Chapter 216 No Oil and No Salt
Xia Paopao placed the salt steadily on the cutting board in front of Su Yingxue, her eyes full of self-satisfaction.
Su Yingxue finally stopped tapping her fingers, looked up at the three of them, and said in a calm but confident tone: "It doesn't matter if there's no oil. We'll go for the 'fresh and light' route and win with the flavor of the ingredients themselves."
Her gaze swept over the remaining food shelves, quickly locking onto her target: "Lin Qiao, go get the freshest live shrimp and freshly killed sea bass, clean them and set them aside."
Shen Yu, take a sufficient amount of yam, lotus root and mushrooms, and cut them into even thin slices;
Bubble, go get some goji berries, red dates, and dried tangerine peel.
"I'll ask the production team for a few more steamers and a clay pot."
The three acted immediately, their movements swift and efficient.
Once all the ingredients were in place, Su Yingxue stood in front of the cutting board, holding a cleaver in her hand: "Steam the shrimp, make diagonal cuts on the sea bass, marinate it with ginger and cooking wine, steam it until the fish meat falls off the bone, and drizzle it with a little light soy sauce to enhance the flavor."
A plate of mixed grain steamed vegetables, including yam, lotus root, and mushrooms, seasoned with red dates and goji berries, has a naturally sweet flavor.
Finally, simmer a mushroom and tofu soup in a clay pot. The slow cooking brings out the natural flavors of the ingredients without using a single drop of oil, which actually enhances the original taste and demonstrates skill more than dishes that are heavily oiled or salty.
Shen Yu felt instantly relieved upon hearing this, and her chopping movements quickened: "That's a great idea! Nowadays, audiences prefer light and healthy flavors, so if we focus on health, it will definitely catch their eye."
While processing the shrimp, Lin Qiao nodded in agreement: "Moreover, steaming and stewing have a higher tolerance for error and can save time, giving us enough time to refine the details."
Xia Paopao was even more enthusiastic, squatting beside the clay pot and watching the heat, afraid of making the slightest mistake.
On the other side, Zhu Lili watched Su Yingxue's group working in an orderly manner, and her heart skipped a beat. She was about to mock them for not being able to make good dishes without oil.
Glancing down at the empty salt shaker on her cutting board, she panicked instantly: "Where's the salt? Where did our salt go?"
Chef Wang was pouring a large amount of cooking oil into the pot when he heard this. He paused, turned around, and looked around: "It was clearly placed here just now, where did it go?"
He quickly searched around the work area, even turning over the food shelves again, his face growing increasingly grim: "It seems that the only salt left in the entire area is the bag that Xia Paopao just snatched away."
Zhu Lili's smugness froze on her face instantly, and cold sweat slid down her forehead.
She glared fiercely in Su Yingxue's direction and gritted her teeth, saying, "They must have done it on purpose! If they couldn't get the oil, they'd steal the salt. How underhanded!"
Chen Chen stood to the side, still clutching the rag he had used to move the oil. Seeing this, he immediately stepped forward, his tone impatient and somewhat reckless: "Sister Li, how about I go and snatch it back from them? With Xia Paopao's small frame, I can take it away with one hand!"
"Are you stupid!" Zhu Lili slapped him hard and scolded him in a low voice, "Judge Huang already spoke up for them. If we try to take it now, the production team will definitely rule us against the rules and disqualify us. It's not worth it!"
Chen Mo stood on the other side, more composed than Chen Chen, but he also frowned and looked anxious.
He glanced down at the ingredients on the counter and couldn't help but speak up: "Chef Wang, we ordered all fried and braised dishes. We can't cook them without salt. We can't just make a few bland dishes and embarrass ourselves, can we?"
Chef Wang forced himself to calm down, his eyes quickly scanning the work area, trying to find an alternative.
Suddenly, his gaze fell on the condiment rack in the corner, and his eyes lit up slightly: "I've got it! The production team has fermented bean paste and oyster sauce on their condiment rack. Although they can't completely replace salt, they can add some saltiness and umami."
Zhu Lili quickly went over and looked at the half-empty bottle of fermented soybean paste and a small jar of oyster sauce left on the shelf.
She was still unsure: "Is this enough? We have four dishes, and we'll rely on this for seasoning. Won't the taste be strange?"
"There's no other way, we can only try anything now." Chef Wang picked up the fermented soybean paste and said in a deep voice, "Chen Chen, chop the fermented soybean paste into fine pieces, the finer the better, and mix it into the flour for frying the crispy pork later."
Chen Mo, go check the food shelf and see if there's anything that can add saltiness, like pickled vegetables or fermented black beans—the more the better!
The two immediately got to work.
Chen Chen picked up a cleaver and began chopping the fermented soybean paste with just the right amount of force, chopping it into small, neat pieces. He finished quickly.
Chen Mo quickly rummaged through the remaining ingredients on the shelf, his fingertips brushing against a pile of dried vegetables and dried goods, and finally found two wrinkled pickled vegetable lumps and a small handful of fermented black beans at the very bottom.
He grabbed it like a lifeline and rushed back to the worktable: "Chef Wang, found it! Is this enough?"
Chef Wang took the pickled mustard greens and fermented black beans, quickly weighed them in his hand, and nodded, saying, "That's enough for the emergency. Chen Chen, wash the pickled mustard greens, chop them into small pieces, and mix them into the filling for the fried eggplant fritters."
Chen Mo quickly mixed the filling with flour and egg liquid, paying attention to the ratio—not too salty, not too bland.
The two dared not delay and immediately began to work according to Chef Wang's instructions.
Chen Mo poured the chopped fermented soybean paste into the flour bowl and stirred it haphazardly with chopsticks. Feeling uncertain, he would occasionally look up at Chef Wang and ask, "Chef, is this okay? The color looks a bit dark. Will it taste bitter?"
Chef Wang was busy preparing braised pork ribs and didn't have time to pay attention. Without even looking up, he yelled, "Stop talking nonsense and mix it well! There's no time to sort it now. It's good enough if it's even salty!"
After Chen Chen finished processing the pickled vegetable scraps, he mixed the chopped bits into the eggplant filling, only to find that the filling was too dry and couldn't be shaped at all.
He was so anxious that he scratched his head and could only turn to Zhu Lili and ask, "Sister Lili, the filling is too dry, what should we do? Should we add some water?"
Zhu Lili was staring blankly at the steam coming from Su Yingxue's group when she heard this and waved her hand impatiently: "Add! Of course we'll add! We can't let the eggplant box fall apart. Add as much as you like, but don't add too much and it'll turn into mush!"
Chen Chen carefully added water to the filling, stirring as he added it, until it could be formed into a ball.
Then Chen Mo exclaimed "Ouch!"
It turned out that when he was mixing the batter for the fried pork, he accidentally poured in half a bottle of fermented soybean paste. The batter instantly turned dark and had a strong, pungent smell. "Oh no, Chef Wang, I poured in too much!"
He's a singer, so he's naturally not very skilled at cooking.
Chen Mo turned pale with fright and stood there helplessly.
Chef Wang turned around at the sound and saw the bowl of dark, murky batter. He was so angry he almost threw the spatula in his hand: "Can't you do anything useful! Didn't you check the quantity before pouring it in?"
Zhu Lili also came over. Looking at the batter, her heart sank, but she still forced herself to say, "It's okay, a stronger sauce flavor is better than no flavor at all. Hurry up and fry it, don't waste time!"
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