CHAPTER 157: CHAPTER 152: THE FEMALE SUPPORTING CHARACTER OF THE SPIRITUAL SPRING SPACE

After messing with Lian Lan, Ye Qiu quickly pushed the incident to the back of her mind. Tomorrow is the preliminary round of the International Culinary Competition, and nearly one hundred amateur chefs will compete to secure three spots to challenge world-class chefs in the final. The most thrilling part for Ye Qiu was that the competition was held in City S, saving her the hassle of taking leaves and commuting.

The competition featured ten professional judges and one hundred public judges, each group’s scores accounting for fifty percent. With such a vast panel, chefs had to cater to every individual’s taste and prepare a significant quantity of food, making it an incredibly challenging task.

Given the large amounts required, each head chef was allowed the help of two sous chefs; therefore, Ye Qiu specifically asked Ye Fu to help.

With a multitude of participants, the first trial expanded over ten days. Each day ten people would compete, and one winner per day would proceed to the preliminary finals, eventually electing three to enter the grand International Culinary Competition.

Ye Qiu was scheduled for the first day. Among her nine competitors, she noticed an inheritor from a century-old restaurant featured in a food show, a net celebrity famous for food videos, and homemakers, among others. Due to her looks, Ye Qiu was the most attention-grabbing among them, and cameras consistently focused on her.

Cao Lu sat in the audience, vigorously waving to cheer on her friend, and said to He Qingfeng beside her, "You’re in for a treat today, Ye Zi’s cooking is really delicious."

"Lower your voice, what if someone realizes you’re cheating?" He Qingfeng pulled up his sleeve, feigning a scare.

Hearing this, Cao Lu really did lower her voice, leaning conspiratorially towards his ear: "But hey, you’re pretty daring, even risking tampering with a national broadcast."

"You actually believe that?" He Qingfeng laughed, "That would be illegal."

"Then how did we get these tickets?" Cao Lu asked, puzzled.

"My dad’s a sponsor," He Qingfeng revealed the truth at once, taking pleasure from Cao Lu’s crestfallen expression.

"Fine then!" Cao Lu shrugged as if to say ’so that’s the deal,’ then her eyes sparkled, "So we can keep coming, right?"

"What’s in it for me?" He Qingfeng glanced at her, his demeanor indicating he was uninvolved.

Seeing this, Cao Lu ingratiatingly said: "Shall I treat you to a meal?"

"Do I lack meals?" He Qingfeng retorted.

Cao Lu scratched her head. That’s true, his family being the sponsor meant he could come eat anytime, right? But if not a meal, she had no other ideas!

"Then you name it, I’ll do my best to comply," Cao Lu said, desperate to taste the chefs’ culinary creations.

"How about this: starting this month, buy me breakfast every weekday and deliver it to my dorm door?" He Qingfeng plotted quietly, thinking, ’Little foodie, let’s see how you escape now!’

"That long!" Cao Lu frowned, hesitating.

"There will be international chefs at the grand final!" He Qingfeng continued to tempt her.

"Deal!"

Hearing these two words, He Qingfeng smiled contentedly.

On the stage, Ye Qiu and Ye Fu were still preparing ingredients. All ingredients were provided by the TV station and sponsors, and everyone had the same materials. The chefs needed to make three dishes—cold, hot, and sweet—within a set time using the provided ingredients.

The first dish Ye Qiu planned to make was shredded bamboo shoots with kelp, carrots, and mung bean sprouts—a highly nutritious and particularly appetizing cold dish.

First, slice the carrots, bamboo shoots, and kelp into uniformly thin strips. Blanch the bean sprouts, bamboo shoot strips, and kelp strips separately and set aside. Mince the green onions and garlic, and mix them with sesame oil, salt, pepper powder, vinegar, soy sauce, and other seasonings to make a sauce. Heat a bit of oil in a pot, stir-fry the carrot strips until cooked, then remove. Place the four ingredients on a plate and pour the prepared sauce over them.

This is a very simple cold dish. The key lies in the uniform slicing, seasoning of the sauce, and the aesthetic presentation of the dish. With a total of one hundred and ten judges, achieving a perfect blend of color, aroma, and taste in large quantities is no easy feat.

This is an absolutely fair and just competition. Ye Qiu herself was very serious, she knew that just a little bit of Spiritual Spring Water or substituting ingredients from the Spiritual Spring Space would guarantee her victory, but she did not. Regardless of the outcome, she wanted to win the honor on her own merit.

The second dish Ye Qiu prepared was Braised Pork Belly, a dish she often made and was skilled at. There were many judges and only needed to cook a large pot, one piece per person, which was convenient and simple. Two other people had the same idea, and three people making Braised Pork Belly simultaneously drew quite a bit of attention from the judges below.

First, wash the pork belly and cut it into three-centimeter square pieces. Place the cut meat into a pot of cold water, bring to a boil over high heat, and cook for two minutes. Rinse off the surface foam under warm water, and drain. Pour oil into a pot, heat on low, and fry the star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, and dried chili until aromatic. Add segments of green onion, slices of ginger, and garlic, and continue stir-frying for one minute. Then add the pork belly, switch to medium heat, and stir-fry until the pork belly surface is slightly golden and remove.

Heat another pot, pour in oil, turn to low heat, add an appropriate amount of white sugar, and slowly stir-fry until the sugar turns date-red, and the large bubbles in the oil turn to small ones. The sugar color is then ready. Immediately add the fried pork belly, quickly stir-fry to coat the surface of the meat with the sugar color, then pour in rice wine, soy sauce, and enough water to cover the pork belly. Bring to a boil over high heat, then switch to low heat, cover the pot, and braise until the sauce is fully absorbed. Add salt to season.

Braised Pork Belly is something everyone can cook, but the methods are largely similar. The key is the chef’s own skill level. Having comparisons brings out differences, and many people on-site are now looking forward to the Braised Pork Belly from the three competitors.

Every competition stand had three people, but at Ye Qiu’s stand, there were only her and Ye Fu, two people. However, they cooperated seamlessly and were both good-looking and poised. Their calm and orderly actions attracted the attention of most people.

While braising the Braised Pork Belly, Ye Qiu presoaked the glutinous rice needed for the third dessert dish. At this time, the dishes from the first round of the competition from the ten contestants were also placed in front of the judges.

Each was served on a small plate. Although the quantity of each dish was not large, ten dishes together amounted to a considerable volume. Each small plate had the contestant’s number plate at the bottom, and the judges only needed to pick their two favorite dishes. The final tally would be counted by the staff.

The weighting for each of the three dishes was different: the hot dish accounted for fifty percent of the final score, and the cold dish and dessert each accounted for twenty-five percent. There was an equal split where ten professional judges and one hundred public judges each provided fifty percent of the score.

The rules were simple and clear, making it almost impossible for two contestants to end up with the exact same score.

"Yes, this is the flavor," Cao Lu knew this was definitely Ye Qiu’s work as soon as she picked up a chopstick of the mixed four shredded vegetables.

"Vote for this one," Cao Lu whispered to He Qingfeng.

He Qingfeng, seeing Cao Lu’s enjoyable expression, also skeptically took a bite, and instantly felt like he was a guest in a food-lover’s home surrounded by a golden glow.

No wonder Fatty begged him for her vote! He Qingfeng thought silently.

Having lived nearly twenty years, it was only today that he truly experienced real gourmet food. He had to vote for this dish even without her telling him! Now, he was even more looking forward to Ye Qiu’s next dish.