After Elder Cen finished explaining the rules, the County Magistrate emerged from behind the screen and took out a slip of paper from each of the three boxes. He then announced, "Tonight's cooking competition will feature shredded pork with green peppers as the hot dish, cucumbers with straw raincoats as the cold dish, and a vegetarian broth as the soup."
Hot and cold dishes are fine. Anyone who knows a little bit knows that these two dishes are very homely but also test the chef's skills.
But in the end, this vegetarian broth left everyone very confused.
What is this thing called vegetarian soup?
But it was obvious that everyone was confused, but the four chefs on the scene were very calm and looked like they knew what was going on.
After the county magistrate announced the three dishes, he smiled and said, "I hope everyone can perform at their best. I will go back and wait to taste your finished products."
He said and turned back behind the screen.
Several people behind the screen were already discussing in low voices.
"Lord Wang is really lucky today." Wan Ziqiu said.
The county magistrate discerned his tone and confirmed that he was not speaking in a sarcastic manner. Then he smiled and sat down and asked, "I don't understand these things either. I didn't dare to say much just now for fear of appearing timid.
"If you ask me, I should let Wan Zhangshan do the drawing."
"All three dishes Lord Wang drew were excellent," Wan Ziqiu praised with a smile. "We've already reached the finals, and the four outside are all veterans. Using chicken, duck, fish, or meat in a soup wouldn't be a problem for them. On the contrary, this vegetarian broth is fantastic; it might just help separate the two of them."
After hearing the dishes that needed to be cooked today, Mrs. Ye’s mind started working rapidly.
She had learned how to make vegetarian broth in the past, but she didn't use it very often. Generally, only people who were very devout Buddhists would use vegetarian broth when preparing banquets.
As she was thinking, her eyes wandered over the table where the ingredients were placed. She saw several large bamboo shoots on both sides of the ingredients, as well as bean sprouts, mushrooms and other things.
So Mrs. Ye started to pick the mushrooms without hesitation.
Rinse the dried shiitake mushrooms and cut the caps and stems.
Soak the caps in hot water and place the stems directly into the pot, then pour in clean water and start boiling.
Mr. Cen decided not to participate in any judging matters today, so he moved a chair and sat outside to supervise the order on the scene. After seeing Mrs. Ye's choice, he was quite satisfied.
It’s not that bamboo shoots are bad. If you are in the south, using fresh bamboo shoots to make vegetarian soup will definitely be extremely delicious.
However, the bamboo shoots from the south had already lost most of their freshness by the time they were transported thousands of miles to the capital.
Looking at a large bamboo shoot, after removing the skin and old parts, the remaining tender bamboo shoot meat may be less than one-tenth.
The most important thing is that the tenderness of bamboo shoots does not mean that the taste is still delicious.
If you choose bamboo shoots right from the start, the final product will probably be very good.
After Mrs. Ye had temporarily processed the mushrooms, she began to pick bean sprouts with nimble hands.
Pinch off the roots and heads of the bean sprouts, leaving only the whitest and tenderest stem in the middle, and set aside for later use.
At this time, everyone was busy making the broth. After all, although the other two dishes required a lot of skill, they didn't take too much time.
But Mrs. Ye started preparing to make shredded cucumbers earlier than others.
Although shredded cucumber is a cold dish, it is not something that can be prepared by simply chopping and mixing.
This dish not only tests your knife skills, but the subsequent seasoning and whether the dish is flavorful are also very important.
Although Mrs. Ye's knife skills are not as good as Feng Yueying's, she can still cut a straw cucumber with ease.
Soon the two cucumbers were cut. Mrs. Ye grabbed them by the head and tail and lifted them up. The cucumbers immediately stretched out like latte art.
The outer skin is dark green and the inside is light green, which looks particularly beautiful.
Mrs. Ye took a large bowl, added water and some seasonings to it, and then carefully soaked the stretched cucumber in it.
Mr. Cen looked at her actions in surprise and felt quite touched.
Although You Bin never thought of returning after leaving the capital, and it even affected his mental state, he not only did not forget what I taught him, but also tried his best to pass it on to his daughter.
Through Mrs. Ye who was busy in front of the stove, Mr. Cen seemed to see the young man who followed him and called him Master.
He couldn't help but feel a little sore in his nose, and hurriedly looked up at the roof, holding back the tears that were about to burst out.
Mr. Cen thought to himself that he was indeed getting old, and was becoming more and more sad about the passing of time.
After soaking the cucumber, Mrs. Ye estimated that the time was about up, so she continued to process the soaked mushrooms.
She repeatedly kneaded the mushroom cap soaked in water, trying to release all the flavor into the water.
Then I changed to a large bowl of clean water, took out the mushroom caps and soaked and kneaded them again.
Mrs. Ye combined the water from the two soakings into one, set it aside to let it slowly settle, and finally filtered out the clear liquid on the top, poured it into the pot where the mushroom stems had been boiled, covered the pot and let it slowly boil.
The two dishes already had a rough outline. Mrs. Ye estimated the time in her mind and began to prepare the shredded pork with green peppers.
The dish of shredded pork with green peppers sounds and looks very homely.
But it is not easy to make this dish well.
Knife skills and heat control are all key points.
The green peppers should be crisp but not raw, and the shredded pork should be flavorful and tender.
Mrs. Ye starts with the shredded pork, and the first thing she has to do is ensure that it is well-seasoned and tender.
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