Chapter 16: Chapter 16 Red Braised Oxtail

Translator: 549690339

“Kid, you sure about this?” The sales guide shook his head in dismay, “For this kind of project, you can totally use cheaper meats, such as fish, pork, or poultry.”

“I’m sure.” Qin Lang picked out the best piece and handed it to the guide, “This one.”

“This one must weigh about five to six jin.” The guide took it and weighed it, “Although oxtail is quite cheap, the quality of the cow from which this piece came is not low, so its unit price is over one hundred yuan per jin.”

As he weighed, he quickly announced the accurate price, “812 yuan, kid, what’s the maximum price you drew?”

“The maximum is one thousand, just enough.” Qin Lang nodded in satisfaction, “This is it.”

Sales guide: “???”

Wait, is this the main ingredient?!

“Could you pack it for me?” Qin Lang smiled at the doubt in the guide’s eyes.

“Give me your Spirit Chef badge for registration. We’ll deliver it to the Association at the fastest speed.” The sales guide didn’t say much, operated something after taking Qin Lang’s badge, and said, “Alright!”

Taking back his badge, Qin Lang turned around and headed for the next area.

In addition to the oxtail, indispensable assistant ingredients couldn’t be missing.

These are relatively cheaper. Even if he chose some higher-quality ones, it wouldn’t cost much.

After all the selections, the total value of the ingredients was 888 yuan.

Merely by looking at this lucky number, Qin Lang felt that his first Food Fight should definitely go smoothly.

Upon exiting the Food Material Market, he met Du Weiwei head-on.

“Have you… just finished choosing ingredients?” Du Weiwei blinked, asking tentatively.

“Yes.” Qin Lang nodded, “Are you going to pick now?”

“Yes.” Du Weiwei paused before speaking, “For this Food Fight, I will give it my all, so you should showcase all your strength as well.”

“Sure.” Qin Lang smiled.

With the Food Fight approaching, they didn’t chat much and soon went their separate ways.

By the time Qin Lang and his Food Spirit arrived at the Spirit Chef Association, there was only half an hour left until the start of the Food Fight.

Unlike the Spiritual Battlefields, the venue of the Food Fight stands alone.

In the center are two standard competition kitchens, each spanning 100 square meters. The exterior walls can adjust their transparency to ensure privacy, and name plates of Qin Lang and Du Weiwei were hanging on the doors.

Outside the kitchen, there are the judges’ seats and audience seats.

Unlike the clear victories in Spiritual Battles, the outcome of the Food Fight is decided by dedicated judges after tasting the dishes from both sides.

Depending on the scale of the Food Fight, the number and level of judges will vary.

The Food Fight between Qin Lang and Du Weiwei is a beginner-level one, with five beginner-level judges.

The judges hadn’t arrived yet, but there were already people in the audience seats.

“Qin Lang! Over here!” Qi Xiaoyu waved excitedly.

Qin Lang approached.

He could understand why Qi Xiaoyu came here to spectate.

But…

Qin Lang glanced at Zhao Chen, who stood beside him with his arms crossed, “Why are you here?”

“To cheer you on.” Zhao Chen said arrogantly, “Before losing to me, you cannot lose to anyone else.”

Yep, same familiar delusions of grandeur.

“Well, thanks then.”

“Qin Lang, what dish are you planning for today?” Qi Xiaoyu leaned closer, “Come on, spill the beans?”

Qin Lang hesitated for two seconds, and under Qi Xiaoyu’s expectant gaze, he calmly said, “Please wait and see.”

Qi Xiaoyu: “???”

Did your response take two seconds because of a Cooldown?

“Come on, spill. I know the dish that Weiwei is preparing!” Qi Xiaoyu giggled, “If you tell me what you’re preparing, I’ll tell you about…”

Before she could finish, a dangerous voice suddenly came from behind.

“Qi! Xiao! Yu!”

