I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 572 - 276: Cui Qingyuan: The roasted gluten is a pleasant surprise, and even more surprising is finding a promising newcomer! [Subscribe please]_2

Chapter 572: Chapter 276: Cui Qingyuan: The roasted gluten is a pleasant surprise, and even more surprising is finding a promising newcomer! [Subscribe please]_2

"Sure."

As the oil temperature rose, the wheat gluten lost more and more moisture, and its volume even shrank slightly. Lin Xi took a ladle and stirred the contents of the wok a couple of times to ensure the wheat gluten heated evenly. When the oil temperature first rose, the wheat gluten still contained a lot of moisture. A sour, fermented smell continuously wafted from the wok, which was rather unpleasant. But now, as the moisture content decreased, the initial sour smell from the wok gradually faded, while the aroma grew increasingly rich.

"Hello everyone in the live stream! Our boss is making wheat gluten. Boss, say hello to my live stream viewers."

While Lin Xu was busy, Zhuang Yizhou came over, holding his phone.

In the morning, the operations department team had come to film the method for making hand-torn cabbage. They also captured some footage of the kitchen prep process, which was edited into a fast-paced clip. Once released, it immediately sparked a heated discussion among netizens. Everyone felt they hadn’t seen enough and wanted more glimpses of Lin Ji’s kitchen prep and various scenes. Some even suspected it was staged because the kitchen was too clean, a stark contrast to the grimy, grease-covered kitchens they typically imagined.

To satisfy the viewers and dispel some prejudices, Lin Xu arranged for the kitchen to do a live stream in the afternoon. However, he didn’t have time to manage it himself, and it wasn’t appropriate for Wu Kexin, an outsider, to stay in the kitchen for an extended period. Just then, the handsome Zhuang Yizhou appeared in Lin Xu’s line of sight.

When Zhuang Yizhou received this assignment, he could hardly believe his ears. Not only would he have less work to do, but he could also boost the popularity and follower count of his live stream. The boss was so supportive! As soon as the afternoon prep began, he started live streaming, showing viewers the entire kitchen environment and equipment, repeatedly explaining the uses of various kitchen tools. Now, he had wandered over to Lin Xu.

Lin Xu waved to the live stream camera: 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Hello everyone, welcome to Lin Ji’s Food’s kitchen for a visit and some guidance."

His words sent the live stream chat into a frenzy:

"Hahaha, ’graced us with your presence’ was a great choice of words."

"Thank you, Boss Lin, for making me feel like a VIP."

"Online, urging for the hand-torn cabbage video! It was supposedly filmed this morning, why hasn’t it been released yet?"

"Exactly! I bought a cabbage first thing this morning, waiting to cook it, but the video still isn’t up. Are they planning to release it tonight to make us all hungry?"

"Just curious, besides hands and cabbage, what else do you need to make hand-torn cabbage?"

"..."

Seeing these comments, Lin Xu said, "It might be set to a timer. I’ll have the company post the video shortly, so hopefully, you can follow along and make dinner."

After saying this, he also helped Zhuang Yizhou attract some followers: "Everyone, feel free to follow Chef Zhuang’s account. He’ll be doing more kitchen live streams periodically, and we welcome everyone’s guidance and supervision then."

Once the interaction ended, Zhuang Yizhou carried his phone over to the duck roasting oven to continue the live stream. This recent interaction had caused the live stream’s popularity to surge significantly, gaining tens of thousands of new followers—far more successful than any previous live session, which left him quite moved. It was a good thing he’d casually applied for the job on the day of the competition; otherwise, he really would have missed out on such a great development opportunity.

Meanwhile, Lin Xu pulled out his phone and called the company, urging the operations department to release the video quickly. The demands for an update had even reached the live stream; the netizens’ interest in the hand-torn cabbage was beyond imagination!

Before long, the wheat gluten was perfectly fried. After scooping it out, Lin Xu checked the time and soaked some black fungus.

By six-thirty in the evening, he scooped out the soaked shiitake mushrooms and snapped off their stems. He then divided the caps into quarters. Next, he scooped out the wood ear fungus and set it aside with the shiitake mushrooms and daylily buds.

He began to prepare, setting up a wok. After heating it and lightly oiling the surface, he poured in a typical amount of vegetable oil for stir-frying. Before the oil heated up, he added a small piece of cinnamon and one Star Anise, heating them on low to release their fragrance. Once the fragrance emerged, he added the wood ear fungus, daylily buds, and shiitake mushrooms to the wok. He turned the heat to high and stir-fried them to reduce their moisture, which would make the dish’s flavors more concentrated.

Next, he started seasoning. He added a ladleful of Light Soy Sauce, a ladleful of Dark Soy Sauce, a ladleful of Crystal Sugar, and a small teaspoon of salt. Aside from Cui Qingyuan, Shen Baobao’s elder sister and the others were also eager to try the dish, so the quantity of food in the wok was substantial, requiring a generous amount of seasoning. The Four Happiness Roasted Glutinous Rice dish is characterized by its rich, glossy, reddish-brown sauce and an interplay of sweet and savory flavors, so the amounts of Soy Sauce and sugar needed to be relatively high. However, only a little salt was necessary for seasoning, because both Light Soy Sauce and Dark Soy Sauce contain salt, which makes the ingredients savory.

After seasoning, he added the fried wheat gluten to the wok and stir-fried it a few times to ensure the Soy Sauce and sugar were evenly mixed. Following this, he added the soaked peanuts and poured in the water used for soaking the shiitake mushrooms, ensuring it covered all the ingredients. He then covered the wok, adjusted the heat to medium-low, and simmered it for over twenty minutes to allow the seasonings’ flavors to fully permeate the ingredients.

Having finished these tasks, Lin Xu noticed several orders of hand-torn cabbage yet to be made in the back kitchen. He swiftly prepared these dishes on an adjacent stove, plated them, and carried an extra portion out to the dining area.

At that moment, Shen Baobao was sipping Pumpkin Soup while chatting with the weight-loss quartet about their efforts.

"Wow, so burpees are really that effective for burning fat! But if you do them at home, wouldn’t the downstairs neighbors protest?"

Zeng Xiaoqi sipped her iced Sour Plum Soup through a straw, the liquid gurgling softly.