The eight referees nodded and bowed in agreement.
Grand Tutor Hua said, "Your Highness is mistaken. 'Braised beef head' is all about the taste and texture, not just about getting it out of the pot as quickly as possible!"
Prince Ning said, "It's delicious and served ahead of schedule, shouldn't it get a vote?"
Grand Tutor Hua smiled and said, "If we can guarantee the deliciousness, serving it ahead of time will naturally get us priority in the vote."
Prince Ning said to Zhang Fugui, "Did you hear that? Grand Tutor Hua has agreed. You must speed up the process, get it out of the pot ahead of schedule, and make sure it tastes delicious!"
Zhang Fugui said, "Please rest assured, Your Highness, I have braised beef heads thousands of times and have never failed!"
Holy crap, this guy's an expert at braised beef head!
Inside Li Huan's pot, the water was boiling and bubbling, the cow's head was making a gurgling sound, and the amount of blood foam floating on the surface was decreasing.
The muttony smell of the bull's head also gradually faded.
Li Huan quickly scooped out the cow's head and placed it on the cutting board.
He picked up a sharp knife and carefully scraped off the skin on the cow's upper palate, then cleaned the coating off the cow's tongue.
If the cow's head is not stewed in boiling water, the rough skin and thick coating on the tongue cannot be scraped off at all.
Therefore, the blanching step is crucial, not only for removing the gamey and fishy smell.
At this moment, Tang Bohu rushed over carrying four large pots of boiling water.
He moved with incredible speed, and not a drop of boiling water spilled from the kettle.
The Deadly Scholar stared at Tang Bohu, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"This kid looks familiar...he reminds me of someone..."
The deadly scholar muttered to himself, frowning and squinting as he pondered.
Li Huan chuckled to himself.
Tang Bohu's appearance must be similar to his father Tang Tianhao's; it would be strange if the Deadly Scholar didn't find him familiar!
Because Tang Bohu was dressed as a waiter, he distracted the Deadly Scholar. How could the scholar possibly guess that the person in front of him was the dashing Tang Bohu?
Soon, Li Huan finished treating the cow's palate and tongue.
Li Huan instructed Tang Bohu to pour out the wastewater from the large pot used to blanch the ox's head.
Add dry firewood to the stove and heat the pot over a high flame.
Once the large pot was dry and hot, Li Huan used the back of a knife to break up large pieces of rock sugar, put them into the pot, and began to caramelize the sugar.
Zhang Fugui knew in advance about the "Braised Beef Head" competition, so he prepared plenty of caramel coloring.
Li Huan learned the exam questions at the last minute and had no choice but to caramelize the sugar on the spot.
In fact, making caramelized sugar is a true test of a chef's skills.
If the heat is not controlled properly, it is difficult to caramelize the sugar to a reddish-brown color and achieve a sweet aroma.
Li Huan possesses the "advanced culinary skills" of the "god-level lunchbox system," and his control over the heat has reached an unparalleled level of precision.
He kept stirring, observing, and smelling the food.
The quality of caramelized sugar can be judged by sight and smell.
In just a few minutes, the high-quality caramel coloring, which is reddish-brown, translucent, and viscous, is ready.
Li Huan picked up the cow's head and put it into a large pot, stirring it with caramelized sugar to ensure that every part of the cow's head was fully coated with the caramelized sugar, achieving a bright red and shiny effect.
"Excellent!" Grand Tutor Hua gave a thumbs up. "The ox's head is a beautiful reddish-brown color, making it look incredibly appetizing!"
Prince Ning sneered, "Li Huan's ox head hasn't even started to be braised yet, and the Grand Tutor is already drooling? Why don't you go up and take a bite of the ox head now to satisfy your craving?"
Grand Tutor Hua hurriedly waved his hand: "Your Highness is joking. Li Huan's bull head is still very tough. How could I possibly chew it?"
