the fragrance. He took a few steps forward and realized that there were no restaurants on both sides of the street. The stalls outside were selling only snacks and there were no dishes being cooked.
“Oh no!”
The security guard reacted to it and rushed in with his head lowered. As he called for people using his walkie-talkie, he unlocked the lock.
With a “bam”, the lock was open. Xu le was blinded by the lights for an instant and he saw the security guard who seemed vigilant. He knew that he must have misunderstood him.
“Who are you?”
“I’m a contestant here.” Xu Le raised his head and said sincerely, “I’m worried about tomorrow’s competition, so I’m here to practice.”
“Oh.”
The security guard replied with a sound. Previously, there were also contestants who practiced overnight and the organizers had tacitly approved of it.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThey should have left after asking, but their feet were rooted to the ground, unwilling to move.
Finally, someone stood out and asked while swallowing his saliva, “What dish did you prepare? It smells really good.”
“Yeah, can I take a look?”
The fragrance of braised meat had already wafted out.
Xu Le pointed at the pressure cooker and said, “It’s not ready yet, you have to wait a while. I have stewed an entire pork trotter, I’ll bring some to you guys for supper later.”
“Alright!”
The five security guards just waited in front of his counter.
Ten minutes later, the rice was steamed and the braised pork trotter was ready to be served. Xu Le also lowered the pressure for a while, so that the trotter would taste softer and tastier.
He first scooped some rice and placed a few pork trotters on it. Finally, he poured some sticky sauce on it.
There was no exquisite plate presentation. It was just an ordinary-looking braised pork trotter rice.
It was soft, fresh, and fragrant. Its color was bright and clear, making one drool just by looking at it.
Xu Le first filled a plate od rice for the old man on the ground. He had been sitting cross-legged on the ground the whole time.
The light was dim just now. Xu Le only realized now that his face was clean. Although his coat was white from washing, it was not dirty at all. His expression was also amiable and smiling.
“Let’s find a place to sit and eat. Hurry up and get up. The floor is cold.”
Xu Le urged him for a while, but the other party was unmoved. He sat on the ground and started eating.
Feeling helpless, Xu Le could only go and distribute the remaining rice and braised pork trotters to the security guards. He asked them, “Have you seen him before?”
“No, we don’t know him.”
“He has a scent of alcohol, could he be drunk?”
“I thought this drunkard was with you, so I didn’t chase him out.”
“Thank you,” the security guard said as he received the braised pork trotter that made him drool.
After taking a mouthful of the rice, he took a bite of the fatty meat. It was salty and fragrant with a hint of sweetness, making one’s appetite increase.
The skin of the pork trotter had been burned with fire, but there was no stench at all. It was soft and melted in the mouth. The lean meat was chewy, but it was not dry at all.
A few security guards lowered their heads and ate their food. One of them said unclearly with his puffed up cheeks, “It’s too delicious. I’ve always hated fats since I was young and never wanted to touch it. But today, I can totally accept this pork trotter skin!”
“It’s really delicious! How could a takeaway be tastier than the food cooked by a proper chef!”
“We got lucky tonight.”
“Haha, you’re too kind.” Xu Le smiled as he tidied up the mess. He raised his head and smiled at them, saying, “You guys can just place your dishes into the dishwasher after eating. I’ll go back to the hotel after I’m done packing. There’s still a competition tomorrow morning.”
“No problem.”
“Don’t worry and go ahead boldly. We will clean up this place later. We will definitely be worthy of this bowl of braised pork trotter rice that you gave us!”
“Little chef, do you have any secret? This is simply too delicious. I want to learn it and cook it for my wife!”
Xu Le knew that even if he had told them the cooking process and method, it would be difficult for them to replicate the same taste. He paused for a moment before saying, “You guys can follow my social media account, I will upload a cooking tutorial in the future when there’s a chance.”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“Alright!”
After the few of them finished their meal, Xu Le walked around the counter and could no longer find the old man who was eating on the floor. He said in shock, “Did you see the person who was sitting here just now?”
“That white-haired old man?” The security guards looked at each other. They were wolfing down their food and did not notice the person sitting on the ground at all. “I don’t know. Maybe he went home after he became sober.”
“Oh, alright then.”
Xu Le looked at the empty bowl on the ground. There was not a single rice grain left.
He returned to take a good sleep and returned to the competition full of energy the next day. Who had expected that after the host announced the rules for passing the first round, when Xu Le opened the vacuum box containing the seafood, his face almost turned green.
There were two crabs that were almost suffocated to death and a few barbel fishes. It was autumn at that time, so the crabs were full of fat. How could they send him such low-grade ingredients?
As the saying goes, a clever wife can’t cook without rice.
Xu Le looked at the other teams. The ingredients they had obtained were all top-notch. Could it be that there was a conspiracy in this competition?
He stood on the spot and clenched his fist.
After a while, he made up his mind and raised his hand.
The live broadcast of the expo had begun. A few streamers were still introducing local specialties outside the venue with different camera angles. The judges took their seats at the venue of the competition. There were familiar faces from the previous competition.
Lin Shuwei.
There was an empty seat in the middle of the judging panel. According to the host’s introduction, the special guest had not arrived yet.
Lin Shuwei had always held himself in high esteem, but when he saw Xu Le, he couldn’t help but smile and say, “That child is really a genius. He’s only eight years old, yet he could win the previous batch…”
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a commotion. Someone beside him jeered, “If you don’t know how to cook, then so be it. Stop delaying the program’s progress. Don’t affect other people in the competition!” The young man who had his neck straightened spoke unkindly. Xu Le also did not remain polite. He said, “I’m only questioning the program team. The ingredients are not what I want. Why are you so anxious?”
The young man choked and wanted to explain a few more words. Seeing that the live-stream was getting more views, the effects of the show were immediately maxed out. The comment section was filled with people watching the show.
Previously, when they saw Xu Le becoming popular, there were quite a few sour grapes in the same industry who were becoming restless. There were also people who couldn’t wait for him to fail..