Chapter 173: Chinese Asparagus Lion’s Head Meatballs

After washing the conch meat with clear water a few times, he boiled the water. After adding cold water and cooling it to 80 degrees celsius, he could boil the conch in the pot. Once it was cooked for two to three seconds, the conch meat was immediately scooped out.

He used the remaining water to heat up the sliced celery. The celery was green and did not release a strong taste.

He added some salt to the oil and stir-fried the celery until it was cooked.

The taste of the conch meat was very hard. There was a fine line between tender and hard. Hence, after the wine was prepared, Xu Le immediately threw the conch meat in and increased the heat.

The wine was wrapped evenly around the conch meat. After putting it on the plate, he used celery as the base. The conch meat looked like blooming peony petals. The texture was crisp, clear, and sweet, but it did not lose the freshness of seafood. It was sweet and sour, and it was appetizing. Be it with wine or with rice, it was extremely compatible.

“It’s so beautiful.”

Li Qing was so tired that he wanted to cry but had no tears. He picked up a piece of conch and put it into his mouth. “I’ll help you taste it.”

The fragrance of the wine and the “pot gas” rushed into his mouth. The intense sourness and sweetness stimulated his taste buds, causing Li Qing to cough and raise his eyebrows.

“Doesn’t it taste good?”

Xu Le took a bite as he asked.

“That’s not it.”

Li Qing hesitated if he should take another bite. He said, “I haven’t eaten much of the wine so I was not used to it just now. After chewing for a while, the taste of the conch meat is very good.”

Zhang Tong thought for a long time and frowned. “Isn’t it too risky to make this dish?”

For an experienced chef like him who had been in the industry for a long time, he could taste the freshness of the conch meat with just a bite. Although it was wonderful when stir-fried together, if he did not control the heat well, it would taste hard and extremely unpalatable.

He could not help but feel worried. “This dish is too difficult. Can you guarantee that every batch produced is the same?”

Xu Le nodded without hesitation. “Of course.”

Hearing his confident tone, Zhang Tong couldn’t help but mutter in his heart, but he couldn’t say anything else.

The few of them made the arrangements and cooperated smoothly like an assembly line. Lu Yuxi kept hammering the meat filling until she was so tired that her arms were aching.

Xu Zhexian, who was almost 40 years old, also stopped what he was doing and panted heavily.

Lu Yuxi muttered, “There’s so much minced meat. How many dumplings are you planning to make later?”

Xu Zhexian put his hands on his hips and said, “It tastes better handmade, but this is too troublesome.”

The camera turned and the live-stream was broadcasting the last match. It was especially popular and the number of online viewers had exceeded ten million.

“What’s there to compete? The final champion will definitely be the Master Chef.”

“That’s right. He definitely has to give the little Master Chef some face in the last round. How can he win?”

“The outcome is obvious after a draw.”

“I bet 50 cents that Xu Le will win!”

“Ah, Xu Le is too cute. He’s so serious and cute!”

“Hurry up and show off that octopus in my mouth!”

“Everyone, please vote for Xu Le!”

While the supporters of both sides argued fiercely, more passers-by who had joined started drifting from the participants.

“It’s Li Qing! That streamer! I love him so much!”

“Who’s that man who’s been hammering meat the entire time? Is he single?”

“To the commenter above, he’s Xu Le’s father.”

“Oh, is Xu Le’s father single?”

“Is the beauty beside him single?”

“I just ate that red conch in the restaurant yesterday. It’s expensive but delicious.”

It was a mess as red and green comments rolled down. Xu Le’s serious face appeared on screen, causing a small commotion.

This made Chen Yeqi, who was standing backstage, unhappy. He hurriedly instructed, “Cut the camera and change it to his chopping board to broadcast the cooking. Why are you always zooming on his face?”

Chen Zui crossed his arms and said with a laugh, “Why are you so petty and angry at a child? If it weren’t for him, the show wouldn’t have become so popular.”

Every word made sense, but Chen Yeqi couldn’t be bothered to argue further. He frowned and said, “It’s all your good idea to start an online vote. Now that Xu Le’s team is much more popular, if it affects the final outcome, see how I will complain to Dad.”

In stark contrast to Chen Yeqi, Chen Zui was calm and composed. He still smiled and said, “You’re not even confident in your research results?”

“Hmph.”

Chen Yeqi cursed, “What is the stage supervisor doing? What time is it already? Arrange for the dishes to be served! Otherwise, what will the audience eat later!”

The light stir-fried conch on Xu Le’s side had almost come to an end. Li Qing brought over the white fish and focused on slicing the meat.

After stewing the last pot of octopus, Zhang Tong asked, “What do you plan to do for the next dish?”

“Chinese Asparagus Lion’s Head Meatballs.”

It was another dish that surprised him. Braised octopus was not common. The light stir-fried conch tested one’s fire control and experience, while the lion’s head meatball was too ordinary.

Zhang Tong probed, “Will it be too ordinary?”

“There’s still a certain difference between the Chinese Asparagus Lion’s Head Meatballs and the traditional Lion’s Head Meatball. It has the traditional chinese asparagus added and the white fish used is fresher and more tender. The meat won’t become dry, and the dish can be considered a medicinal dish.”

Zhang Tong found it perfunctory. “Huh?”

“Don’t worry and do it. I have my own plans.”

On Li Qing’s side, he quickly skinned the white fish and started slicing it. He first cut it horizontally before cutting it vertically. Finally, he obtained bean-sized dices. The same was done to the black pork belly, and then the water chestnuts and ginger grains.

After all the ingredients were prepared, he boiled the chinese asparagus, peeled it, and cut it into strips.

The three of them showed off their cutting skills and prepared several large pots of ingredients at once. Zhang Tong knew that Xu Le wanted to make the finished product directly and did not try the taste first. He looked up and saw that most of the time had passed. If they hurried, they should be able to complete the third dish.

The meat accounted for 30% and the pork belly for 20% of the mixture. The ginger grain was added to remove the fishy smell. The egg white that had been beaten and separated increased the viscosity. After the right amount of salt and huadiao wine was mixed together, the water bean powder made from ginger and green onion water was mixed together. After that, he put on gloves and stirred it until the ingredients had some resistance. Then, he added the water chestnuts and continued to smash it.

The casserole was filled with huadio wine, salt, and chopped green onions. He switched to medium heat to maintain the water temperature until it was about to boil and bubble. Only then did he gently roll the round lion’s head into the pot.

When he was adding the lion’s head, it was wrapped in a layer of bean powder, so the water temperature was especially important. If it was low, it would stick to the pot, but if it was high, it would be washed away. When the lion’s head was evenly placed in the pot, he covered it with baby vegetables and turned on the low heat to cook it.

Out of goodwill, Li Qing put one down first. He did not know what went wrong, but it turned into white soup the moment it entered the pot. He was embarrassed and speechless. He found the lid and covered it before turning off the fire and changed the pot, pretending that nothing had happened.