“Morning!”

“What morning?” Zhang Liang elbowed Bai Xiaoming who was greeting Xu Le and corrected him, “Good afternoon!”

Xu Le scratched his head and said awkwardly, “Why didn’t you wake me up? I slept until now…”

“What’s the big deal? It’s a rest day anyway. Besides, you didn’t return until late last night. Alex is also quite inconsiderate about you, after all you’re still a child.”

Zhang Liang curled his lips and grumbled. Then, he lifted the ingredients in his hand and said excitedly, “Look, we went to buy some sumptuous ingredients. We plan on making you a farewell banquet.”

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Xu Le was flattered and responded with a ‘mmhmm’.

Zhou Huangya smiled and said, “Go and wash up. Don’t need to rush, your hair has even turned into a nest.”

Although they had not known each other for long, the permanent guests on the show had been taking good care of Xu Le and everyone was on good terms.

Around three o’clock, the kitchen returned to its usual liveliness. Xu Le tidied up and went in. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “You guys bought so much?”.

Crabs, pork, mandarin fish, clams, crayfish, tofu, and so on were placed on the table. There was also a bundle of green stuff in the plastic bag next to it.

Xu Le walked closer to take a look and realized that it was spring bamboo shoots and lettuce. They were bright green and looked extremely fresh.

“I bought that at the market price. It looks fresh to me, but unfortunately, I don’t know what to make… Should I just stir-fry it?”

“Spring bamboo shoots are seasonal vegetables. They’re so fresh. It’s a pity to stir-fry them. Let me simmer some rice.”

“Simmer with rice?” Zhang Liang asked in puzzlement, “What’s the point of cooking plain white rice? I’m preparing to cook garlic crayfish. There are already so many dishes, we should just boil some soup. Otherwise we won’t be able to finish all the food if you cooked rice.”

“No. This rice can be a staple and also a dish. It has a refreshing taste and is quite good.” “Hmm?”

Zhang Liang saw him roll up his sleeves, and a look of interest formed on his face. He mumbled, “I don’t believe that white rice will be as delicious as garlic crayfish. Hehe, before you leave, I’ll definitely beat you once.” Xu Le smiled and did not say much.

After washing the rice in a suitable amount of water, he soaked it in clear water.

“You have to soak it for more than two hours so that the rice grains will be crystal clear and loose after cooking. Now, prepare some salted meat and find a piece of pork belly that’s not too fat or lean. Use some white wine with a higher alcohol content to rub and smooth the meat out. Wait for half an hour for the fragrance of the wine to permeate into it.”

“Add a small plate of pepper and snowflake salt into the pot and stir-fry. Turn off the fire and let it cool.”

“Remove the outer layer of the spring bamboo shoot. The tip of the bamboo shoot is the most tender and delicious part. Cut it into small slices for use later. Retains the roots of the lettice. Then cut it into pieces of the same size.”

“The soybean skin is softer and more resilient after being soaked in warm water. Then wrap it into a knot.”

After Xu Le finished processing the ingredients, the pork belly had already been marinated with the wine. He rubbed the salt mixed with pepper evenly on the surface of the pork before moving a stone from the courtyard. After washing it with water, he pressed it against meat through a layer of kitchen cloth.

Zhang Liang, who was chopping garlic, jumped in fright and said, “Where did you get this big fellow from!? This step is… crushing the salted meat?”

“Yes, squeeze out the moisture in the meat and then use it to make porridge.”

“Everyone, remember to soak the ceramic pot in water to prevent it from cracking.” After Xu Le prepared the ingredients, he picked up the flower crab at the side and said, “Should I steam it or braise it? Or… make a stir-fried onion crab?”

The stir-fried onion crab would taste tender and not fishy. It contained the scent of condiments and was especially suitable for making flower crabs.

Zhang Liang was especially assured of Xu Le’s culinary skills. He only said, “You can watch over the crabs. I’ll be in charge of the crayfish.”

After washing the belly and back of the crayfish, the head of the crayfish was cut open and pulled downwards. The crayfish meat was removed and only the egg was left inside, and their small feet were removed. Finally, the insides were removed and the back of the crayfish was cut open to make it more flavorful.

Zhang Liang was done peeling the garlic and was about to crush it out of habit when he was stopped by Xu Le.

“If it’s crushed, it will reduce the original fragrance of the garlic. It’s better to cut it directly with a knife or use a garlic stirrer.”

“There’s such a method?”

Zhang Liang was skeptical, but deep in his heart, he was already convinced by Xu Le’s superb culinary skills. As he picked up a knife and continued chopping, he said, “I’ll still do as you say. After all, you’re a child from a family with cooking background.”

Xu Le wanted to say something but hesitated. He could tell that he wanted to lead the conversation to his parents. He only smiled and did not say anything. After the garlic was chopped up, it was washed a few times with clear water to remove the starch inside. Firstly, it was to prevent its bitterness, and secondly, it lowered the temperature so that the oil will splatter less and catch fire when cooking. The fresh ginger was diced and red peppers were sliced to add some color.

He poured some oil into the pot and boiled it until it was smoking. Then, he poured the crayfish into the pot and fried it.

Xu Le continuined cutting the scallions and ginger. He watched as the crayfish in the pot changed from dark brown to red. Gradually, its tail curled up. He could not help but reminded softly, “That’s enough. The heat is strong enough.”

Zhang Liang, who was staring blankly at the boiling hot pot of oil, woke up from his daze. He hurriedly scooped out the crayfish and filtered the oil. When the oil temperature dropped slightly, he immediately put in garlic and stir-fried it until the color changed. Then, he poured in the diced ginger and red pepper.

“I only poured in half of the garlic in the pot. There’s still half portion left. I’ll add it when it’s ready to be served, so that it’ll increase the garlic fragrance.”

He added the appropriate amount of garlic chili sauce after stir-frying the spices to increase the color. Then, he poured the crayfish into the sauce and stir-fried it evenly before adding an suitable amount of beer.

After the fire was started, the food simmered for about ten minutes. The alcohol was almost all evaporated and had completely removed the fishy smell of the crayfish. Zhang Liang opened the lid and let out a “wow”. He made a provoking remark to Xu Le, “The dish I make today will definitely beat yours.”

He said in a half-joking tone. Xu Le curled his lips nonchalantly.

“Let’s wait and see then.”

Zhang Liang poured some white sugar, chicken essence, aged vinegar, seasoning, and mixed the remaining garlic evenly in. He then stir-fried the diced garlic and added some starch to thicken the gravy.

The fragrance of crayfish filled the kitchen. Even Zhou Huangya, who was sweeping the yard outside, couldn’t help but lean over the window to take a look, saying, “It smells so good, Xu Le, what dish are you making today?” “How is he the one who made it? I made it! The garlic crayfish smells good, right?”

“Awesome.” Zhou Huangya gave him a thumbs up perfunctorily and stared at Xu Le. “Are you making a crab?” “Yeah, do you have anything else you want to

eat?”

Zhou Huangya could not help but secretly drool at the thought of Xu Le’s hibiscus chicken slices. She said with a reserved look on her face, “How could I do that? You’re our guest and I’ve been troubling you these past few days… Erm, do you know about butterfly crisp?”

“Yo, you really know how to eat. It’s even sold out at the Michelin dessert shop. There’s even a long queue for it, so you can’t buy it even if you want to.”

Zhang Liang put his hands on his hips and said sarcastically, “If Xu Le knows how to make it, won’t those stores go out of business?”

Zhou Huangya retorted, “Hmph, what if he really knows?”