Madam Hua quickly whispered in Grand Tutor Hua's ear, "Master, try to speak as little as possible. Prince Ning is sharp-tongued and you can't outwit him!"
Grand Tutor Hua hummed in agreement, stroked his beard, and tried to hide his embarrassment.
Seeing Li Huan stirring the cow's head in the wok, Zhang Fugui didn't take it seriously and instructed his assistant to simmer the cow's head over a low flame.
Li Huan finished stir-frying at a leisurely pace, then asked Tang Bohu to pick up the kettle and add boiling water to the large pot.
After the four jugs of water were poured out, the bull's head was submerged.
Li Huan ordered, "Add firewood! Make a big fire!"
Tang Bohu squatted in front of the stove, adding firewood to it.
Seeing Tang Bohu's appearance, Li Huan couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The esteemed leader of the "Four Great Talents of Jiangnan" actually helped his father tend the fire and stew a cow's head.
Tang Bohu was willing to lower himself and humble himself in order to pursue Qiu Xiang, which shows how much he longed to have her!
Glug glug... The cow's head made a sizzling sound in the boiling water.
Li Huan picked up the "delicious braising spice packet" and put it into the pot.
He let out a sigh of relief.
The steps for making "braised beef head" are basically complete.
Next, simply simmer and wait patiently.
Based on the time, Li Huan was about twenty minutes slower than Zhang Fugui.
In ancient times, one shichen was equivalent to two hours in modern time.
Being twenty minutes late within a two-hour time limit is a significant difference.
In those twenty minutes, Li Huan's beef might not be as tender as Zhang Guifu's stewed ox head.
However, according to the usual method of "braised beef head", it needs to be stewed for at least four hours to achieve the desired flavor and tenderness.
Li Huan was curious about what methods Zhang Fugui would use to make the ox head tender and mushy in a short time.
Add vinegar? Add hawthorn?
At this moment, the fat clerk lit another incense stick and loudly announced, "Half the time has passed!"
One hour left!
Using the current cooking methods, no matter what Li Huan and Zhang Fugui do, they will never be able to stew the beef head until it is tender, let alone make it flavorful.
Li Huan has his own unique methods.
I wonder how Zhang Fugui will handle this?
"Change the pot lid!"
Zhang Fugui instructed his assistant to bring a thick, heavy pot lid to replace the current one.
After the lid was firmly pressed down on the pot, Zhang Fugui took a damp cotton cloth and covered the area where the lid met the pot to prevent steam from escaping.
Immediately afterwards, Zhang Fugui personally carried two buckets of water and placed them on the pot lid.
Then, Zhang Fugui took out a damp cotton cloth and repeated the previous action, covering the pot with it to provide a second layer of protection and prevent the steam inside from leaking out.
Li Huan understood.
By covering the pot so tightly, Zhang Fugui could create pressure in the steam inside, thus speeding up the process of the beef stewing until it was tender.
His method is somewhat similar to stewing beef in a pressure cooker.
Li Huan guessed that Zhang Fugui's spice packet must have contained some kind of seasoning that could speed up the stewing process of the beef head.
This guy has braised over a thousand cow heads; he's extremely experienced.
Prince Ning deliberately set a time limit of one hour, which must have been because he had communicated with Zhang Fugui in advance and knew that Zhang Fugui could braise the beef until it was flavorful and tender within one hour.
Otherwise, why would Prince Ning risk losing a million taels of silver to set such a short timeframe and create a difficult problem for Zhang Fugui?
Seeing Zhang Fugui's actions, Tang Bohu quickly said, "Brother Li, let's change to a thicker lid, otherwise, it will be difficult to stew the ox head until it's tender!"
Li Huan laughed and said, "Only ordinary chefs would use a lid to weigh down the pot; that's a very low-level method!"
Zhang Fugui proudly raised his head: "You have a more ingenious method and superior skills, why not show them to me and broaden my horizons?"
Li Huan said, "Watch closely and learn from this!"
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