17 Chapter 17: Qin Lang Makes an Appearance

When the big bubbles in the pot began to simmer, and the sugar syrup turned to a coffee color, Dan Bao's head started to sway up and down.

Under Qin Lang's guidance yesterday, it had already learned how to recognize the various stages of preparing caramel.

Now is the perfect time to add water!

"Gudululu!"

"Good job, you're learning fast," Qin Lang praised, then with a scoop in one hand stirring non-stop and a pot of water in the other, he gradually poured it in, turning up the heat to bring it to a boil.

Served in a small bowl, there was a perfectly made tender caramel color.

With the completion of the caramel color, the oxtail had also soaked up a large amount of blood. Qin Lang cleaned the oxtail and proceeded to the next step.

Blanching.

A sufficient amount of water was added to the pot. Qin Lang placed the oxtail and cooking wine into the cold water, then turned up the heat until it boiled and skimmed off the froth.

The moment the pot lid was lifted, the tantalizing aroma of meat pervaded the air, stimulating the appetite.

"Gurulu!"

Dan Bao's eyes lit up. Just smelling the meaty scent was enough to make it feel somewhat hungry.

However, it also knew that there was still a long way to go before this dish could be finished.

Qin Lang quickly removed the oxtail and then heated up some oil in a pan, adding scallion and ginger, star anise, bay leaves, green Sichuan peppercorns, dried chili, and hawthorn dried into the mix.

The scent of the spices mixed with dried chili was instantly released by the heated oil, coming out so strong as to be somewhat choking.

Having learned its lesson from yesterday's practice, Dan Bao acted swiftly and kept its distance right away.

Not until Qin Lang turned up the power of the range hood did it dare to come closer again.

Seeing the apprehensive look on Dan Bao's face, Qin Lang laughed and added the oxtail along with a reasonable amount of dark soy sauce for stir-frying to the pot.

The blanched oxtail began to gradually release a meaty aroma during the stir-frying process. Mixed with the previous scent, the smell was less irritating and began to have a tempting allure.

When he saw that the oxtail in the pot had adequately changed color, Qin Lang once again added light soy sauce, regular soy sauce, and yellow wine and continued to stir-fry over medium heat.

With the addition of more seasoning, the aroma became even more vibrant during the stir-frying process.

Spices have always been the soul that unleashes the flavor of meat.

The mouthwatering Dan Bao couldn't help but swallow its saliva.

It's still too early, patience is needed!

After finishing the stir-frying, noticing Dan Bao swallowing its saliva, Qin Lang rubbed its big ears as a sign of comfort, then added water to the pot, covering the ingredients.

After adding the caramel color, he high-heated it until it boiled, skimmed off the froth again, and then switched to a low heat.

Next, it was a long waiting period.

"Gurulu~"

Dan Bao shook its head helplessly.

It would have to wait for an hour!

"Don't be anxious." Qin Lang set the kitchen timer, then took out a book from his bosom, sat next to the pot holding Dan Bao, and watched the oxtail inside.

As time went by, the scent of the oxtail became so strong that even the pot lid could no longer contain it, and it gradually filled the entire kitchen, lingering for a long time.

Only when the alarm clock rang did Qin Lang put away his book and head towards the counter.

He chopped the carrots into chunks and halved the shiitake mushrooms.

He removed various ingredients from the pot, added these two things, and once again put on the pot lid.

After waiting another twenty minutes, then adding celery, seasoning, and reducing the sauce, the dish would finally be complete.

Doing the math, it just took two hours.

Qin "Deadline Warrior" Lang.

"Ding——"

A prompt sounded in the kitchen.

A look of surprise crossed Qin Lang's face.

Had Du Weiwei finished her dish?

…

Emerging with the specially made Kitchen Cabinet Car from the Spirit Chef Association, Du Weiwei glanced at the still-closed kitchen on the other side and let out a sigh of relief.

She completed her dish first.

Having been in previous Food Fights, she knew that finishing one's dish first in a Food Fight gave the Spirit Chef a certain advantage.

This way, her chances of winning would also be slightly higher.

For some reason, her opponent, who had only recently become a Spirit Chef, made the Second-star-vein Du Weiwei feel uneasy. This calm fellow wasn't as simple as he seemed.

However, she wouldn't be easily defeated either.

A confident smile appeared on Du Weiwei's face.

Her choice for this Food Fight had been unexpected, but among her best dishes, there was one that met the ingredient cost requirement.

Over the past two days, she had been diligently preparing for this Food Fight, repeatedly practicing cooking this dish with her Food Spirit.

She, who had been a Spirit Chef for longer, wouldn't be easily defeated by Qin Lang!

She muttered encouragements to herself, pushed the Kitchen Cabinet Car in front of the judges, and announced, "Esteemed judges, my Food Fight dish is ready. Please taste."

She opened the Kitchen Cabinet Car, presenting the five exquisitely plated dishes to the five Food Fight judges.

There was still one dish left in the Kitchen Cabinet Car.

According to the Food Fight rules, the number of dishes prepared must be one more than the number of judges. The extra portion is meant for the opponent to taste.

After the judging votes are concluded, the competitors in the Food Fight will taste each other's dishes.

If there are any objections to the judging results after tasting, explanations can be sought from the judges. But barring exceptional circumstances, the results would not change.

Closing the Kitchen Cabinet Car, Du Weiwei turned to face the nodding judges while introducing with a smile, "The delicious dish I have prepared is called Crab & Cheese Baked Noodles, its key features are…"

As they listened to Du Weiwei's introduction and tasted the dishes, the five judges quickly formed an overall evaluation.

However, since Qin Lang's cooking hadn't finished, they could only keep their evaluations to themselves for now.

Once the judges finished their small portions, they set them aside. The judge leader, Zhou Yun, signaled and said, "Tasting complete. Voting will take place once the other Spirit Chef finishes cooking."

Knowing the process, Du Weiwei nodded with a smile and waited on stage.

In the audience seats, Zhao Chen stopped folding his arms across his chest.

As Du Weiwei successfully completed her cooking, and the countdown drew terrifyingly close to zero, he started getting restless.

"Hey, isn't Qin Lang going to run out of time?" He asked nervously, "If he runs out of time, does he automatically lose?"

"I am not 'hey'!" Qi Xiaoyu rolled her eyes in annoyance. Then she gestured, "According to the Food Fight rules, running out of time is an automatic loss."

She couldn't help but sigh, "What a pity. I wanted to see Qin Lang give Weiwei a hard time."

"You're actually supporting Qin Lang?" Zhao Chen expressed surprise, "Shouldn't you be supporting Du Weiwei?"

"What would a Chuunibyou like you understand?" Huffed Qi Xiaoyu, her arms crossed, "I was given a hard time by Weiwei, I naturally hope someone will pay her back in kind!"

"After someone gives her a hard time, I can then comfort her. Hehe!"

Zhao Chen silently averted his gaze.

Women are indeed scary.

"Eh! He's out! He's out!" Qi Xiaoyu gasped, "With just a few minutes to spare. That was close!"

Zhao Chen quickly turned to the boy pushing out the Kitchen Cabinet Car onto the stage, his fists tightly clenched.

My rival, before I defeat you, you can't lose!