Chapter 74: A Masterful Man

The menu that Qi Huan had originally prepared for tonight was baked Luan fish in casserole, peony bird's nest, braised bamboo shoots, Kunlun abalone, seafood tofu casserole, bean and animal meat stewed with vermicelli, three-cup chicken, shrimp ball and chicken skin soup, and raw thirteen-month wontons, and the dessert was butter-stirred snails.

After No. 2 and No. 4 arrived, he planned to add some clay pot spareribs, stewed animal feet with soybeans and sweet potato.

The dish he originally planned to use for the live broadcast was Kunlun Baofu, a dish from the Manchu-Han Banquet that had been lost for a while. Even in a famous and luxurious banquet like the Manchu-Han Banquet that uses all kinds of delicacies from land and sea, it is still a famous dish that can be the finale. In fact, because the ingredients used are extremely precious, people often say that it is the most expensive dish in the Manchu-Han Banquet.

How precious is it? It is so precious that the chef who designed this recipe actually used top-quality abalone as its ingredient.

The main ingredient of Kunlun Abalone is the skin of the grouper. This fish can grow to a very large size and is the best among groupers. Because it lives in the deep sea, it was extremely difficult to catch it in ancient times. Its skin is the raw material of the legendary precious ingredient - dragon scales. When making Kunlun Abalone, it is best to use the skin of a grouper weighing more than 300 kilograms.

The skin of the giant grouper is a special skin-scale structure, which is usually called "Kunlun" on the menu. In fact, on Chinese menus, many ingredients use such "terms" as pronouns, for example, "hibiscus", "osmanthus", and "hundred flowers". In many cases, the "hibiscus" in the dish name actually refers to egg white, "osmanthus" refers to egg yolk, and "hundred flowers" is used to refer to shrimp paste.

After removing the skin of the giant grouper, it needs to be pickled with salt and then exposed to the sun for one to three months to become a hard dried fish skin.

To obtain dragon scales, the dried fish skin needs to be dry-steamed first. The steamed fish skin will change from a dry and hard flat plate to a curled shape, allowing the fish scales hidden inside the skin to break out. Then put the freshly steamed fish skin into ice water. Under the alternating hot and cold conditions, the fish skin will expand and then suddenly contract, and the fish scales will loosen from the scale holes and fall off piece by piece. After cleaning the fish scales from the pores, you will get a piece of fish skin rich in gelatin and with honeycomb pores, which is the dragon scale.

Of course, what Qi Huan used was not the skin of the giant grouper, but the skin of a stone beast.

When he was dismantling the stone beasts a few days ago, he discovered that the hide of one of the stone beasts also had the same peculiar skin-scale structure as the dragon grouper, and was rich in gelatin. He thought about using its skin as dragon scales to try the effect - ever since he discovered that the blood of the fire claws was the magic weapon for cooking stone beast meat during the barbecue that day, his range of food choices immediately expanded a lot.

He shortened the exposure process to a drying oven, and finally reached a relatively ideal dry and hard state yesterday. He cut a piece of fish skin and used the same dry steaming and supercooled water process for testing. Although the honeycomb pores on the fish skin became oblique nets due to the different shapes, sizes and arrangement densities of the scales, the overall texture is still a piece of animal scale that is very similar to dragon scales.

Based on animal scales, Qi Huan decided to put Kunlun Abalone on today's menu, allowing everyone to try the taste of this new ingredient.

The original method requires using chicken, duck, ham, ribs, leg bones, lamb trotters, cuttlefish, scallops, mushrooms and other ingredients rich in gelatin and umami to simmer for more than ten hours over low heat until all the bones are soft and rotten. After a pot of soup is concentrated into half a pot, drain the meat, bone residue and fat, and then use the remaining concentrated soup to continue stewing the soaked premium abalone. Stew it for more than ten hours to make a fresh and thick abalone juice. Then put the dragon scales into the abalone juice and stew it for two hours until it has fully absorbed the abalone soup and becomes soft, glutinous and elastic. Only then is the dish considered to have met the standards for being served.

Qi Huan slightly adjusted the ingredients of the thick soup according to the existing ingredients. He started cooking it yesterday and stewed the abalone juice early in the morning. He simmered it on low heat for nine hours. It would take more than an hour before the animal scales could be added.

Well, there may be a reason why every famous dish is lost, just like this dish, which is time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly.

According to the time calculation, the time difference between when this pot of Kunlun abalone comes out of the pot and when it is put on the shelves is just right for the end of the live broadcast.

But the fans were so enthusiastic that the messages were updated so quickly that the message board was filled with barrages of comments.

Faced with such overwhelming expectations, if only one dish of Kunlun Abalone is served this time, although the "portion" is full, the quantity is obviously thin, especially since eleven dishes were served in the last live broadcast, it would inevitably feel a bit "tragic" in comparison.

In addition, the current 500,000 fans were basically added after the last live broadcast. Most of them were watching the live broadcast for the first time and had the first chance to buy the original products on the shelves. If only 5,000 copies were released, the probability of grabbing one would be as low as 1%. It really felt a bit unfair to these new fans who were full of expectations.