Qi Xiaoyu shivered with a start, turning to look awkwardly at the deadly face of Du Weiwei standing behind her. Yet, she still couldn’t escape her fate of getting her soft flesh pinched.

Ignoring the two young girls’ squabbling, Qin Lang quickly stood up and walked towards the kitchen, along with Dan Bao, the moment he noticed the three men and two women seated in the judges’ seats.

Meanwhile, Du Weiwei released Qi Xiaoyu, and with her food spirit, she stood in front of another kitchen on the other side.

“I am the lead judge of this Food Fight, Zhou Yun,” said the middle-aged man leading the judges. He glanced at the two contestants and added, “The authority of the lead judge and the deputy judges is equal. The only added responsibility for the lead judge is that they host the Food Fight.”

“The theme of this Food Fight is ‘Limited Ingredient Value,’ and the total value of all ingredients used by both contestants must not exceed one thousand yuan.”

“The ingredients for the Food Fight have been delivered to your respective kitchens. You are not allowed to bring any additional ingredients. Now, let’s announce the total value of your ingredients.”

“Qin Lang, your ingredients’ total value is 888 yuan.”

“Du Weiwei, your ingredients’ total value is 945 yuan.”

“The total value of the ingredients complies with the rules. As per the Junior Food Fight rules, the total cooking time should not exceed two hours,” declared Zhou Yun calmly. “The countdown begins now.”

A digital countdown appeared on the screen in front of the judges’ seats, showing ticking numbers.

Qin Lang and Du Weiwei hesitated no more and turned to walk into their respective kitchens.

The Food Fight begins!

…

Upon reaching his workstation, Qin Lang began taking an inventory of his ingredients.

Ginger, green onions, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, celery, star anise, bay leaves, green Sichuan peppercorns, dried chili, dried hawthorn, various seasonings, and the most important, oxtail.

Not even one item was missing.

With these ingredients, he would be cooking a traditional dish from Shaanxi.

It’s called Red Braised Oxtail.

“Gurgle!”

Even though he’d eaten his fill of a delicious meal yesterday afternoon, Dan Bao was still looking forward to the meal with eager anticipation.

Rushing next to Qin Lang, it began to puff air towards the ingredients.

Look at my fresh and full ingredients!

While Dan Bao was eagerly helping, Qin Lang was deftly working his knife, quickly peeling the oxtail, cutting it into chunks, washing it several times, and then soaking it in water mixed with Baijiu.

The smell of the oxtail can be quite strong, so it’s important not to skimp on this step.

Soaking it thoroughly to remove blood can be an effective way of eliminating the strong smell.

While he waited for the blood to soak out, Qin Lang quickly sliced the ginger, cut the green onion into sections, and placed them in a small dish. After that, he fired up the stove.

The cooking process of oxtail requires tender sugar color, and this is the perfect time to prepare it.

The tender sugar color is light and slightly sweet, serving both as a colorant and a seasoning.

He added a large spoonful of crystal sugar and a small amount of water into the pot, stirring it slowly with the spatula in a constant direction.

“Gurgle!”

The ever-helpful Dan Bao, having finished dealing with the side ingredients, curiously watched the process.

It had seen this step yesterday.

However, it still found the process of sugar turning caramel-colored and losing in sweetness utterly fascinating.

As the sugar syrup began turning thick from thin amid the dense, small bubbles erupting in the pot, the water was quickly evaporating, leaving behind an increasingly deep-colored syrup.

A special caramel aroma wafted out from the pot during this process, releasing a sweet scent, making the eager Dan Bao at the side sniff with curiosity.

“If we win this Food Fight, I’ll make you a delicious caramel pudding tonight.” Laughing at Dan Bao’s greedy face, Qin Lang made a promise.

Dan Bao’s eyes sparkled even brighter, filled with anticipation.

We must win!

—————–

Color egg chapter content at the end of this chapter:

[Red Braised Oxtail]