Chapter 81

Chapter 81: A Top Chef

Translator: Xiong Guoqi Editor: Desmond

“Sun Ming, is the person that just entered the kitchen the chef?” the person who had looked

down on Yuan Zhou walked close to Sun Ming and said with a low voice .

“He’s not a chef here . He’s my friend that specially came over to celebrate my birthday . ” Sun

Ming knew this guy was kind-hearted . He was just blunt . Hence, Sun Ming said those words

while smiling .

“Well, fine . But why does he only cook the Egg Fried Rice?” the guy whispered .

“It’s what I would like to eat,” Sun Ming directly said .

“Ok . You are the leading role today, whatever you say . Come, everyone, a toast to him . ” While

speaking, he badgered Sun Ming into drinking alcohol .

“It’s your birthday today, so you must drink until you get drunk,” KFC came up, putting his arm

over Sun Ming’s shoulders and said, grinning .

“That’s right . It’s your birthday, so you have to drink a cup first . ” More people joined in to

persuade Sun Ming .

Sun Ming had no choice but did as requested . Then he indicated he would drink another one in

a while, using the excuse that he was waiting to savor tasty delicacies first .

After walking into the kitchen, Yuan Zhou finally understood what Sun Ming had meant by

saying that the kitchen was like a brand-new one . This wasn’t like a brand-new one, but really

is a brand-new one . Even the wok was still wrapped in a bag .

As expected, one could never trust a single male’s word . No wonder Sun Ming frequently came

to his restaurant for meals no matter if he was busy or free . It was actually because he had

never used the kitchen before .

“Peng”, Yuan Zhou opened the cabinet first to check if the flavoring were all prepared . He found

them not bad . The basic flavoring were all placed inside of the cabinet, but likewise, sealed

tightly .

Yuan Zhou shut the cabinet . Then he picked up the wok and spatula, starting to tear off their

wrappings . Afterward, he started to heat up the wok .

Almost all new kitchenware needed to go through this procedure . Otherwise, the dishes cooked

basically couldn’t be eaten .

The procedures of heating up the wok were quite simple . First, wash the wok clean, and then

put it onto the stove to heat it . After that, use a small piece of pig fat to wipe the entire wok

before washing it again . The process had to be repeated again and again . After three rounds, the

wok would be ready to be used . Yuan Zhou, nevertheless, had a slightly different habit . After

filling it up with water and boiling it, he put several pieces of pork with fat meat and lean meat

along with some green radishes .

The purpose was naturally not to stew soup, but to boil some soup to absorb the metallic-rusty

taste that remained in the new wok .

Yuan Zhou started to boil the broth before kneading the dough, preparing the noodles so that it

can be cooked immediately once the soup was done .

Although Sun Ming was a foodie, he didn’t know much about ingredients . His principle was

that the more expensive the ingredients, the better it was . With a mere glance, Yuan Zhou

identified the flour as the most expensive kind displayed on supermarket shelves, packaged

with the currently fashionable strong paper bag . After a careful look, it was indeed all-purpose

flour .

“Si La”, Yuan Zhou tore the paper bag and pinched the flour with his hand . The dryness was still

alright . If one smelled it carefully, the scent of wheat was rather faint while the powder quality

was too white and silky . This was the result of excessive artificial processing .

Having poured the flour into a big stainless steel basin, Yuan Zhou began to knead the dough .

Due to the weakness of the fragrance and texture of the flour, Yuan Zhou used eggs to replace

clear water . This was to avoid the taste of the bleach which might cover the fragrance of the

flour . He also scattered some salt to get rid of the bad odor in the flour and to increase the

viscosity of the wet flour .

Yuan Zhou was busy doing all the preparations . Just as he was carefully kneading the dough

which had turned slightly yellow after being mixed with eggs, KFC came up to the door and

asked,

“Need a hand?”

“No . You just go and have fun,” Yuan Zhou turned his head and said softly . Of course, it wasn't

because Yuan Zhou had a gentle nature; he was just afraid that saliva might fall into the bowl if

he spoke loudly . There was no mask in the kitchen here .

“You’ll be very slow if you do it yourself . The earlier you finish, the earlier you can go out to

have fun together . ” KFC was quite ardent . While still saying that, he had already rolled up his

sleeves and prepared to enter to help .

“You don’t know how to do it . I like cooking on my own,” Yuan Zhou said earnestly while

turning his head towards KFC .

“Well, ok . Just call me if you need help,” KFC put down his hands and shrugged his shoulders,

saying .