Qi Huan went through the menu again with a headache. The casserole baked Luan fish used the same method as the casserole baked grouper. The main thing to eat was the fresh taste of the ingredients, but the method and ingredients were a bit simple. The remaining dishes such as braised bamboo shoots, three cup chicken, and earthen pot spareribs were almost the same. They were delicious enough, but the ingredients were clear at a glance, the method was simple, and it was easy to be covered, so it was not suitable for live broadcast. Unlike Kunlun Baofu, the stone beast was originally a beast unique to the waste planet. If he didn't say it, most people couldn't find the materials for the beast scales, let alone the complicated method of making it.

If he had to choose, Qi Huan felt that he could only choose Peony Bird's Nest and Shengjin Thirteenth Month Wonton. At least they were delicious and beautiful in appearance.

Bird's nest is a well-known Luoyang specialty dish handed down from the Wu Zetian period. It uses radish as the main ingredient and is cut into thin strands that look like bird's nests, hence the name bird's nest. Today, chicken, ham, sea cucumber, bamboo shoots and other ingredients have been added to the dish, making it an indispensable part of the local buffet.

After being served at state banquets, the national chef master continued to strive for perfection in the shape of the bird's nest, and carefully carved a gorgeous peony out of egg yolk steamed cake, making the entire dish more gorgeous and beautiful. From then on, it was renamed Peony Bird's Nest.

The prototype of Shengjin Thirteen Months Wonton is the Shengjin Twenty-Four Qi Wonton in the menu of the Tail-End Banquet in the Tang Dynasty.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, it was very popular for wealthy families to prepare wontons with a variety of fillings at banquets. In the Song Dynasty, there were even hundreds of flavors of wontons, with a bowl of wontons containing dozens of different colors and fillings.

Shengjin Twenty-Four Solar Terms Wontons is one of the best. It takes the twenty-four solar terms as inspiration and makes wontons with twenty-four different shapes and fillings.

There was no concept of 24 solar terms in this era, so Qi Huan used months instead, planning to make thirteen different flower shapes and fillings.

Just now, when Qi Huan lifted the lid of the pot and put the animal scales in, the owner and No. 2, No. 4 and others had already been attracted by the delicious aroma overflowing from the pot. Now that they heard that he was going to live broadcast the "serving of dishes", they sat opposite him spontaneously, ready to serve as his "live broadcast assistants" according to the previous division of labor.

Before the show started, Qi Huan specifically greeted No. 4 and asked him not to move the camera to follow him, so as to avoid accidentally bringing Jiujiu, who liked to play in the pile of ingredients, into the camera.

No. 2 laughed, patted No. 4 on the shoulder, and invited the "unemployed" No. 4 to join the atmosphere group.

But to everyone's surprise, after just one day, the number of Qi Huan's fans increased dozens of times.

After the show started, the screen was already full of comments as soon as they said hello. There was no need for them to send gifts to warm up the atmosphere.

If you refresh it again, the entire display screen will be filled with barrages and special effects.

No. 4 shook his head and sighed. Who could have thought that he would be unemployed twice within half a minute.

The owner waved the fan in his hand idly, looked at No. 2 and No. 4 lonely, and silently drank the ice cream milk tea that Qi Huan specially prepared for them before the show started.

"Today I'm going to bring you three dishes. The first one is called Kunlun Baofu, and the main ingredient is this." Qi Huan picked up the dried stone animal skin that had been cut into a square and shook it towards the camera. The dark blue animal skin glowed with a rich luster in the sun. "The 'Kunlun' in the name of the dish refers to this. First, we need to dry-steam it for about a quarter of an hour."

[I came here because of his reputation. The anchor is as handsome as the legend says, and his voice is also nice]

[What is this? I only know the top-level mecha Kunlun next door]

[Looking forward to it! This is another dish I've never heard of before. I'll set up the stools and wait for you to eat.]

[Where is the handsome silver-haired guy? Isn't there another handsome silver-haired guy who is so handsome that he is hated by everyone? ]

[Three dishes are too few, at least six]

[If you dare to use the name Kunlun, the price must be very expensive]

"While waiting for the dry steaming, we will continue to make the second dish, Peony Bird's Nest. The ingredients needed are roughly as follows." Qi Huan pushed the bird's nest ingredient tray in front of the camera, "The first step is to cut them into thin strips."

Qi Huan picked up the radish and showed his skillful knife skills to the camera. The radish here has been pre-processed, the skin and outer coarse fiber that affect the taste have been scraped off, and it has been soaked in water for half an hour to remove the astringency.

He was cutting the food into strips quickly, while Jiujiu was playing with flour and various vegetable and fruit juices in another tray containing the ingredients for the raw wontons, and he was having a lot of fun.

The shop owner was really bored, so he glanced at the little white ball's empty neck, then took out a piece of gold and started tinkering with it.

Mix the chopped radish with mung bean flour, put it in the steamer and steam it. Qi Huan then started making raw Thirteenth Month wontons without stopping.