“No problem . ” Yuan Zhou began to knead the dough very carefully .

It required some special skills to knead the dough . Yuan Zhou, nevertheless, mastered not only

the recipes, but also the craftsmanship . Even if it was just ordinary flour, Yuan Zhou would still

manage to bring out a different flavor, trying his best to regain the fresh and delicious taste of

the ingredient itself before cooking a superbly delicious delicacy .

This was what Yuan Zhou was doing right now . By the time Yuan Zhou finished kneading the

dough, the basin appeared rather clean . The dough was smooth and his hands were also clean .

Then Yuan Zhou began to roll the dough and make the noodles on a countertop that had been

cleaned beforehand .

“Why is there no sounds coming from inside the kitchen?” someone asked out of sudden .

Sun Ming treated his friends to dinner at home to celebrate his birthday and had planned to

order take-out for most dishes . Nevertheless, he later told everyone that a friend of his would

specially come to cook the Egg Fried Rice and Longevity Noodles . It was understandable if he

was going to cook other dishes; however, Egg Fried Rice was too ordinary . That made his

friends really curious .

Now that this seemingly impassive chef friend of his had entered the kitchen, the only sound

was that of flowing water at the beginning . Towards the end, even that sound stopped .

“Isn’t it just Egg Fried Rice? He hasn’t started to cook?” a girl set down the wine glass and asked

curiously .

“Is he still washing the wok after such a long time?” another friend asked while holding the

wine glass .

“It’s possible . So many people here . Even if it’s Egg Fried Rice, it won’t be an easy job . ” the one

who said that seemed to be experienced .

“I think we shouldn’t count on him so much . Anyhow, we already have so many dishes here . ”

There were still others that weren’t optimistic about Yuan Zhou’s culinary skills . These friends

of Sun Ming had been to his kitchen just now to check around and found that everything was

new . Nothing had been used before . In these kinds of kitchens, it was always a great

inconvenience to cook . Besides, Yuan Zhou indeed didn’t look like a chef .

“Alright, my friends . I know my brother’s culinary skills well . Since I treated you guys, don’t

speak of my brother anymore . ” Sun Ming laid down the wine cup and said in a firm tone .

“I meant well . I just want to ask if he needs any help,” immediately, one of them explained .

“I went to check just now . Yuan Zhou was kneading the dough and said that he did not need

help,” KFC uttered the words softly .

“No wonder there is no sound at all . It turns out to be handmade noodles . ” The girl who had just

spoken heaved a sigh full of emotion .

“I’m yet quite interested in handmade noodles . They taste chewy,” a fat man said .

Then the topic drifted away from the original point . They started to discuss the difference of

handmade noodles and the ordinary machined-processed noodles .

On the other side, Yuan Zhou had poured away the broth and washed the wok . Now he was

scattering the cooked rice .

Wearing gloves, he carefully separated the cooked rice that stuck together with gentle actions .

The rice grains were intact and carried the fragrance of cold cooked rice . The wet cloth covering

the rice, likewise, helped retained the moisture in the rice well . Once the rice was scattered, they

looked rather beautiful .

After he separated the rice grains, Yuan Zhou uncovered the wet cloth and set it to dry in the air .

Afterward, he started to beat the eggs . First, he shook one egg, then broke it with one hand and

let the egg flow into the bowl while shaking another egg with the other hand at the same time .

Both his hands were doing different things at once .

The skill of breaking the egg with one hand was learned and deftly mastered only after cooking

the Egg Fried Rice many times . However, this skill was extremely convenient .

There were around 11 persons outside in the living room, and 12 including him himself .

Therefore, Yuan Zhou broke a total of 14 eggs directly and let them all sit in a big bowl .

Afterward, he mixed the eggs quickly before adding some warm water inside to make it taste

smoother and more tender .

“Pa”, having turned on the gas furnace, Yuan Zhou started to heat the wok, preparing to cook

Egg Fried Rice .

According to his habit, Yuan Zhou naturally just cooked the Golden Fried Rice, without any

intention of adding green onion .

After the small water drops evaporated from the hot wok, Yuan Zhou poured some olive oil

inside, barely covering the bottom . Then when the oil started smoking slightly, Yuan Zhou

poured the cold rice into the wok and slightly stirred until every rice grain was wrapped with

olive oil . Next, he poured the egg into the center of the wok, freely allowing the Egg Fried Rice

to transform wonderfully in the wok .

The people chattering outside suddenly stopped talking… because they caught a whiff of the

fragrance .