"Why is it called this? Because we will use thirteen wontons of different colors, shapes and fillings to represent the thirteen months of the Waste Star. To make noodles, the first thing is naturally to knead the dough."

The three dishes were interspersed, and Qi Huan had to take into account the introduction to the camera at the same time, but he did not seem flustered at all. He prepared each dish step by step, with smooth steps and perfect rhythm. He can be called a top time management master.

[Wow, so many steps, so many ingredients, it's dizzying, I'm dizzy]

[His hands are so clever, how come a ball of dough can turn into a flower after just a few kneading and pinching? ]

[Hahahahahahahaha, is this the legendary master stroke? ]

[Each filling looks delicious, and my mouth is watering]

[After having tried the signature dishes of hundreds of restaurants by four-star and three-star chefs, I thought I was at least half a gourmet. But the three dishes that the chefs wanted to make were totally unheard of.]

[Not only have I never seen the dish name before, I've also never seen this animal skin ingredient before]

[This animal skin is so strange, the scales actually grow inside the skin, isn't it prickly? ]

[By the way, this host looks a little familiar. Did she really grow up in Feixing? Why do I feel like I've seen her somewhere?]

The barrage of comments kept flashing faster and faster, until it became so flashing that it was impossible to follow. Qi Huan simply gave up interacting with the comments and focused on cooking.

The peony bird's nest was the first to come out of the oven. A bright yellow and delicate peony floated on the clear soup, shimmering in the water and beautiful and eye-catching.

In the thirteenth month of the year, wontons are in full bloom, and there are a hundred flowers in full bloom, some are cold as ice, some are warm and brilliant, some are charming and delicate, and some are fresh and refined. Each color and flower has its own flavor, and it seems that the flavors of the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter are really wrapped in them.

The most anticipated one is naturally the Kunlun Baofu, which is the first to go into the pot but the last to come out.

There was a palm-sized animal scale on the plate. The gelatinous skin had been stewed until it was transparent and crystal clear. The bottom had absorbed the rich abalone juice and had a reddish luster like agate. It was soft, tender, and extremely tempting.

As soon as the three dishes were put on the shelves, they were sold out in the blink of an eye.

[Too little, please increase the quantity! ]

[It's gone in the blink of an eye! 】

[Please increase the number of anchors]

[I waited for a full hour and a half, an hour and a half! I didn’t get anything! ]

[Host, please increase the quantity, or add more dishes! ]

"Today's live broadcast ends here. See you next time." Qi Huan also wanted to satisfy his fans, but he really couldn't meet those requests now. He didn't dare to argue and "fled."

In the distant fifth star region, the white-haired man was looking at the blonde woman beside him, "How does it taste?"

They only managed to grab a portion of Kunlun Baufu.

After tasting it carefully, the woman raised her eyebrows at the man beside her, "It's better than what you cook. I've long been tired of what you cook. This little star chef cooks better. The ingredients are novel and the cooking skills are excellent."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure." The woman nodded without hesitation. "The rich flavor of the abalone is perfectly released in the soup. Coupled with the soft and smooth texture of Kunlun, it is incomparable. It is a top-notch delicacy that can only be created through a long period of time and superb cooking skills."

"Look at his appearance. He's probably not even an adult yet. How could he have such high cooking skills?"

"I've decided. Our next stop will be the First Star Region."

"Why don't you just tell me that you want to go to Waste Planet No. 7 to see that little star chef!" the white-haired man said jealously.

"We have been married for more than a hundred years. The way to live in harmony is to see through things instead of pointing them out, understand? Besides, don't you suspect that he is too young to make such a thing? Seeing is believing, why not go and see it with your own eyes. There is no point in keeping those five knives. If they really don't work, change their owners."

White-haired man: ...

At the same time, Jiufang Yu, who was on his way back to the waste planet, also received several messages.

[I have found some clues about what you asked me to investigate. The writing of the word "Qi" is indeed a little peculiar. I searched according to this information and indeed found a family with the surname Qi. What's more, this family is also a family of culinary arts.

Their main family is in the eighth star field. Although their scale cannot be compared with the ten great families, they can still be considered famous. A few hundred years ago, their ancestors had a very powerful person, who left a lot of wealth for their descendants. Even though there have been no famous people in the family since then, they still have no worries about food and clothing thanks to the wealth. 】

[More than a decade ago, the couple who originally had direct heir rights to this family encountered a starship accident and both died. However, the data currently found did not mention the specific location of the accident, nor did it mention that they had a son. The current person in charge of the family can only be considered a side branch. I wonder if he later deliberately erased the relevant information of the previous heir. ]

[There is also a particularly interesting rumor. It is said that the great man who was the ancestor of the Qi family not only left a huge fortune to his descendants, but also left a family recipe book. The previous generations of the Qi family relied on this recipe book to become chefs, but the new ruler could not cook the famous dishes of the Qi family, so everyone said that it was because the family recipe book of the Qi family was lost. ]

A family recipe? Jiu Fangyu stared at the words and frowned slightly.